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 a full cup of butter. I always start with my Southern Cornbread Recipe, which you can make ahead and freeze.
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.
Quick Look: Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Ready in: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings
- Difficulty: Easy - no fuss favorite.
- Best for: holiday spreads, Sunday dinners, or just when you want something that screams comfort food.
- Make-ahead friendly: Yes, it's perfect for busy holiday cooking.
- Taste and texture: Savory, buttery, and herb-filled, with a moist, tender center and a lightly crisp, golden-brown top.
- Why this recipe? This old-fashioned family recipe has been on my Thanksgiving table for decades, and like my Cornbread Dressing with Sausage, you can assemble it ahead and refrigerate or freeze it until you're ready to bake.
Jump to:
- Quick Look: Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Why you will love this recipe
- Ingredient notes
- How to make Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Sharon’s tips
- Serving suggestions
- Make-ahead and freezer tips
- Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing recipe FAQs
- 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
- It's tried and true. This is the old-fashioned Southern cornbread dressing my mom made for Thanksgiving, and it's still the recipe I make for my family today.
- The texture is just right. It has a lightly crisp, golden top with a moist, savory, tender center.
- It's perfect for making ahead. I assemble the dressing weeks ahead and freeze it unbaked-in fact, mine is usually in the freezer well before Thanksgiving. I thaw it in the refrigerator and bake it fresh on Thanksgiving Day.
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 Southern Cornbread with Buttermilk recipe works perfectly with this recipe, or, if you need a gluten-free option, try my Old Fashioned Cornbread, which contains no 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: Two raw eggs bind the dressing and help give it its tender texture, while four chopped hard-boiled eggs add flavor and are part of what makes this old-fashioned dressing so special.
- Poultry seasoning: This classic blend contains sage and thyme. You can substitute one teaspoon of sage and one-half teaspoon of thyme or marjoram. If using 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 looks very wet. If it doesn't, add up to one more cup of chicken broth, a little at a time, until it has the consistency of 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.
Sharon’s tips
- 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: I always use my traditional Southern cornbread for this dressing. For a gluten-free option, try my old-fashioned gluten-free cornbread.
- Dry it out: Make or buy your cornbread about two days ahead so it has time to dry slightly. Drier cornbread absorbs the broth and seasonings beautifully without turning mushy.
- 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.
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 Perfect Roast Turkey or Green Egg 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 plus my Cranberry Sauce with Pecans for brightness and balance.
Make-ahead and freezer tips
Making this dressing ahead is actually one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving prep. I can make it in stages without feeling rushed, and on the day I put it together, my whole house smells like Thanksgiving. Then I tuck it into the freezer, knowing one of the biggest holiday side dishes is already done.
- To refrigerate: Assemble the dressing, cover it tightly, and refrigerate for up to three days before baking.
- To freeze: Assemble the dressing but don't bake it. Cover it tightly and freeze for up to two months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, then bake as directed.
Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing 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 cornbread dressing as directed, but don't bake it. Cover tightly and freeze for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed.
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.
This recipe uses six eggs total: two raw eggs and four hard-boiled eggs. The two raw eggs bind the dressing and help give it a tender texture, while the chopped hard-boiled eggs add flavor and texture.
Hard-boiled eggs add flavor and texture rather than acting as a binder. They're traditional in my family's old-fashioned Southern dressing, and I've never made it without them.
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.
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: Best Desserts for Thanksgiving and Best Non-Traditional Thanksgiving Desserts.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If this old-fashioned cornbread dressing makes it to your Thanksgiving table, I'd love to hear about it! Please leave a comment and star rating below, and let me know how your family enjoyed it. And if you make it ahead, as I do, I hope you enjoy having your house smell like Thanksgiving a little early, too! 🦃
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Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch round of cornbread, homemade or purchased (about 4 cups crumbled)
- 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 the butter to a large skillet over low heat. Stir in the onion, celery, and green bell pepper. Cook for 10 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.
