Dressing? Or stuffing? Which do you call it? Yesterday, on Facebook Live, Trevor and I made Best Ever Sausage Stuffing, but TODAY, right here, we're making Cornbread Dressing.
To me, it's the same, but to some, it's one way or the other.
It's gluten free! Wahoo! To be honest, that was totally on accident 😉 , but it'll be perfect for all you gluten free readers!
It uses homemade bread (this easy cornbread recipe to be exact). Typically I'll use the Pepperidge Farm Cubed Stuffing, but today, I wanted something completely homemade.
While I do love all my stuffing recipes equally, I'm super excited to share with you this new cornbread dressing!
It's sweet, it literally tastes like Thanksgiving, and it's really easy!
Before we continue, stop what you're doing, and go make the cornbread recipe.
Why? Because after you bake it, it needs to sit out for 24 hours before you turn it into this cornbread dressing.
It's torture – because fresh cornbread should almost always be drizzled in honey and eaten fresh outta the oven immediately – but necessary and totally worth it, so it has a chance to dry out a bit.
Great. Now that you've made your cornbread, let's talk stuffing or um, dressing.
You can make most of this recipe ahead of time, which is amazing, because there are one million and one things to make on Thanksgiving day.
We've already made the cornbread, so let's make the other stuff.
All you need to do is cook hot italian sausage (trust me, it really balances out the sweetness of the cornbread) with some onion, celery, and spices: rosemary, nutmeg, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper until the sausage is cooked through and the veggies are tender.
If you're making this cornbread dressing ahead of time, that's where I'd stop. Then you can assemble and bake the day of.
Luckily, the assembling and baking is super easy.
Start by cubing your cornbread and toasting it in the oven. Easy. Peasy.
Then take your sausage/veggie/spice mixture and stir it together with cranberries – for a little extra tartness and pecans – for a little crunch.
Then stir together the cornbread cubes and sausage mixture with a little egg, butter, and chicken broth.
A super simple, completely homemade cornbread dressing.
Enjoy and happy *almost* Thanksgiving!
Dressing or stuffing? What do you call it? Show Me the Yummy!
Cornbread recipe is linked to above. Make sure you make the cornbread in a 9x13 inch pan at least 24 hours in advance. Store uncovered.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread cornbread cubes onto an unlined 9x13 in rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring gently halfway through.
Set aside to cool as you prepare the stuffing.
Turn oven up to 375 degrees F and grease a 9x13 in baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Heat a large non stick pan over medium heat.
Cook sausage, onion, celery, and spices together until sausage has cooked through and vegetables are tender, breaking up the sausage as you go.
Remove from heat and stir in cranberries and pecans. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together egg, melted butter, and chicken broth. Set aside.
Place the sausage mixture and toasted cornbread into a large bowl and pour the egg mixture over.
Be sure to not over mix. Some of the cornbread cubes will break apart, that's ok, but try to leave some of them whole as well.
Pour into prepared pan and bake at 375 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, or until warmed through.
I would simply call this awesome. I would probably just skip the turkey because I'm sure I'd stuff myself with this!
I'd probably skip the turkey, too 😉 Thanks Matt!
This cornbread stuffing looks amazing!!!! LOVE!!!
This dressing looks delicious! Love the cornbread!
Cornbread dressing is definitely one of my favorites! Love all the colors going on here!
Wonderful! I tried to follow your guide, and as a result, very surprising (though I'm not good at cooking). Italian sauce make this dish much more flavory. I love it and maybe I will usually cook it! Thank you!
Look so delicious! I want to try it right now!! It looks like fry rice when i first saw the picture, but it is bread, amazing!
Looks Delicious! I loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Yay!!! I hope it makes the cut!!! You'll have to let me know 🙂 Thanks Jenn!
I made this for Easter dinner tonight. It's delicious and definitely going to be made again. My husband loved it!