This easy cornbread dressing is the perfect side dish for the holidays! There is nothing more comforting than this moist and delicious side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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Where I am from, we grew up eating Stove Top Stuffing. I didn't even know about cornbread dressing until we moved to the south. Now that I've had both, I definitely prefer a good southern cornbread dressing over store-brand stuffing.
This cornbread dressing recipe is so simple to make because we start with baking a box of Jiffy in an 8x8 pan. The box recipe calls for ⅓ cup of milk, but I use buttermilk to give it more of a rich creamy flavor. You can even do this part a day ahead before crumbling into the rest of the recipe.
🧾 Grocery List
In addition to the Jiffy mix and the ingredients called for on the box, you will need just a few more easy additions.
Gather these ingredients:
- Jiffy cornbread mix (1 box)
- Eggs (3 large)
- Buttermilk (⅓ cup)
- Sliced bread (4 white slices)
- Yellow onion
- Celery (3 stalks)
- Unsalted butter (2 tablespoons)
- Cream of chicken (1 can)
- Chicken broth (2 cups)
- Ground sage
- Dried thyme
- Salt & pepper
Click here for full recipe ingredients and instructions.
🍗 Stuffing vs. Cornbread Dressing
There is much debate over the difference between stuffing and cornbread dressing. Some say there is only a difference in the name based on the region you live, but no difference in the dish. Others say if it's stuffed in the turkey, it's "stuffing". In my experience, the stuffing I've tasted is mainly consisted of white bread cubes, and cornbread dressing is more cornbread based. But, there are areas that may call a cornbread based dish "cornbread stuffing", too. The debate will forever continue, I'm sure.
You can use this recipe as a base and add whatever mix-ins and seasonings you like. I always have to have sage seasoning, but thyme or summer savory are also great add-ins! Maybe you want to add crumbled bacon or sausage. I like this basic easy recipe as it is written, but everyone has their traditional cornbread dressing they're used to.
📖 How To Make Cornbread Dressing
You can quickly put together this Thanksgiving side dish together with a few simple steps:
- Prepare Jiffy cornbread according to package directions (using buttermilk instead of milk).
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mix together crumbled cornbread, diced white bread, eggs, onions, celery, butter, cream of chicken, chick broth and seasonings.
- Pour into a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes.
👩🏽🍳 Tips to Make Ahead
If preparing ONE day in advance:
Bake the Jiffy cornbread the day before so it's ready to crumble into your recipe.
If preparing ONE to TWO days in advance:
Combine all the ingredients up to two days before and keep in the fridge until ready to bake.
If preparing MORE THAN TWO days in advance:
Prepare all the steps before baking and then freeze. Remove from freezer and thaw in fridge two days in advance.
If preparing for Thanksgiving day:
On Thanksgiving day, bake the cornbread dressing early in the morning and refrigerate. After you remove the turkey from the oven, place your cornbread dressing in the oven to reheat. We reheated our dressing at 350°F for 15 minutes and it was perfect.
🦃 More Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes
- Creamy Crock Pot Mac 'n Cheese
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Corn Casserole
- Cheesy Broccoli Casserole
- Green Bean Casserole
- Slow Cooker Creamed Corn
Print this recipe or PIN it to save for later. Made this recipe? Leave a star rating and tag me on social media @seededtable so I can see. I love hearing from you!
This recipe was originally published November 2018 and updated September 2020 with new make-ahead tips.
Recipe Card
Easy Cornbread Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
- 3 large eggs (1 for Jiffy, 2 for cornbread dressing)
- ⅓ cup buttermilk (or milk)
- 4 slices white bread diced small
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 2-3 celery stalks diced
- 2 tablespoons butter diced
- 1 10 oz can cream of chicken soup
- 2 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- ½ teaspoon thyme optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease an 8x8-inch pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the Jiffy dry mix, 1 egg, and buttermilk. Let rest for 3 minutes then spread into 8x8-inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan.
- Wipe out the bowl. Crumble the cornbread into the bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients -- do not forget the additional 2 eggs. Pour into the prepared 9x13-inch pan.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the center is set.
