A 9x13 glass Pyrex casserole dish is filled to the brim with Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing and pieces of white onion and green celery are visible throughout the golden yellow, baked dressing. A square portion of the Southern Cornbread Dressing is missing out of the upper corner, as if someone couldn't wait to get a bite. A red, white, black, and green tartan plaid cloth has been laid underneath the casserole dish and everything is sitting on a barn wood board back drop.

Granny’s Southern Cornbread Dressing

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Cornbread Dressing

Laughter filled the house and the smell of baked turkey, savory ham, and the aromatic smells of spices filled the air as we all began to gather in Granny’s kitchen, waiting on the Thanksgiving feast and Granny’s Southern Cornbread Dressing. The table groaned under the weight of the wonderful food that loving hands had labored all day to prepare as the heat from the oven wafted out across the dining room, creating a warm, cozy, atmosphere. Mom and Granny bustled around the kitchen like bees in a beehive, checking this dish and putting a spoon in that dish, just adding the finishing touches to all of the wonderful food before the ravenous guests dug in to the meal with gusto.

Just before we were all seated for the Thanksgiving dinner, Granny bustled over to the oven and carefully removed the crown of the table, her Cornbread Dressing. We always knew Thanksgiving Dinner could officially get underway once her Stuffing Recipe made it to the table, and boy, did we ever enjoy it! Last year, I had Granny make her Stuffing Recipe for what may have been the last time (she isn’t much able to cook anymore) and we gathered around the table for a bittersweet Thanksgiving Dinner to enjoy the labors of love everyone put forth. I’ve got to say, although I may never have my Granny’s Southern Cornbread Dressing again that has been made by her hand, I enjoyed every bite of it last year and will continue the tradition myself each Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

A 9x13 glass Pyrex casserole dish is filled to the brim with Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing and pieces of white onion and green celery are visible throughout the golden yellow, baked dressing. A square portion of the Southern Cornbread Dressing is missing out of the bottom left hand corner, as if someone couldn't wait to get a bite. A red, white, black, and green tartan plaid cloth has been laid underneath the casserole dish and everything is sitting on a barn wood board back drop.

Stuffing Recipe

I have so many wonderful memories of Granny’s Cornbread Dressing and as far back as I can remember, Granny has made this Stuffing Recipe every Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I have loved it for as long as I can remember; I truly feel like Granny makes the best Dressing in the world! I will never forget the year Granny put double the amount of ground Sage in her stuffing recipe and it came out completely forest green. Every year we remind Granny about her “extra sage” cornbread dressing and we all have a good laugh at the memory. It turns out, Granny was in a bit of a hurry that year to get her stuffing recipe prepped and in the fridge for the next day.

She eyeballed the dressing but couldn’t remember if she had added any ground Sage to the mixture, so just for good measure, she added in some, looked again, then decided to add a little more for good measure. Satisfied with the results, she covered the pan of dressing with plastic wrap, placed it in the fridge overnight, then baked it the next day. Upon removing the cornbread dressing from the refrigerator, all looked well. However, as the stuffing began to bake and cook, it became very clear that she had grossly miscalculated the amount of ground sage she had added the night before.

A 9x13 glass Pyrex casserole dish is filled to the brim with Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing and pieces of white onion and green celery are visible throughout the golden yellow, baked dressing. A square portion of the Southern Cornbread Dressing is missing out of the bottom right hand corner, as if someone couldn't wait to get a bite. A large, silver, serving spoon is resting in the spot where the piece of Dressing is missing. A red, white, black, and green tartan plaid cloth has been laid underneath the casserole dish and everything is sitting on a barn wood board back drop.

Homemade Dressing Recipe

Once Granny’s Southern Cornbread Dressing was fully baked and removed from the oven, her normally golden brown dressing was a deep, dark, forest green! haha! We still ate it and enjoyed it immensely but we chuckle every year about her “greener than green” cornbread dressing. haha! Granny’s motto has always been, “You can never have too much sage in the stuffing recipe!” She really lived up to her motto that year.  Let’s go ahead and get started on this homemade dressing recipe.

