Cornbread Stuffing
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Add a little Southern flair to your Thanksgiving feast with this golden, savory cornbread stuffing that’s loaded with rich sausage and fragrant herbs.
This Southern-style cornbread dressing has a rich, almost spoon bread-like consistency with a perfectly toasty, golden top. It’s a bit more time-intensive than my traditional stuffing recipe since it starts with homemade cornbread (no shortcuts here—store-bought cornbread is too sweet and just doesn’t work). But the good news is that you can spread the prep over a few days. The cornbread itself is intentionally dry and plain, so don’t worry if it tastes a little bland—once combined with sausage, eggs, and butter, it transforms into something wonderfully flavorful and rich. For Thanksgiving, I recommend baking the stuffing in a separate dish from the turkey for the best results.
What You’ll Need To Make Cornbread Stuffing
- Eggs – Used in both the cornbread recipe and stuffing to bind and give structure.
- Whole milk – Adds moisture and richness to both the cornbread and the stuffing.
- All-purpose flour – Provides structure and a tender crumb in the cornbread.
- Yellow cornmeal – The key ingredient that gives the cornbread its signature texture and flavor.
- Sugar – Adds a touch of sweetness to the cornbread to balance the savory stuffing.
- Baking powder – Leavens the cornbread, making it light and fluffy.
- Salt – Enhances the flavors in both the cornbread and the stuffing.
- Unsalted butter – Adds richness to the cornbread, used to sauté the vegetables, and keeps the stuffing moist.
- Pork sausage (hot or mild/sweet) – Adds savory richness and, if using hot sausage, a bit of spice to the stuffing. You could also use chicken or turkey sausage.
- Yellow onions – Adds sweetness and depth of flavor to the stuffing.
- Celery – Provides crunch and flavor to the stuffing.Garlic cloves – Adds aromatic, savory flavor to the stuffing.
- Fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, and sage) – Infuses the stuffing with fragrant, earthy flavor.
- Low-sodium chicken broth – Keeps the stuffing moist and adds a savory, rich flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by making the cornbread. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs.
Add the milk and whisk until evenly combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Whisk well.
Add the milk mixture and the melted butter to the dry ingredients.
Whisk until smooth.
Transfer the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top.
Bake in a 350°F-oven until lightly golden around the edges and set, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle, 20 to 30 minutes. (Cornbread can be prepared up to 2 days in advance.)
Cut the cornbread into 1-inch squares. Place the cut cornbread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a 250°F-oven until lightly toasted, about 1 hour.
Cool the cornbread on the baking sheet, about 15 minutes.
To make the stuffing: Place the sausage in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
Cook, stirring and breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the largest bowl you have (it needs to fit all the cornbread), leaving the fat in the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, celery, and 3 tablespoons of the butter to the pan.
Cook until the vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Off the heat, mix in the herbs then add the vegetable mixture to the bowl with the sausage and mix to combine.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk, broth, and salt.
Add the dried cornbread cubes to the sausage and vegetable mixture and pour the egg mixture over top. Fold the mixture a few times with a large rubber spatula, being careful not to break up the cornbread too much. Let the mixture sit, folding carefully a few times, until the cornbread is saturated, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the soaked cornbread mixture to a greased baking dish, and make sure that the sausage and vegetables are evenly distributed. Try to arrange some of the larger pieces of cornbread on top; it looks prettier. Dot the top of the stuffing with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter.
Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 35 minutes. Serve warm.
Make-Ahead Instructions
The cornbread can be prepared up to two days ahead of time. Cut it into cubes and let it dry out on the countertop overnight instead of toasting it in the oven. If you’d like the assemble the stuffing in advance, prepare it up until the point of baking, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate up to a day ahead of time. When ready to serve, bake as directed, allowing a few extra minutes in the oven.
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Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
Add a little Southern flair to your Thanksgiving feast with this golden, savory cornbread stuffing that’s loaded with rich sausage and fragrant herbs.
Ingredients
For the Cornbread
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1¼ cups yellow cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1½ tablespoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted
For the Stuffing
- 1 lb bulk hot (or sweet) pork sausage
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh herb blend (I use equal parts thyme, rosemary and sage)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Cornbread
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Butter and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan or spray with a nonstick cooking spray with flour, such as Baker's Joy.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk and whisk until evenly combined. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the milk mixture and the melted butter to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Bake until lightly golden around the edges and set, about 30 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack until cool enough to handle, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 250°F and set the oven rack in the middle position. Cut the cornbread into 1-inch squares. Place the cut cornbread on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 1 hour. Cool the cornbread on the baking sheet, about 15 minutes.
