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You are here: Home / NIBBLES / My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing

My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing

November 4, 2021 By Steven 5 Comments

Slightly sweet and buttery with loads of celery and onions, My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing recipe topped with giblet gravy, roast turkey, ham, and creamy mashed potatoes is one of my favorite culinary combinations. The Cornbread Dressing takes on, and compliments all of the other holiday menu items, enhancing their flavors and completing everything on your plate.

Cornbread dressing

An Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing recipe from 1962

My mom got this Cornbread Dressing recipe from a little old church lady back in 1962. Lucky for us, she’s been making it exactly the same way ever since. The ingredients: cornbread, celery, onions, and sage, are simple and make this dish a comforting classic for your Thanksgiving celebration. The key to a truly great Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing is to keep it flavorful, but subtle, and not overwhelm any of the other items on your plate. It’s there in a supporting role, adding to, but not distracting from any of the other dishes that you’ve waited all summer to gorge yourself on. The gravy, mashed potatoes, Buttery Glazed Carrots, Turkey, ham, etc. etc.

Can I make the Cornbread Dressing the day before Thanksgiving?

It’s important to have a plan going into Thanksgiving or any big holiday meal. My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing recipe is one of those make-ahead items that can take some of the pressure off of you on Thanksgiving Day. I make the cornbread on Monday, and make the dressing on Tuesday. Then leave it, uncooked, in the refrigerator until Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, and all that is left to do is bake it.

Forget to buy Buttermilk?

A key ingredient in cornbread and cornbread dressing. Buttermilk is one of those things we do not have in the refrigerator unless we have planned on it well in advance. Luckily, I have a very simple Buttermilk Substitute recipe for just such an occasion. Because you can’t make my Cornbread recipe or My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing without it! Or for that matter, buttermilk pancakes, buttermilk biscuit, etc. etc.

  • How To Make Buttermilk | Buttermilk Substitute

My Mom's Cornbread dressing

Cornbread Dressing Ingredients

  • Cornbread: When we lived in New York City we would go to Sylvia’s Soul Food Restaurant in Harlem on a regular basis. Her cornbread is amazing and I’ve made my cornbread recipe for this dressing similar to Sylvias. You can’t have good Soul Food Cornbread Dressing without good Soul Food Cornbread. The only change I’ve made is to make it a little less sweet for the dressing recipe. Make the cornbread a couple of days before the big holiday meal and let it go stale in the refrigerator. You want dry cornbread in the dressing so it soaks up all the butter, chicken stock, and seasonings while the dressing bakes.
  • Unsalted Butter, Onions, Celery, and Poultry Seasoning: The aromatics, poultry seasoning, and butter sauteing is probably my favorite smell when I think of the Holidays. It was usually my Dad that did this part a couple of days before Thanksgiving. The smell would draw us all into the kitchen to see what was going on and the cornbread dressing is still my favorite Thanksgiving recipe.
  • Chicken Stock: When making a special holiday meal, the cornbread dressing is really important. Use the best quality stock you can, there is no substitute for good chicken stock. Try my Instant Pot Homemade Chicken Stock recipe. The difference between homemade and store-bought stock is like night and day.

Southern Cornbread

diced celery

My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing recipe:

Cornbread dressing
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4.82 from 11 votes

My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing

My mom got this Cornbread Dressing recipe from a little old church lady back in 1962, and she’s been making it exactly the same way ever since. The ingredients: cornbread, celery, onions, and sage, are simple and make this dish a comforting classic for your Thanksgiving celebration. The key to a truly great Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing is to keep it flavorful, but subtle, and not overwhelm any of the other items on your plate. It’s there in a supporting role, adding to, but not distracting from any of the other dishes that you’ve waited all summer to gorge yourself on. The gravy, mashed potatoes, Buttery Glazed Carrots, Turkey, ham, etc. etc.
Prep Time20 minutes mins
Cook Time45 minutes mins
Cornbread10 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
I would be so happy if you followed me on Pinterest!Follow @SipsNibblesBites
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cornbread Dressing, Holiday, Soulfood Dressing, Southern Dressing, Thanksgiving
Servings: 20
Calories: 300kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 Recipe Cornbread 1/2-inch dice
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
  • 1 Cup Diced Yellow Onion
  • 1 Quart Diced Celery
  • 2 Tablespoons Poultry Seasoning
  • 1 Tablespoon Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 2-4 Cups Chicken Stock

