You may have suspected that this post was coming if you noticed the previous post for a gluten-free and grain-free cornbread recipe.
This recipe is for a simple herbed cornbread stuffing (and dressing), and I also posted a savory sausage stuffing.
I'm sure there's lots of stuff going on for everyone, including me, but I want to get this recipe posted so that I have it and you have it, in case you are a dressing/stuffing lover like me.
A couple of quick notes here.
I didn't use eggs, but in the past I have used one egg, which allows the bread crumbs and cubes to stick together. You might like that—I haven't tried it with this mixture yet. I opted not to add egg at all in this recipe, and instead rely on the soup broth, butter, and oil to keep it moist and stay together while it bakes. I also compress the stuffing a bit before putting it in to bake.
The cornbread lends a bit of sweetness to this dressing, so I leaned towards making it a bit more savory and salty, and used soup stock to moisten it at the end. You can also use milk or apple juice instead of soup stock, just know that they will make the stuffing even sweeter. Also, if you want a very savory stuffing, bake the cornbread with savory seasonings and reduce the amount of honey in the batter.
If you're using this to stuff a turkey, I would not moisten the stuffing as much because the turkey juices will do that for you. Also, if you're using this for turkey or other poultry stuffing, fresh sage is a nice addition to the parsley and thyme.
I could have added some more ingredients to this stuffing, but I'll let you think about those. My additions would be chopped olives, apples, walnuts, and possibly some raisins.
Herbed Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 9 servings cornbread cut into cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or unsalted butter or ghee
- 1 cup onions finely chopped
- 4 celery stalks finely chopped
- 2 cups mushrooms chopped (Crimini or other)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves
- ½ cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage optional (use if stuffing in poultry)
- ⅓ cup vegetable broth or dairy-free milk to moisten the stuffing; use as needed
Instructions
- Place the cornbread cubes on cookie sheets and toast them in a preheated oven at 350°F/ 175° C for about 5 minutes, or until they start to brown.
- Take the bread cubes out of the oven to cool. Leave the oven on for the dressing.
- Warm up a large frying pan on medium heat, and place the butter in it to melt.
- Place the onions, mushrooms, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onions start to become clear.
- Add the garlic in the frying pan and cook for another minute or so.
- Turn the heat off and cool for a moment.
- Crumble half the cornbread cubes and leave the other half as cubes. I crumble them in my hand, but you can also give them a quick whirl in a food processor.
- Transfer the stuffing and frying pan mixture to a large mixing bowl and blend in the parsley, thyme, sage, soup stock, and salt and pepper to taste.
- If you're baking this as a dressing, transfer the stuffing to a greased baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. If you're using it as stuffing, add it to the cavity of a turkey or other poultry.
- Keep covered in a warm oven until ready to serve.
Denise says
I made this for thanksgiving with gluten free and starch free attendees. Was a huge success. So delicious and no one could believe there was no corn in the "cornbread".
Erica says
So good to hear! I've had the same reaction - it's a keeper.
Susan says
I was determined to make Thanksgiving delicious for my daughter-in-law with Crohn's and she was so very appreciative of your stuffing. She said it was one of the best things she had enjoyed in ages!
Thank you, thank you!!
Erica says
Nice! You're welcome 🙂
Lucy McVicker says
After a tumultuous year health-wise, my mom and I tried to have a "traditional" Thanksgiving for my family. I made your stuffing and it was a hit! I think we just found our new go-to stuffing recipe. Thanks for sharing this with everyone!
Erica says
So good to hear! Me too. Best wishes.
Loretta | A Finn In The Kitchen says
It's funny to me how the stuffing can either be the best thing on the table or the worst. Homemade vs. store-bought is no contest! This looks incredible.
Erica says
Agreed.
Danielle @ Fresh4Five says
This looks amazing! lovely photos too 🙂
Erica says
Thanks!
Alissa@Bigeatstinykitchen says
Yay!!!! I've been scouring the Internet to find a grain free dressing. I grew up on cornbread dressing and it just isn't thanksgiving without it! Thank you. Love this.
Erica says
Same here. This is my first with cornbread, so I'm still playing around. Enjoy!