You are going to fall in love with this Cornbread Sausage Stuffing Recipe, along with all of your guests! The homemade cornbread and flavors of Italian sausage take this dressing to the next level! You can even cut down on time by making the cornbread a day early. It pairs so well with all the other turkey day favorites!
Thanksgiving stuffing can define the holiday meal and it’s a dish I look forward to every season. We love a doctored up Stove top stuffing and no one noticed. This year I am using my famous buttermilk cornbread recipe to make this a from scratch recipe! Once you taste it, you will not want to wait until next year to make it again!
Along with this cornbread stuffing recipe our holiday menu lineup looks like this: Cajun turkey, creamy mashed potatoes, honey glazed carrots, and the same party punch recipe we’ve had since I was a kiddo. The dessert table will probably have a pumpkin bread pudding, a classic Granny Smith Apple Pie, and pumpkin pie with graham cracker crust. This is really a snapshot because I’m sure we will be busting at the seams with desserts and have enough food to feed an army, but you get the idea!
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Why You’ll Love This Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe
- Comforting, filling, and insanely flavorful.
- This cornbread dressing is easy to make.
- Can use leftover cornbread to make this easy cornbread stuffing.
- A nice twist on a traditional stuffing holiday recipe.
🦃 Ingredients:
- buttermilk cornbread – the base for the stuffing
- Italian sausage – I am using Italian sausage, if you want it spicier go with spicy pork sausage.
- Unsalted butter – helps make this rich in flavor
- Yellow onion and celery – adds a ton of flavor and texture to the cornbread dressing
- Minced garlic – garlic powder can also be used if desired
- Chicken broth or chicken stock – can swap for veggie broth if needed, adds moisture
- Whole milk – creates the moistness to hold everything
- Eggs – large eggs help to bind the stuffing
- Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper – enhances the flavors
- Herbs – thyme, ground sage and fresh parsley for garnish
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- Some also like to make this with diced carrots and leeks and even diced granny smith apples. If you choose to do this, simply put them in the sauce pan along with the celery and onions to sauté.
- To keep this dairy free, substitute the whole milk for Almond Milk or Soy Milk.
- Want to save on time, you can buy an already made sweet cornbread from the bakery at your local grocery store.
- We usually use fresh herbs for this recipe but you can also use dried if that is what you have.
- If you are not a fan of pork sausage, you can always swap it out for a chicken sausage or turkey sausage.
- You can also swap out the cornbread for sourdough croutons like we did in our sourdough stuffing with sausage recipe.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Bake cornbread a day or two in advance.
Step 1: Preheat the oven and cut the cornbread into 1-inch cubes. Spread onto a baking sheet. Toast for one hour, remove the pan, and allow the bread to cool.
Step 2: Brown the ground sausage on medium-high heat in a large skillet and transfer to a large bowl.
Step 3: In the same skillet, add some butter to the leftover fat. Add the onions and celery, cook until tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for a couple more minutes. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the bowl with the sausage.
Step 4: Add the cornbread.
Step 5: Whisk together the wet ingredients with the spices in a separate bowl.
Step 6: Pour mixture over the top of the cornbread and sausage mixture. Gently stir with a wooden spoon.
Step 7: Add the sausage cornbread stuffing to a baking dish, top with pieces of butter, and bake for 40 minutes in a preheated oven, until golden brown.
Step 8: Garnish this delicious stuffing with parsley and serve straight from your casserole dish.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Serve cornbread stuffing with sausage as a wonderful side dish to your Thanksgiving turkey or honey ham.
Recipe Tips for Corn bread Stuffing
- Don’t drain the grease off the sausage, it’s full of flavor and really adds to the dish without changing the texture!
- If you want to dry your cornbread out ahead of time, you can let it sit out on a sheet for 2-3 days, or toast it prior to making the stuffing.
- Cornbread comes apart easier during stirring than white bread. You can add the mixture to the dish, then pour the broth over and toss to keep it intact as much as possible.
- You will need 10 cups of bread cubes for the recipe. I like making this homemade cornbread recipe, but you can use store-bought if desired.
Fun Fact
During the Thanksgiving holiday, it is estimated that over $96 million is spent on store-bought stuffing!
Recipe FAQs
Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap/aluminum foil. Freeze for 1 month.
Yes! Because there are more wet ingredients used and cornbread is soft anyway, you want it to be dry so you don’t end up with mushy dressing.
More Holiday Recipes To Try
If you tried this Cornbread Sausage Stuffing Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Cornbread Sausage Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 recipe buttermilk cornbread
- 1 lb. mild Italian sausage
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 medium yellow onion diced (about 1 cup)
- 3 stalks of celery diced (about 1 cup)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs beaten
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- Fresh parsley for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250°F. Cut the cornbread into 1-inch cubes and spread in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until dried and light brown, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool
- In a medium skillet, cook ground sausage until no pink remains. Transfer to an extra large mixing bowl.
- In the skillet, add 2 tablespoons of butter to the leftover fat. Add the onions and celery and saute over medium heat until the vegetables are tender and the onion is translucent. Add the minced garlic and saute 1-2 minutes more. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the mixing bowl with the sausage.
- Add the cooled cornbread cubes to the sausage and vegetable mixture. Toss gently to combine the ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, eggs, milk, salt, pepper, thyme, and sage.
- Pour the broth/egg mixture over the cornbread mixture in the mixing bowl. Gently toss the ingredients together.
- Transfer the stuffing mixture to a greased 9×13 baking dish. Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into pieces and spread them over the top of the stuffing.
- Bake for 40 minutes, until the stuffing is cooked through and the top is golden brown.
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley, or herbs, before serving.
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Notes
- Don’t drain the grease off the sausage, it’s full of flavor and really adds to the dish without changing the texture!
- If you want to dry your cornbread out ahead of time, you can let it sit out on a sheet for 2-3 days, or toast it prior to making the stuffing.
- Cornbread comes apart easier than white bread. You can add the mixture to the dish, then pour the broth over and toss to keep it intact as much as possible.
- You will need 10 cups of bread cubes for the recipe. I like making this homemade cornbread recipe, but you can use store-bought if desired.
Nutrition
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