Cornbread Dressing
Cornbread dressing, made with cornmeal pieces, ground sausage, veggies, herbs, and spices, is a tasty side dish. Another great side dish is my Wild Rice Stuffing (Dressing).
Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 9 Cups Cornbread, homemade or store-bought
- 4 Tsp (½ stick or 57g) Salted butter
- 2 Medium onions, cut into ¼-inch dice (about 2 cups)
- 3 Stalks celery with leaves, cut into ¼-inch dice (about 2 cups)
- 1 Pound Ground sausage, mild
- 1 Tsp Garlic, minced
- ½ Tsp Dried sage, crumbled
- ½ Tsp Dried rosemary, crushed
- ½ Tsp Dried thyme, crumbled
- ½ Tsp Salt
- ½ Tsp Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Cup Chicken broth
- 1 Large egg, room temperature
- Parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 200°F.
- Chop cornmeal into ½-inch pieces for bite-sized eating. Bake for 20 minutes on the prepared baking sheet. When using stale cornbread, you can omit this step.
- Put the cornbread in a big bowl for mixing. Put aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray nonstick cooking spray on a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. For five to ten minutes, add the onion and celery, stirring occasionally. Onions should be transparent. To the cornbread, add the onion mixture.
- Sauté the sausage in the same skillet over medium heat until it is no longer pink. Cook for an 1 minute after adding the garlic, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper. Transfer the cornbread to the bowl using a spoon.
- Whisk the egg and broth together in a small bowl. After adding the cornbread mixture, gently toss everything together.
- Pour the blend into the 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Bake, covered with aluminum foil, until cooked through, about 30 minutes. (Optional: Take off the foil and bake for another 10 minutes for a crispier top.)
- Serve right away.
Dressing for Cornbread
Since this recipe isn’t packed into a bird, it’s considered a dressing. I’m from the Midwest, though, and wherever you prepare it, we call it stuffing. I start this dish by chopping my homemade cornbread into little pieces. It is then combined with prepared sausage, vegetables, spices, and herbs and baked as a single dish. You should absolutely include it on your Thanksgiving menu!
Ingredients for Dressing
Cornbread: For this dish, you can create your own cornbread or use cornbread from the grocery store. To begin, slice the bread into little pieces and bake them at a low temperature to solidify them. For comparable results, you could alternatively leave the bread pieces out overnight, uncovered.
Meat: I added mild ground sausage to give the mixture some flavor. For meatless stuffing, you may use a different type of meat or omit it altogether. If you do not use the sausage, just season the celery and onions.
Chicken Broth: If you don’t have chicken stock on hand, you can use it, but it will taste a little stronger.
Egg: This component keeps everything together.
Getting the cornbread ready
Cutting the cornmeal into bite-sized pieces is the first step in this recipe. Then, if using freshly baked cornbread, put the pieces on a baking sheet coated with parchment paper and bake them at 200°F for 20 minutes or until they begin to toast. If you are using stale cornbread, you can omit this step. If the cornbread is left out overnight, uncovered, it may become moldy. This will slightly solidify the bread. In a big bowl, place the cornmeal and put it aside.
How to Prepare Dressing for Cornbread
When your cornbread is finished, combine the remaining ingredients and bake them. First, sauté the celery and onions until the celery is transparent. Add the celery and onions to the bowl of cornbread pieces.
Next, the sausage should be browned in the same skillet until it is no longer pink. Add the thyme, rosemary, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the seasoned sausage mixture to the bowl with the cornbread and cook for another minute.
Next, mix the egg and chicken broth in a small bowl. Mix all the ingredients and pour this over the cornbread mixture. Lastly, fill the baking dish with the cornbread stuffing mixture. Bake, covered with aluminum foil, until cooked through, about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take off the foil and bake for another 10 minutes if you want the top to be crispier. Serve right away.
Is it possible for me to make this dress in advance?
Indeed! To avoid toasting the cornbread, leave it out for a few days. Next, put the cornbread dressing together until it’s ready to bake. After that, place the dish in the refrigerator for up to a day ahead of time and cover it with plastic wrap. As directed, bake it in the oven when it’s ready. (If you want to cook it through, you might need to bake it for a few more minutes.)
Are You a Fan of Cornbread?
I have some cornbread you might want to try if you enjoy it but don’t want to use it in dressing. My cake-like cornbread (a sweeter kind), country-style cornbread, and jalapeño cornbread are all delectable on their own!