Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing

This Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing is moist in the middle, golden and a little crispy around the edges, and full of butter, celery, onion, and sage.

Start with a pan of Homemade Cornbread that comes from a farm family grandma who is known for her amazing cooking. If you love cornbread, this is the dressing for you, and it’s just as welcome at Sunday dinner as it is on the Thanksgiving table.

A Farm Family Recipe Worth Sharing

In our house, Thanksgiving has always meant my Grandma’s Dressing Recipe. It’s the one I grew up on, and it’s still the one my family expects to see next to the turkey. But I love trying new recipes, especially ones with a story behind them.

This one came from a farmer friend named Connie. Grandma Connie is known far and wide for her cooking. Her food is a blend of Southern and Midwest comfort food, the kind of cooking that feeds a full table after a long day of work and still has everyone going back for seconds. Her family bakes a pan of homemade cornbread just so they can turn it into dressing, and when I heard that, I knew I had to try it.

I’m so glad I did. Cornbread gives this dressing a slightly sweet, tender bite that regular bread dressing just doesn’t have, and a few pieces of dried white bread keep it from falling apart. The edges get golden and a little crispy, and the middle stays soft and moist. The cornbread lovers in my life go straight for it.

Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Serve it with turkey, Mashed Potatoes, gravy, Scalloped Corn, Cranberry Salad, and Pumpkin Pie Cake for a full Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients Needed

• Homemade cornbread – 6 cups, crumbled. I use my Homemade Cornbread, baked a day or two ahead so it dries out a little. A Jiffy box mix can work too.
• White bread – 4 slices, dried and torn into small pieces. Bread that’s a day or two old soaks up the broth without turning to mush.
• Butter – 1/2 cup. It softens the vegetables and adds that rich, old fashioned flavor.
• Celery – 1 cup, chopped small.
• Onion – 1/2 cup, chopped small.
• Dried sage – 1 teaspoon. This is the classic Thanksgiving flavor. I have used 2 teaspoons of poultry seasoning (sage is the main ingredient) in a pinch.
• Black pepper – 1/2 teaspoon.
• Salt – to taste. How much you need depends on your broth and cornbread, so taste before adding the eggs.
• Chicken broth – 3 cups. Turkey broth works too.
• Eggs – 2, beaten. They bind everything together so the dressing holds its shape.

How to Make Old Fashioned Cornbread Dressing

1. Get the oven and pan ready. Heat your oven to 350°F. Rub a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with butter or spray it with nonstick cooking spray so the dressing doesn’t stick.
2. Dry the bread. If your bread is still soft, tear it into small pieces, spread them on a baking sheet, and leave them out on the counter overnight. To speed up the process pop them in the oven for 10 minutes while it heats, until they feel dry and a little crisp.
3. Crumble the cornbread. Break the cornbread into a large mixing bowl with your hands, aiming for small, even crumbs about the size of a pea or a little bigger. Or chop the bread with a board scraper and it will crumble as you stir. Add the dried bread pieces.
4. Cook the vegetables. In a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the celery and onion and stir them around every minute or so. This is called sauteing. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the celery is soft and the onion looks see-through. You don’t want them brown.

5. Season it. Pour the vegetables and all that butter over the cornbread and bread. Sprinkle on the sage, pepper, and a little salt. Stir gently with a big spoon until everything is mixed.

6. Add the broth and eggs. Pour in the chicken broth and beaten eggs. Stir until all the bread is wet and everything looks evenly mixed. It should look like a thick, wet batter.
7. Bake. Spread the mixture into your baking dish and smooth the top with the back of the spoon. Bake uncovered at 350°F for about 45 minutes, until the top and edges are golden brown and the center no longer jiggles when you gently shake the pan.

6. Rest and serve. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into squares. This helps it hold together on the plate.

Variations of Cornbread Dressing

• Use homemade broth. One reader boils the turkey giblets and neck and uses that broth in place of chicken broth for extra flavor.
• Extra creamy. Another reader stirs in a can of cream of celery soup for more moisture and smoother texture.
• Add more herbs. Poultry seasoning, a little thyme, or fresh sage all work if you like a stronger herb flavor.

What’s the Difference Between Dressing and Stuffing?

Stuffing is cooked inside the turkey, and dressing is baked in its own pan. I prefer dressing because it’s easier to make sure it’s fully cooked, and you get those crispy golden edges you just can’t get inside a bird.

What to Serve With Cornbread Dressing

• Turkey in a Roaster Oven
• Oven Baked Pork Chops for Sunday dinner
• Three Corn Casserole
• Cranberry Salad or Applesauce Jello
• Apple Cider Bundt Cake for dessert

Got leftover turkey too? Turn it into Chicken Noodle Casserole or Tater Tot Chicken Pot Pie later in the week.

More Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Recipe originally shared on November 25, 2019 with pictures updated on November 3, 2026.