Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe
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Southern Cornbread Dressing makes a comforting, classic dish for the holidays! This cornbread dressing recipe is moist, delicious, and so easy! An heirloom family favorite recipe that makes the perfect side dish!
Cornbread dressing could easily take center stage at my family’s table during the holidays, especially at Thanksgiving. On that special day, the cornbread dressing really rivals the turkey for attention.
There’s just one rule.
Don’t mess with the recipe. I think I’d no longer be allowed to make it for my family if I “messed” with this traditional family cornbread dressing recipe.
But you know, every family makes their recipes a little bit differently, and that’s what makes family recipes so special, I think! The special touches to suit your family’s taste preferences help you know that those recipes were made with tons of love and care for each person who would gather at the table to enjoy them.
This recipe makes enough for two 9×13 dishes. You can easily half the recipe to make just one or use the freezer-friendly instructions to prepare one to bake now and one to freeze and bake later.
For our cornbread dressing, we use my Grandmother Verdie’s recipe that she got from her own mother. It is a definite heirloom family recipe that my family treasures! It is so incredibly moist and tender and so delicious! Once you taste it, you’ll understand why it is a must-have family favorite recipe.
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
To make it, you’ll need the following ingredients.
- Cornbread – It starts with a skillet of southern buttermilk cornbread. While it only takes 30 minutes to make, you can also easily make it ahead if you’d like. You can prepare it up to two days ahead and keep it covered tightly on the kitchen counter until ready to make your dressing.
- Biscuits or Bread – Likewise, we use leftover biscuits from the day before, but you can also use sliced white bread.
- Seasonings – Salt and pepper add so much flavor to this dressing. If you like the flavor of sage in your dressing, include it as well.
- Eggs – You’ll need three large eggs for the full recipe. If you are making a half recipe, use two eggs.
- Onion – You’ll need one medium-diced onion. The onion adds so much flavor to the recipe. If you do not care for onions, you can omit them or do as I do and have one pan with onions and one without.
- Celery – Two diced stalks of celery are perfect in this recipe.
- Butter – The butter not only adds flavor, but it adds moisture to this cornbread dressing as well. You will slice the butter so that it mixes more easily into the dressing.
- Cream of Chicken Soup – I prefer to use my homemade Cream of Chicken Soup recipe, but you can absolutely use store-bought if you like.
- Chicken Stock or Broth – You will need a good bit of chicken stock or broth. It adds so much moisture to the dressing! If you do not have enough in your dressing, it will make for a dry dressing. Here, again, you can use homemade or store-bought chicken stock or broth, whichever you prefer.
How to Make Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe
- Crumble. Crumble your cornbread and biscuits or bread into small pieces in a large bowl. You’ll want to use the largest bowl you have so that you can really mix this up well. A large stockpot also works well if you do not have a large enough mixing bowl. As a child, this was the part Grandmother let me help her with in making the dressing. It is one of my fondest memories in the kitchen.
- Mix. Now add in the salt, pepper, sage (optional), onion, butter, cream of chicken soup, and chicken stock or broth. Mix well until all of the ingredients are well combined and the mixture is smooth.
- Bake. Pour the mixture into two 9×13 baking dishes and bake until the cornbread dressing is browned and is set, about 30 – 45 minutes.
Recipe Variations
Southern Chicken and Dressing Recipe – Mix about 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken into the dressing mixture and bake as directed for a delicious cornbread dressing with chicken recipe.
Southern Turkey and Dressing Recipe – Stir about 2 cups of cooked, shredded turkey into the dressing mixture and bake as directed.
Gluten-Free Cornbread Dressing – Use gluten-free certified ingredients in the cornbread and gluten-free bread.
Storage Tips
To store leftovers: Wrap 9×13 pan(s) with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Make ahead cornbread dressing: Prepare the dressing without baking and store it in the refrigerator two days ahead or the freezer up to 3 months in advance. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator two days before you are ready to serve to ensure that it is fully thawed. Bake as directed.
To freeze unbaked cornbread dressing: Wrap 9×13 pan(s) with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake, remove from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator. Then, bake the dressing as directed.
To freeze baked cornbread dressing: Allow it to cool completely, then cover the 9×13 pan(s) with plastic wrap and foil (or store in an airtight, freezer-safe container) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator and then reheat.
Expert Tip!
Oven space is at a premium on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas! Here are a few tips that may help with your cornbread dressing:
- Bake your dressing early in the morning. When done, wrap it well and store it in the refrigerator as your turkey roasts.
- While the turkey rests from roasting, place your dressing back into the oven to reheat thoroughly.
More Favorite Holiday Side Dishes
Frequently Asked Questions
Cornbread dressing is cooked in a baking dish, while stuffing is traditionally “stuffed” or cooked inside the cavity of the turkey.
Making sure your cornbread dressing is done is essential. To test doneness, shake the casserole dish lightly. If the center of the dressing moves, then the dressing is not cooked through in the center. Continue baking in 5-minute intervals until the cornbread is cooked through.
Yes! Adding cooked chicken or turkey to your dressing is another family-favorite recipe! See how to make Chicken and Dressing or Turkey and Dressing in my Recipe Variations above.
Here’s the recipe for my family’s Southern Cornbread Dressing. I sure hope you love it as much as we do. We always like to finish it off with a drizzle of giblet gravy or turkey gravy!
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 full recipe Southern Buttermilk Cornbread
- 3 buttermilk biscuits, or 3 slices of sandwich bread or other soft leftover bread
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage, optional
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1/2 cup butter, sliced
- 4 cups cream of chicken soup
- 6 cups chicken stock or broth
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Mix. Crumble all of the cornbread and biscuits (or white bread slices) into a very large bowl. Add salt, pepper, eggs, onion, celery, butter, cream of chicken soup, and chicken stock. Stir until well-combined.
