Cajun Cornbread Dressing
Skip the boxed stuffing this year and jazz up your holiday table with this easy and delicious Cajun Cornbread Dressing recipe. Made with sweet cornbread and savory sausage it is destined to please.
Are you ready to breathe new life into a dish that is usually not quick to disappear during Thanksgiving festivities? The marriage of sweet cornbread and creole seasoned sausage is one made in matchmaking heaven.
I cannot take complete credit for the dressing as it came about while sitting at the juvenile justice courthouse with the young lady I advocate for through Capital Area CASA. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate and is an organization I volunteer my time with. The child that I’m assigned to is ridiculously talented in the kitchen and her favorite thing to make is boudin balls. A child literally after my own heart.
When asked what her favorite Thanksgiving dish was as we passed the time waiting for her case to be called, she enthusiastically replied “stuffing” which blew my mind because I’ve never heard anyone, much less a youngster, say they look forward to stuffing the most. But I realized that may be due to having never had the right stuffing.
Side note: Before we get into the debate over whether to call it stuffing or dressing, I’m in the camp that if you are stuffing it into the turkey, you call it stuffing while a side dish is called dressing. She called it stuffing, but we aren’t stuffing it, so I’m calling it dressing. I have learned that some folks call it all stuffing. You call it whatever you like.
Cajun Cornbread Dressing
A marriage of sweet cornbread and savory sausage come together in this Southern-inspired cornbread dressing recipe.
Ingredients
- 1-8x8 pan of prepared sweet cornbread, cubed (I used Famous Dave’s)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound ground sausage (or boudin)
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 1 Tablespoon creole seasoning
- 3 Tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons rosemary, chopped
- 2 teaspoons thyme, chopped
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter or spray a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. Cube the cornbread into ½ inch pieces and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until dry and slightly toasted. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil on medium-high heat and cook the sausage until no longer pink. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add the butter to the sausage drippings and saute the onion, celery and bell pepper, about 6-8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, broth, and seasonings. Add the vegetable mixture and sausage. Finally, add the cubed cornbread, reserving a few cubes for the top, and GENTLY stir until well combined, careful not to mash the cornbread if you prefer more texture.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the top becomes golden and crisp.
Back to the recipe. Because of her love for boudin, we originally added boudin to our Southern inspired cornbread stuffing, but I also tested it with sausage so that it is universally easily to create. The key for my enjoyment I have found is to dry out the cornbread, not overmix, and leave some texture on top and within. I think the problem I’ve had with stuffing/dressing in the past is the texture. I just don’t find a casserole dish of mush appetizing, regardless of taste. Y’all know I like to make things pretty around here.
This dressing is so good you will likely not have leftovers but if you do, do not be surprised if you find yourself enjoying it as a complete meal the following day, just as I did.
FAQs about cornbread dressing
And if dressing and stuffing just aren’t up your alley, poke around for some other holiday side dishes like the beloved Spinach Madeleine made famous by the Junior League of Baton Rouge.
