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.
I’m a little worried. I made the cornbread according to the recipe but when it was finished it didn’t look like it would be enough to make dressing with. When I saw your video, the finished result looked like alot of dressing. On the video, did you double the ingredients or is it the same amount as the ingredients say? I just want to make enough for a few people, seconds, and leftovers. Thanks!
Thanks for the recipe, going to try it. Where is the recipe for the seasoning,it says it follows??
Does it make a diff w white or yellow cornmeal?
Monique, like you I thought dressing was too complicated and would not prepare it. My mom died when I was young girl but I remember her dressing was delicious but no matter how I tried I could not duplicate the flavor so I stopped making it and used stove top instead. However, last year I came across your web site with this recipe and decided to go for it. Was I glad I did. It was easy to prepare and it had the flavors of my mom’s dressing (minus giblets). My family loved it. Now I don’t dread making dressing and it is on my thanks day menu this year. Instead of the breast I want to use thighs because I find thighs have more flavor and are not as dry. My question to you is do you prefer bone-in or boneless chicken? Thank you and keep sharing the delicious recipes.
I came across this site and absolutely fell in love, this is my first time making dressing and it came out wonderful! I will be using this recipe for the holidays.
I made this the other day simply because I had a taste for some dressing (didn’t have any at Christmas). I was so impressed by how easy it was. I have made dressing before, but it has never tasted this good. Thank you so much for the recipe. What a ministry you have!
I did add some extra broth to mine because it wasn’t moist enough for my liking. Other than that, it was fab!!! We are on day two of the dressing today, and it is very moist and incredibly flavorful.