One must-have dish at a Southern Thanksgiving celebration, aside from the turkey of course, is a Southern cornbread dressing recipe. When done right, it’s moist, savory, flavorful, and the perfect addition to the meal. Today, we’ll show you how to make Paula’s amped-up version—a Southern cornbread dressing with sausage! And we’ve got to say that the sausage really takes it to the next level, y’all.
Now let’s start by gathering your ingredients for the cornbread. You’ll need the following items:
- 2 cups self-rising cornmeal
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- 1 stick softened butter
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 4 eggs
This is a classic Southern cornbread recipe, and it’s very easy to make.
While the oven is pre-heating to 350˚F, combine the cornmeal and flour in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Then, mix your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until fully incorporated.
Pour the batter into a prepared 13x9x2 casserole dish and bake until golden brown, approximately 25 minutes. Let it cool before crumbling the cornbread into a bowl and setting it aside to be used later in the dressing.
If you prefer, you can use your own favorite cornbread recipe, but it’s important that you not use a sweetened cornbread, as that will drastically change the flavor profile of this dressing.
Once your cornbread is ready, gather the rest of the ingredients for the dressing:
- 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
- 2 sticks butter
- 3 chicken bouillon cubes
- 4-5 stalks chopped celery
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 8 green onions, chopped, using both the white and green parts
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3-4 cups chicken stock (you’ll add a bit at a time)
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
To get started on the dressing, brown the sausage for 5 minutes over medium heat. Then, remove the sausage from the pan, leaving some of the drippings behind.
Add the butter to the pan with the drippings, letting it melt, before adding the chicken bouillon, celery, and sweet onion, cooking until the celery and onion are translucent—this should take around 5 to 10 minutes. Then stir in the green onions, garlic, and parsley, cooking for another 2 to 3 minutes.
Now pour the sausage, the veggie mixture, and some of the chicken stock over the cooled cornbread, gently folding so as not to break up the cornbread and sausage further. Continue adding chicken stock until it’s your desired moistness—keep in mind that as it bakes, it will dry out some, so make it a little wetter than you might think. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Then, pull some of the mixture out to combine with the beaten eggs before mixing it all back together. Adding the eggs last ensures you can safely taste the dressing to ensure your seasonings are correct.
Now pour the dressing into a greased 13x9x2 baking dish and bake at 350˚F for 45 to 60 minutes, until the dressing is cooked through. If you’re worried about over-browning, add tinfoil towards the end.
A homemade Southern cornbread dressing with sausage may be a labor of love, but you’ll surely have a table full of thankful guests once they get a scoop of this Southern favorite next to their turkey and taters.
Will you be making a homemade dressing this Thanksgiving? Will you be making this one? Let us know in the comments below!
