Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe ~Soul Food Style~
You are viewing the original dressing recipe posted in 2009. I have since updated the recipe (photo below) and you can find it HERE. If you prefer this recipe then just keep reading. I decided to leave it up just in case.
Watch me make this southern cornbread dressing recipe from start to finish!
Original Post
If you’ve ever wondered how to make a flavorful, homemade Southern Cornbread dressing, then let me share with you my grandmother’s recipe. This dressing is usually the ONLY dressing I will eat. It is moist, full of that soul food flavor, and as southern as it gets! I’m talking Elberton, Georgia southern!!
My grandmother has been making this dressing for EVERYBODY’S Thanksgiving since I was a baby. People put in their requests for her to make them a pan for their Thanksgiving dinner months ahead of time.
When she gave me this recipe I was surprised to discover how easy it was. All this time I thought it was some complicated process. Now if you want this dressing to be darker then you can put in more seasonings. My grandmother puts in a crapload, but I find it tastes delish with just a teaspoon of each, especially if I’m going to be serving it with some flavorful gravy.
If you have a favorite southern cornbread recipe (not the sweet kind) then use that. If not I’ve listed a basic, easy one below.
Get the Recipe: Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe ~Soul Food Style~
Ingredients
BASIC CORNBREAD RECIPE
- 1 cup self-rising cornmeal
- 1/2 cup self-rising flour
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
DRESSING RECIPE
- Cornbread, 9x9 inch pan (my grandmother always uses day old cornbread)
- 3 pieced of toast, crumbled (or stale bread)
- 1 cup onions, diced (about half of a large onion)
- 1 cup celery, diced (about 3 stalks)
- 1 cup green bell peppers, diced, (about 1 medium green bell pepper. You could also add in some red bell pepper as well if you'd like)
- 1 cooked chicken breast or cooked chicken thighs, shredded
- 2 eggs
- 3-4 cups chicken or turkey broth
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sage
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- To make the cornbread, in a bowl,whisk together the cornmeal & flour.
- Add in the buttermilk, eggs & oil.
- Stir just until combined. Do not over work the batter.
- Pour into a greased, 9 x9 baking dish.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until done.
- Let cool.
- Once cooled break up the cornbread and toast it in the oven to dry it out. *See note*
- Set aside.
- To make the dressing, add the dried cornbread and crumbled toast into a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, sauté onions, celery and green bell peppers in a little bit of butter or olive oil until tender.
- Add the sautéed veggies into the cornbread mixture.
- Add shredded chicken into the cornbread mixture.
- Stir together to combine.
- Add in the broth a little at a time. (Add in just enough to make everything thick & a little soupy.)
- Stir in poultry seasoning, sage, and black pepper.
- Give it a taste and add more seasonings if desired. It should taste exactly the way you want your dressing to taste like.
- When you are content with the taste, go ahead and stir in the eggs.
- Pour into a buttered 9 X 13 casserole pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until set.
Video
Notes
Be sure to taste it before adding the eggs and adjust the seasonings to your liking. You can also use chicken thighs for more flavor.
My grandmother uses red bell pepper as well sometimes.
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This us the way my mom used to make dressing. This is the real deal!
It was amazingly done by me
This is so delicious! I wasn’t about to make myself wait for a holiday so this was Sunday dinner. I swapped the chicken meat for Jimmy Dean since I was roasting a chicken and I have to have some sausage in my dressing. Loved the veggies in it and the seasoning was perfect. I served this with the roast chicken, some candied yams & green beans. Fantastic! Since it wasn’t a holiday dinner, we kept all the leftovers!
Amazing! Elberton, Georgia is my home town too! Your grandmom’s dressing recipe is so similar to my mom’s’ dressing. And yes, these are the exact steps we follow!!!!! Thank you!
I love this recipe I have made it my family recipe,from now on…my grandmother passed away and forgot to give me her recipe and this recipe was exactly like hers…we all loved it