Notes
- Chop your onions and celery while the Jiffy cornbread is cooling.
- See blog post for make-ahead tips.
- Already have a favorite cornbread recipe? Use yours in this recipe for dressing instead!
- Nutrition information is an estimate only.
Nutrition
Monica No Cisija says
I made this recipe tonight (I didn’t cook for Thanksgiving but I needed dressing in my life). Delicious!! I didn’t have buttermilk but regular milk worked just as great. Thank you for this quick and easy recipe! Happy Holidays!
Nikki Gladd says
Thank you for your feedback, Monica! Glad you got your dressing you needed! 🙂
Pamela says
I’m back (11-24-21) again making this dressing recipe. Didn’t have any buttermilk this time, I hope it comes out as delicious as it did 11-26-20 and 12-10-20.
This is my go to simple and easy dressing, thanks seededatthetable for sharing your recipe(s). Happy Thanksgiving!
Nikki Gladd says
Thank you, Pamela, for coming back and leaving your kind comment! Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
Gwen says
Not the true southern cornbread dressing using Jiffy mix...
Make some good ole southern cornbread using white corn meal and buttermilk and this recipe will rock!
Nikki Gladd says
Hi Gwen,
Thanks for your review, but I'm curious if you tried making this recipe? I'd like to ask you not place a star review on it unless you made it. If you did, great! You can easily use your favorite cornbread recipe in this dressing recipe, too. But I've found many readers appreciate the short cut. 🙂
Thanks!
Nikki
Gwen says
Sorry Nikki, I did not mean to come off offensive. Yes I did try the dressing and it was fantastic for saving time and I meant to give it 4 stars in my first post but accidentally it did not print. Just thought if anyone wanted to make the dish with cornmeal and buttermilk it would totally rock. I apologize to Nikki and anyone else on the site if I offended. (THAT'S NOT IN MY NATURE) I have been enjoying many recipes here at seededatthetable.com and I have loved each one and didn't change anything. The Lord has to keep me in line everyday but especially in my latter years here.
Nikki Gladd says
Thank you, Gwen, for taking the time to explain! 🙂 I appreciate your kindness and agree that I also need to kept in check every once in a while! ha!
Pamela says
I made this dressing for Thanksgiving (11-26-20) for my picky eating husband, and he loved it. He said it taste like back in the day when I was cooking holidays dinner. It turned out fantastic!
As I write, right now (12-10-20) I am making this dressing again.
Great recipe, I remember back in the seventies when I made dressing using the short cut way with jiffy mix cornbread, I had forgotten how, until I ran across your recipe. Thanks.
Nikki Gladd says
Hi love that this dressing was a reminder of past days for y'all! Thank you for the feedback, Pamela and for the story. 🙂
Jenny says
I loved the flavor but it was so gummy. I made a second batch to try to make sure I measured everything correctly and still gummy. Then I broke it up into smaller pieces and baked it longer on a lower heat. But the middle always stayed gummy and the top and sides just dried out. What could I try differently to make it more fluffy? Should I have toasted the bread? My cornbread wasn’t gummy but the bread unused was very fresh.
Nikki Gladd says
Hi Jenny, It is best to use day old bread instead of fresh, but it still shouldn't be gummy. It might depend on the type of dish you're using to bake. You can bake longer and loosely cover with foil to avoid overbrowning the top. Hope this helps!
Debra Rawls says
My advice is to leave out the cream of chicken. Use some chicken bouillon along with chicken broth instead. Not bashing her recipe but just suggestion for fluffier dressing.
Camille says
What are the 2 tablespoons of diced butter used for? Do I melt them and add them to everything before baking?
Nikki Gladd says
Hi Camille,
You mix it (not melted) with the rest of the ingredients then transfer mixture to the baking dish. Thanks!
Camille says
Oh! Thanks for the reply! I ended up sautéing the onions and celery and used the butter for that. Then added it all together. It’s in the oven now. Hope it turns out well! Thanks 🙂
Pam says
It was so good I fooled everybody
Cathy says
Could I also jiffy biscuit mix to replace the pieces of bread? I'm also going to half this recipe! Hope it turns out!