Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe - Savory Simple (2024)

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This Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe is flavorful, easy to prepare and perfect for Thanksgiving!

Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe - Savory Simple (1)

Can you believe it’s almost time for Thanksgiving? This year is flying by at warp speed. Every year goes by a little bit faster, and the big 4-0 is now just around the corner.

It’s been a tumultuous year in countless ways, but I have a lot to be thankful for right now. A happy, healthy husband and family (and cat… too many close calls!), a niece or nephew on the way, a cozy little home, and amazing friends. Enough schmaltz, let’s get to business. Stuffing business. Or is it… dressing business?

Stuffing vs. Dressing

Recently, I learned that I had possibly been using the term “stuffing” wrong my entire life, as I started seeing recipes for Thanksgiving dressing with corresponding photos of stuffing. It was a bit mortifying. When I hear dressing, I think of salads. I was very confused.

It was explained to me that stuffing is the mixture baked into the turkey, while dressing is basically the same recipe but baked in a casserole dish. Eh? So my entire immediate and extended family had it wrong?

Thankfully, no. While I’m sure there are some who would love to debate me on this, it seems that the terminology is a regional difference. Southern Living even has a map of which states search the most for dressing vs. stuffing! Phew.

Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Notes

  • You can take a shortcut with the cornbread, since it’s being dried out and mixed with other ingredients. You can certainly bake some from scratch, but feel free to use a mix, or buy some pre-baked. Regardless of whether it’s homemade or store-bought, I recommend using a cornbread that you’re familiar with and like, since it will still be a dominant flavor. A friend recently served me Trader Joe’s cornbread (from a mix) alongside chili, and I had no idea it wasn’t homemade until she told me.
  • If you want to lighten up the recipe a bit, swap out regular Italian sausage for pre-cooked chicken or turkey Italian Sausage.

More Thanksgiving Recipes

  • Pumpkin Slab Pie (perfect for feeding a large crowd!)
  • Baked Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese (the BEST Thanksgiving side dish)
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake (need I say more?)
  • Pecan Pie French Toast Casserole (brunch for the out-of-town guests!)
  • Beer and Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes (from The Beeroness)

Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe - Savory Simple (2)

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Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

5 from 5 votes

This Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe is flavorful, easy to prepare and perfect for Thanksgiving!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6 -8 servings

Calories 377

Author Jennifer Farley

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

  • 6 cups cornbread (your favorite recipe, cut into 1-inch pieces)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 12 ounces pre-cooked mild Italian sausage, sliced
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced (approximately 2 cups)
  • 2 ribs celery, diced
  • 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tablespoon sage leaves, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium
  • 1 cup half-and-half (or 1/2 cup whole milk + 1/2 cup cream)
  • 1 large egg

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Distribute the diced cornbread evenly on a baking sheet and dry out in the oven for 45-50 minutes. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

  • In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the sausage. Cook for several minutes, allowing the pieces to caramelize. Once they are nicely browned, move them to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Drain some but not all of the fat from the pan and then add the diced onion and celery with a pinch of salt. The liquid from the vegetables should help loosen up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan; stir those in with the vegetables. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the onions are slightly caramelized. Add the garlic, thyme and sage and cook for another minute before removing from the heat. Stir in the salt and pepper.

  • Whisk together the chicken stock, half and half and egg. Pour the mixture over the cornbread. Add the sausage as well as the vegetable mixture and fold the ingredients together. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the ingredients to chill in the refrigerator for one hour.

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 inch baking dish and distribute the stuffing ingredients evenly. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is golden brown.

Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!

Nutrition

Calories: 377kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 769mg | Potassium: 306mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 3.8mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 1.7mg

Recipe Troubleshooting

For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)

Italian Sausage Cornbread Stuffing Recipe - Savory Simple (2024)

FAQs

Is stuffing better with or without eggs? ›

It's all about personal preference. If you want a sturdier dressing, eggs can help do that. I don't use eggs in this recipe, though, because I like a lighter, more crumbly texture in my dressing.

