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Homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing with Sausage

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A forgiving, budget-friendly Southern cornbread dressing made with boxed cornbread mix and savory breakfast sausage. Perfect for holidays or weeknight dinners, this one-dish wonder is picky eater approved and tastes even better the next day.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 boxes (8.5 oz each) Jiffy corn muffin mix
  • 4 large eggs, divided (2 for cornbread, 2 for dressing)
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1 pound breakfast sausage (regular or mild)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
  • 3 celery stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease an 8×8-inch baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together both boxes of corn muffin mix, 2 eggs, and 2/3 cup milk until just combined (do not overmix). Pour into prepared dish and bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely.
  3. While cornbread bakes, crumble sausage into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 6-8 minutes, breaking it up, until browned and cooked through. Transfer sausage to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving about 2 tablespoons of rendered fat in the pan.
  4. Add diced onion and celery to the same skillet with the sausage drippings. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and onion is translucent.
  5. Once cornbread is completely cool, crumble it into a large mixing bowl into irregular pieces (some fine crumbs, some pea-sized chunks).
  6. Add cooked sausage, sautéed vegetables, poultry seasoning, pepper, and salt to the crumbled cornbread. Stir gently to combine.
  7. In a small bowl, beat the remaining 2 eggs and whisk them into the chicken broth. Pour this liquid mixture over the cornbread mixture and stir until everything is evenly moistened (should look like wet sand).
  8. Preheat oven to 350°F. Transfer dressing mixture to the greased baking dish (or wash and reuse the same dish). Spread evenly and bake for 30-35 minutes, until top is golden brown and edges are slightly crispy. A knife inserted in center should come out clean.
  9. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

For best texture, use day-old cornbread or dry fresh cornbread in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes. If top browns too quickly, tent with foil for last 10 minutes. For glass baking dish, reduce oven temperature by 25°F. Leftovers keep up to 4 days in fridge or 3 months in freezer.

Nutrition

Keywords: cornbread dressing, Southern dressing, sausage dressing, Thanksgiving side, budget-friendly, one-dish, comfort food

Find it online: https://piperplate.com/homemade-southern-cornbread-dressing-with-sausage/