🧡💛🙌 This easy Cornbread Stuffing recipe combines two holiday side dishes into one using simple ingredients, including celery, onions, garlic, broth, and a bouquet of fresh herbs. Soft, tender, EASY, it’s sure to become a hit at your Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday celebrations!
My family goes nuts for stuffing. It’s more of a star than the oven roasted citrus turkey in our house!
That said, this easy cornbread stuffing is one of our absolute favorite variations. It has a buttery, subtly sweet flavor from homemade cornbread, tossed with onions, celery, sage, thyme, rosemary, broth, and a splash of milk before baking. While you’re busy deciding who carves the turkey, this dish comes together effortlessly, making it perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas, even if you’re not a pro in the kitchen.
The fresh herbs are what make it shine. As it bakes, sage, thyme, rosemary, and parsley fill the house with the smell of Thanksgiving itself. If the holiday had a signature scent, this would be it!
Ingredients and Notes
For this holiday side dish recipe, you’ll only need a short list of easy-to-find fridge and pantry ingredients, including the following items:
- Cornbread – Since cornbread is the star of the show here, I highly recommend making your own homemade cornbread for this holiday side dish recipe. My Classic Skillet Cornbread recipe is fast, easy, foolproof, tastes delish, and ready in 30 minutes from start to finish! I also have a sweet potato cornbread recipe that would work here. You can either make it fresh, cube it up, and get ready to make stuffing with it right away for the softest and moistest stuffing. Or, you can cube it and allow it to sit out and be exposed to air for a few hours, which creates a drier final cornbread stuffing. That being said, you can also use a store-bought corn bread mix. There are tons on the market, including Krusteaz, Jiffy, Trader Joe’s has one, and there are so many store brands, too
- Unsalted butter
- Veggies – White or yellow onion, celery, and garlic
- Herbs and spices – Fresh parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. I strongly prefer using fresh herbs in this recipe for homemade cornbread, and if you’re cooking any other type of holiday recipe, from turkey to green bean casserole to gravy, you probably already have fresh sage, thyme, rosemary, and parsley on hand anyway. However, dried herbs will certainly work in a pinch. Note that dried herbs tend to be more potent than fresh. For this reason, it’s best to halve the measurement of the herbs if you’re using dried versus fresh ones
- Chicken broth – I recommend using low-sodium broth. Veggie broth will also work if needed
- Whole milk
- Eggs
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Cornbread Stuffing
Don’t be scared of making a stuffing recipe with cornbread! I promise that they’re both a cinch. Follow my easy and straightforward directions, and you’ll wind up with a new favorite stuffing recipe this year.
- Make the fresh cornbread, and then cube it. (See recipe card for your cornbread options.) Preheat the oven, spray a baking dish or casserole dish, and add the cubed cornbread to it.
- To a saute pan, add the butter, onions, celery, and saute momentarily before adding the garlic, herbs, and seasonings, salt, and pepper, and sautéing for 2 minutes more.
- Add the broth and milk, stir to combine, and remove the pan from the heat.
- Whisk a little of this warm milk mixture into two beaten eggs (this is called tempering the eggs) and then stir the eggs into the saute pan. Pour the mixture evenly over the cornbread. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until lightly golden browned on top and a toothpick inserted inot the center comes out clean, and then get ready to serve the homemade cornbread stuffing!
Why Temper the Eggs?
Do not skip the step of tempering because if you just add whisked eggs directly into the hot buttery mixture, you’ll wind up with scrambled eggs. Not good!
Make-Ahead Instructions
If you’re trying to get ahead for the big day, meaning a Thanksgiving or Christmas holiday meal, here are my suggestions:
- Bake the double batch of my homemade cornbread or the store-bought cornbread mix you’re using up to 24 hours in advance. You can cube it and leave it in the baking dish you plan to bake the stuffing in until you’re ready, such as the next day, for up to 24 hours, as I mentioned.
- When you’re ready to make the stuffing, make the rest of the recipe as written and bake it off. At this point, if you don’t care about a lightly crispy top, cover it for up to 4 to 6 hours and leave it on your counter.
- Pop it in a 400°F oven, uncovered, for about 10 minutes before you plan to serve it to re-warm and “re-crisp” it a bit and then serve!
Recipe FAQs
You’ll need 8 cups of cubed cornbread to make this recipe for cornbread stuffing. If you’re using my favorite homemade cornbread recipe, you’ll need to make 2 batches in order to have enough. I suggest baking it in two separate 9-inch cast-iron skillets.
If you want to use a boxed mix to make the cornbread, I suggest one 15-ounce box of something like Krusteaz. two 8.5-ounce boxes of Jiffy, or another favorite boxed cornbread mix.
My two favorite types of 9-inch cast iron skillets are the LeCreuset Enameled Cast Iron Skillet and the Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet. Alternatively, you can alternatively use one 9×13-inch pan for the double batch if you don’t have a 9-inch skillet.
If your cornbread crumbled, you likely mixed it around too much when you poured the liquid on top of it. To avoid this, simply take your time and evenly pour the liquid mixture all over each cube.
