The Thanksgiving planner

Southern cornbread dressing

The way it's done across the South: crumbled cornbread, plenty of celery and sage, baked until it sets like a savory spoonbread.

40 min hands-on2 hr start to finishOven 375°F for 45 min · or bake it Wednesday and reheat 25 minTravels well
Cooking for46810121620
Southern cornbread dressing

Photo: Alabama Extension, CC0

When to make it

Bake the cornbread up to 3 days ahead. Assemble the dressing Wednesday and bake Thursday.

Add it to your plan and Chef puts these on the right days, and fits it into your oven on Thursday.

For 8

  • ¾pan of cornbread (9 by 13 inches) use the cornbread recipe, or about 2 lb store-bought
  • 3 sliceswhite sandwich bread dried
  • ½ stick (5 tbsp)unsalted butter
  • 1½yellow onions diced
  • 4celery ribs diced
  • ¾green bell pepper diced
  • 1½ tbspfresh sage, chopped
  • ¾ tspdried thyme
  • 3¼ cupschicken or turkey stock
  • 2½eggs
  • ¾ tspkosher salt
  • ¾ tspblack pepper

How to make it

  1. Crumble

    Crumble the cornbread and white bread into a large bowl and let it dry out at least overnight.

  2. Cook the vegetables

    Melt the butter in a skillet and cook the onions, celery and pepper over medium heat 12 minutes, until very soft. Stir in the sage and thyme.

  3. Mix

    Add the vegetables to the bread. Beat the eggs into the stock with the salt and pepper, pour it over and stir. It should look wetter than you think, like thick oatmeal: add more stock if not.

  4. Bake

    Heat the oven to 375°F. Spread it in a buttered 9 by 13-inch dish and bake uncovered 45 minutes, until set in the middle and golden brown on top.

Chef's notes

  • Taste the mix before the eggs go in and fix the salt then.

More for the table

Sausage, apple and sage stuffing1 hr 50 minMake-ahead turkey gravy3 hr · Dairy-freeButtery mashed potatoes1 hr · Vegetarian, Gluten-freeBaked mac and cheese1 hr 15 min · VegetarianHoney-roasted carrots with thyme40 min · Vegetarian, Gluten-freeSkillet cornbread35 min · Vegetarian

Every recipe here is Chef Amazing's own, written for this planner, with real quantities. Scale it with Cooking for, or add it to your plan and Chef scales it to your guest list.

Free, no account. Your plan is kept under a private link only you have. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each recipe. Privacy