Classic Cornbread Dressing

4.8
(16)
14 Reviews

A holiday favorite, a Southern classic.

By
Pam Lolley
Pam Lolley
Pam Lolley

Pam Lolley developed and tested recipes for Southern Living Magazine in the Souths most trusted Test Kitchen for 19 years. She worked closely with the editors planning and packaging stories, collaborating with art and photo teams on food styling and recipe reproduction to ensure reader satisfaction, content quality control, and recipe authenticity history and cooking. Her area of expertise was baking and and pastry development and she acted as the point person for these areas in the Test Kitchen. With 30+ years of experience in the culinary field, Pam created and tested 1000s of recipes for Southern Living.

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Updated on November 10, 2023
Recipe tested by
Southern Living Test Kitchen
Southern Living Test Kitchen
Recipe tested by Southern Living Test Kitchen

The Southern Living Test Kitchen has been publishing recipes since 1970, four years after the first issue of Southern Living Magazine appeared on newsstands. The Southern Living Test Kitchen team includes a team of professionals with deep expertise in recipe development, from pastry chefs and grilling experts to nutritionists and dietitians. Together, the team tests and retests, produces, styles, and photographs thousands of recipes each year in the state-of-the-art test kitchen facility located in Birmingham, Alabama.

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Classic Cornbread Dressing
Photo:

VICTOR PROTASIO; PROP STYLING: GINNY BRANCH STELLING; FOOD STYLING: EMILY NABORS HALL
Active Time:
40 mins
Total Time:
3 hrs
Servings:
15

A great Southern-style dressing starts with cornbread that's baked in a skillet for a crisp, golden crust. Our simple recipe can be made up to a month ahead if stored in the freezer. For best results, prepare the cornbread up to two days in advance so it can dry out completely.

Make-Ahead Tip

This recipe can be made a day in advance. Let the cooked dressing cool to room temperature, and then store, covered, in the refrigerator. Reheat before serving.

Classic Cornbread Dressing

VICTOR PROTASIO; PROP STYLING: GINNY BRANCH STELLING; FOOD STYLING: EMILY NABORS HALL

Ingredients

Cornbread:

  • 2 cups self-rising white cornmeal mix

  • 1 tsp. granulated sugar (optional)

  • 2 large eggs

  • 2 cups whole buttermilk

  • 3 Tbsp. salted butter

Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup salted butter

  • 3 cups chopped sweet onion (from 2 large onions)

  • 2 cups chopped celery (from 6 stalks)

  • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage

  • 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

  • 6 large eggs

  • 1 (14-oz.) pkg. herb-seasoned stuffing mix (such as Pepperidge Farm)

  • 10 cups chicken broth

  • 2 tsp. black pepper

  • 1 tsp. kosher salt

Directions

  1. Prepare the Cornbread:

    Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine self-rising cornmeal mix and, if desired, sugar in a large bowl. Stir together eggs and buttermilk in a medium bowl; add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until moistened.

  2. Heat salted butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in preheated oven 5 minutes. Stir melted butter into batter. Pour batter into hot skillet.

  3. Bake in preheated oven until Cornbread is golden, about 25 minutes; cool in skillet 20 minutes. Remove from skillet to a wire rack, and cool completely, 20 to 30 more minutes. Crumble Cornbread. Freeze in a large heavy-duty ziplock plastic bag up to 1 month, if desired. Thaw in refrigerator.

  4. Prepare the Dressing:

    Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high; add onion and celery, and cook, stirring often, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add sage and thyme, and cook, stirring often, 1 minute.

  5. Stir together eggs in a very large bowl; stir in crumbled Cornbread, onion mixture, stuffing mix, chicken broth, black pepper, and kosher salt until blended.

  6. Spoon mixture into 2 lightly greased 13- x 9-inch (3-quart) baking dishes. Cover and freeze up to 3 months, if desired; thaw in refrigerator 24 hours. (Uncover and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.)

  7. Bake Dressing:

    Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven until lightly browned and cooked through, 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

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