Cornbread Dressing

No sugar in your cornbread!!! My dad (from Mississippi) would roll in his grave if I used sugar in mine! He always said sugar makes it corn cake, not corn bread.

Make the cornbread the day before (be sure to use buttermilk), seal in a plastic bag. Chop your onions (no need to saute), melt butter, crumble in the cornbread, add only enough white bread cubes so it holds together when moistened with hot chicken broth or hot water. No celery, etc. Add melted butter (mix with hands) and rubbed Dalmatian sage (the best) to taste. Can be used as stuffing or dressing. Of course it needs a good turkey gravy, and I like mixing in cranberry sauce when I prep my plate as well.

I plan on making this for Christmas supper, as I love the idea of making it the night before to save time.  I'm not a seasoned cook, so I have what may seem like a silly question.  After chilling the dressing overnight, should it be brought to room temperature before it goes into the oven?  How long should the dressing sit out before baking?  I appreciate any feedback.

I've been trying to make cuteness dressing for years, since my mom became to inform to do so.  She never had a recipe, just made it by instinct.  I've been using cornbread only, no white bread.  So today I stumbled upon this recipe and made a half batch as a trial run before Christmas.  It was perfect!  No guessing about how much sage, etc.  My family will love me on Friday!

Like my grandmother except she said use half the celery and NO sage. Want a tip saute some mushrooms and add taste great.

I just made this recipe and I love it! I used half of everything because that would've been too much. I accidentally used 1/2 cup of rubbed sage and I believe it wouldn't have tasted as good if I didn't. Cordova Tn

I'm from MS and my family's comes from the MS and from Alabama.  I've never heard of NOT using sage.  Be careful though.  Too much sage will give your dressing a gray color.

Loved this recipe. Made it last night. Favorite dressing ever. Better than bill millers in Texas!!!

Sorry STUPID computer did not know it  posted twice

From Tn. and grew up with cornbread stuffing all my life. This a credible recipe but I much prefer eliminating the sugar and sage and using a pound or two of mild pork sausage that contains the sage. To do that, you must precook the sausage and crumble it into the stuffing before baking.

For the past 27 years (my whole life) and then some, the dressing served at holidays was purchased by my grandmother at the Piggly Wiggly. I was asked to make the dressing for Christmas this year. Since I had no idea how to make it, I researched and settled on this recipe. I needed to feed at least 25 people, so I increased the recipe by ¼. I was able to fill 2 9x13 dishes, and we had plenty for left overs. I had self-rising cornmeal, so I left out the baking powder and used just a little bit of baking soda. I knew the baking powder was in the cornmeal but I wasn’t sure about the baking soda, so that’s why I added it and the bread turned out just fine. The dressing was really liquidy when I poured it into the dishes, but it turned out perfectly moist and the texture was spot on. Everybody said it was the best cornbread dressing ever, and no, I did not solicit the compliments. I am now in charge of making the dressing forever...or until somebody can beat this recipe.

Response to ChrisWinLA You are by far the 1st ever... First ever to say, "No sage in dressing." My grandmother is from Greenville, MS and my grandfather from Louisianna. One of my best friends is from Louisianna, and many folks from Tennessee from my Maternal side. You are the first that I ever heard say, "No sage in Dressing." But it's an interesting concept, so I tried it... and it was NOT dressing. So, I'm sticking to this delicious recipe above alone with my own, which is by far one of the best. You should try the REAL dressing, can't do without it at the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner table.

I have used basically the same recipe for close to 47 years. I can't count the times people have told me it is the best they have ever eaten!

I make this every year for our family gathering at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone loves it and can't wait to have each year.

Requested every year by family.

I make this every year for Thanksgiving. It is REALLY good. Last year I added the sausage and apples, that was really well liked as well. Everyone in my family loves it. It does make a lot, which is great, because I end up cooking for about 17 people. Enjoy!

I have made this for years. I was born and raised in GA and this is the best dressing I have ever had. everyone loves it when I make it and they want it every year.

I've made this dressing for the past four years--Thanksgiving and Christmas. I put some boiled chicken in it which means it really makes a lot. I freeze one (uncooked) pan for Christmas, and it's just as good. It's as close to my mother's as I can get. My family loves it.

Made it for Thanksgiving except I used the cornbread recipe from the cornmeal bag and then followed the rest of this recipe. Wonderful.

This recipe was fantastic! I made it exactly as the recipe stated (except I might not have used a full 3 cups of celery, just used 1 large chopped onion, and used 1 Tbsp of dry sage). It turned out very moist (not mushy) and got rave reviews from my family. It's also nice that you make it ahead of time, and then just pop it in the oven. I highly recommend it, and will definately be adding this recipe to my file and making it again!!

I made this dressing for a crowd for Thanksgiving, exactly as the recipe states. It makes a LOT. I recommend unless you are serving more than 20 people, to halve the recipe. I have to say no one cared for it very much. We had 14 people, and only about 1/4 of the large pan was eaten. I threw the rest out, as I did the 8 x 8 pan in the freezer. All told, it was very bland and mushy.

I thought this made a pretty good dressing, though the cornbread part turned out a bit sweet for my tastes. I would make it again, but I'd cut down on the sugar. Otherwise, it was very good and had a lovely consistency.

This recipe was great. You will love it. I made this for a thanksgiving potluck at work last week and it was a total hit. I added some Andouille sausage (2 links) and I also added some cayenne pepper to the sausage while sauteeing for a little kick. Absolutely great. This recipe makes a very large amount of cornbread stuffing. I thought it would too much for our small office but they ate every last drop.

Great recipe! If your looking for a simple southern cornbread dressing just like Grandma used to make, this is it. I substituted fresh rubbed sage for fresh. For the soft bread crumbs I used my homemade sour dough bread. It was delicious. I'm looking forward to trying the additions of sausage, apples and pecans...sounds yummy!

This recipe is almost like mine except I don't use any breadcrumbs and I add a can of Cream of Chicken soup. I also add chopped boiled eggs to mine. Delicious!!!!

I have used this recipe for *years* and it is worth the work! Its taste is everything you'd want in a dressing. My only complaint-- I wish Southern Living had included the weight of cornbread required, so that if you DON'T want to make the cornbread from scratch, you could fast-track the recipe with pre-made cornbread.

Everyone has different tastes with dressing--this one is excellent. It comes as close as possible to my mother's dressing--she had the recipe in her head, and the family hasn't been able to duplicate it since. With the amount of broth, it makes a dressing that's moist enough to not need gravy. But with gravy, it's heavenly! A keeper.

MY mother always made the dressing and never from a recipe and it has taken some trial and error to reproduce her recipe. She and her family are from Copiah Co., MS and my father's family are from the MS Delta and it is unheard of in both families to put sage in the dressing. Sage goes in sausage. Y'all, try this recipe without the sage and I think you will like it so much better! Also, I would use half the celery as well because a whole bunch would be way toooooo overpowering. The delicate flavors can easily be overwhelmed between too much celery and the sage. Also, I've spent most of my adult life in Southeast LA and they don't put sage in their dressing either! Where's the gravy?

I have used this recipe for the past few years and my family always loves it. The recipe makes a large amount, which is perfect for our family. One batch is enough for me to take 2 9x13 pans to my husbands side (20+ people) on Wednesday night and then for me to serve a smaller amount, an 8x8 pan, on Thanksgiving to my side of the family (8-10 people)

Finally I've found a recipe that is as good as my mom's. It is a little time consuming but is well worth it. I've made it every year since the recipe first appeared in Southern Living and will continue to do so.