Best Cornbread Dressing Recipe: A Delicious Southern Classic
This cornbread dressing recipe features the best homemade cornbread mixed with country sausage, aromatics, and plenty of savory herbs. You can easily make it in advance to save time on Turkey Day.
Servings 8
Calories 413kcal
Ingredients
For the cornbread:
- 1 cup medium grind yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk at room temperature
- 2 eggs at room temperature
For the dressing
- 1 stick + 3 tablespoons butter at room temperature, (divided)
- ¾ pound bulk ground pork breakfast sausage
- 1 large sweet onion finely chopped (about 2 cups)
- 2 cups medium-diced celery from about 6 stalks
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup celery leaves roughly chopped (if your stalks don’t have enough leaves, just supplement with extra parsley)
- ¼ cup fresh roughly chopped sage leaves
- ¼ cup fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup parsley leaves roughly chopped
- 1 batch of cornbread cut into 1-inch chunks (or if using storebought, 1 pound and 11 ounces –about 8 cups)
Instructions
For the cornbread:
- To a large bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, and whisk to combine. To a medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs then add the room temperature buttermilk, stirring well. Add the egg mixture to the large bowl and give it a few stirs. Add the cooled butter and mix just until everything is combined.
- Once your oven and skillet have preheated, use a hot pad to carefully remove the skillet. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and swirl it around the skillet to coat. Working quickly, pour the batter into the skillet (it will sizzle), smooth the top, and place the skillet in the oven. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until the top is golden and the edges brown and pull away from the pan. Cool for 5-10 minutes, then slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
- First, preheat oven to 300°F. Spread cornbread cubes out in a single layer on a large sheet pan lined with parchment paper (you may need to use two sheet pans), and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until completely dried out, tossing intermittently so the pieces toast evenly. Transfer the sheet pan to a cooling rack and let the cornbread cool completely.
For the dressing:
- While the cornbread is toasting, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the sausage and cook until browned, for about 7-10 minutes, breaking it up into smaller chunks using a wooden spoon or spatula. Transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
- Increase the oven temperature to 350°F and liberally butter a 9×13-inch baking dish with 2 tablespoons of butter.
- In the same skillet, add 1 stick of butter over medium-high heat. Once melted, add the onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes, until starting to become golden brown (I like to give it a headstart so it gets a bit more brown and has more flavor). Season with salt, pepper, celery leaves, sage, and thyme. Then add the celery and continue sautéing with the onion, stirring occasionally for about 5 more minutes. Add the white wine and then cook for about 5 minutes more to let the wine reduce. Be sure to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs well, then whisk in the chicken stock. Add the parsley and cornbread cubes and toss very gently, using a spatula, taking care not to let the cornbread crumble.
- Transfer the cornbread dressing to the prepared baking dish. Cover with foil (or a lid) and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Then remove the foil and continue baking for about 15 minutes more, or until the top is golden brown and the internal temperature of a thermometer reads 160°F.