Honey Cornbread & Sausage Dressing

Old-fashioned Southern style Cornbread Dressing is a must-have side dish for every Thanksgiving table. Made with sweet honey cornbread, savory sage sausage, fresh herbs & vegetables resulting is a moist & buttery dish with a crispy golden crust.

Why You'll Love it:

• Feeds a Crowd- this recipe is easily made in large portions, making it great for potlucks & any holiday table.

• Full of Flavor- sweet, buttery, savory, and herby all in one comforting side dish.

• Great Leftovers

Substitutions & Variations:

• More Veggies: such as sliced celery or cubed butternut squash.

• Mix Up the Protein: with shredded chicken, turkey, bacon, or chicken sausage.

• Chopped Nuts: such as walnuts or pecans.

• Dried Fruits: such as dried cranberries, raisins, figs, dates, or apricots.

• Chopped Fresh Fruit: such as honeycrisp apples or pears.

• Egg-Free- this recipe retains the best texture and moisture by using eggs, but if someone in your family has an egg allergy, you can omit the hard boiled eggs and substitute the whisked eggs with a liquid egg alternative such as JUST.

• Gluten-Free- this recipe can be made gluten-free by using a gluten-free cornbread mix (such as Krusteaz) and dried out gluten-free bread. Be sure to also check the ingredients on your sausage as some brands use wheat as a binder.

• Vegetarian- omit the sausage and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

• Check out this article from Dinner at the Zoo for tips on how to make honey cornbread from scratch.

How to Make Cornbread Dressing:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.

• Crumble prepared honey cornbread into a large mixing bowl. Roughly tear day old bread into small chunks and add to mixing bowl. Set aside.

• Add a small amount of butter to a frying pan over medium heat. Add sage pork sausage and use a spatula to break apart. Cook sausage until fully browned and crumbled. Use a slotted spoon to transfer sausage to a paper towel lined plate, leaving some sausage grease in the pan.

• Add chopped mushrooms and diced onions to frying pan. Cook 6-8 minutes until soft and beginning to brown. If mixture becomes too dry, add a small amount of butter. Add chopped parsley, chopped sage, thyme leaves, and minced garlic to pan- continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

• Add crumbled sausage, vegetable mixture, and chopped hard boiled eggs to mixing bowl with cornbread. Mix well to combine. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, chicken stock, egg, kosher salt, and pinch of nutmeg. Pour over cornbread mixture and mix well.

• Pour mixture into a buttered 9x13 casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake 20-25 minutes until mostly set. Remove foil and continue baking 10-15 minutes until top crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a minute before serving.

Make-Ahead & Storage:

• To make-ahead, mix cornbread dressing ingredients up to a day in advance. Pour mix into a baking dish, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate until the day of use. Take out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking.

• To freeze unbaked dressing, pour mix in a freezer safe baking dish and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator before baking as directed.

• Dressing can be baked the morning of the day you're planning to serve it, and reheated right before serving.

• Store leftovers in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped with foil or plastic wrap for up to 5 days.

More Thanksgiving & Holiday Side Dishes You Will Love:

• Candied Sweet Potatoes
• Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Honey Cinnamon Dijon Dressing
• Cheesy Bacon Brussels Sprouts
• Cheesy Asiago, Mozzarella, and Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes
• Easy Cheese Stuffed Garlic-Butter Crescent Rolls
• Honey Balsamic Fried Red Cabbage with Goat Cheese & Walnuts
• Bacon & Goat Cheese Green Bean Casserole
• Classic Potato Bread & Spicy Sausage Stuffing
• Honey Butter Sweet Potato Mash

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Recipe

Honey Cornbread & Sausage Dressing

Old-fashioned Southern style Cornbread Dressing is a must-have side dish for every Thanksgiving table. Made with sweet honey cornbread, savory sage sausage, and fresh herbs & vegetables resulting is a moist & buttery dish with a crispy golden crust.

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Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Servings 8

Calories 468 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 box honey cornbread mix prepared
• 4 slices day old bread
• ½ lb sage pork sausage
• 6-8 oz baby bella mushrooms roughly chopped
• 2 cups yellow onion diced
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoon fresh sage leaves chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves removed from stem
• 5-6 large cloves garlic minced
• 2 hard boiled eggs chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 8 tablespoon butter melted + 1 tablespoon for cooking
• 1 large egg whisked
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Pinch ground nutmeg

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Crumble prepared honey cornbread into a large mixing bowl. Roughly tear day old bread into small chunks and add to mixing bowl. Set aside.
• Add a small amount of butter to a frying pan over medium heat. Add sage pork sausage and use a spatula to break apart. Cook sausage until fully browned and crumbled. Use a slotted spoon to transfer sausage to a paper towel lined plate, leaving some sausage grease in the pan.
• Add chopped mushrooms and diced onions to frying pan. Cook 6-8 minutes until soft and beginning to brown. If mixture becomes too dry, add a small amount of butter. Add chopped parsley, chopped sage, thyme leaves, and minced garlic to pan- continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Add crumbled sausage, vegetable mixture, and chopped hard boiled eggs to mixing bowl with cornbread. Mix well to combine. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, chicken stock, egg, kosher salt, and pinch of nutmeg. Pour over cornbread mixture and mix well.
• Pour mixture into a buttered 9x13 casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake 20-25 minutes until mostly set. Remove foil and continue baking 10-15 minutes until top crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a minute before serving.

Notes

• Honey Cornbread- sweet fluffy cornbread creates the base of this holiday side dish. For ease, use a boxed mix that can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept tightly covered on the kitchen counter until you're ready to make the dressing.
• Day-Old Bread- is mixed with the crumbled cornbread to help give the dressing structure. Leftover biscuits or dinner rolls also work!
  • No day old bread? Use this low heat quick dry method: spread bread slices on to a baking sheet and bake at 225°F for 30-45 minutes until dry.
• Egg-Free- this recipe retains the best texture and moisture by using eggs, but if someone in your family has an egg allergy, you can omit the hard boiled eggs and substitute the whisked eggs with a liquid egg alternative such as JUST.
• Gluten-Free- this recipe can be made gluten-free by using a gluten-free cornbread mix (such as Krusteaz) and dried out gluten-free bread. Be sure to also check the ingredients on your sausage as some brands use wheat as a binder.
• Vegetarian- omit the sausage and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.
• I recommend using fresh herbs to give the most flavor in this recipe, but if you need to use dried, cut the amount by ½.
• For the best texture, this recipe is best baked and served in a casserole dish, rather than used to stuff a turkey.
• To make-ahead, mix cornbread dressing ingredients up to a day in advance. Pour mix into a baking dish, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate until the day of use. Take out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking.
• To freeze unbaked dressing, pour mix in a freezer safe baking dish and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator before baking as directed.
• Dressing can be baked the morning of the day you're planning to serve it, and reheated right before serving.
• Store leftovers- in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped with foil or plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
• Nutritional Information is an estimate only and will vary based specific ingredients and amounts used.

Nutrition

Calories: 468kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 12.3gFat: 35.1gSaturated Fat: 11.4gSugar: 13.5g

Keyword cornbread dressing, cornbread sausage stuffing

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