- Bake. Pour dressing into two 9×13 baking dishes and bake until lightly browned, about 30 – 45 minutes. To test doneness, shake casserole dish lightly. If the center of the dressing moves, then the dressing is not cooked through in the center. Continue to bake until the dressing is set throughout.
Notes
- Southern Chicken and Dressing Recipe – Mix about 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken into the dressing mixture and bake as directed for a delicious chicken dressing recipe.
- Southern Turkey and Dressing Recipe – Stir about 2 cups cooked, shredded turkey into the dressing mixture and bake as directed.
- Gluten-Free Cornbread Dressing – Use gluten-free certified ingredients in the cornbread and gluten-free bread.
- To store leftovers. Wrap 9×13 pan(s) with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- To make ahead cornbread dressing: Prepare the dressing without baking and store it in the refrigerator two days ahead or the freezer up to 3 months in advance. If frozen, thaw in the refrigerator two days before you are ready to serve to ensure that it is fully thawed. Bake as directed.
- To freeze unbaked cornbread dressing: Wrap 9×13 pan(s) with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To bake, remove from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator. Then, bake the dressing as directed.
- To freeze baked cornbread dressing: Allow it to cool completely, then cover the 9×13 pan(s) with plastic wrap and foil (or store in an airtight, freezer-safe container) and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator and then reheat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Originally published November 2017. Updated with step-by-step photographs and additional recipe storage information.
If you dont have cream of chicken soup can you substitute chicken broth or milk instead?
You can make the chicken soup, Linda. Just click on the link in the recipe for the cream of chicken soup or on this link for my recipe to make your own. It only takes about 15 – 20 minutes to make.
I have been using this recipe since 2015! My family and I love it. Always turns out just right! Very moist and delicious. Thank you so much! ❤
Thank you, Kim. I’m so glad everyone loves this.
I’m a little confused by the directions. Does this make two 9 by 13 pans? In the instructions you say to pour into 2 9 by 13 pans but in the notes you say to pour into two smaller pans to reduce cooking time.
This recipe makes 2 9×13 pans of dressing. In the notes, I meant you can pour this into smaller than 9×13 pans to reduce cooking time if you wish.
I only have ground sage and poultry seasoning will either of these work?This is my first time making homemade dressing.Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Theresa, the ground sage is much stronger than the rubbed sage. I would use no more than a 1/4 teaspoon of the ground sage if using it. I don’t use sage in my dressing since no one in my family likes so you can omit it if you want. The dressing is still delicious without it.
Thank you so much Robyn.Have a wonderful day.
I was born and raised in NC about 1 hour away from Charlotte, we make our some what like your instead of biscuits we use a bag Pepperidge Farm herb seasoning no cream of chicken we add some of the turkey , boiled eggs chopped up in it but everything else the same.
Isn’t it funny how people from different areas of the South make cornbread dressing with slight variations? Thank you for letting us know how your family makes it, Ronda.
If I opt to use canned cream chick soup should I use it straight from can or mix a can of water before measuring into dressing mix? Your recipe sounds delicious. It’s so similar to mine and I don’t like sage, just salt a pepper to taste. Seriously want to try the soup in it otherwise recipe is just like what i made for years, no recipe just ingredients we like.
Lily, you will need to just add the contents of the can; do not dilute. I use 2 cups of my homemade cream of chicken soup for one can of cream of chicken soup. Hope this helps, Lilly.
This will be my third year in a row using this recipe for our Thanksgiving dressing!
It’s so easy and delicious. My entire family loves it. I’ll be making 6 pans this year-yikes!
Thank you Robyn and Grandmother Virdie.
Wow! That is a lot of dressing, Pam. I’m so glad you and your family love this dressing. My Grandmother Verdie would be so thrilled to know so many people are loving her recipes. Hope you have a very blessed Thanksgiving.
I noticed in an older comment someone made that she said you use 2 cups of your homemade soup to 1 can of store bought. If I’m going by the recipe, would I just use 4 cups of store bought or should I adjust the amount?
Ashley, if you are using canned soup in this dressing recipe, you would only use 2 cans. My homemade cream of chicken soup makes 4 cups. I use 2 cups of my homemade cream of chicken soup in recipes in place of 1 can of cream of chicken soup. Do not dilute the canned soup. Hope you enjoy the dressing!
This is absolutely PERFECT!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I made this last year. My first time making dressing. But didn’t save it. So when I couldn’t find it , I panicked! It is officially saved! Thank you again and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! ❤️
I’m so glad you loved this recipe and could find it again, Stacy. Thank you and I hope you and your family have a very blessed Thanksgiving this year.
I need to make enough of this for 40 people, is 1 9×13 supposed to be 6 servings or 12? Thank you!
Anna, the recipe serves 12 people for each 9×13 pan. You would need to make 2 batches of this recipe to feed 40, so 4 9×13 pans of dressing. Hope everyone enjoys it.
Do you personally add the sage or leave it out? It didn’t look like it was included and curious about how you feel about it. Thank you and look forward to trying it all!
I don’t add the sage to my dressing. Nobody in my family likes the dressing with sage but many do. It is just a matter of preference, Rebecca. I think it is great either way.
am making southern cornbread dressing right now. shouldi dilute the canned cream of chicken soup or use as is
Use the canned soup as it is. Do not dilute. Hope you enjoy!
This recipe is absolutely delicious! The homemade cream of chicken soup makes it extra tasty. Thank you for sharing this! So excited to finally have my perfect cornbread dressing recipe!
Thank you, Elizabeth. I love it with the homemade cream of chicken soup, too.