This Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing is more than just a recipe; it's a family heirloom. It was my mom's, and I still remember standing by her side at Thanksgiving, crumbling the cornbread and helping her stir everything together.
Decades later, it's the same dressing I serve at my own holiday table, and if you're searching for the old-fashioned dressing you remember from childhood, this is it.
This traditional dressing is made with homemade cornbread, eggs, sautéed vegetables, and a savory broth infused with butter. It's the old-fashioned, comforting side dish that belongs on every Thanksgiving table.
In the South, cornbread dressing recipes have been passed down through generations, and there are almost as many variations as there are Thanksgiving Turkey Recipes.
A quick look at the recipe
- Ready in: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Ingredients: 11
- Serves: 10
- Difficulty: Easy → "No-Fuss Favorite"
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Yes!
Jump to:
- A quick look at the recipe
- Why you will love this recipe
- Ingredient notes
- How to make Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Serving suggestions
- Make-Ahead and Freezer Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- Pro tips for perfect results every time
- More classic Southern Thanksgiving side dishes
- Plan your holiday menu with these Thanksgiving recipe collections
- Recipe:
- Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing
Why you will love this recipe
- Besides being easy, like my easy Cornbread Dressing with Sausage, you can make both the cornbread and the dressing up to a month ahead of the big day and freeze them. Or you can make both a day or two before, either way works.
- This dressing has a crispy crust over a fabulously moist, savory, and flavorful filling.
- This recipe is versatile; depending on your family’s likes, you can add dried fruit like cranberries, fresh fruit like apples, or nuts, like roasted pecans to make it your own.
Ingredient notes
Let's talk ingredients: what you need, what you can swap, and how to make it work with what's in your pantry. These are the main ingredients; the full list is waiting down in the recipe card.
- Cornbread: my recipe for Southern Cornbread with Buttermilk, works perfectly with this recipe, or if you need a gluten-free recipe, try my Old Fashioned Cornbread which doesn’t contain any flour.
- Butter: unsalted; if you use salted butter, reduce the amount of salt you add.
- Onion: I like Vidalias, but any sweet onion works.
- Green bell pepper: adds color and a touch of sweetness.
- Celery: it wouldn’t be dressing without celery.
- Hard-boiled and raw eggs: the raw eggs bind everything together, and the hard-boiled eggs make it a classic.
- Poultry seasoning: is full of sage and thyme. You can substitute one teaspoon of sage and one-half teaspoon of either thyme or marjoram. To use fresh herbs, double the amounts.
- Chicken stock: You can use purchased or homemade chicken stock. If you wait to make the dressing on the big day, add your turkey drippings to the stock.
How to make Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Add the butter to a large skillet over low heat. Stir in the onions, celery, and green bell pepper.
- Cook the vegetables for ten minutes or until they are soft. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
- While the vegetables are cooking, crumble the cornbread in a large bowl and add the hard-boiled eggs, two cups of chicken broth, and the poultry seasoning.
- Add the cooked vegetables and butter to the crumbled cornbread and gently mix everything together. You can use a spoon, but your hands work best for this task.
- Add the kosher salt and ground black pepper. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if you think it needs it.
- Add the beaten raw eggs and mix well.
- Don’t be alarmed if the mixture is soupy. If it’s not, add up to one more cup of chicken broth, a little at a time, until it is about the consistency of a thick cornbread batter.
- Pour the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish or a two-quart baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes or until the dressing is set and the top is golden brown and crispy. Serve immediately.
Serving suggestions
This traditional Southern cornbread dressing is the centerpiece of my Thanksgiving table, and it pairs beautifully with other classic holiday dishes. Serve it alongside my classic roast turkey or smoked turkey with plenty of rich, make-ahead turkey neck gravy.
For a true Southern feast, round out your holiday spread with my bourbon sweet potato casserole or Southern candied sweet potatoes and a dish of my cranberry sauce with fruit and nuts for brightness and balance. And don't forget, this recipe starts with a batch of homemade Southern traditional cornbread that you can make ahead and freeze, saving you precious time during the busy holiday season.
Make-Ahead and Freezer Tips
- I always make my cornbread months ahead of the holidays and freeze it so it's ready when I need it.
- You can also assemble the entire dish up to a month in advance, freeze it unbaked, and pull it straight out of the freezer when holiday chaos hits.
- If you prefer to refrigerate, assemble a day ahead, cover tightly, and bake the next day.
Recipe FAQs
In the South, "dressing" is baked in a casserole dish, while "stuffing" is cooked inside the turkey. The flavors are similar, but the texture of cornbread dressing is more custardy and rich.
