Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing

This traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing is made with homemade buttermilk cornbread, and makes a large batch that's perfect for serving a Thanksgiving crowd.  Got a smaller Thanksgiving crew?  Cut the recipe in half and you'll still be good to go with the cornbread dressing deliciousness!

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It's beginning to look a lot like ... Thanksgiving! You thought I was going to say Christmas, didn't you?  Well, not quite yet. We've got this fabulous little holiday called Thanksgiving to get to first. -- I mean, Thanksgiving's a holiday that revolves around fantastic food, so who would want to skip right past it?

Hand's down, my favorite Thanksgiving food is the stuffing, also known as "dressing" as I've learned since moving to the South. Apparently, what you call this Thanksgiving staple dish depends in large part on where you live. 

According to a "Thanksgiving Across America" survey conducted some time ago by Mrs. Cubbison's brand, Southerners tend to say "dressing" while people in the East, Midwest and West say "stuffing." I grew up saying "stuffing" ... but now can quite successfully interchange the two terms. The Northern side of my family cooks stuffing inside the turkey, hence its "stuffing" name. The Southern side of my family all makes dressing cooked in a baking dish separate from the bird.

Southerners tend to say "dressing" while people in the East, Midwest and West say "stuffing."

So today I bring you this traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing recipe. And yes, I'm using the term dressing for this one -- because this recipe comes from the Southern side of my family and is prepared in a baking dish separate from the Thanksgiving turkey.

This dressing version is made with a wonderful combination of homemade cornbread and classic herb-seasoned stuffing mix. Using the combination of homemade cornbread and prepared stuffing mix brings a really nice texture to the dressing -- it's not too soft-and-mushy, and also not too dry. We think it's just right.

We did compare the mixed cornbread/prepared stuffing version to a "full cornbread" version using cornbread stuffing mix instead of an herb-seasoned mix, as well as to an all homemade cornbread and an all prepared stuffing mix version.

We found that from both a texture and flavor perspective, we love this combination version best.

What's to Love About This Recipe?

• A Southern classic - On many Southern tables, it's not Thanksgiving without cornbread dressing! -- And this Southern Cornbread Dressing recipe is the straight-up classic version, for sure.
• Homemade cornbread base - A batch of homemade buttermilk cornbread serves as the foundation of this tasty cornbread dressing.
• Nice texture - A combination of homemade cornbread and classic herb-seasoned stuffing mix brings a really nice texture to the dressing -- it's not too soft-and-mushy, and also not too dry. We happen to think it's just right!
• Fabulous flavor - That wonderful combo of cornbread and herb-seasoned stuffing mix (nicely accented by celery and onion, of course) also creates truly fabulous flavor.
• Big batch for a crowd - This Cornbread Dressing recipe makes a large batch that's perfect for serving a Thanksgiving crowd. But if you've got a smaller Thanksgiving crew, simply cut the recipe in half and you're still good to go with the cornbread dressing deliciousness.

How to Make Southern Cornbread Dressing:

The first step in whipping up a pan of this Southern Cornbread Dressing is to bake up a batch of homemade buttermilk cornbread. Buttermilk helps make a nicely-textured cornbread that's not too dry. For me, buttermilk in cornbread is the only way to go.

Mix up a simple cornbread batter with a combination of yellow cornmeal and all-purpose flour, along with buttermilk and other basic baking ingredients. Then pop it in the oven to bake.

Once the cornbread is baked, let it cool completely. Then crumble the cornbread into pieces in a large mixing bowl. -- And you'll want to use a very large mixing bowl, for sure. There's a lot of stuff to mix up for this recipe.

Add herb-seasoned stuffing mix to the crumbled cornbread and combine the mixture with some beaten eggs.

Add in lots of sauteed celery and onions.

And then add a good bit of chicken broth. 

After adding the chicken broth, the dressing mixture will be kind of soupy, sort of like a thick cake batter. -- Don't worry, it will bake up nicely into a spongy bread texture once cooked.

