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baking dish of dressing

Old-Fashioned Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Old-fashioned Southern cornbread dressing with fresh sage, butter, and perfectly crisp edges. Soft, custardy center and big holiday flavor!
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 468kcal
Author: Ruth Truett

Equipment

  • 9x13 baking pan
  • mixing bowl
  • measuring cups
  • measuring spoons
  • whisk
  • spatula
  • large skillet
  • 9x13 baking dish

Ingredients

Cornbread

  • 1½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1½ cups White Corn Meal I prefer white, but yellow is fine.
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1½ tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 2 teaspoon granulated onion
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • 1¼ cups whole milk
  • ½ cup avocado oil
  • 8 tbsp salted butter, melted
  • 3 large eggs

Cornbread Dressing

  • cornbread from recipe above, crumbled
  • 8 tablespoon butter
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 6 stalks celery, plus any inside pieces with the leaves, chopped
  • 2 tablespoon ground sage
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3-3½ cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
  • ½ cup heavy cream

Instructions

Cornbread

  • Preheat the oven to 350°
  • Mix the dry ingredients together.
  • Add in the milk, eggs, butter, and avocado oil. Combine everything well.
  • Pour mixture into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Break up cornbread with a spatula into bit sized pieces and set aside. It's best if you can do this step the day before.

Cornbread Dressing

  • Raise the temperature of the oven to 400°.
  • In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the onions and celery in the butter along with the dried sage, dried thyme, kosher salt, and pepper.
  • Once the onions and celery are soft, add those to the crumbled cornbread and toss to combine.
  • Add the broth and cream and stir to combine all of these ingredients. This is where I taste to see if I need to add any salt or pepper - before the eggs are added.
  • Once you determined the seasonings for the dressing are good, add in the slightly beaten egg and mix in well. This mixture should be very, very moist, but not soupy.
  • Pour the cornbread dressing into a greased 9x13 baking dish and bake at 400° for about 45-50 minutes or until the dressing is just set and the edges are golden brown.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 1181mg | Potassium: 290mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 904IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 172mg | Iron: 2mg
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