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!
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.
Oh yes, let's not forget about Thanksgiving ... because I absolutely love me some Thanksgiving!
I mean, it's a holiday that involves a lot of fantastic food. What's not to love?
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.
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 either term.
According to the "Thanksgiving Across America" survey recently conducted 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 either term.
Have you started shopping for your turkey day ingredients yet?? I have!
So, ... I guess the term "dressing" isn't the only Southern Thanksgiving habit I've picked up since moving from Vermont to North Carolina. Mrs. Cubbison's survey also found that people in the South start their Thanksgiving shopping the earliest (3 or more weeks before the big day), while those in the Northeast said they start one week before.
There's no way I could wait until just one week before Thanksgiving to begin my shopping and preparation. Even though my Mom does the bulk of our Thanksgiving meal prepartion, I'd still stress out if I waited until a week before the big day to start my part ~ Creamed Pearl Onion Gratin, Cabernet Cranberry Sauce, and our favorite Pumpkin Cheesecake.
And we certainly don't want any Thanksgiving stressing, for sure.
And yes, I'm using the term dressing for this one ... because this recipe comes from the Southern side of my family.
My Mom , who's part of the Northern family side, cooks stuffing inside the turkey. The Southern side all makes dressing cooked in a baking dish separate from the bird.
This dressing version is made with a wonderful combination of homemade cornbread and classic herb-seasoned stuffing mix.
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 ... not too soft-and-mushy ... not too dry. We think it's just right.
We found that from both a texture and flavor perspective, we love this combination version best.
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.
Once the cornbread is baked, let it cool. Then crumble the cornbread into pieces in a large mixing bowl. And you'll want a very large mixing bowl, for sure. There's a lot of stuff to mix up together with 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 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 ~ a 13x9" baking dish and a 9x9" baking dish.
Actually, you'll need to spoon the dressing mixture into two dishes. This cornbread dressing recipe makes such a big batch, it'll take both pans to hold all the dressing!
This cornbread dressing recipe makes such a big batch, it'll take both pans to hold all the dressing!
Which 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.
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 perfect for serving a Thanksgiving crowd.
But 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:
Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!
Yield: 18-24 servings
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:
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- 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.
- Melt butter in a 9" round cake pan in the preheated oven. Stir melted butter into the cornbread batter until just combined.
- Pour batter into the hot cake pan.
- Bake at 425℉ for 25 minutes or until golden. Cool completely and crumble.
Prepare the Dressing:
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery, onion, and green onion; saute until tender.
- 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).
- Spoon dressing into a lightly greased 13x9" baking dish and a 9x9" baking dish (it'll take both pans to hold all the dressing).
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
You might also like these other Thanksgiving favorites:
Wishing you and your family a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you soon!
ReplyDeleteMiz Helen
I grew up in Ohio and our special dish at Thanksgiving was Grandma's Oyster Dressing. Grandma's ancestors in Ohio went back 7 generations--back to the time when Ohio became a state, so no southern ancestors. So I can say not everyone in the north calls it stuffing.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I love southern cornbread dressing and I make it every year that I am cooking! Your recipe looks great!
Love that the stuffing looks crispy on the top and soft on the bottom. Thanks for sharing on Thursdays Treasures. Happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in the midwest and we always called it dressing...LOL but here in SW Florida, we call it stuffing. I will be trying this recipe. Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story and we hope you will join us again next week.
ReplyDeleteJust the way I like it...herb-seasoned stuffing mix and homemade buttermilk cornbread. Your whole meal sounds perfect!
ReplyDelete