Spoon the dressing mixture into a baking dish. Actually, you'll need to spoon the dressing mixture into two dishes -- both a 13x9" baking dish and a 9x9" baking dish.

This cornbread dressing recipe makes such a big batch, it'll take both pans to hold all the dressing! Which, hey, makes this a perfect cornbread dressing recipe for feeding a crowd.

Finally, bake the dressing until it's golden brown and set in the middle. Baking will take just about an hour for the larger pan, and approximately 45 minutes or so for the smaller pan.

Once it's baked, cut out a big hunk and serve it up with your other turkey day favorites.  

Oh, I think you'll enjoy this truly Southern traditional dish! Made with a tasty combination of homemade buttermilk cornbread and prepared herb-seasoned stuffing mix, this cornbread dressing recipe makes a large batch that's just perfect for serving a Thanksgiving crowd.  

But if you've got a smaller Thanksgiving crew? Cut the recipe in half and you'll still be good to go with the cornbread dressing deliciousness!

Check out these other classic Southern sides:

• Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
• Sweet Potato Pie
• New Year's Day Black-Eyed Peas
• Vidalia Onion Casserole
• How to Cook Collard Greens
• Southern Collard Greens
• Collards & Cabbage Mixed Greens
• Pineapple Casserole
• Spicy Pickled Okra
• Fritter-Fried Okra
• Southern Deviled Eggs
• More side dishes

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground.  We'd love to have you back soon!

Southern cornbread dressing recipe, how to make dressing, how to make Southern cornbread dressing, Thanksgiving side dishes

Side Dishes

Yield: 18-24 servings

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing

This traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing is made with homemade buttermilk cornbread, and makes a large batch that's perfect for serving a Thanksgiving crowd. Got a smaller Thanksgiving crew? Cut the recipe in half and you'll still be good to go with the cornbread dressing deliciousness!

prep time: 40 Mcook time: 1 H & 25 Mtotal time: 1 H & 65 M

ingredients:

For the Buttermilk Cornbread:

• 2 c. yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 c. buttermilk
• 2 T. butter

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 c. butter
• 5 celery ribs, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 bunches green onions, chopped (both white and green parts)
• 8 c. (16 oz.) herb-seasoned stuffing mix (I use Pepperidge Farm)
• 5 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper

instructions:

How to cook Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing

Prepare the Buttermilk Cornbread:

1. Preheat oven to 425℉.
2. In a large bowl combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a small bowl, stir together buttermilk and eggs. Add buttermilk and egg mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.
3. Melt butter in a 9" round cake pan in the preheated oven. Stir melted butter into the cornbread batter until just combined. 
4. Pour batter into the hot cake pan.
5. Bake at 425℉ for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool completely and crumble.

Prepare the Dressing:

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and green onion; saute until tender.
2. Lightly beat eggs in a large bowl. Stir in crumbled cornbread, sauteed vegetables, stuffing mix, chicken broth, salt, and pepper until well blended (the mixture will be soupy).
3. Spoon dressing into a lightly greased 13x9" baking dish and a 9x9" baking dish (it'll take both pans to hold all the dressing).
4. Bake uncovered at 350℉ until golden brown and set in the center, about 1 hour for the 13x9" pan and about 45-50 minutes for the 9x9" pan.

TRACEY'S NOTES

1. This recipe makes a large batch of cornbread dressing perfect for serving a Thanksgiving crowd. You could easily make half a batch for a smaller group.
2. You could make a "full cornbread" version by using cornbread stuffing mix instead of herb-seasoned stuffing mix. We've tried both and like the flavor of the combination better.
3. Using the combination of both homemade cornbread and prepared stuffing mix makes for a fabulous texture. We've compared the texture to dressings made with all homemade cornbread and made with all prepared stuffing mix ... we love the combination best.

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