This sausage cornbread dressing recipe, or sausage cornbread stuffing recipe as some may like to call it, features a delicious crispy topping with a moist and creamy center.

One of the best, if not the best eating holidays of the year is obviously Thanksgiving. As much as I love turkey and all the desserts, what I really look forward to on Thanksgiving are the sides.

Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, creamed corn, cranberry sauce, rolls and, of course, the gravy all have me drooling in upcoming culinary heaven.

But, what I probably look forward to most is the cornbread sausage stuffing or dressing.

sausage cornbread dressing recipe photo shown freshly baked in a large white casserole dish

There’s just something special about having turkey and rolls, but also having southern-style cornbread dressing finish out the meal with some extra carb and protein goodness.

After all, it’s just one day a year, right? Well, I do love all the leftovers, too.

While I’ve tried a lot of stuffing and dressing recipes over the years, I honestly just keep coming back to this old fashioned cornbread dressing as I find it to be the best.

old Cornbread and Sausage Dressing Recipe photo in a white bowl

It’s packed full of my favorite dressing flavors of cornbread, sage, and sausage. It stands up deliciously on its own or covered in gravy.

It’s probably a southern thing, but, to me, the perfect stuffing or dressing hands down involves cornbread.

I know a lot of people don’t like it because they think it has a weird texture, but that’s usually from the cornbread stuffing having too much liquid or being crumbled into fine particles with no chunks.

showcasing steps to make the sausage cornbread dressing recipe including cubing the bread, browning the sausage, sauteeing the vegetables, and toasting the bread

Growing up, I actually didn’t have stuffing or dressing very much. My mom was a pretty good cook, but one thing she did not excel at was dressing no matter how much she tried.

However, I was lucky enough to grow up near a small restaurant chain called K&W Cafeteria. One of my favorite meals at K&W was the turkey and cornbread dressing.

Showcasing steps to make the sausage cornbread dressing recipe including warming the broth, mixing everything together and putting into a casserole dish

It had such a unique flavor, yet was moist and just perfect. So perfect that I ordered it every time I went there and they had it.

One of the most prominent flavors of the dressing was green bell pepper, so that is an ingredient I have chosen to carry forward with one of my own favorite cornbread stuffing recipes, along with a few other additions.

picture of a Thanksgiving day meal on a white plate including turkey with gravy, colcannon, cranberry sauce, and the the sausage cornbread dressing recipe — *Our early Thanksgiving meal: Turkey with gravy, Colcannon (Irish style mashed potatoes), this dressing, homemade yeast rolls, and cranberry sauce. Green beans were there somewhere too.*

Southern Cornbread Dressing Variations

The nice thing about this Cornbread and Sausage Dressing Recipe is that it is rather versatile. You can:

Use different breads, though I recommend a white bread like French or sourdough
Change up the herbs
Use different types and flavors of sausage
Change up the size of the bread chunks to change the texture
Add fruits such as chopped apples, or dried raisins or cranberries

Sausage Cornbread Dressing Recipe close-up photo after being baked in a white casserole dish

What To Serve With Sausage Cornbread Dressing

If turkey really isn’t your thing or you were looking for leftover cornbread recipes here are some other entrees that go well with homemade cornbread dressing.

Sausage Cornbread Dressing Recipe

Name: Sausage Cornbread Dressing Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 9x13 Pan
Cuisine: Side Dish
Ingredients: 3 - 4 Cups stale cornbread, cubed (I often make a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix and leave out overnight to stale); 3 - 4 Cups stale bread, cubed and toasted, if desired (I like to use about 5 stale rolls from my yeast roll recipe); 1 lb (16 oz) breakfast sausage (can also use Italian, etc.); 2 Tablespoons + 1 stick unsalted butter; 1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped; 4 stalks celery, cleaned and roughly chopped; 2 green bell peppers, cleaned and roughly chopped; Fresh garlic or garlic powder to taste, about 3 cloves; Ground sage to taste (about 1-2 Tablespoons); Poultry seasoning (about 1 teaspoon); Dried thyme (about 1 teaspoon); Salt to taste, optional; Ground black pepper to taste, optional; 3 large eggs; 2 cups chicken or turkey broth + up to 2 more cups, warmed

Yield: 9x13 Pan

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

This sausage cornbread dressing recipe or sausage cornbread stuffing recipe as some may like to call it features a delicious crispy topping with a moist and creamy center.

Ingredients

3 - 4 Cups stale cornbread, cubed (I often make a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix and leave out overnight to stale)
3 - 4 Cups stale bread, cubed and toasted, if desired (I like to use about 5 stale rolls from my yeast roll recipe)
1 lb (16 oz) breakfast sausage (can also use Italian, etc.)
2 Tablespoons + 1 stick unsalted butter
1 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 stalks celery, cleaned and roughly chopped
2 green bell peppers, cleaned and roughly chopped
Fresh garlic or garlic powder to taste, about 3 cloves
Ground sage to taste (about 1-2 Tablespoons)
Poultry seasoning (about 1 teaspoon)
Dried thyme (about 1 teaspoon)
Salt to taste, optional
Ground black pepper to taste, optional
3 large eggs
2 cups chicken or turkey broth + up to 2 more cups, warmed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F for softer stuffing/dressing or 425°F for crunchier stuffing/dressing. I usually cook mine after the turkey comes out and is wrapped in foil to allow the juices to redistribute, but prep it while the turkey is cooking so it can go straight in.
Place stale bread and cornbread into a large mixing bowl and set aside. If it's not stale, cut into 1-inch cubes and toast it until slightly browned.
Brown sausage in medium to large skillet over medium-high heat, crumbling as it cooks. When the sausage is about halfway cooked through, add 2 tablespoons of butter and add the chopped onion, celery, bell peppers, and garlic. Stir occasionally and cook until vegetables are softened.
In the meantime, melt a stick of butter and make sure the broth is slightly warmed but not boiling hot. Once veggies have softened, season the mix with sage, poultry seasoning, thyme, salt and pepper to taste then pour over bread cubes and stir to combine.
Whisk three eggs into warmed broth until smooth. Again, you don't want the broth boiling hot so that the eggs don't scramble. Note that if you want to taste your dressing for flavor and don't like the idea of eating raw egg, you can skip this step and add in eggs prior to adding extra broth for moisture.
Pour broth mixture over the bread and veggie mix and lightly season with another sprinkle of sage, poultry seasoning, and thyme to build layers of flavor, and then gently stir until evenly blended.
At this point, test for seasoning and moisture, adding more seasonings or broth as desired.
Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 casserole dish, smooth the top, and then drizzle with melted butter.
Bake 20-30 minutes, uncovered if you want a crispier dressing or covered if you want a soft dressing. If dressing is too dry for your liking after baking, add a bit more broth and return to oven for 10-15 minutes. If you would like a crispier topping, continue baking until the desired doneness. I like a crisp top and moist inside, so I bake mine uncovered the entire time. Once done, serve immediately, or keep warm until ready to serve.
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Best reheated covered in foil in the oven to retain crispness or reheat in the microwave to retain softness. Drizzle with broth before reheating if it has dried out.

Notes

This cornbread and sausage dressing or stuffing recipe goes great with turkey, but also pork and chicken.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1/12th of recipe
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 405Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 122mgSodium: 782mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 15g

Nutrition information may not be accurate. Nutrition information is calculated automatically by and provided by Nutritionix. Exact nutrition information depends on the specific ingredients, brands, and amounts you use.