Sausage Cornbread Dressing

Our Sausage Cornbread Dressing is sure to become a family favorite recipe! Sweet, toasted cornbread combined with a bit of spice from Italian sausage. A delicious Thanksgiving side dish that can also be served with any dinner.

Be sure to get the recipe for our Simple Roast Turkey that will make you look like a Thanksgiving expert. Making a ham, too? Check out our delicious Baked Ham Recipe with a brown sugar and butter glaze.

cornbread dressing with sausage in orange baking dish

Why You’ll Love This Sausage Cornbread Dressing

Not only are we excited to share our Sausage Cornbread Dressing recipe with you, we have lots of helpful tips and details to make this recipe look and taste it’s best!

However, if you’re ready to dive right into making this cornbread dressing, scroll down to the recipe card or click the “jump to recipe” button above the first photo.

What’s The Difference Between Dressing and Stuffing?

The difference is that stuffing is “stuffed” inside the turkey or chicken and cooked with the juices from the bird, making it very moist and flavorful.

Dressing, on the other hand, is cooked in a casserole dish outside of the bird so it needs another liquid such as chicken broth for moisture.

sausage cornbread dressing in orange baking dish

How To Make Sausage Cornbread Dressing

Making homemade cornbread dressing is one of the most popular recipes around Thanksgiving. But dressing is so easy to make, we often make it as a side for many dinner recipes like a Simple Roast Chicken dinner.

For complete instructions and ingredients needed, scroll to the bottom of the post to the recipe card.

toasted cornbread for making stuffing recipe
  • STEP 1 – Tear store bought or homemade cornbread into large pieces. Place the cornbread in a 350 oven for 10 minutes. This is just to lightly toast the cornbread and dry it out.
  • STEP 2 – Add 6 tablespoons of butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add a pound of sausage to brown, breaking up with a spoon. Add diced onion, celery and apple and cook for 5 minutes. Add poultry seasoning, thyme, salt and pepper then the chicken broth.
  • STEP 3 – Bring the broth to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
uncooked cornbread dressing in baking dish
  • STEP 4 – Place the toasted cornbread in a large bowl then pour the chicken broth and sausage mixture on top and toss gently to combine. Add 2 beaten eggs, stir and the pour into a buttered 9″ x 13″ casserole dish.
  • STEP 5 – Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes to crisp up the top of the dressing.

Can You Make Cornbread Dressing Ahead Of Time?

Yes. Dressing recipes are perfect for the holidays since they can be easily made ahead of time and cooked when you need them.

Follow the instructions in the recipe card, stopping before baking. Cover with foil and store in the refrigerator. Take the stuffing out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you need to bake it to take the chill off and bake per the instructions.

sausage cornbread dressing in baking dish on an angle

Variations

  • Use spicy sausage or a combination of regular and spicy.
  • Add toasted chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds.
  • Add cooked vegetables like mushrooms or spinach.
  • Switch the apples for pears or leave the fruit out completely.

Looking for more stuffing recipes? Head over to our BEST Stuffing Recipe Collection for all your stuffing needs including a vegetarian option.

sausage cornbread dressing on serving spoon

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sausage cornbread dressing in orange baking dish

Sausage Cornbread Dressing

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 10 servings 1x

Our Sausage Cornbread Dressing is sure to become a family favorite recipe! Moist and flavorful with a bit of spice from Italian sausage. A delicious side dish for any meal!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds store bought cornbread, (or day old homemade cornbread) crumbled into large pieces
  • 1 pound Italian sausage or pork sausage
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1 cup diced apple, peeled
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon kosher sat
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 2 eggs, beaten well
  • Extra butter for buttering the dish and on top of the dressing

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Toast the cornbread in the oven for about 10 minutes.  You just want the cornbread dried out and slightly toasted, not burnt. You can do this step a day in advance if you need to save some time.
  3. Add the butter to a large skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the sausage to brown, breaking up with a spoon.
  4. Once the sausage is browned, add the onion, celery and apple. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion has softened. Add the poultry seasoning, thyme, salt and pepper then the chicken broth.
  5. Bring the broth to a simmer and cook on low for 10 minutes.
  6. Place the cornbread in a large bowl  and toss gently with the beaten eggs. Pour the chicken broth and sausage mixture on top. Toss again gently to combine and then pour into a buttered 9″ x 13″ casserole dish. Dot the top of the dressing with extra butter.
  7. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10-15 minutes to crisp up the top of the dressing.

Recipe Notes

Add an additional 5-10 minutes to the covered cooking time if the dressing is cold from the refrigerator.

  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Oven / Stove Top
  • Cuisine: American

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