This Southern cornbread dressing is a Thanksgiving classic made with homemade cornbread, buttery sautéed onion and celery, fresh sage, and chicken stock, all baked until golden on top and tender in the middle. It's savory, comforting, and made completely from scratch!
My grandmother made this dressing every Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember, and it's still the dish I look forward to most on the table. Over the years I've worked out her method so it comes out moist and full of flavor every time. Like any good dressing, it starts with a batch of real homemade cornbread and a little patience to let the bread dry out first.
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Quick Look
- Flavors: Savory and buttery with warm, sage-forward herbs. Golden and crisp on top, moist and tender in the middle.
- Key ingredients: Homemade cornbread, onion, celery, fresh sage, and chicken stock.
- Prep & cook time: About 30 minutes of prep and 45 minutes to bake, plus time to make and dry the cornbread (best done a day ahead).
- Cooking method: Dry out homemade cornbread and white bread, toss with butter-sautéed onion and celery, sage, and thyme, then bind with chicken stock and eggs and bake at 350°F for about 40-45 minutes, until golden and set.
- Serving suggestions: A Southern holiday side that serves about 10 - perfect with roast turkey and gravy, cranberry sauce, and the rest of your Thanksgiving spread.
Why this Recipe Works
- It's made from scratch. Real homemade cornbread beats a box mix or canned soup every time, and it's what gives this dressing its flavor and texture.
- It stays moist, not dry. Drying the bread first lets it soak up the stock without turning to mush, so you get a dressing that's tender in the middle with a golden top.
- It's a make-ahead friend. The cornbread can be baked days in advance, and the whole dish assembled ahead, which is exactly what you want on a busy Thanksgiving morning.
Ingredient Notes
For the cornbread:
- Cornmeal and flour: The base of a sturdy, from-scratch cornbread. A tablespoon of sugar keeps it just barely sweet, the way good Southern cornbread should be.
- Buttermilk: Adds tang and tenderness. It's worth using the real thing here.
- Butter and eggs: For richness and structure.
For the dressing:
- Onion and celery: The savory backbone. Sauté them in butter until soft to build flavor before they go in.
- Fresh sage and thyme: Sage is the signature flavor of good dressing. Fresh sage is worth it, but dried works in a pinch.
- Chicken stock: The key to moisture and flavor. Use a good-quality stock, or turkey stock if you have it, especially if you're making this with your Thanksgiving bird.
- White bread: A few slices, dried and cubed, add texture alongside the cornbread.
- Eggs: They bind everything together so the dressing holds when you scoop it.
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Make the cornbread. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In another bowl, whisk the melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs. Combine, pour into a greased pan, and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Cool completely. (This is best done a day ahead.)
- Dry out the bread. Cut the cornbread and white bread into ½-inch cubes and spread them on baking sheets. Dry them in a 275°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or leave them out uncovered overnight. Dry bread is the secret to dressing that isn't soggy.
- Sauté the aromatics. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion and celery until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sage, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Combine everything. In a large bowl, toss the cubed cornbread and white bread with the sautéed vegetables. Add the beaten eggs and milk, then pour in the chicken stock about a cup at a time, stirring until the mixture is moist throughout but not soupy.
- Bake. Transfer to a greased 9x13-inch baking dish and bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and the dressing is set. Let it rest a few minutes before serving.
Expert Tips
- Make the cornbread a day ahead. Day-old cornbread holds its shape when you mix in the wet ingredients instead of turning to paste. It also breaks up one big recipe into two easy steps.
- Add the stock gradually. Pour it in a cup at a time and stop when the mixture is evenly moist but not swimming. You want it very moist, not wet. Different batches of cornbread absorb moisture differently depending on how dry you get it, so go by feel. Just remember the liquids will absorb more as it sits.
- Don't overbake. Pull it once the top is golden and the center is set. Too long in the oven is the fastest way to dry it out.
What to Serve with Cornbread Dressing
This traditional southern cornbread dressing is a Thanksgiving and Christmas classic, and it is perfect with roasted turkey breast or my Cajun roasted turkey! It's also great with classic holiday sides like Green Bean Casserole and Sweet Potato Soufflé.
But cornbread dressing doesn't have to be a once-a-year dish. It's also tasty with roasted chicken, baked ham, and many other meals too!
Storage and Reheating
- To store: Keep leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To freeze: Freeze cooled dressing, well wrapped, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- To reheat: Warm it in a 325°F oven, covered, until heated through. A splash of stock before reheating brings back moisture. Cover it so the top doesn't dry out.
Make-Ahead Tips
This dressing is built for making ahead. Bake the cornbread up to two days early and store it at room temperature. You can also assemble the entire dish, cover it, and refrigerate it unbaked overnight. My grandmother and mother always did it this way, and there's a real benefit beyond convenience: letting the assembled dressing rest overnight gives the stock time to soak all the way through the bread, so it bakes up more evenly moist. Let it sit on the counter while the oven heats, then bake as directed, adding a few extra minutes since it's going in cold.
Recipe Variations
- Sausage - Sage sausage is a traditional addition to cornbread dressing. To add, cook the sausage in your saucepan before cooking the onion and celery. When cooked through, transfer it to a plate, but do not wipe the pan. Omit the added tablespoon of oil and use the sausage fat instead when cooking the onion and celery.
- Mushrooms - Sautéed mushrooms are a tasty addition to add a savory umami flavor to the dressing.
- Fruit or Nuts - Dried cranberries, chopped nuts, and chopped apples are other tasty additions as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
It mostly comes down to how it's cooked. Stuffing is cooked inside the bird, while dressing is baked separately in a dish. In the South, cornbread-based versions are almost always called dressing, whether or not anything ever goes near the turkey.
I highly recommend drying your own bread cubes for the best results and not the packaged dried bread cubes. However, around Thanksgiving, your local grocery store bakery department may offer dried bread cubes for stuffing. Around me, they typically have them for the week leading up to the holiday, and I often use these in place of the homemade white bread cubes with good results.
Both come down to the bread and the stock. Dry, day-old bread soaks up liquid without falling apart, so don't skip drying it out. Then add the stock gradually until the mixture is evenly moist but not soggy. That balance is what gives you a tender dressing that still holds together.
Yes. Bake the cornbread up to two days ahead, or assemble the whole dish a day ahead and refrigerate it unbaked. Bake it the day of, straight from the fridge, adding a few minutes to the time.
My grandmother's cornbread dressing is the taste of Thanksgiving for me, and I hope it earns a spot on your holiday table too. If you make it, I'd love to hear how it turned out in the comments below!
More Thanksgiving Side Dishes
📖 Recipe
Cornbread Dressing Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Cornbread
- 2 cups cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
Cornbread Dressing
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 1 Tablespoon fresh sage, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ to 2½ cups unsalted chicken stock, or turkey stock
- ½ cup milk
- 1 batch cornbread, around 6-7 cups, dried and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 3 cups white bread, 4-5 slices, dried and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Make the cornbread: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs. Combine, pour into a greased pan, and bake 20-25 minutes until golden. Cool completely, ideally a day ahead.
- Dry the bread: Cube the cornbread and white bread, spread on baking sheets, and dry in a 275°F oven for 15-20 minutes (or leave out overnight).
- Sauté: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook the onion and celery until soft, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sage, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Combine: In a large bowl, toss the cubed bread with the sautéed vegetables. Add the beaten eggs and milk, then stir in the stock a cup at a time until evenly moist but not soggy.
- Bake: Transfer to a greased 9x13-inch dish and bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes, until golden and set. Rest a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
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