Yes! Assemble the dressing as directed, but don't bake it. Wrap the dish tightly in foil, freeze for up to three months, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as usual. This is my go-to holiday time saver.
If you need to make a gluten-free dressing, I recommend that you either purchase gluten-free cornbread or use my easy gluten-free Old-Fashioned Southern Buttermilk Cornbread recipe to make your cornbread.
Yes, traditional Southern cornbread dressing almost always includes eggs. They help bind the ingredients together and give the dressing its rich, custardy texture.
Yes, I have always added chopped boiled eggs into my dressing for extra flavor and texture.
Most recipes, including mine, use two large eggs. This is enough to bind the dressing without making it rubbery. As mentioned earlier, I also add four hard-boiled chopped eggs for flavor.
Pro tips for perfect results every time
- Shortcut cornbread: If you run short on time, use bakery or store-bought cornbread or corn muffins, just choose unsweetened for the best flavor.
- Go-to recipe: My Southern traditional cornbread is what I always use for this dressing. For a gluten-free option, try my old-fashioned gluten-free cornbread.
- Dry it out: Make or buy your cornbread two days ahead so it can dry slightly-this helps it absorb more flavor.
- Season smart: Always taste the mixture before adding raw eggs. Adjust with poultry seasoning, salt, or pepper if needed.
- Check for moisture: About halfway through baking, peek at the dish. If it looks dry, drizzle a few tablespoons of chicken stock over the top.
- Egg trick: Trouble peeling hard-boiled eggs? Try my method for easy-to-peel hard boiled eggs, or buy pre-cooked eggs to save time.
More classic Southern Thanksgiving side dishes
Every Thanksgiving table needs more than just dressing. These tried-and-true Southern sides are the perfect partners for turkey and all the holiday trimmings.
Plan your holiday menu with these Thanksgiving recipe collections
Still planning your holiday spread? These Thanksgiving recipe collections pull together all the classics (and a few new favorites) to make menu planning simple and stress-free.
And, if you are looking for a special dessert, check out my two Thanksgiving recipe collections: 40 Best Desserts for Thanksgiving and 40 Best Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Desserts.
★★★★★ If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and give it a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!
Thanks so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones! I hope you come back soon!
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Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 9 inches round of cornbread, purchased or homemade, about four cups
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 sweet onion, medium, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, medium, seeded and chopped
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 3 cups chicken broth divided
- 2 raw eggs beaten
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- Add butter to a large skillet over low heat. When it is melted, stir in onions, celery, and green bell pepper; saute vegetables for ten minutes or until softened.
- While the vegetables are cooking, crumble cornbread in a large bowl. Add hard-boiled eggs, two cups of chicken broth, and poultry seasoning.
- Add the cooked vegetables and butter, to the crumbled cornbread and gently combine the ingredients. You can use a spoon, but your hands work best. Taste and add kosher salt and ground black pepper.
- Add beaten eggs and mix well. Don't be alarmed if the mixture is soupy. If it's not, add up to one more cup of chicken broth, a little at a time, until it is soupy. It should be about the consistency of thick cornbread batter.
- Pour the mixture into a well-greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish or large baking dish.
- Bake uncovered for 45 to 50 minutes or until the dressing is set and golden brown on top.
Notes
- If you get in a bind and run out of time to make cornbread for the dressing, around the holidays, most grocery stores and bakeries sell pre-made cornbread or corn muffins, which you can use instead of making your own. Just try to avoid cornbread with sugar added.
- My easy Traditional Southern-Style Cornbread recipe is the cornbread recipe I use when I make this dressing.
- To make this dressing gluten-free, use my gluten-free Old-Fashioned Southern Buttermilk Cornbread recipe. It doesn’t contain any flour and is made with just cornmeal.
- If making ahead, cover and refrigerate the unbaked cornbread dressing for up to three days or freeze for up to two months. Let it thaw overnight before baking.
- It’s best to make or purchase the cornbread two days or so before making the dressing to allow it to dry.
- Be sure to taste the dressing before adding the raw eggs to see if you need to add more poultry seasoning, salt, or pepper.
- Check your dressing about halfway through the cooking time. If it starts looking dry, sprinkle a few more tablespoons of chicken stock evenly over the top.
- If you have trouble peeling hard-boiled eggs, check out my post, Perfect Easy to Peel Hard Boiled Eggs. Or, it’s perfectly fine to purchase your eggs already cooked and peeled.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published on October 29, 2017.
GmaPat
yum just like grandma made it!!