So, what do you do if there’s a cube that doesn’t have a lot of liquid on it? Very gently toss it around with a spoon or other utensil until it looks just like the others. Don’t be too forceful, or you’ll end up with cornbread mush instead of stuffing.
I have only ever made this stuffing recipe as written and baked in its own casserole or baking dish and not inside a turkey. Personally, after hearing so many warnings to not bake stuffing or dressing inside a bird because there’s a chance it doesn’t fully cook through is enough to scare me off.
For the first 20 minutes of the baking time, the baking dish needs to be covered with aluminum foil. This helps prevent the top from burning before the interior has a chance to fully cook through. Then, remove the foil, and bake uncovered for the last 20 minutes which creates a perfectly golden brown top.
What to Serve with Cornbread Stuffing
Cornbread Stuffing
Equipment
- 1 Large Sauté Pan
Ingredients
- 8 cups baked cornbread, cubed into 1-inch pieces* (2 batches of my Homemade Skillet Cornbread highly recommended for this)
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups white or yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups celery, chopped
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped**
- 2 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped**
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped**
- 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped**
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 cup reduced or low sodium chicken broth
- ¾ cup whole milk, 2%, almond, cashew, or another milk may be substituted but I don’t recommend skim
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Make the cornbread according to my homemade Skillet Cornbread (make 2 batches) OR use a boxed mixed and make according to package directions. See Notes below of suggestions.
- Once baked and lightly cooled, dice it into 1-inch cubes. At this point you can either carry on with the Cornbread Stuffing recipe (which creates a moister final cornbread stuffing) OR feel free to let the cubes sit out, exposed to air for a few hours on your countertop, if desired (this creates a slightly drier final cornbread stuffing).
- Preheat the oven to 400F and spray a 2-quart baking dish or casserole dish with cooking spray and add the cubed cornbread; set aside.
- To a large sauté pan, add the butter, onions, celery, and heat over medium-high heat to melt the butter and soften the vegetables. Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes; stirring nearly constantly.
- Add the garlic, parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and cook for about 2 minutes; stirring nearly constantly.
- Add the chicken broth, milk, stir to combine, and take the pan off the heat; set aside.
- To the already whisked eggs, slowly add about 1/3 cup of this warm buttery broth mixture, making sure to whisk constantly as you are adding it. Tip – This is called tempering the eggs. Do not skip this step or you will end up with scrambled eggs in the next step and will have to start over.
- Now take the mixture of eggs and buttery broth, and add it all back into the main mixture in your saute pan that's off the heat, whisking vigorously as you add it.
- As carefully and precisely as possible, slowly pour this now unified and combined buttery broth mixture over the surface of each and every cornbread cube, to the best of your ability. The goal is to coat each and every bread cube with a bit of the liquid, although it's ok if it's not perfect. Tips – Do not stir, flip, or jostle the bread cubes after adding the liquid because this will cause them to disintegrate and you'll end up with a much mushier looking and tasting final dish. If absolutely necessary, use a fork or your fingers to move the cornbread cubes around a tiny bit if there are pieces that are obviously dry.
- Cover the baking dish with nonstick foil and bake covered for 20 minutes.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven, peel back the foil, and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden browned, or as desired. Start checking after 10 to 15 minutes because some ovens bake faster than others and you don't want to burn it! Tip – Make sure to read the blog post section about how to Make in Advance if you're trying to get ahead before a big holiday meal.
- Serve immediately or allow it to cool slightly to room temperature, or as desired, before serving.
- Stuffing will keep airtight for in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheating is best in a 400F oven although the microwave is just fine and much quicker and simpler.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Stuffing Recipes:
The Best Stuffing Recipe – Nothing frilly or trendy. Classic, amazing, easy, homemade stuffing that everyone loves! Simple ingredients with stellar results! It’ll be your new go-to recipe!
The Best Ever Slow Cooker Sausage Stuffing – This sausage stuffing is super easy to make since the slow cooker does all the hard work for you! There’s no sauteing or browning required at all and you can FREE UP YOUR OVEN!
Stovetop Stuffing – With this easy homemade stuffing recipe, you’ll never need a box of the store-bought stuff again! FAST, EASY, and guaranteed to become a Thanksgiving and Christmas family favorite!
Pull Apart Stuffing Ring — The stuffing is soft and tender, buttery and moist, not at all soggy, and seasoned to perfection with sage, thyme, rosemary, and parsley!
Hi Averie, I love your recipes and have cooked and enjoyed many your dishes. Thank you. I have a small kitchen with limited oven space. Do you have a slow cooker version of your cornbread stuffing?
Hi Stanton, you could probably utilize this recipe overall and rather than day old French bread, use cornbread. I haven’t tested it, and there may be some nuances or little tweaks you’ll end up making as this cooking is unfolding, or maybe the cooking time will be faster/slower but overall I think you’ll be fine to just use cornbread here https://www.averiecooks.com/slow-cooker-stuffing/
Let me know if you make it how things go!