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.
Hi Monique, I’m so glad to have found this recipe. My husband and son are returning from visiting my in-laws so I wanted to surprise them with a special dinner. I’ve grown up with someone else always making the cornbread dressing and lately I’ve decided that I need to learn some of my favorite recipes instead of waiting for others to do it. I’m using my own cornbread recipe, but following your dressing recipe. I’ll be back next week to post my results!
HAHA! I see you talking about Elberton, I am right up the road in Athens. I am going to try this recipe tomorrow!
OK so it took me 5hrs to make this and the macaroni……it looked good but taste deplorable lbvs. First and last time doing that( most men can’t cook is true).
Hello Monique, I have more of a question than a comment. I want to make this cornbread dressing for the first time and i want to make sure that i get everything right. So I was looking at your video and I wanted to know do you use both chicken broth and a turkey paste or just chicken broth. I could not understand what you were saying.
This recipe is wonderful! Each year I search for the elusive perfect cornbread dressing recipe like my Mom made (she never shared her recipes so I have lived years in the dark) and this recipe is spot on. I shared some with friends and have even converted a die hard Yankee white bread stuffed in the turkey (YUK!) fan. Hallelujah! It was moist and so-o-o-o flavorful. Thanks Monique!
I am a new follower and already hooked! I was turned on to your site by the girls at work. I see many folks saying that this is our way to keep old fashioned recipes alive as elders pass on. Just wanted to share that we began taping my grandmother during the holidays as she made some of our family staples. Of course, we could not capture the secret ingredients lol but we got the main stuff. It is a great fun activity and we will have the footage for years to come. Love the site, thank you!