- Don't be alarmed if the mixture looks very wet. If it doesn't, add up to one more cup of chicken broth, a little at a time, until it has 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 and crisp on top.
Video
Notes
- Shortcut cornbread: If you run short on time, use bakery or store-bought cornbread or corn muffins. Just choose unsweetened for the best flavor.
- 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 contains no 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.
- Make or buy your cornbread about two days ahead so it has time to dry slightly. Drier cornbread absorbs the broth and seasonings without turning mushy.
- 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.
Thomas Bullock
My mother always made this with chicken added. How much chicken should go into this recipe? 3 cups shredded? 4 cups shredded? Thanks for you help
Sharon Rigsby
Hi Thomas, I have never made it with chicken, so I can’t say for sure, but I would guess that 2 cups would be plenty. I hope you enjoy it!
Sharon
CB
Will the measurements for the ingredients be different if adding chicken to the dressing?
Sharon Rigsby
Yes, you should be fine. Let me know how it turns out.
All the best,
Sharon
Amanda
I originally came here to see if I’m able to make ahead, as I’ve always made my stuffing (although I don’t stuff it, it’s always been my terminology😆) the day of. But since I’m cooking EVERYTHING myself this year (😳 I’m tired lol) I needed to prep ahead.
This is exactly how I’ve always made my stuffing aside from bell pepper & raw egg. I’ll have to wait until Christmas dinner to add bell pepper to that stuffing, but I did add 1 raw egg just to test it out. This recipe is ALWAYS a hit. I’ve gotten compliments every year since my first time making it at 17 years old & it seems to get better w/ time. It was my Mama’s recipe 💕
Michael
I never received a reply from both emails I sent, I hope I didn’t make you mad, I was just asking about ways to dry cornbread and what you thought were the best.
I did find the answer on a different site that was more than happy to answer my question.
Have a Blessed day,
Michael
Sharon Rigsby
Hi Michael, I am so sorry to take so long to get back to you! I do not dry my cornbread for either of the dressing recipes on my site.
If you prefer to dry yours, I think either method you asked about would work. If you have time. Letting it sit out over night is probably the easiest.
I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!
All the best, Sharon
Bailey
My family loves this recipe, we’ve made it the last 3-4 years now. We never dry out the corn bread and it usually takes more like 3hrs to bake instead of an hour. But totally worth it! Soo yum!!
Richard
Thank you for the quick response and fix Sharon! I’ll try this recipe again and I bet it is better. I love your buttermilk cornbread recipe and it’s the only one I use now.
Old country boy.
Sharon Rigsby
If you are an “old country boy,” I know you will love this dressing recipe!
All the best,
Sharon
Richard
What do you do with the butter?? No mention of butter in the instructions!
Sharon Rigsby
Hi Richard, I am sorry my instructions were not clear. You add the cooked vegetables and butter to the crumbled cornbread. I have corrected the instructions to show that. I hope you enjoy the dressing!
All the best,
Sharon
Ashley
This is absolutely delicious!! My grandmother used to make hen dressing and this reminds me a lot of it without the hen!! LOL!! Moist, melt in your mouth 🙂
Lanace Davis
Can this recipe be put together, refrigerated, then baked the next day?
Sharon Rigsby
Hello Lanace, yes, you can make it up to 24 hours ahead and then bake it, or you could even freeze it and bake it later after thawing. When I freeze it, I usually put it in a gallon-size freezer bag to save space in my freezer, then I’ll put it in the baking dish before baking.
I hope you enjoy it!
Sharon
Linger
Ahhhh!! Tis the season for “dressing.” Makes me all excited for the Holidays. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. The ingredients look fabulous. I usually don’t make cornbread dressing, but you’ve made me a believer with this recipe.
MAbe
Your recipe looks yummy but I have not tried it. Can I skip the raw eggs? All the dressings that I have ever had with eggs as binders have not been my favourite. They have tasted eggy to me. My former mother in law (from Oklahoma) made a cornbread dressing with lots of butter, onions, sage and celery (those are the ingredients that I remember) but no eggs for sure. It was loose and a bit crunchy. It was my favourite.
