Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Want a little taste of the South at home? If so, then look no further than this quick and easy Southern cornbread dressing recipe. Rather than your traditional recipe with stuffing, this one includes crumbled cornbread, which takes things up a notch. And what good would a southern recipe be without some sausage? Plain and simple — the combination of cornbread in sausage is a match made in heaven. This cornbread also includes onion and celery stalks for good measure, while also adding that element that's like regular stuffing. With just a little bit of prep time and about 35 minutes of cooking time, this recipe is a no-brainer for your next get-together. 

Recipe developer Erin Johnson came up with this wonderful recipe that goes perfectly with pretty much any main course. "I love dressing, and I don't just make it at Thanksgiving! It's the perfect side dish anytime," Johnson raves. "If you'd serve something with potatoes, this is a great alternative." We love the sound of that!

Luckily for you, this recipe only requires a few ingredients. Simply get sausage, onion, celery stalks, chicken broth, milk, eggs, cornbread, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper, then you're ready to get going on this recipe.

This recipe requires the use of an oven, so go ahead and preheat yours to 350 F. In the meantime, grab a medium skillet and place it on your stove. Add the sausage and watch for it to start browning. Once it does, add the onion and celery. Continue cooking everything together until the sausage is cooked through. Then, set the mixture to the side since you won't need it quite yet. 

Using a bowl or a measuring cup, beat together the broth, milk, and eggs. The combination of milk and broth is the step that makes this recipe unique. "The milk helps to add a richness and creaminess to the dressing that you don't get from the broth alone," Johnson shares. "I like to use whole milk, but any milk you have on hand is fine."

Next, grab the prepared cornbread and crumble it into a large bowl. "If you are looking for easy, feel free to use store-bought or box cornbread for this," Johnson says.

Add the sausage mixture and the poultry seasoning to the same bowl as the cornbread. Then, sprinkle in a little bit of salt and pepper to taste, but keep in mind that the poultry seasoning already includes both, so you likely won't need much. Finally, be sure to stir everything well to combine.

Pour that broth and milk mixture into the cornbread and sausage mixture, and stir well until combined. Next, pour the contents of the mixture into a greased baking dish and pop it into your preheated oven, baking for about 35 to 40 minutes. "When the dressing is done, it will be golden brown, and a knife inserted into the center will remove cleanly," Johnson shares.

Once you remove the dressing from the oven, you can serve it to your lucky guests! This makes a great side to any main course, and it doesn't need to be Thanksgiving to enjoy it. 

This stuff is so good that we don't think you will have any leftovers, but if you do, don't sweat it! "This keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to reheat it in the oven to maintain the crisp top," Johnson shares.