Grab a medium sized sauce pan and add a stick of butter in. The butter can be salted or unsalted, mine us usually salted because that’s what I normally have on hand. Y’all, just to be clear, this is REAL butter we’re using here! Don’t be using any of that fake plastic stuff unless you’re being held hostage against your will and forced to sell government secrets! haha! The good Lord has given us this wonderful thing called butter and it is intended to be used and enjoyed so just go ahead and live a little.

 

A small, black sauce pan with one stick of unwrapped and solid, salted butter. The sauce pan is sitting on a white stove which is barely visible in the corners of the photo.

Dressing Recipe

While your stick of butter is sitting in the saucepan and just warming up to room temperature, grab a medium sized, white sweet onion. Peel the onion, removing the outer papery skin and cut off both ends of the onion. Slice the onion in half, then begin dicing the halves into small pieces. You may need some tissues on hand for the job, because this might just bring you to tears.

 

A white cutting board with three large halves of a white, sweet onion on the board. A silver paring knife has been placed below the onion in the bottom right corner.

Classic Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Once the onion is diced into tiny pieces, add it to the saucepan with the stick of butter. Go ahead and turn the heat in the pan on low and get ready to prepare the celery.

 

A small, black sauce pan with one stick of unwrapped and barely melted salted butter inside. An entire white, sweet onion has been diced and poured into the pan, on top of the butter. The sauce pan is sitting on a white stove which is barely visible in photos.

Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Take four stalks of celery and remove the wide bottom end and the top end with the leaves. Wash the celery, removing any lingering dirt, then place the celery stalks on a cutting board. Begin slicing the celery into small, thin pieces.

 

A white cutting board with four small stalks of vibrant green celery that has been rinsed under water and is still slightly wet. A silver paring knife has been placed under the celery on the right hand side of the cutting board. The cutting board is placed on a black, granite counter top which is barely visible in photos.

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Toss the diced celery into the saucepan with the diced onion and stick of butter and turn your heat up to medium. You’ll need to begin stirring the contents in the saucepan to prevent the butter from burning. You’ll also want the butter to coat the celery and onion as it begins to melt. Can I just stop right here and tell you, as this mixture begins to cook, your house is going to smell SO GOOD!

 

A small, black sauce pan with one stick of unwrapped and barely melted salted butter inside. An entire white, sweet onion has been diced and poured into the pan, along with vibrant green, diced celery. The onion and celery has been placed on top of the butter. The sauce pan is sitting on a white stove which is barely visible in photos.

Granny’s Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Continue stirring the diced onion, celery, and butter mixture until the butter is completely melted and the onions and celery become tender and translucent. You don’t want to burn your butter or turn your onions and celery to complete mush, but the veggies should be tender when poked.

 

A small sauce pan is placed on a black burner on a white stove. The sauce pan has white, diced onions and green diced celery inside that has been coated with melted butter. The onion and celery and cooked and translucent and steam is still coming off the top of the saucepan.

Soul Food Cornbread Dressing

Once your onions and celery are cooked, remove them from the saucepan and place them in a large mixing bowl. Just let these little gems rest for a minute – you’re about to start working on the cornbread.

 

Cooked and translucent white, diced onion and green diced celery that has melted butter all over it. The diced onion and celery has been placed in a large, tan, mixing bowl and a white mixing spoon is resting in the bowl, on the top edge of the onion and celery.

Holiday Stuffing Recipe

This next step involves making the cornbread for this stuffing recipe. Granny always uses Jiffy Cornbread, so that’s what I’ve used here – you could probably use a different kind, but I really wouldn’t do it. Empty two boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Muffin Mix into a medium sized mixing bowl. At this point I went ahead and laid out the rest of the ingredients I needed which included, Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoning Cubed Stuffing, two eggs, and 2/3 cups of milk. I also have Granny’s Southern Cornbread Dressing recipe, written in her own hand laying there on the counter top. That little slip of paper means the world to me!