Could your recipe work without the eggs?
Sharon Rigsby
Yes, you can make it without the eggs. But I think if you are looking for a crunchy dressing you would also want to cut back on the chicken stock. This recipe as is is very moist and while the topping is crispy, the rest of the dressing is not. I hope this helps!
Karen
I’ve made this dressing for both Thanksgiving and Christmas for the past 2 years. My three teenaged boys and husband like it so much they asked me to make it today -Easter Sunday!! They said it’s so good, it shouldn’t just be for the holidays. I don’t make my own cornbread, I use 2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix. One 9 inch round isn’t enough. Other than that, the recipe is perfect!
Sharon Rigsby
Hi Karen, thanks so much for letting me know your family likes this recipe. It’s one of our favorites too! I’ve never tried it with the Jiffy cornbread mix but will have to do that one of these days.
All my best,
Sharon
Mimi Margraves
Not too sweet???
J.A. Watson
Hands down my favorite dressing recipe. It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it!
Delilah
This is the way my family has made cornbread dressing. We used raw eggs and no bell pepper but other than that it is spot on. One little tip I learned from my aunt is to cook the onions and celery in the cornbread. Saves so much time but still use the butter you would have sautéed the veggies with. Salt for us varies as we use the juices the turkey put through a fat strainer. It just depends on how salty the juices are.
The Book of Food
I had leftover cornbread from yesterday so I tried your cornbread dressing recipe. I used veg bouillon and cajun seasoning, it was glorious. I’m highly into southern cuisine right now, thank you for your recipes ! 😀
Gritsandpinecones
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for letting me know too!
All my best,
Sharon
Mimi Margrav3
Has anyone tried baby yellow and white frozen corn nibblets folded into the cornbread dressing before baking? Sounds good to me! Going to try it!
drusilla Abbo
I Keep real chicken or turkey stock on hand because store bought broth does not have a lot of flavor.I have never had cornbread dressing with hard boiled eggs or bell peppers. My mother always added sage to her dressing and so did all of my southern relatives. I will not knock this recipe,because I have’nt tried it. but I cannot imagine cornbread dressing without the sage.
Nicole
How much salt and pepper do you usually use?
Gritsandpinecones
Hi Nicole,
The answer is it all depends. If you are using low or no-salt chicken stock and unsalted butter, I would use at least a teaspoon of salt and about 1/4 tsp of pepper. However, if your chicken stock has salt in it and you are using salted butter, then I would reduce the amount of salt probably by at least half. It’s always better to use less than you think you might need and then taste it. You can always add more, but once you add the salt you can’t take it away. Sorry to be so vague, but everyone’s taste for salt varies. I like more salt in my food than my husband does, and in my opinion, seasoning food with salt is important because it enhances the flavor of food. So, it’s back to it all depends. In general, I’d stick with the 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper…
Hopefully, this helps!
Happy Thanksgiving and I hope you enjoy the dressing!
Sharon
Karly
Just when I thought I couldn’t love stuffing any more… this looks INCREDIBLE! Would be an amazing addition to the Thanksgiving spread- might even steal the show!
Loralea Seale
It looks steal the show!! I looked all over for a recipe for basic cornbread dressing recipe like my Mamaw makes it…no weird stuff that doesn’t need belong in there. I had trouble finding one that called for the right amount of butter. I remembered that it was two full sticks. Well, this isn’t it, and it’s phenomenal!
Sandra McCoy
How does she make it?
Susan Jeffcoat
None of this is the way my mother made her dressing !! no bell peppers, celery, yes raw egg, onion, and sage and that’s the WAY she made hers the SOUTH CAROLINA WAY and that’s the way I have always made mine except for the celery!! I always picked it out anyway. things like butter and milk and Kosher salt she would have never used in hers!! plus my dad would have died if he knew all that was in there!!