Southern Cornbread Dressing is a comforting and hearty side dish for Thanksgiving. My recipe for Southern Cornbread Dressing is moist, herby and delicious. This is a Southern favourite Thanksgiving Cornbread Dressing recipe which is so yum and easy to make! Also this is made with my homemade Southern Buttermilk Cornbread and Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, which makes this even delightful! 😍😍😍
Besides Turkey, Chicken and other Thanksgiving Sides, this Southern Cornbread Dressing is the recipe I look forward to the most. 🥰
It's such a simple and easy recipe and I feel so nostalgic making this everything at this time of the year. Its the same ingredients, the same flavours and the same steps and thats exactly what I love! Makes you feel so nostalgic to keep some traditions alive forever! At least for how long you can! Right!!😇😇😋
Other Thanksgiving sides you'll love
- Thanksgiving Breakfast Casserole
- Green bean Casserole from scratch
- Green Beans Almondine Recipe
- Best Cranberry Sauce Recipe with Orange Juice
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Southern Buttermilk Ranch Mashed Potatoes
- Creamy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Jump to:
- Other Thanksgiving sides you'll love
- 🤔 What is Cornbread Dressing? Is it the same as Stuffing?
- More Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes
- 🥘 Ingredients needed to make Cornbread dressing?
- 👩🍳 How to make Southern Cornbread Dressing?
- 🤔 What type of Cornbread is the best for this recipe?
- 🧊 How to store Cornbread Dressing?
- 😍 More Southern Recipes to try
- 💯 Tips to make your Cornbread Dressing even better
- Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe
🤔 What is Cornbread Dressing? Is it the same as Stuffing?
Cornbread as you already must know is a mainstay in Southern cuisine. So when there used to be old leftover Cornbread the Southerners would instead of throwing it away make something completely different out of it.
They would repurpose the stale cornbread by mixing it with additional ingredients like Sausages, Bell Peppers, and the likes.
Then they’d combine it with your typical Southern-style seasoning and bake it in the oven to make the stuffing. And that’s how cornbread dressing came to be!
Cornbread dressing and stuffing are both very similar, but there are some stark differences between the two.
For starters, there is a regional difference. You are more likely to find cornbread dressing in the South rather than the North.
Next, Cornbread dressing has the consistency of a casserole and is its own separate side dish.
Stuffing on the other hand is mostly used to stuff the cavity of Turkey. Although these days you can find cornbread dressing in any part of America. Or even better, you can make it right at your home! This is where you can know more about the difference between Cornbread dressing and Cornbread stuffing.
More Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes
- Cranberry Pecan Stuffing in Crock Pot
- Grandma's Sausage Herb Stuffing
- Mom's Turkey Stuffing Recipe
- Sweet Potato & Mushroom Thanksgiving Stuffing

🥘 Ingredients needed to make Cornbread dressing?
If you want to make a great cornbread dressing then the best thing you can do is to go all out with your ingredients!
This is one recipe where you’ll want to have a long list of ingredients rather than a short one.
For who will like to have a cornbread dressing that has just bell peppers in it? But don’t worry, while the ingredient list might be a little longer, it is still very much in your budget.
You can also easily find all the given below ingredients at any nearby grocery store!
3. Cooking oil - preferably Olive Oil
4. Sage Pork Sausages
5. Cremini mushrooms - thinly sliced
6. Onions - finely chopped
7. Stalks of celery - finely chopped
8. Green bell pepper - finely chopped
9. Fresh parsley - finely chopped
10. Fresh sage leaves - finely chopped
11. Fresh thyme - finely chopped
12. Kosher salt
13. Freshly ground black pepper
14. Minced garlic cloves
15. Chicken Broth - Low Sodium
16. Butter (melted)
17. Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
👩🍳 How to make Southern Cornbread Dressing?
Cornbread dressing is most probably the easiest Thanksgiving to make out of all of them.
It is just like making a simple casserole but made even easier. If you are planning to make cornbread dressing with your own Homemade Cornbread and Buttermilk Biscuits, then perhaps the time take will a little more, but we definitely suggest you to make everything from scratch.
Otherwise, you can also use bread from any good local bakery!
STEP 1: COMBINE ALL THE INGREDIENTS
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- Cut the Cornbread & Buttermilk Biscuits (or Bread) into cubes.
- Add all the other remaining ingredients (EXCEPT: Sausages, Mushrooms, Bell Peppers, Garlic & Onions) in a large bowl
- Stir to combine everything.
STEP 2: COOK SAUSAGE, MUSHROOM & ONIONS
- Heat Olive Oil in a skillet over medium high heat
- Add the Sage Pork Sausages. Just make sure that you have removed their casing beforehand. Now just cook the sausages for 3-4 min or until they are tender enough for you to break them with a fork. Once this is done, remove the cooked and crumbled sausages from the skillet.
- Now in this same skillet pan add more oil to cook the other ingredients. One by one add chopped onions, celery stalks, mushrooms, all the chopped herbs, and finally kosher salt and black pepper. Saute everything together until the vegetables and mushrooms have softened up. At the end add minced garlic cloves and again cook for just about a minutes or until you can start smelling a delicious fragrance from the skillet
STEP 3: COMBINE EVERYTHING IN A LARGE BOWL
- Now take a large bowl, and we mean a really large bowl. To this bowl first, add your cubed bread. Then add the cooked sausages along with your sauteed vegetables.
