Cornbread Dressing
This is the cornbread dressing my mother made every year for Thanksgiving. She also made turkey and dressing at Christmas which meant we got to enjoy this wonderful dressing again so soon after Thanksgiving. I remember waking up to the wonderful smell of onions and celery sautéing in butter- nothing smells better! I recommend serving it with homemade cranberry sauce and gravy, lots of gravy!
This dressing recipe can be frozen. It’s nice to get some of the Thanksgiving cooking out of the way in advance. I’ve kept it in the freezer for three to four weeks and you’d never know it was ever frozen.
- Cornbread (see recipe below)
- 8 slices dried white bread, dried in the oven (see recipe below)
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 sweet onion, chopped
- 7 celery stalks, chopped
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock
Before making this cornbread dressing follow the recipes to prepare the cornbread and dried white bread slices.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roughly crumble cornbread and white bread into a large bowl and set aside. Melt butter in large pot, add onion, celery, salt, and pepper. Cook until tender about 8 minutes. Add cornbread and bread, gently stir in stock until all is combined. Transfer dressing to a 9” X 13” baking dish that has been sprayed with a nonstick cooking spray. Bake for about 45 minutes until browned. Remove from oven and serve hot.
Note: Dressing can be made ahead and frozen. After transferring dressing to the baking dish, wrap baking dish well with foil and place in the freezer for up to four weeks. Allow dressing to thaw in the refrigerator and bake as directed.
Cornbread
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 1 ½ cups milk
- ¼ cup canola oil, plus 1-2 tablespoons for greasing the pan
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- 1/3 cup sugar, optional
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Pour 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil into baking pan or cast-iron skillet. Place pan in the oven until sizzling hot. Combine all ingredients stirring just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Pour batter into heated pan and bake for about 20- 25 minutes.
Dried White Bread for Cornbread Dressing
- 8 slices white bread
Place bread slices directly on the oven rack. Turn on oven to 200 degrees. Bake for about 1 hour until bread is dry. Remove bread slices from the oven allow to cool completely before making the dressing or the bread can be stored in an airtight container for 1-2 days.