Best Southern Cornbread Dressing
Perhaps the unsung hero of soul food side dishes & southern American cooking in general, this post features my recipe for homemade Southern Cornbread Dressing.
Equipment
- 1 5qt Pot w/ Top
- 1 Slotted Cooking Spoon
- 1 8qt Mixing Bowl
- 1 9x13 Baking Dish
- 1 Cooking Spoon
- 1 Tongs
- 1 3qt Mixing Bowl
- 2 Forks (optional for shredding chicken)
- Hand *OR* Stand Mixer (optional for shredding chicken)
- 1 Knife
- Butcher Block *OR* Cutting Mat
- 1 8-10" Cast Iron Skillet
- 1 Plastic Spatula
- 1 Large Strainer or Colander
- 1 Small Bowl
- Measuring Cups/Spoons
Ingredients
Shredded Chicken & Broth (skip if using store-bought chicken & broth)
- 1 LB Boneless Chicken Breast (roughly 2 Large Chicken Breast)
- 5-6 Cups Cold Water
- 1 TSP Iodized Salt
- 2 Garlic Cloves (peeled and slightly crushed)
- 1/2 Jumbo White Onion (peeled & cut in half)
- 1 Large Carrot (cut into 4ths)
- 1 Celery Stalk (cut into 4ths)
Cornbread (skip if using premade cornbread or cornbread from scratch)
- 1 Pkg Martha White's Buttermilk *OR* Cotton Country Cornbread (*NOT* Cornmeal or Cornmeal Mix; equivalent to 2 Cups of Cornbread)
- 2/3 Cup Milk *OR* Water
- 1-2 TBSP Butter or Oil (to grease skillet)
Dressing
- 2 Cups Cornbread (1 Day Stale / Old)
- 2 Cups Dried Plain Fine Bread Crumbs (store‑bought like Progresso OR homemade — avoid panko)
- 1/2 LB Shredded Chicken Breast (roughly 1 Large Chicken Breast)
- 4-6 Cups Salted Chicken Broth
- 2 Extra Large Eggs
- 6 TBSP Unsalted Butter (divided)
- 1/2 Jumbo White Onion (peeled & diced; 1/4" diameter pieces)
- 1/2 Large Green Pepper (diced; 1/4" diameter pieces)
- 2 Celery Stalks (diced; 1/4" diameter pieces)
- 1 1/3 TBSP Rubbed Sage (equivalent to 1 TBSP and 1 TSP)
- 1 TSP Garlic Powder
- 1 TSP Onion Powder
- 1 TSP Dried Rosemary
- 1 TSP Dried Thyme
- 1/2 TSP Iodized Salt
- 1/4 TSP Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
Cornbread (skip if using premade cornbread or cornbread from scratch)
- Grease cast-iron skillet with melted butter or oil.
- Preheat oven to 400*F and place skillet in oven while it preheats.
- Add cornbread mix and milk/water to 3qt mixing bowl.
- Stir milk and cornbread mix together until combined.
- Once oven is done preheating, remove skillet and add cornbread mixture to hot skillet.
- Place skillet with cornbread mixture back in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove cornbread from oven and allow to cool for 2 hours at room temperature.
- Place cornbread back in cool oven and allow it to rest overnight, until it's stale/old.
Shredded Chicken & Broth (skip if using store-bought chicken & broth)
- Wash dirt off vegetables.
- Peel & dice white onion in half, then dice 1/2 onion into another half.
- Dice celery stalk and carrot into 4ths.
- Place chicken, water salt and cut vegetables into 5qt pot and warm on medium-high heat until boiling.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer (low to medium-low heat***) and allow chicken & vegetables to stew for additional 25-30 minutes, while occasionally skimming fat from water using slotted spoon.
- Using tongs or fork, remove chicken from broth then draining broth & vegetables through strainer or colander into 3qt bowl, reserving broth.
- Place half of chicken (1/2 LB or 1 Large Chicken Breast) into separate mixing bowl and shred chicken using a hand/stand mixer or two forks. If using hand mixer, shred chicken on low to medium speed for 1-2 minutes.
Reserve remaining chicken for future use in other dishes, such as a salad or tacos.
Dressing
- Transfer old/stale cornbread to 8qt mixing bowl and break up using hands until it has a crumbly but coarse texture
- Add breadcrumbs to bowl and mix together with cornbread until well blended.
- Chop celery stalks, bell pepper and onion into small (1/4" diameter) pieces.
- Heat large skillet (on medium to medium-high heat***) and add 4 TBSP of unsalted butter. Allow butter to melt & cook until it is foamy
- Add vegetables to skillet and saute until fragrant, soft and glossy with no visible raw onion (approx. 10-15 minute***)
- Remove vegetables from heat and transfer into bowl with cornbread and breadcrumbs, then fold together until well-combined.
- Preheat oven to 350*F.
- Add shredded chicken to bowl and fold together with dressing mixture until well-combined.
- Slowly and gradually add chicken broth to dressing mixture, while pausing to fold together in intervals until well-combined and moist. Mixture should look like thick, scoopable cornbread batter (not dry and not soupy).
- Add salt + spices/herbs to dressing mixture and fold together until well-combined.
- In small bowl, lightly beat eggs for about 15 seconds, then add eggs to dressing mixtures & fold together until well-combined. Mixture should look uniformly golden with no streaks of egg.
- Partially melt reamining 2 TBSP of butter and generously grease 9x13 baking dish.
- Transfer dressing mixture to baking dish and spread around until it forms one even layer.
- Place baking dish with dressing mixture in oven and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes (or until top is lightly browned and center feels set when pressed)
- Remove baking dish from oven and serve dressing immediately.
Taste broth before adding — if very salty, reduce the amount of salt added in next step.
If the dressing is too dry/crumbly with only 4 cups of chicken broth, gradually add 1 more cup of chicken broth at a time and fold together with dressing until 6 cups total are used or desired texture is achieved.
Notes
***This recipe was tested using an electric stove & oven. Exact cook times may vary slightly if using an induction stovetop or gas range.
Disclaimer