Make Jiffy cornbread dressing for a new spin on a classic Thanksgiving side dish! It’s everything you love about the timeless Southern dressing recipe. Soft buttermilk cornbread adds an unexpected sweet and tangy flavor, plus the perfect balance of seasonings. Easy to make, and still extraordinarily tasty!
Reasons to Make Jiffy Cornbread Dressing
- It’s a popular side dish for the holidays.
Whether it’s for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or a side with turkey tenderloin, this dish is a classic that everyone seems to love. - Very little prep time.
It only takes an hour, with most of that time spent in the oven. Plenty of time to clean up and complete other prep for dinner! - It’s customizable.
The sausage and broth can be switched out to suit the flavors of the meal, so there’s plenty of room for customization.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Cornbread – This casserole starts with our recipe for Jiffy cornbread with buttermilk. It’s moist, fluffy, and just a tad tangy. However, you can make our Southern dressing recipe with store-bought alternatives or even dairy free cornbread.
- Broth – We prefer chicken broth, but vegetable or mushroom broth, and even chicken stock all serve the same purpose.
- Eggs – This is a necessary ingredient. Eggs act as a binder and keep the Jiffy cornbread dressing together.
- Poultry Seasoning – This convenient premade seasoning is a combination of sage, thyme, onion powder, rosemary, marjoram, nutmeg, and sometimes garlic powder. If you have all of these seasonings separately, just mix them together for an easy substitute!
- Sausage – The savory, rich taste of breakfast sausage is preferred for a Southern dressing recipe. Although, any sage flavored sausage is a good substitute.
Southern Dressing Recipe Tips
- Cube the cornbread before starting.
You’ll save a lot of time while crumbling if you take the time to cube the cornbread.
It also helps to create even crumbles that dry evenly in the oven, which’ll prevent those burnt, unpleasant bits. - Take the time for tender veggies.
Be sure to saute the veggies and don’t cut that time short — you don’t want hard, crunchy celery bits in your Jiffy cornbread dressing!
Go ahead and throw the celery and onions in at the same time.
- Avoid soggy stuffing.
So that you’re not oversaturating the crumbles, add the broth just a bit at a time. Adding it all at once makes it too wet too fast and it will be mushy by the time cooking’s complete.
Besides that, you may not even need that much liquid. Some people prefer that cornbread stuffing be less moist, especially if it’s going to be baked inside of a turkey or chicken.
- Uncover the casserole dish for a few minutes.
While we’re on the subject of soggy stuffing, don’t forget to uncover the dish during the last few minutes of baking!
That final broil makes the top layer crisp and delicious while keeping the inside moist and fluffy.
Jiffy Cornbread Dressing FAQ
If your holiday stuffing comes out a little drier than you’d hoped, you can rehydrate with a bit more broth. Pour it over the stuffing, with a bit of melted butter if desired, cover, and stick it back in the oven for just a bit.
The biggest difference between the two is that stock runs thicker and has a stronger, more potent flavor than broth.
At the end of the day, you can use either.
It’s a minor difference: stuffing is cooked inside the turkey, while dressing is cooked separately–more like a casserole.
As a result, dressing usually has more liquid added to it to prevent drying out.
Storing and Reheating
Jiffy cornbread dressing is best eaten within 3 to 4 days. Keep it refrigerated in an airtight container and reheat in the oven to restore the texture.
If it’s dried out, add a bit more stock to give it just a bit more moisture!
Other Easy Sides to Serve With Jiffy Cornbread Dressing
Sometimes the sides are even better than the main dish! That especially runs true for this easy side dish for Thanksgiving. From veggie dishes to delicious desserts to casseroles, it’s hard not to overload your plate.
In our house, we always have cranberry sauce — not cranberry jelly! That’s usually the sweetest thing on the table (until dessert, that is!).
We also love mushrooms, so there’s always a plate of mushroom dumplings. We’ll usually sneak a few in our green bean casserole too.
Sometimes we cut corners with Instant Pot steamed broccoli and Instant Pot mashed potatoes. It saves so much time, plus oven and stove space, while we’re prepping for the big meal!
Jiffy Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 4 cups crumbled cornbread *see Notes
- ¼ cup butter
- ¾ cup chopped celery
- ¾ cup chopped onion
- 2 eggs beaten
- 8 ounces chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces ground breakfast sausage cooked and drained
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying with non-stick cooking spray. Crumble cornbread cubes into an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, until dry.
- Increase oven heat to 400°F. Prepare a 9×13-inch baking dish by greasing with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add celery and onion to melted butter and sauté for about 7 minutes, until the celery is softened and the onion is translucent.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, broth, poultry seasoning, and pepper. Blend well. Stir in cooked sausage and sautéed vegetables. Using a wooden or silicone mixing spoon, gently fold in crumbled cornbread. Spread cornbread dressing in prepared baking dish.
- Cover pan with foil and bake at 400ºF for 25 – 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Serve while warm.
Notes
- If using homemade cornbread, bake 1 batch of our Jiffy buttermilk cornbread recipe. Either an 8-inch pan of prepared cornbread or homemade cornbread from 1 box Jiffy muffin mix equals 4 cups of cornbread crumbs.
- Renae cuts the bread into 2-inch cubes first, so it’s easier to crumble.
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Cynthia says
I made this with a roasted chicken tonight and it was amazing. It was super easy to put together and a big hit with the family. I am planning to make this again for Thanksgiving!
Lucy says
Love this so much! It was so delicious! I’m testing out a few recipes before Thanksgiving and I am definitely saving this one!
Sara Welch says
Enjoyed this with dinner tonight and it was a savory success! Turned out light, fluffy and delicious; the best staple for Thanksgiving, indeed!
Anjali says
This cornbread dressing looks so good! I’m totally going to add it to our Thanksgiving menu!
Kristine says
I made this cornbread dressing as a side for pork chops and it is DELICIOUS. It was super easy to make too, which I really apprecaited!