This Cornbread Dressing recipe is savory, just like Grandma made. Classic cornbread is mixed with sautéed celery and onions, then blended with herbs and other flavors to create a moist and tasty Southern Cornbread Dressing to serve for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Southern Homemade Cornbread Dressing begins with a good cornbread recipe. Adding fresh seasonings and vegetables makes a big pan of dressing into a meal in itself.

The turkey is not the star of the show on Southern tables at Thanksgiving. That honor belongs to the Cornbread Dressing.

Here in the Deep South, we just call it dressing; it is understood to be made with cornbread.

Thanksgiving dinner should include family recipes, especially a good old-fashioned recipe like this one. This one is my Mom’s recipe. It isn’t easy to be the one to carry on the family tradition. My girls have informed me that it took me a couple of years to get the dressing just right, but now it reminds them of their grandmothers’.

Ingredients for Cornbread Dressing

This homemade recipe is made using simple ingredients. Most of the ingredients are common pantry staples.

Cooked cornbread is crumbled to make dressing. My Buttermilk cornbread recipe is perfect for making cornbread dressing. I use my food processor to crumble the cornbread for dressing because it makes the job quicker and easier than crumbling by hand.

Cream of soups will not only add flavor, but they also help the dressing to be moist. Dressing can turn out dry if you are not careful.

Fresh Onion and Celery are pulverized in a small food processor before cooking in melted butter. These veggies add great flavor. I like to pulverize the becase veggies because there are folks who do not wish to bite into pieces of onion or celery. Therefore, I get the benefit of the flavor with big pieces of either.

Sage or Poultry seasoning adds a lot of flavor. Either will work; they are similar in flavor. 2 tablespoons is not enough to be overpowering but just the right amount to keep the dressing from being bland.

Chicken broth is an essential wet ingredient that will bring it all together. I prefer homemade chicken broth when making dressing. Shortly before the holiday season, I follow these steps to make homemade broth.

Shredded Chicken is not really a traditional addition to cornbread dressing. I learned this trick while managing a southern meat and vegetable restaurant. Folks love the dressing with a little bit of chicken meat in it. You can skip this part if you like. I always have fresh chicken because I boil a hen to make the broth for this recipe and use some of that chicken for the dressing. We make chicken salad with the rest.

• 6 Cups Crumbled Cornbread (my cornbread recipe)
• 1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 Can Cream of Celery Soup
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 Cup Chopped celery
• 3 Boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup shredded chicken (can use a Rotisserie Chicken)
• 2 Tbsp. Sage or Poultry seasoning
• 1 Stick butter
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 3-5 Cups Chicken broth

How To Make Cornbread Dressing

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375°. Prepare a large rectangular baking pan or casserole dish with non-stick spray.

I like to use disposable aluminum pans, like these, for baking the dressing on Thanksgiving because it means easier cleanup.

Grab my homemade cornbread recipe, made in a cast iron skillet.

Step 2

Crumble all of your baked cornbread into a very large bowl or roasting pan.

I use my large turkey roasting pan to mix up the cornbread dressing.

You can crumble the cornbread by hand or use a food processor like this one (affiliate), which makes the job so much easier and quicker.

Step 3

In a large skillet, melt the butter on medium-high heat. Cook the chopped celery and minced onion in the butter until tender.

Step 4

Add the cooked vegetables to the cornbread. Now add all of the remaining ingredients, except the chicken broth. Stir to blend well.

A long-handled wooden spoon works well for stirring or gloved hands.

Step 5

Add the chicken stock 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition, until you get your desired consistency. The mixture should be slightly soupy. Those little bits of chicken pieces should be all throughout the dressing mixture.

Go here for my Homemade Chicken Broth recipe. Where I also share how to freeze or can chicken broth in a boiling water bath.

KITCHEN HINT

When making homemade chicken broth for dressing, use part of the boiled chicken to go in the dressing and use the rest to make some homemade chicken salad.

Step 6

Pour the cornbread mixture into a prepared baking pan. Cover wi th foil. Remove the foil for about the last 20-25 minutes of bake time to allow the top to become golden brown.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour, until golden brown. Outer edges should be firm, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. The exact cooking time will vary depending on how large or how deep your baking dish is, and of course oven temperatures vary.

Serve and enjoy!

My southern cornbread dressing recipe has stood the test of time and lots of professional opinions (wink) offered for free. It also has good reviews on the Recipe card.

Tips

My dressing goes in the oven a little soupy, but it tighten up while baking. This dressing is tender and almost moist when done. It does not have the consistency of gingerbread, as some do. You can spoon it out rather than slice it out to serve it.

At my house, all the guests are encouraged to bring their own to-go plates on Thanksgiving so they can take dressing and other scrumptious Thanksgiving food home with them. We plan for leftovers on Thanksgiving, do you?

FAQ’s

Can you use boxed cornbread mix to make the cornbread for dressing? I do not recommend doing that because those boxed mixes tend to be a little too sweet for making old fashioned cornbread dressing.

What makes cornbread dressing taste better? A combination of things that includes making Buttermilk cornbread from scratch. Using fresh chicken broth, herbs, spices and those cooked tender vegetables all add to the flavor of homemade cornbread dressing.

Do you serve Giblet gravy with your cornbread dressing or cranberry sauce? I serve both so that each person at the dinner table can get whichever one they want.

Is this southern recipe truly southern? Yes, honey it is. I have lived in Georgia all of my life with the exception of a couple of years when I live in North Carolina which is also quite Southern.

Is it dressing or is it stuffing? Here in the South, we do not call it stuffing. Cornbread dressing is not the same thing as stuffing. Stuffing is made with bread crumbs which remain somewhat intact. Cornbread is crumbled almost fine to make cornbread dressing. This ingredients differ as well.

More Thanksgiving Recipes

• Deviled Eggs made from scratch
• Southern Carrot Souffle
• Homemade Mashed Potatoes
• Simple Roasted Butternut Squash
• Best Ever Southern Candied Yams

Updated 10/23/26