Cornbread Sausage Dressing

Baked cornbread sausage stuffing in white casserole dish.

Made with cornbread for that classic crumbly texture and French bread to soak up all the amazing flavors. Ground sausage adds extra flavor that everyone will fall in love with. Popular for Thanksgiving and Christmas meal gatherings!

Course holiday side dish, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Extra time for making the cornbread and French bread cubes. 1

Total Time 2

Servings

Calories 325kcal

Author Anne Clark

Equipment

cheese grater for grating the onion and celery
measuring cup(s)
measuring spoons
11.5 x 8 x 2 inch (2 qt) casserole dish
sheet pan for toasting the French bread cubes

Ingredients

1 pan cooked and cooled cornbread. Make sure you have the ingredients you need to make cornbread (corn meal mix, eggs, milk, oil, etc.) I tested the recipe with Martha White Self-Rising Corn Meal Mix
¼ loaf French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes and oven-dried see Notes for how to dry out the bread

Dressing Ingredients

4 cups cornbread cubes, about 1" cubes see Notes about the cornbread
1 cup dried French bread cubes
½ lb ground breakfast sausage
½ cup grated yellow onion (about ½ med onion) see Notes about grating the onion
½ cup grated celery (about 2 celery stalks) see Notes about grating the celery
2 large eggs
2 cups chicken broth
⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon unsalted poultry seasoning
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick spray. I tested this recipe with an 11.5 x 8 x 2 inch (2 qt) casserole dish.
Add the sausage, onion, and celery to a skillet and cook until the sausage is browned and no longer pink. Turn off the heat and set skillet to the side to cool. If there is any grease in the skillet, drain it off.
In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs and lightly whisk them. Then add the cornbread cubes, French bread cubes, chicken broth, parsley, poultry seasoning, black pepper, and sausage-onion-celery mixture.
Toss gently, making sure the cornbread and French bread cubes are moistened but don't overmix because you want the cubes to remain somewhat intact but not completely crumbled.
Pour the mixture into the casserole dish, spread it out evenly but don't mash it down.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes.
If desired, serve the remaining loaf of French bread, sliced, buttered, and toasted, with the rest of your meal. Or save it for another day!

Notes

Cornbread Notes

Make a regular sized pan of cornbread (I tested the recipe with Martha White Self-Rising Corn Meal Mix. I used the cornbread recipe on the side of the container). Traditional southern cornbread is not sweet, so I do not recommend Jiffy or adding sugar to the batter unless that's what you and your family are accustomed to.

After the cornbread is baked, let it completely cool off. You can make the cornbread the day before if you want to. Then cut it up into approximately 1-inch cubes. Do not crumble the cornbread, you want this dressing to be chunky with some crumbs.

French Bread Notes

The bread you use must be dried out or the dressing will be too mushy. After you've cubed it, you can let it sit out for 24 hours or bake it in the oven (the oven method is the best method to get the driest bread cubes). I use French bread because it's less moist than regular loaf bread. Cut it into approximately 1-inch squares until you have about 2 cups of cubed bread (you only need 1 cup for the recipe but I always make a little extra just in cases it's needed. Place on a sheet pan and bake at 300F for 15 minutes. Then let the bread cubes cool off. They should be fairly hard like croutons. You can do this step the day before if you want to.

Grating the Onion and Celery

I like to use a box grater because (1) it's super easy to do, (2) there are no big chunks in the dressing, and (3) the shredder takes away those pesky strings on the celery. Use the large holes to do this step.

Easy prep-ahead recipe: Make the cornbread 1 day before you make the dressing. Toast the French bread cubes 1-2 days before making the dressing. Store in airtight containers until ready to use.

Make-ahead friendly: You can mix everything up 1 day before you plan to serve it; that way, the only thing you need to do on serving day is bake it! Be sure to store it covered in the refrigerator, and you may need to bake it a few minutes longer to account for it going into the oven very cold.

Bake and Freeze for Later: Make and bake the dressing, and let it cool completely. Wrap it in foil then place into a thick ziplock bag, write the date on it, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before heating it up. Bake covered at 350F until nice and hot. Add a little broth if it seems dry.

Ingredient Substitutions and Additions: See the post above for the list of items that can be added or swapped.

Nutrition