Pretty sure wars have been waged about Thanksgiving Dressing vs Thanksgiving Stuffing. Where I'm from, it is always a hearty cornbread dressing that wins. We don't stuff it in anything, y'all. We just serve it along all the other delicious holiday recipes. My favorite part? I haven't decided yet, but I've narrowed it down to either the toasted cubes of buttermilk cornbread or the fresh sage.
Sausage Cornbread Dressing
Do you remember your grandmother (or mom) saving leftover cornbread? Mine would wrap it up and store it in the freezer. She'd sometimes do the same with biscuits, although a leftover biscuit is harder to come by.
She did this so she could make tons of cornbread dressing for the holidays.
Me? I'm not that good, and I have a tendency to eat all of my cornbread so there is not much for the freezer. No worries, you can totally start from a fresh pan of cornbread. Use your favorite cornbread, as long as it has NO SUGAR. (That's another war for another day. Sweet cornbread vs unsweetened cornbread. I happen to be an equal opportunity cornbread eater, but for this recipe, it is best with unsweetened cornbread.)
Most of the cornbread dressing recipes I have ever made or eaten involve crumbled cornbread. But I wanted it a little more rustic so I chopped my cornbread into cubes. Then to really bring out that corn taste, I toasted the cubes in the oven.
Yummmm! Little cornbread croutons are the best thing ever. (I'm thinking about a fun salad recipe.)
Get the complete step by step instructions for this Southern Sausage Cornbread Dressing at the end of this post.
Fresh sage pork really pulls this cornbread dressing recipe together. We cooked it in an obscene amount of butter (come on, you don't have cornbread dressing every day). The butter helps the sausage brown nicely. Then we added fresh chopped celery and onions and fresh sage. Fresh sage is key to this rustic dressing recipe.
Now time to bring it all together. (You will need a huge bowl.)
Looking for more Holiday recipes? You have to check out some of our personal favorites:
Cranberry + Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Warm + Cozy Spiced Cranberry Apple Cider
The Best Sweet Potato Casserole Ever
Cider Brined Smoked Turkey
Smoked Gouda + Cheddar Potato Ham Casserole
Isn't this gorgeous? Can't you smell it? The toasted buttery smell of cornbread baking, savory sausage and fresh sage...can't wait to get it on my plate.
Where is that cranberry sauce?
What are your favorite holiday side dishes? Do you have a favorite cornbread dressing (or stuffing) recipe?
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Sausage Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 7 cups cornbread cubes about a 10 inch skillet sized cornbread
- 1 stick salted butter
- 1 pound seasoned pork sausage
- 2 cups chopped celery about 4 large stalks
- 1 large onion chopped
- ¼ cup chopped fresh sage
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth divided
- 4 eggs
- ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange cornbread cubes in a single layer on one or more baking sheets. Toast for 10 - 12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Reduce oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8x12 or 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Cook the crumbled pork sausage until browned. Stir in the chopped celery, onions, and sage. Stir and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth, stir, and remove from heat.
- In a very large bowl, whisk the eggs with 2 ½ cups of chicken broth. Whisk in the poultry seasoning and pepper. Stir in the slightly cooled sausage mixture until combined.
- Gently fold in the toasted cornbread cubes.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour the remaining chicken broth over the top.
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