For the Stuffing
- Place the sausage in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring and breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the largest bowl you have (it needs to fit all the cornbread), leaving the fat in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, celery, and 3 tablespoons of the butter to the pan. Cook until the vegetables are softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Off the heat, mix in the herbs. Add the vegetable mixture to the bowl with the sausage and mix to combine.
- In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the milk, broth, and salt.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- Add the dried cornbread cubes to the sausage and vegetable mixture. Pour the egg mixture over top. Fold the mixture a few times with a large rubber spatula, being careful not to break up the cornbread too much. Let the mixture sit, folding carefully a few times, until the cornbread is saturated, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer the soaked cornbread mixture to the prepared pan, making sure the sausage and vegetables are evenly distributed. Try to arrange some of the larger pieces of cornbread on top; it looks prettier. Dot the top of the stuffing with the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 35 minutes. Serve warm.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cornbread can be prepared up to two days ahead of time. Cut it into cubes and let it dry out on the countertop overnight instead of toasting it in the oven. If you'd like the assemble the stuffing in advance, prepare it up until the point of baking, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate up to a day ahead of time. When ready to serve, bake as directed, allowing a few extra minutes in the oven. It can also be frozen after baking, tightly covered, for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve it, defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Reheat it, covered with foil, in a 325°F oven until hot.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 541
- Fat: 33 g
- Saturated fat: 16 g
- Carbohydrates: 43 g
- Sugar: 8 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Sodium: 654 mg
- Cholesterol: 209 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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I always have a hard time getting sage at Christmas. Can I use dried sage? If so, how much?
Hi Beverly, I’d just omit the sage and use equal parts rosemary and thyme. Hope you enjoy!
Best stuffing ever. We’ve tried a different stuffing every year for . . . well, forever, because we could never agree on a favorite. Now we have one! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
After baking, ca this go into a crock pot for an hour or so to keep warm?
Yep 🙂
Has anyone tried this with bacon instead of sausage?
Want to try this for Thanksgiving, but can I substitute gluten free flour for the regular flour in the cornbread recipe?
Thank you! Really want to make this
Hi Mary, Helen, I’ve never made the cornbread with gluten-free flour, so I can’t say for sure, but I suspect you can. A lot of people have success with King Arthur’s Measure for Measure. Hope you enjoy the stuffing if you make it!
I make GF using two boxes of Krusteaz honey cornbread mix in place of the cornbread recipe and it’s delicious
Do you use breakfast pork sausage or dinner style? I’m going to make this for Christmas.
Dinner-style (found in the meat section of your supermarket). Hope you enjoy!
Made this recipe for thanksgiving 2022. It got raves. I used my own cornbread recipe. I added a variety of chiles and tomatoes and the stuffing recipe. My oh my! It’s addicting!
Thank you
Marsha
Hi Jenn,
I love all your recipes and I’m excited to make this one for Thanksgiving. Could I use spicy chicken sausage instead of pork?
Sure, Cathy, that’s fine. Enjoy!
Jen, I love all your recipes! I had my husband buy mild sausage instead of hot. Will it be ok? Do I need to do anything to adjust? Thank you!
Hi Beth, So glad you like the recipes! Mild sausage is perfectly fine to use with no adjustments. Enjoy!
I usually make your Easy Stuffing with bread stuffing cubes, but the grocery ran out. I bought cornbread cubes instead. Should I use I use broth measurements to the cornbread 2 cups or 2 3/4 cups for the bread cubes? I don’t have enough pork either could I combine it with grassfed ground beef?
Hi Kenya, I’m a bit confused by your question. I think you’re indicating that you are making the sauage and herb stuffing, right? If so, I’d stick to the broth measurements there. And it would be fine to combine a little ground beef with the pork sausage. Just make sure it’s well-seasoned.
Hi Jenn
So i am making the cornbread and realized i measured 1 and 1/3 cup cornmeal instead of 1/4, will the extra 2 tablespoons mess the ratio up that i should start over with all ingredients!
Thank you so much
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Hi Melissa, It will be fine. Enjoy!
This recipe was outstanding and very simple to make. I substituted dried spices for the fresh and used Jiffy cornbread to make this last minute addition and everyone still raved! Thanks so much for a simplified version of a great dish.