Southern Cornbread Dressing with Sausage
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Southern Cornbread Dressing with sausage is the side that disappears first at my table — sage sausage, onion, celery and carrots folded into a mix of Jiffy cornbread and French bread, then baked in a 9x13 until the top is golden. Make the Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy the day before and the two of them carry the plate.
It's dressing, not stuffing — it bakes in its own dish, so it works whether you're roasting a whole bird or doing a Slow Cooker Turkey Breast with Gravy. Put it next to Homemade Green Bean Casserole and you've got the Thanksgiving plate covered.
Quick Look: Southern Cornbread Dressing with Sausage
- ⏱️ Prep Time: 40 minutes
- 🕒 Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 10
- 📊 Calories: 550 per serving
- 🥣 Ingredients: Jiffy cornbread mix, eggs, milk, French bread, sage pork sausage, butter, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, fresh sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, chicken stock
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy — bake, brown, toss, bake
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Two Breads. Jiffy cornbread for the sweetness and French bread for the structure. All cornbread goes mushy; all white bread tastes like stuffing from a box.
Make It Ahead. Assemble it the night before, cover it and bake it on the day. The cornbread can be baked days earlier too.
Real Sage Flavor. Sage sausage plus fresh sage, thyme and rosemary. It's the flavor people mean when they say "Thanksgiving dressing," and it's the reason a spoonful of Homemade Cranberry Sauce belongs on top.
Ingredients Needed
- Cornbread mix: I used classic Jiffy cornbread — you'll need eggs and milk. You can also make your own with my Sweet Honey Cornbread Recipe.
- French bread: you want a sturdy white bread loaf
- Ground pork sausage with sage: I wouldn't suggest spicy sausage
- Butter: unsalted since we add salt later
- Onion: a medium diced onion. White or yellow work best
- Celery: diced
- Carrots: large carrots, diced up
- Herbs and spices: garlic cloves, fresh sage, rosemary, thyme, parsley, salt, and black pepper
- Chicken stock: low sodium
How to make Southern Cornbread Dressing with Sausage
- Step 1: In a mixing bowl, add cornbread mix, eggs, and milk. Mix well.
- Step 2: Pour the cornbread mixture into a prepared baking dish and bake.
- Step 3: Cut the cornbread and French bread into one-inch cubes and place them on a baking sheet and bake.
- Step 4: In a large skillet, add ground sausage and start to cook.
- Step 5: Add in the butter, onions, celery, carrots and garlic.
- Step 6: Mix all together and cook until the sausage is browned and the vegetables are soft.
- Step 7: In a large mixing bowl, add the dried bread and cornbread cubes, sausage mixture, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper and mix.
- Step 8: Add chicken stock and beaten egg mixture to the bowl, toss and then transfer the mixture to a prepared baking dish.
Recipe Tips
- Fresh herbs bring more flavor to this dressing recipe and are preferred over dried.
- When adding the chicken stock to the bread crumbs and the cornbread, be sure not to add too much to make it too soggy, and be sure to add enough so it isn't dry.
- I use a wooden spoon to mix everything together so I don't break down the dressing when stirring.
- Dry the bread cubes properly. Soft cubes turn to mush when the stock hits them; cubes that feel like croutons soak it up and keep their shape.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes. They're drier than home-dried cubes, so add 1 to 2 extra cups of chicken stock and keep adding until the mixture is moist but not soupy.
Cool it, then refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in a 300-degree oven for about 15 minutes. Leftovers also make my Deep Fried Stuffing Balls.
Same ingredients, different pan. Stuffing is cooked inside the bird; dressing bakes in its own dish, so it gets a crisp top and you don’t have to time it to the turkey. Southern dressing usually leans on cornbread and sage.
Yes. Assemble it the night before, cover with foil and refrigerate. Add a splash of stock before it goes in the oven and bake as written. You can also bake it fully, freeze it, thaw overnight and reheat.
Yes. If you have turkey broth or drippings, use them — it's the same amount and it tastes more like the holiday.
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Southern Cornbread Dressing with Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk
For the dressing
- 6 cups French bread
- 1 lb ground pork sausage with sage
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 ribs celery, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon sage, chopped
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3-4 cups low sodium chicken stock *see notes
- 2 eggs, beaten
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Instructions
- Bake the cornbread according to the package instructions and let cool. see notes
- Cut the cornbread and french bread into one-inch cubes and place them on a baking sheet.
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees bake for 40-45 minutes tossing every 15 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat and brown the sausage for 5 minutes.
- Add in the butter, onions, celery, carrots and garlic cook until the sausage is browned and the vegetables are soft.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl add the dried bread and cornbread cubes, sausage mixture, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper and mix.
- Pour 2 cups of the chicken stock and beaten eggs over the mixture and gently toss. Add the additional cup of chicken stock if desired.
- Spoon the dressing into the prepared baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and place the dressing into the center of your oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil, and bake another 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
Then cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate. You may want to add a splash or two of stock before baking. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
I so happy you enjoyed it Tulsi!
This tastes like my mother's dressing recipe. She never wrote it down because I don't think she ever measured the ingredients. I remember her making it with her sisters and it looked like a "secret formula" that they would taste and adjust. I'm so glad to have a recipe to follow.
Yes this can be made ahead of time. That info is in the recipe notes and above in the Faq's 🙂
I it possible to make this the day before then bake next day?