A small, clear, glass mixing bowl is the center of attention and it has two boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix that has been emptied inside the bowl. The yellow cornbread mix is alone in the bowl but two, white eggs are sitting on the counter top at the bottom of the bowl, and a retro, orange measuring cup filled with milk is placed below the bowl, beside the eggs on the right hand side. A hand written recipe on white paper with blue and red star accents is in the right hand corner by the mixing bowl and a bag of Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoned cubed stuffing is in the upper right corner of the photo. Two open boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix have been placed beside each other, standing upright on the counter top and above the bowl in the twelve o'clock position. Everything is sitting on a black, granite, counter top and a white topped stove is just visible on the right hand side of the counter top.

Jiffy’s Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Since your Jiffy’s Cornbread mix is already in the mixing bowl, crack two eggs and add them in. Once you’ve got the eggs added, add in the 2/3 cups of milk.

 

A small, clear, glass mixing bowl is the center of attention in this photo and it is full of two boxes of yellow, Jiffy Cornbread Mix, milk, and two raw eggs. The empty Jiffy Cornbread boxes are just visible right above the bowl and everything is sitting on a black, granite, counter top.

Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Now that your eggs and milk has been added to the cornbread mix, stir or whisk all of the ingredients together until they’re completely smooth. Just stir carefully until no lumps remain and then grab an 8×10 or 8×8 casserole dish and get ready to move on.

 

A small, clear, glass mixing bowl is the center of attention in this photo and it is full of two boxes of yellow, Jiffy Cornbread Mix, milk, and two raw eggs. All of the ingredients have been stirred together and are well mixed and blended. The empty Jiffy Cornbread boxes are just visible right above the bowl and everything is sitting on a black, granite, counter top.

Homemade Stuffing Recipe

Spray an 8×10 or 8×8 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray, then pour the cornbread batter into the casserole dish. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

 

Yellow, unbaked, Jiffy's Cornbread batter has been poured into a white, oval, 9x13 casserole dish and is sitting on a white stove top.

Turkey Stuffing Recipe

Once the cornbread has cooked, remove it from the oven and place it on a cooling rack to cool. You can expedite the cooling process by using a spoon or spatula to break the cornbread up in the pan. Once the cornbread is completely cooled, crumble it in the pan with your fingers until you have very fine pieces.

Cooked and crumbled, yellow, Jiffy Cornbread in a white, oval, 9x13 casserole dish. The casserole dish has a white mixing spoon resting in it in the upper right hand corner.

Traditional Stuffing Recipe

Add the cooked and crumbled cornbread to the large mixing bowl that has your cooked onion, celery, and butter in it. I hope you picked your largest mixing bowl for this because you’re going to need it! 

 

Cooked and translucent white, diced onion and green diced celery that has melted butter all over it. The diced onion and celery has been placed in a large, tan, mixing bowl. Cooked and crumbled, yellow, Jiffy Cornbread Mix has been poured into the mixing bowl, on top of the diced onion and celery and a white mixing spoon is resting in the cornbread on the right hand side of the bowl.

Stove Top Stuffing Recipe

Get your three, 10.5 ounce cans of Chicken Broth and pour them into the large mixing bowl with your cornbread, onions, and celery. This is going to look very moist and you might worry that you’ve added too much broth, but just trust me on this.

 

The center of attention in this photo is a hand holding a Campbell's Soup can of Chicken Broth. The soup can is being held from the left corner of the photo and is hovering, upright, over a large, tan mixing bowl filled with cooked and crumbled, yellow Jiffy Cornbread. A white mixing spoon is resting on the right hand corner of the mixing bowl.

Holiday Stuffing Recipe

Stir the chicken broth into your cornbread, onions, and celery mixture in your  mixing bowl until all ingredients are well combined. This is going to be very wet and moist at this stage, but don’t worry, it will not be soggy or gummy once it’s all cooked.

 

Cooked and translucent white, diced onion and green diced celery that has melted butter all over it. The diced onion and celery has been placed in a large, tan, mixing bowl. Cooked and crumbled, yellow, Jiffy Cornbread Mix has been poured into the mixing bowl, on top of the diced onion and celery and Campbell's Chicken Broth has been added to the ingredients in the bowl, giving them a visibly moist appearance. A white mixing spoon is resting in the cornbread on the right hand side of the bowl.

