Best Cornbread Dressing

serving of cornbread dressing on a plate with a fork

Delicious Cornbread Dressing is the perfect side dish to round out your holiday feast! It’s light, fluffy and moist, with the perfect balance of sweet from the cornbread, maple sausage and cranberries and savory from the chicken broth and herbs. It's an easy, crowd-pleasing recipe that can be made ahead of time.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 449

Author Kim

Ingredients

2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
2 cups finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 cups plain Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
2 large eggs lightly beaten
2-3 teaspoons dried rosemary
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries or craisins
1 (1 pound) roll maple sausage fully cooked and drained
4 cups chicken broth more or less depending on how moist you like your dressing
salt and pepper to taste
optional for garnish: chopped fresh parsley and/or fresh rosemary

Instructions

Prepare the cornbread according to instructions on the box. Before transferring to pan, stir in the celery and onion to the cornbread batter. Bake as directed.
Cool the cornbread for a couple of hours and then crumble into medium size pieces.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Place the cornbread crumbles in a VERY large bowl with Panko bread crumbs and melted butter and toss to combine. Add the eggs, salt + pepper to taste, rosemary, cranberries and sausage. Stir to combine.
Mix in broth a little at a time, until it is the consistency you like.
Transfer the stuffing mixture to the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, checking often. Add more broth, if you feel like the dressing looks too dry for your preference.
Sprinkle with parsley and garnish with fresh rosemary, if desired. Serve warm.

Notes

*Prep and cook time does not include the time needed to make and cool the cornbread.

Storing. Leftover dressing will stay good if covered tightly and kept in the fridge for up to about 5 days. Simply reheat in the oven or microwave before serving.
Freezing. Unbaked cornbread dressing can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3-4 weeks. Just thaw in the fridge overnight before baking the next day. Already baked cornbread dressing can also be frozen up to 3 months.
Reheating. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, allow to come to room temperature, then reheat it in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until warmed through, before serving.

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