Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe ~Soul Food Style~ (2024)

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posted by divas can cook on Nov 4, 2011 (updated Nov 14, 2022) 365 comments »

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4.60 from 330 ratings

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!!

Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe ~Soul Food Style~ (2)

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.

My Grandma’s Homemade Cornbread Dressing Before It Get’s Devoured On Thanksgiving!

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.

Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe ~Soul Food Style~ (4)

Get the Recipe: Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe ~Soul Food Style~

4.60 from 330 ratings

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Servings: 10

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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

Use day-old cornbread for the best result or toast the cornbread to dry it out.
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.

Author: Divas Can Cook

Tried this recipe?Mention @divascancook on Instagram or tag #divascancook.

Now all you need is some juicy turkey and home-style gravy!!

Bread Recipes Holiday Holiday Side Dishes Side Dish Soul Food Classics Southern Classics Thanksgiving

originally published on Nov 4, 2011 (last updated Nov 14, 2022)

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365 comments on “Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe ~Soul Food Style~”

Leave a comment »

  1. Martina Reply

    I’ve been using this recipe for about three years and the best. It tastes exactly how it did when I was growing up and my grandmother made it for Sunday dinner. Will be using this recipe for years to come.

  2. Cindy Reply

    Hello can you tell me the amount of cornbread crumbs you get in cups per your cornbread recipe. Thank you very much for your recipe. Cindy

  3. Rochelle Reply

    I’ve always used your dressing recipe since I found it 2 or 3 years ago. Very moist, just amazing! Always a hit with my family. I’ve tried some of your other recipes and they are all amazing. My husband has been browsing your dessert recipes to see what I should try next lol. Thank you for sharing your recipes!

  4. Cindy Reply

    My favorite dressing recipe. I will sometimes throw some oysters in for hubby though.

  5. rose Reply

    Love this Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe, super excited to try this delicious and unique recipe. Will definitely gonna try this recipe, thanks for sharing this one with us.

Leave a Reply

Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe ~Soul Food Style~ (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between cornbread and Southern cornbread? ›

She notes that Northern cornbread is sweeter, lighter, and more cake-like than Southern cornbread. Not surprisingly, it includes sugar (or molasses, in the earlier centuries), unlike traditional Southern cornbread.

How to make Paula Deen cornbread dressing? ›

In a large bowl, whisk together broth, soup, eggs, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper; stir in vegetable mixture. Crumble cornbread into broth mixture and stir until well combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake until center is set, 45 to 55 minutes.

What is the difference between cornbread dressing and stuffing? ›

So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish. Additionally, dressing, especially in the American South, is often made with cornbread instead of pieces of a baguette or plain ol' white bread.

What is cornbread dressing made of? ›

Add sautéed onion and celery to the crumbled cornbread. Stir in chicken stock, eggs, sage, salt, and pepper until well combined. Pour dressing into the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven until dressing just starts to turn golden brown around the edges, about 30 minutes.

Why do Southerners not put sugar in cornbread? ›

Sugar in the cornbread interferes with the flavor of the vegetables. Don't put sugar in your cornbread! Traditional cornbread isn't sweet, but many favorite recipes have sugar in them.

Which makes better cornbread white or yellow cornmeal? ›

Southerners, on the other hand, tend to prefer white cornmeal. Many people believe that it is because, in the old South, families used white cornmeal as it more closely resembled “fancy” European wheat flour. In any case, today it remains a main component in traditional Southern buttermilk cornbread.

How do you keep cornbread dressing from getting gummy? ›

Stir occasionally to ensure even drying. And if your dressing is still too mushy after baking, you can add more crumbled cornbread, dry bread, or even dry breadcrumbs or croutons to absorb excess moisture. Mix it in gently, so you don't compress the dressing too much.

Why is my cornbread dressing bland? ›

Avoid bland dressing by making sure to include plenty of onions, celery, and herbs in your recipe. Now is not the time to go easy with the sage, thyme, and pepper. The dressing should taste different from your cornbread.

Why is my cornbread dressing mushy? ›

If your cornbread dressing is mushy, be sure you baked it in a wide enough pan.

Do Southerners eat stuffing or dressing? ›

This is down to a science: A 2015 survey conducted on behalf of the poultry company Butterball revealed that, regardless of how the dish was cooked, most of the country—including 100 percent of New Englanders—refers to the side as stuffing, while Southerners are devoted dressing fans.

What do Southerners call stuffing? ›

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

What is the difference between stuffing and dressing black folks? ›

The stuffing mixture may be cooked separately and served as a side dish, in which case it may still be called 'stuffing', or in some regions, such as the Southern US, 'dressing'. This is from Wiki. Basically, everyone except a tiny percentage of Black people with family in Alabama calls it stuffing.

What is cornbread called in the South? ›

It is commonly called "cornbread" in the Southern United States and is not known by a different name in this region. Cornbread is a simple bread that is made by mixing cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and milk to form a batter, which is then baked in the oven.

Is it better to use broth or stock for dressing? ›

You can use either stock or broth for keeping dressing moist or as a basis for gravy, but a strong flavor will give you better results.

What is Southern cornbread made of? ›

In a large mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients: cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and buttermilk. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well. Take the cast iron skillet out of the oven and pour the batter into it.

What does Southern cornbread taste like? ›

The texture was coarse and crumbly, while the taste was plain and bland. Up until that point in my life, I had only consumed sweetened Yankee cornbread and was completely unaware of the savory Southern variety.

What is Southern cornbread called? ›

A hoecake is cornbread made minimalist—a thin, unleavened round made from the simplest batter (cornmeal, water, and salt), crisp at the edges, glistening on both sides from the fat it was fried in, golden in patches.

Should Southern cornbread be sweet? ›

In 1892, a Times correspondent, after enumerating the many types of corn-based breads eaten in Virginia, noted, "It will be observed that in none of them is sugar used. There are cornmeal puddings served with sweet sauces, but no Southern cook would risk the spoiling of her cornbreads by sweetening them."

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