Easy Stuffing Recipe

Open your bag of Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoned Cubed Stuffing and pour it into the mixing bowl with the cornbread, chicken broth, onions, and celery. You could probably use any herb seasoned cubed stuffing that you wanted to, but Granny always used Pepperidge Farms brand so of course, I would never think of using anything else!

 

Cooked and translucent white, diced onion and green diced celery that has melted butter all over it. The diced onion and celery has been placed in a large, tan, mixing bowl. Cooked and crumbled, yellow, Jiffy Cornbread Mix has been poured into the mixing bowl, on top of the diced onion and celery and Campbell's Chicken Broth has been added to the ingredients in the bowl, giving them a visibly moist appearance. A white mixing spoon is resting in the cornbread on the right hand side of the bowl. One bag of Pepperidge Farms Herb Cubed Stuffing has been added to the ingredients in the bowl but has not been stirred in yet.

Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

Now it’s time to add in the magic elixir for Granny’s Cornbread Dressing, the star of the show – ground sage! This is something Granny has never measured and it’s something I don’t measure either. You can play it safe or just go with Granny’s motto, “You can never have too much sage!” 

 

Cooked and translucent white, diced onion and green diced celery that has melted butter all over it. The diced onion and celery has been placed in a large, tan, mixing bowl. Cooked and crumbled, yellow, Jiffy Cornbread Mix has been poured into the mixing bowl, on top of the diced onion and celery and Campbell's Chicken Broth has been added to the ingredients in the bowl, giving them a visibly moist appearance. A white mixing spoon is resting in the cornbread on the right hand side of the bowl. One bag of Pepperidge Farms Herb Cubed Stuffing has been added to the ingredients in the bowl and has been stirred in. A hand is coming out of the left hand side of the frame and is holding a small, McCormick spice seasoning jar of ground sage. The lid is open on the jar but none of the Ground Sage has been added to the ingredients in the bowl yet.

Holiday Stuffing Recipe

When I asked Granny for an exact measurement for the ground Sage, she just said “several shakes”. So since this is something I don’t have an exact measurement for, I always just add 3-4 really good shakes to my stuffing recipe. If you want or need more of a guide for the measurement, try starting out with one tablespoon of ground sage – you can always add more if needed.

 

Cooked and translucent white, diced onion and green diced celery that has melted butter all over it. The diced onion and celery has been placed in a large, tan, mixing bowl. Cooked and crumbled, yellow, Jiffy Cornbread Mix has been poured into the mixing bowl, on top of the diced onion and celery and Campbell's Chicken Broth has been added to the ingredients in the bowl, giving them a visibly moist appearance. A white mixing spoon is resting in the cornbread on the right hand side of the bowl. One bag of Pepperidge Farms Herb Cubed Stuffing has been added to the ingredients in the bowl and has been stirred in. Dusty green Ground Sage seasoning has been sprinkled all over the top of the ingredients in the bowl.

Stuffing Recipe

Stir the ground sage into the cornbread, onions, celery, cubed stuffing, and chicken broth that’s in your large mixing bowl. Since the ingredients in your mixing bowl are all cooked, feel free to taste the mixture and then add more ground sage here if you need it. I like to add a good amount of Sage because Granny was always pretty heavy on the sage in her southern cornbread dressing and I share her love for lots of sage.

 

A large, tan, mixing bowl filled with cooked and crumbled yellow, Jiffy Cornbread, cooked and diced translucent white onion and green celery, ground sage, Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoned Cubed Stuffing, and Campbell's Chicken Broth. All ingredients have been mixed well and are visibly moist. A white mixing spoon is resting in the bowl on the right hand side.

Holiday Dressing Recipe

Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray, then pour the dressing mixture into the pan. Use a spoon or spatula to smooth the holiday dressing out in the pan until it is evenly dispersed. Don’t fire up the oven yet though – Granny’s Southern Cornbread Dressing needs to sit up overnight and be cooked the next day.

 

A clear, glass, 9x13 Pyrex casserole dish has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and filled with Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing. The casserole dish is sitting on a black, granite, counter top.