Cornbread Recipe

  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter Melted
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 5 Eggs
  • 2 Cups Buttermilk
  • 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
  • 2 Cups Cornmeal
  • 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions

Cornbread Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F
  • Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, mix well
  • Beat the eggs and add to the dry mix
  • Add the melted butter and the buttermilk, combine until smooth
  • Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour
  • Bake approximately 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

Dressing Instructions

  • In a large pot, melt the butter and sauté the onions and celery until soft, not browned
  • Add the seasonings to the onions and celery and combine well
  • Add the diced cornbread to the onions and celery, break up the cornbread into small pieces and combine well
  • Place the dressing in a casserole dish, cover tightly until you’re ready to bake it

To Bake Dressing

  • Preheat oven to 350F
  • Uncover the casserole dish and evenly pour 2 cups of chicken stock over the dressing
  • Bake until golden brown, around 45-50 minutes, add additional chicken stock if the dressing seems dry. You want the dressing moist, but not soggy
Nutrition Facts
My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing
Amount Per Serving
Calories 300 Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 10g63%
Cholesterol 81mg27%
Sodium 636mg28%
Potassium 278mg8%
Carbohydrates 31g10%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 747IU15%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 66mg7%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Variations on My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing Recipe:

WHITE BREAD DRESSING: Use 4 quarts of cubed day-old white bread instead of cornbread

BUTTERMILK BISCUIT DRESSING: Use 4 quarts of crumbled day-old buttermilk biscuits instead of cornbread

PRUNE DRESSING: Add 1 pound of dried prunes that have been chopped and reconstituted in 2 cups of chicken stock

SAUSAGE DRESSING: Omit the butter, brown 1 pound crumbled sausage, cook with the onions and celery. Reduce the poultry seasoning to 1 teaspoon

APPLE DRESSING: Add 2 cups of ½ inch diced Golden Delicious Apples to either the Prune Dressing or the Sausage Dressing

GIBLET DRESSING: Brown chopped giblets in the butter prior to adding the onions and celery

CORNBREAD DRESSING WITH BOILED EGGS: Add 4 diced, hard-boiled eggs

PARSLEY DRESSING: Add 1 cup of chopped parsley

OLD FASHIONED SOUTHERN CORNBREAD DRESSING: Whisk 3 eggs and 1/2 cup of milk with the chicken stock, add just before baking

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Although My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing recipe is for ‘dressing’ cooked outside of the turkey, it will also work as ‘stuffing’. If you like to stuff the turkey, please be sure to test the temperature with an instant-read thermometer. Just like the turkey, it needs to read 165°F for it to be safe.

Thank you for visiting my Food Blog. I hope you enjoy My Mom’s Cornbread Dressing recipe as much as our family does. Please come back and visit the blog again soon! Bon appetit, Steven

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Filed Under: NIBBLES, Thanksgiving Tagged With: cornbread, cornbread dressing, cornbread dressing sausage, EGG DRESSING, GIBLET DRESSING, how to make cornbread dressing, soul food cornbread, soul food cornbread dressing, soul food cornbread stuffing, Southern Cornbread Dressing, turkey and dressing, turkey dressing, turkey stuffing

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Olley thompson

    September 11, 2018 at 7:33 am

    This cornbread dressing recipe looks soooo good I’m going to make this for this Thanksgiving

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  2. Terri

    December 11, 2020 at 1:24 pm

    5 stars
    Yum! Made this for cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving. Thats good soul food dressing. Not too sweet and not too salty, just the right seasoning. lotsa celery and onions, perfect. It soaked up my giblet gravy and made my momma very happy.

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    • Steven

      December 11, 2020 at 5:05 pm

      Thank you for the comment, Terri. My Mom got this recipe from a little old church lady back in the 60s, so this cornbread dressing is definitely good soul food. And I agree about the gravy, most southern cornbread dressing is a little too dense for me. I make this dressing a lot lighter and almost fluffy, it soaks up the gravy and transforms into something Heavenly. Actually, it’s kind of making my mouth water just typing that in! lol

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Hi, my name is Steven Thompson welcome to my Food Blog. I am a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York City where I studied Pastry Arts. Throughout the years, I've worked in some of the best restaurants and hotels in the world. Although I have moved on from the world of the professional kitchen, I still have a great love and passion for cooking and food photography, which is why I've become a food blogger. I hope you enjoy reading and making some of these recipes as much as I do. Cheers and bon appetit! Read More…

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