Cornbread Dressing with Sausage

Servings: 12

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1 35

This classic cornbread dressing with sausage is the one side dish I make sure is on my Thanksgiving table. Make the cornbread with the included recipe or from a box, that's up to you!

5 from 42 votes

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Ingredients

For the Cornbread

1 cup cornmeal
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus butter for baking dish

For the Dressing

4 cups cornbread, or 1 box cooked and cooled
1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup onion, finely chopped
¼ cup fresh chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons dried
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, or 1 teaspoon thyme
1 cup chicken broth
1 egg, beaten

Instructions

Homemade cornbread:

Preheat the oven to 425F. Lightly grease a square baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, and butter. Pour the liquid mixture into the cornmeal mixture and fold together until there are no dry spots (the batter will still be lumpy). Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the middle is puffy. Remove the cornbread from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes.

Toast the crumbled cornbread:

Preheat oven to 400F.
Remove the cooked cornbread from the square baking dish on a baking sheet. Use your hands to crumble it, leaving some crumbles bigger than others, and spread it out. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until they appear toasted and light brown. Remove it from the oven and set aside. This helps remove the moisture/dry out the cornbread before you make the dressing.

For the dressing:

Reduce oven temperature to 325F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish or a 3-quart dish of any shape.
In a large pan, cook the sausage, celery, and onion for 10 minutes, using a spatula to break up the sausage as it cooks. Use a slotted spoon to remove this into a large mixing bowl, leaving any oil behind.
In the large bowl with the cooked sausage, add the toasted and crumbled cornbread, chopped parsley, and poultry seasoning. Toss to combine. Then, pour the chicken broth and the beaten egg over the top and combine well.
Transfer the mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with foil.
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. In the final 10 minutes, remove the foil to brown the top.
Remove it from the oven and cover with foil to keep it warm.

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