Cornbread Dressing

Made with a combination of cornbread and biscuits, this easy Cornbread Dressing is the perfect side for turkey. It’s moist and fluffy on the inside with crispy edges and a golden crust. A classic side dish for Thanksgiving.

Published: November 5, 2023 · Modified November 10, 2024 by Cindy Gibbs

This cornbread dressing is packed full of flavor with turkey or chicken broth, and perfectly seasoned. It’s perfect by itself or with a ladle of gravy over the top.

This dressing is made with part cornbread and part biscuits, making it not as crumbly or dense as all cornbread dressing. It’s great served with turkey or chicken, and it doesn’t need to be saved for a special holiday. You can make it anytime. If you don’t have turkey broth, feel free to use chicken broth.

When I make this dressing, I love to eat it right out of the bowl before it gets baked. After all, I need to keep tasting it to make sure the seasonings are just right.

Ingredients for Cornbread Dressing

• 3 cups day old cornbread, crumbled
• 5 cups biscuits, crumbled
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning or sage
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups turkey or chicken broth

How to make Cornbread Dressing

1. Add all the ingredients to a large bowl, except for the butter and turkey/chicken broth. Mix everything together really well.
2. Add the butter and broth and mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Place it in a baking dish and bake or stuff it in your turkey.

Alternate Option

You can opt to melt the butter in a skillet. Then add the celery and onions and cook until the onions are translucent. Although my own mother did this, it’s not necessary. The celery and onions have plenty of time to cook in the oven.

What’s the difference between dressing and stuffing?

Dressing and stuffing are basically the same thing. It’s simply the way they are baked that determines the name dressing or stuffing.

Dressing gets baked in a dish in the oven.

Stuffing gets stuffed into the turkey and baked inside of the turkey itself. This is actually my favorite way to bake it. It’s even more moist and flavorful when stuffed inside the turkey. If you choose to bake it inside the turkey, I suggest cutting back on the broth in the recipe by at least 1/4 cup.

Cornbread & Biscuits

Here are the recipes I used for this recipe. I make them the day before so they are sort of dry and stale. You can use your own recipes if you like. The dressing calls for 5 cups of crumbled up biscuits. My Buttermilk Drop Biscuits recipe makes about 5 1/2 cups of crumbled biscuits. I also sometimes use my recipe for Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits. This recipe makes 5 cups of crumbled biscuits. This dressing calls for 3 cups of crumbled cornbread. My Buttermilk Cornbread recipe makes about 8 cups. Feel free to cut the cornbread recipe in half if you use it. I also sometimes use the recipe on the back of of Martha White corn meal bag for Easy Southern Cornbread, (pictured below). You can also use equal amounts of biscuits and cornbread if you prefer.

Can I freeze cornbread dressing?

Yes. You can freeze it unbaked or baked. Wrap it securely and freeze in a container that will be oven safe later. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake as directed in recipe or reheat in a 350 degree oven until warm. I suggest covering it with foil to reheat. Otherwise, if baking, don’t cover it unless it begins to get too brown on top.

My tip if freezing it. If you don’t have a freezer safe container, or if you’re taking this to a gathering and don’t want to worry about bringing home a baking dish, use a disposable pan. You can get them with lids too. Cover the pan with two layers of plastic wrap, then place the lid on and secure it all around the edges. You can also use heavy foil. Thaw the dressing overnight in the refrigerator on Thanksgiving eve. On the day of, bake the dressing as directed in this recipe. I like to bake the turkey and drizzle about 1/4 cup of the fresh turkey broth over the dressing, before baking it in the oven. This is optional.

Adding Giblets

If you want to add the giblets, (heart, liver, gizzard and neck) to this dressing, simply cook them in a medium saucepan. You also want to cook them at least a couple of hours before baking the turkey, if you’re stuffing the turkey, so you can add them to the stuffing/dressing. It will take a good hour to cook them. Dice them up fine and add to the dressing. If you don’t have turkey broth, you can use some of this broth in the dressing. I also use the meat from the neck, even though it’s a little tedious to remove. Some cooks cook the giblets and add them to their gravy. You can do that also, if you prefer.

If you’re in need of a gravy recipe, I have three delicious gravy recipes to choose from below.

No-Fail Turkey Milk Gravy

This gravy is super flavorful and you really can’t flop it. It’s super easy with precise measurements.

Perfect & Easy Turkey Pan Gravy

This gravy is a rich gravy made from per turkey broth…no milk. With precise measurements, it’s very easy to make.

Make ahead Onion & Sage Turkey Gravy

This is Ina Garten’s recipe, and it’s very rich and flavorful. The great thing about this recipe is you can make it in advance, and it’s just as delicious when reheated.

Check out Ina’s Moist & Juicy Make Ahead Turkey and this delicious Cranberry Strawberry Salad.

If you make this recipe please rate it, and leave a comment below on how you liked it. I love hearing from you!

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