- Mix everything thoroughly in the bowl, and then pour melted butter and chicken stock over it.
- Use a wooden spoon of preferably large size to mix everything again until the bread cubes have absorbed the butter and chicken stock.
STEP 4: BAKE
- Line a casserole baking dish with cooking spray or butter. Then add the cornbread dressing mix you made into the dish. Cover the baking dish with foil and slide it into the preheated oven and bake it for about twenty-five minutes.
- Once its baked, serve hot.
- If you want to stuff this in your Turkey, cool it down to room temp. before stuffing.
🤔 What type of Cornbread is the best for this recipe?
You can use store-bought or homemade Cornbread for this recipe. I prefer the homemade kind because it tastes the best.
However, just to save time, you can of course use store-bought Cornbread.
1. If you want a sweeter kind of Cornbread dressing then go for Buttermilk Cornbread. It will give your dressing a great combination of sweet and savoury flavours.
2. If you are not a fan of sweet things in general then just go for the Classic Cornbread. It will give the Cornbread Dressing a classic savoury taste, just as you like it.
🧊 How to store Cornbread Dressing?
Cornbread dressing tastes best when it is fresh out of the oven and warm at the serving table.
But that does not mean you cannot store any leftovers of Cornbread Dressing.
Just pack the leftovers in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator easily for up to 3-four days.
Just make sure you reheat in the oven before serving!
You can freeze the baked Cornbread Dressing for up to six months.
Just place your Cornbread Dressing in a freezer-friendly container and put it in the freezer.
Then whenever you want to have it just let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then reheat it in the oven before serving!
🤔 Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes of course! You can also definitely freeze the dressing mix ahead of time. Just store the mixture in a freezable airtight container and keep it in the freezer for up to two weeks.
Then whenever you need to make cornbread dressing just take out the frozen mixture, and then bake it in the oven just for a few more minutes. 😋😋
😍 More Southern Recipes to try
- Southern Buttermilk Cornbread in Cast Iron Skillet
- Southern Fried Okra in Air Fryer
- Southern Smothered Sour Cream Chicken
- Broccoli Rice Casserole - Southern Comfort Food
- Vegan Southern Black Eyed Peas Recipe
- Crispiest Air Fryer Southern Fried Chicken Recipe with Buttermilk
- Southern Buttermilk Ranch Mashed Potatoes
- Southern Creamed Corn
- Southern Fried Corn
- Southern Buttermilk Biscuits
💯 Tips to make your Cornbread Dressing even better
1. You can do your own choice of additions to the Cornbread Dressing. From dried fruits to fresh fruits to even falafel, you have a whole range of options available!
2. Make sure you remove the casing of the sausages before cooking them. This way your sausages can be crumbled with the help of a fork.
3. Cornbread Dressing is served best with cranberry sauce and gravy on the side.
4. If the classic Cornbread Dressing is too bland for you then you can add some paprika to heat things.
Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 full Southern Cornbread cut into 1" cubes
- 5 whole Buttermilk Biscuits cut into 1" cubes (or use White Sandwich Bread)
- 2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 pound Sage Pork Sausage
- 1 cup Cremini mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 medium sized Yellow Onion finely chopped
- 1 cup Chopped Celery about 4 stalks
- 1 medium sized Green Bell Pepper finely chopped
- 5 whole Sage Leaves finely chopped
- 1 sprig Fresh Thyme finely chopped
- 1 sprig Fresh Rosemary finely chopped
- 1 cup Fresh Parsley finely chopped
- Kosher Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper as per taste
- 5 cloves Garlic minced
- 6 cups Chicken Broth low sodium
- 1 stick Unsalted Butter melted
- 4 cups Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 inches casserole baking dish with oil. Cut the Cornbread and Buttermilk biscuits into cubes.
- Heat Olive Oil in a skillet over medium high heatAdd the Sage Pork Sausages. Just make sure that you have removed their casing beforehand. Now just cook the sausages for 3-4 min or until they are tender enough for you to break them with a fork. Once this is done, remove the cooked and crumbled sausages from the skillet. Now in this same skillet pan add more oil to cook the other ingredients. One by one add chopped onions, celery stalks, mushrooms, all the chopped herbs, and finally kosher salt and black pepper. Saute everything together until the vegetables and mushrooms have softened up. At the end add minced garlic cloves and again cook for just about a minutes or until you can start smelling a delicious fragrance from the skillet
- Now take a large bowl, and we mean a really large bowl. To this bowl first, add your cubed bread. Then add the cooked sausages along with your sautéed vegetables.Mix everything thoroughly in the bowl, and then pour melted butter and chicken broth in it.Use a wooden spoon to stir and mix everything again until the bread cubes have absorbed the butter and chicken stock.
- Line a casserole baking dish with cooking spray or butter. Then add the cornbread dressing mix you made into the dish. Cover the baking dish with foil and slide it into the preheated oven and bake it for about twenty-five minutes. Once its baked, serve hot.If you want to stuff this in your Turkey, cool it down to room temp. before stuffing.
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