With sausage, chestnuts, and a touch of apple cider, this fluffy cornbread stuffing is one of my family’s favorite holiday sides.
When I started Striped Spatula, I confessed my lukewarm feelings toward holiday turkeys and adoration for all things side dishes. Not much has changed.
Don’t get me wrong: I love a beautifully-roasted turkey. But, my heart still belongs to the sides, and this Thanksgiving, I’m all about the stuffing.
This Cornbread Stuffing is one of my favorite holiday trimmings. I make it with two types of bread (cornbread and country white), sausage, roasted chestnuts, fresh herbs, and a touch of sweetness from apple cider.
It takes a great deal of restraint to not make a meal out of the stuffing alone. (Especially the crispy edges, I’m just going to go ahead and call “dibs” on those now.)
Cornbread Stuffing or Dressing?
Let’s get the technical (and, dare I say controversial) part of this post out of the way: do we rightly call this recipe, baked in a gratin dish, stuffing or dressing?
I’ve always termed most savory bread-based sides “stuffing” regardless of whether they’re cooked in the bird or in a pan alongside. It’s a regional thing, I’ve heard.
Growing up in New Jersey, neither my family nor any of my friends’ families ever called it anything but stuffing. When I went to college in Virginia, I started hearing all of my friends who grew up in the South talking about how they couldn’t wait to have their mothers’ dressing over Thanksgiving break.
Until I caught on, I thought that Southern mothers were really into making salads with mind-blowing homemade dressings.
I’ve since come to understand that, technically-speaking, if it’s cooked in the bird, it’s stuffing. If it’s cooked in a separate baking dish, it’s dressing.
I acknowledge this, but have a feeling that “bird” or “pan”, I’ll probably always call it stuffing. Old habits die hard!
Fun read: Stuffing vs. Dressing: Is There Actually a Difference? from Food & Wine.
Prep-Ahead Stuffing for Easy Thanksgiving Entertaining
This cornbread stuffing can be largely prepped in advance of the big day. Cutting down on your “to-do” list when you’re getting your turkey ready for the oven is always a plus. I often chop the vegetables, chestnuts, and herbs a day or two in advance and store them in zip-top bags in the refrigerator.
I also like to cube and toast the bread the night before (luckily, day-old bread is a plus here). Most often, I’ll use my Buttermilk Skillet Cornbread recipe (make it two days out–a day prior to toasting), but have also made this stuffing with store bought with good results.
On Thanksgiving day, it’s easy to just cook the sausage, sauté the onion and celery, toss everything together, and bake.
With umpteen other dishes to prepare, guests to entertain, and a roasting turkey to babysit, who has time to stand over a cutting board chopping onions?
Fluffy Cornbread Stuffing
I love that this recipe utilizes both cornbread and country-style white bread. They play well together. The cornbread lends a touch of sweetness and a nice texture to the finished dish, while the country-style bread gives it substance.
The Williams-Sonoma recipe that inspired mine called for a much higher cornbread to white bread ratio. We found this made the stuffing a little too loose for our tastes. My family loves a 1:1 bread ratio for the best of both worlds.
I also add beaten eggs to bind the cornbread stuffing and give it a light, fluffy-texture.
Individual Cornbread Stuffing Muffins: Crispy Edges for Everyone!
About those crispy edges: if you want to maximize the crispiness on each of your guests’ plates (and cut down on baking time), this recipe translates beautifully into “stuffing muffins.”
You’ll get about fifteen cornbread stuffing “muffins,” generously-mounded into standard muffin pans. They’re a cute, convenient alternative if you’re looking for something a little different to present on your holiday table.
Whether you’re serving “stuffing” or “dressing”, I wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!
More Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes:
- Buttermilk Sweet Potato Casserole
- Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
- Brandied Cherry Cranberry Sauce
- Brown Butter Whipped Sweet Potatoes
- Haricots Verts with Lemon-Herb Brown Butter Sauce
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Cornbread Stuffing with Sausage and Chestnuts
Ingredients
- 1 pound day-old cornbread loaf *
- 1 pound day-old country-style white bread loaf , crusts removed
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage , casings removed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely-chopped celery (about 1 large stalk)
- 1 cup finely-chopped yellow onion (about 1 medium)
- 3 tablespoons chopped mixed herbs (such as fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage)
- 1 cup roasted or steamed chestnuts , shelled and quartered**
- 2 cups low sodium chicken or turkey stock , plus additional for basting, if needed
- 1 cup sweet apple cider
- 2 large eggs , beaten
- kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cut cornbread and country-style bread into 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about six cups of each. Spread in an even layer on two baking sheets and bake until lightly toasted and dry throughout, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Butter a 3-quart gratin pan and set aside. Place sausage in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and cook, breaking sausage up with a wooden spatula or spoon, until cooked through. Remove from pan and transfer to a large bowl. Add olive oil to pan and sauté chopped celery and onion until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Season with 1/2-teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Add sautéed celery and onion, herbs, and chestnuts to sausage. Stir to combine. Add toasted bread cubes, chicken stock, and apple cider, folding gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently fold in beaten eggs.
- Transfer stuffing mixture to prepared gratin pan. Bake, covered with foil for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking 20-25 minutes, until stuffing registers 165 degrees F in the center and is lightly browned and crisp on top.
To make single-serve “Stuffing Muffins”
- Butter standard muffin tins (you’ll need about 15 wells), including bottoms, sides, and top rims. Use an ice cream scoop to generously mound stuffing into each well, pressing gently to compact. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, until centers reach 165 degrees F and stuffing is crisp on the top. Remove from oven and run a butter knife around the sides of each cup to loosen. Let stand 5 minutes and use a fork to help ease muffins out of wells and onto a serving platter.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About our recipes
Please note that our recipes have been developed using the US Customary measurement system and have not been tested for high altitude/elevation cooking and baking.
Delicious blend of ingredients and we loved the stuffing muffins – strangely fun to eat, helped portion control, and made leftovers really easy to store. The only thing I would do differently next time is skip the vinegar. My husband did like it, but I didn’t and since I’m the one making it… ;)
Hi Kathryn, Thanks so much for your comment. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the stuffing muffins. I’m a bit perplexed, though, as there is no vinegar called for in this recipe.
I totally read this as vinegar- ugh! Thanks for kindly clarifying!
Wow- this recipe was great. I couldn’t stop eating it. I awoke next morning and went straight to fridge and scooped out a helping. The apple cider addition was genius. Thank youuuu!!!!
Everyone have a peaceful, heartwarming Thanksgiving in these sad times.
Well, I’ve just finished reading 7 recipes for stuffing (I’m from PA, but my mom-best cook ever!-is from NJ and she’s Always called it Stuffing in the bird or in a baking stone) and Yours is the best, the most simple with the best ingredients.
I’ve never made any stuffing before so I’ll try to get back to You with pictures and how it went.
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Anne, no one calls me Andrea…
Oh I love that there are two kinds of bread in this and that touch of cider. I can’t call it dressing. I associate that with the South and this Yank would feel like a total poser calling it anything but stuffing. I feel like no one cooks it in the bird anymore anyway and we can’t let that word just die out!!!
Such a beautiful side! I love the addition of apple cider.
This looks delicious! I love how these can be made into muffins too. Great idea!