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.
No stuffing in this house, and no funny stuff in our dressing. 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.
Table of Contents
Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe
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.
Southern Cornbread Dressing 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, as my Grandmother showed me one day when Granddaddy had grabbed the last couple of biscuits she’d stashed away for her dressing as a “snack.” The bread works perfectly, too!
- 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.
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
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 chicken dressing recipe. Southern Turkey and Dressing Recipe – Stir about 2 cups cooked, shredded turkey into the dressing mixture and bake as directed.Storage Tips
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
This dressing was amazing! My husband and mom raved about it and said it was THE BEST dressing they’ve ever eaten. I followed the recipe exactly (to include using the recommened cornbread recipe). It took much longer for my dressing to cook. I used 3 pieces of bread because I didn’t have biscuits, so maybe they didn’t soak up as much as biscuits would have. This will be my go to dressing recipe every year.
Thank you so much for this recipe 🙂! It was so flavorful and absolutely delicious. I’ve tried so many different recipes and they just never turned out the way I hoped. I told my husband I’ve finally found the best recipe for dressing. I couldn’t believe I only needed 11 ingredients 🙂. My husband even commented that it tastes like his grandmother’s recipe. It’s even better the second day. Thank you, thank you, thank you 🙂
Oh, I’m so glad you loved this dressing recipe, Trina. This is the cornbread dressing my grandmother always made for us.
Hi! I need help. Do I add 1/2 can of water to the cream of chicken soup or use as is? 2 cans or 4 if I do not add water?
Jan, you don’t add any water to the canned soup, just pour it in as is. Use 2 cans of soup. Hope you enjoy!
your cornbread dressing is great, and im from the south! yours is simple but classic and delicious!
Thanks so much, Katrina! We Southerners do like our cornbread dressing, don’t we?
I made this today for the first time, including making your family corn bread recipe and the cream of chicken soup. This was very watery when it went into the oven and it took way longer than expected to get it firm in the middle. I haven’t scooped into it but the dressing seems to be soft and fluffy. I was careful following directions and in my measuring. I hope it’s a hit at our Thanksgiving table.
Audrey, this will be a moist dressing but should not be really soupy. It will be soft and won’t get really firm. Also, make sure you use 2 9×13 pans. It will take a long time to bake in one pan. Hope you enjoy!
I did use 2 pans. It was soft and fluffy and everyone liked it! A keeper recipe!
Audrey, I’m so glad the dressing was a hit!
If I choose not to use the cornbread recipe, how much crumbled cornbread will I need for this recipe?
I’m sorry but I’ve not measured the cornbread in cups, Amber. I just know that the full recipe of the Southern Buttermilk Cornbread is the right amount for the dressing recipe.
Hello I really enjoyed your recipe last year but I can’t remember is the three eggs needed for the dressing mixture separate from the eggs needed for cornbread mix or are you stating 3 eggs needed for the entire dressing recipe including the cornbread mixture? Thank you!
Amber, the eggs and other ingredients listed in the Dressing recipe after the link to the Southern Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe are just for the dressing. Hope you enjoy again this year.
If i were to half the recipe and just do one pan, would I just make half of the cornbread recipe?
Yes, you would just need half the cornbread recipe if you are making half the dressing recipe, Ashley.
Happy Thanksgiving,, i make a good cornbread dressing but i’ve been chasing a desired taste i experienced when a elder lady from church made 3 pans for my grandmas repass in 1996, it was amazing, i’d never heard of cream of chicken and most can goods have MSG and i can’t have that,, Thank you for this alternative,,
I hope you enjoy the dressing. This is the dressing my grandmother always made for us. Happy Thanksgiving!
Ms Robyn i made a test dressing ..OMG let me tell you I GOTTA HER! that elder lady from church that wouldn’t share her recipe ..lol its moist but fluffy, seasoned to perfection , i made everything from scratch including my vegetable turkey wing broth and my cream of vegetable /turkey sauce i mixed in my dressing . i also used chicken sauce out of the casing,, Thank you and God Bless you and your family..
Oh, I’m so glad you loved this dressing. Thanks so much for telling me. Have a happy Thanksgiving.
Your cornbread dressing is like my Granny’s recipe! One question… If I use canned cream of chicken soup, do I prepare the soup before measuring or measure it undiluted?
Donna, just pour the soup undiluted from the can into your dressing mixture. Don’t add any water or anything to the soup. Hope you enjoy and it tastes like your Granny’s dressing.