Holiday Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Cover the casserole dish with plastic wrap or cling wrap and clear a space in your refrigerator. You’ll want to let this stuffing recipe set up overnight, in the fridge, before baking this in the oven the next day. I know you may be impatient and you might want to go ahead and skip this step and just bake the dressing, but please just let it set up overnight, I assure you, it will be so much better once those flavors set in!

 

A clear, glass, Pyrex casserole dish, filled with Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing that is uncooked, has been covered with plastic wrap and placed on a shelf in a refrigerator. The interior of the refrigerator is white and barely visible in the photo.

Easy Stove Top Stuffing Recipe

After the stuffing has set and marinated overnight, and you’re ready to bake it, begin preheating your oven to 350F. Bake this southern cornbread dressing recipe at 350F for about 20 minutes or until the dressing is no longer soggy. You want the chicken broth to be absorbed into the stuffing, but you don’t want to cook the dressing so long that it is dried out. Keep an eye on your dressing because you may need to bake it a little more or less than I did.

 

A clear, glass, 9x13 Pyrex casserole dish that is filled with uncooked Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing has been placed in a black stove. The stove light is on and the cornbread dressing is ready to be baked.

Classic Stuffing Recipe

Once your southern cornbread dressing is cooked through, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool slightly. You can serve this stuffing recipe with Giblet Gravy or enjoy it as-is. Granny’s Southern Cornbread Dressing is moist enough that it doesn’t need the gravy if you prefer not to serve it.

 

 A 9x13 glass Pyrex casserole dish is filled to the brim with Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing and pieces of white onion and green celery are visible throughout the golden yellow, baked dressing. A square portion of the Southern Cornbread Dressing is missing out of the bottom right hand corner, as if someone couldn't wait to get a bite. A large, silver, serving spoon is resting in the spot where the piece of Dressing is missing. A red, white, black, and green tartan plaid cloth has been laid underneath the casserole dish and everything is sitting on a barn wood board back drop.

I hope you have enjoyed your time in my kitchen today! Thank you for listening as I shared some of my most treasured family memories with you. It has truly been an honor to share my Granny’s Southern Cornbread Dressing recipe with you today. May you have a wonderful Holiday season with your family!

 

A 9x13 glass Pyrex casserole dish is filled to the brim with Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing and pieces of white onion and green celery are visible throughout the golden yellow, baked dressing. A square portion of the Southern Cornbread Dressing is missing out of the upper corner, as if someone couldn't wait to get a bite. A red, white, black, and green tartan plaid cloth has been laid underneath the casserole dish and everything is sitting on a barn wood board back drop.
5 from 1 vote
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Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing

Simple and easy stuffing recipe that makes the perfect homemade cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Keyword Cornbread Dressing, Granny's Southern Cornbread Dressing, Holiday Dressing, Homemade Dressing Recipe, Southern Style Dressing
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 18 servings
Author Amy - The Speedy Spatula

Ingredients

  • 4 stalks celery diced
  • 1 medium sweet onion diced
  • 1 stick butter
  • 2 boxes Jiffy Cornbread Mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup milk any grade
  • 12 oz Pepperidge Farms Herb Seasoned Cubed Stuffing
  • 3 10.5oz cans chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp ground sage (or to taste)

Instructions

  1. Wash and chop celery and onion and add them to a medium sauce pan with one stick of butter.

  2. Cook veggies and melt butter on medium heat until translucent, stirring continually. Once cooked, pour into a large mixing bow.

  3. In a small mixing bowl, add in the Jiffy cornbread mix, eggs, and milk. Whisk well and bake in an 8x10 or 8x8 casserole dish for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

  4. Crumble cooked cornbread and add to the large mixing bowl with the cooked veggies.

  5. Stir in the chicken broth to the mixture in the large bowl and then add in the Herb stuffing. Stir well and then sprinkle in the sage, tasting as you go to get it just right.

  6. Spray a 9x13 casserole pan with nonstick cooking spray. 

  7. Pour the cornbread dressing into a 9x13 casserole pan, cover with cling wrap, and allow to sit in the fridge overnight. 

  8. Bake cornbread dressing at 350F for 20 minutes or until all chicken broth is absorbed.

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