What is sausage stuffing made of? ›

Sausage Stuffing Ingredients

Butter: Cook the vegetables in a mix of butter and sausage drippings. Vegetables: You'll need finely diced celery and a chopped onion. Bread: The white bread cubes should ideally be slightly stale. If your bread seems too soft, lightly toast it in the oven.

How soggy should stuffing be before baking? ›

The stuffing should be moist but not wet. If there is a puddle of broth at the bottom of the bowl, you've added too much. Add more bread to soak up the excess moisture. If the mix is still dry and crumbly, add more liquid and toss gently until it starts to clump together.

What does adding an egg do to stuffing? ›

Eggs: Two lightly beaten eggs help hold the dressing together and add moisture.

Why use a sausage stuffer? ›

Primary Purpose: The main function of a sausage stuffer is to push seasoned ground meat into sausage casings, creating a uniform and consistent sausage shape. Efficiency: Using a sausage stuffer is more efficient and effective than trying to stuff casings by hand or with other makeshift methods.

What is Pepperidge Farm stuffing made of? ›

MADE FROM: ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, SALT, SUGAR, YEAST, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: VEGETABLE OILS (CANOLA AND/OR SUNFLOWER AND/OR PALM), MOLASSES, SPICES, CELERY, ONION POWDER, CALCIUM PROPIONATE TO EXTEND FRESHNESS, MALTED BARLEY ...

How much water to add to sausage before stuffing? ›

Add at least 1 oz. of water per pound of meat to aid in the stuffing process.

What do southerners call stuffing? ›

But for the Thanksgiving side dish in the South, the term dressing was adopted in place of stuffing, which was viewed as a crude term, during the Victorian era. Although dressing and stuffing are interchangeable terms, the signature ingredient of this Thanksgiving side dish in the South is cornbread.

Why is my cornbread dressing gummy? ›

If you want to avoid a gummy texture in your cornbread dressing, try using less liquid, baking the bread for longer, or mixing the ingredients more thoroughly.

Why is my cornbread dressing mushy? ›

Why is my cornbread dressing mushy? If your cornbread dressing is mushy, be sure you baked it in a wide enough pan.

Can you mess up stuffing? ›

Your Bread Is Too Fresh

There's nothing better than soft, fresh bread—except for when it comes to stuffing. If you want your stuffing to hold up and not end up a soupy, soggy mess, make sure your bread is dried out or staled for a few days.

Can you prepare uncooked stuffing ahead of time and refrigerate? ›

If you don't plan on stuffing the bird, but preparing the dressing as a side dish, you can prepare uncooked stuffing ahead of time as long as you freeze the stuffing immediately after mixing the wet and dry ingredients. USDA recommends that you never refrigerate uncooked stuffing.

Can I mix up my stuffing the night before? ›

Absolutely. Most Thanksgiving stuffing recipes can be made at least partially in advance since: A) They're easily assembled a day or two ahead of Thanksgiving Day; and B) They're often baked using a two-step process (once covered with foil to cook through, then uncovered to achieve a crispy top).

Does stuffing mix have eggs? ›

Most commercial stuffing brands use animal products like milk, egg whites, butter, and chicken broth to bind the stuffing together. Some brands also use cornbread, which uses egg in the mixture. Homemade is the way to go if you want to incorporate only plant-based ingredients in your vegan stuffing mix.

Is it better to make stuffing with fresh or dry bread? ›

Any attempts to make stuffing with soft, fresh baked bread will result in a bread soup with a soggy texture. Follow this tip: Stale, dried-out bread makes the best stuffing.

What is the proper way of stuffing poultry? ›

If stuffing a whole turkey, chicken, or other bird, spoon the stuffing in loosely - about 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound. The stuffing should be moist, not dry, because heat destroys bacteria more rapidly in a moist environment.

What are the two main differences in dressing and stuffing? ›

"Stuffing is cooked in the cavity of the turkey, so the juices soak into the ingredients, making it more flavorful. Dressing gets cooked on its own and needs extra liquid to make it flavorful." So stuffing is cooked inside the bird. Dressing is cooked outside the bird, usually in a casserole dish.

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