This easy, gluten-free Cornbread Dressing is loaded with homemade cornbread, savory sausage, chewy cranberries, and crunchy pecans — a twist on a traditional, Southern Thanksgiving side!

General
Why you'll love this
Ingredient notes
How to make
Get the recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Stuffing vs dressing
Can you stuff the turkey?
Variations
Pairing suggestions
How to make in advance
How to store
Nutrition information
Ingredients

Why you’ll love this

Easy. Make your favorite cornbread and cook the sausage and veggies a day in advance, then quickly stir and bake everything the day of!
Crowd Favorite. Toasted cornbread is mixed with savory sausage, chewy cranberries, and crunchy pecans to make the perfect sweet and salty blend of flavors and textures!

Ingredient notes

Cornbread – you’ll need 1 batch of my homemade cornbread recipe. Feel free to use your favorite recipe or even a box of cornbread as long as it’s intended to be made in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Yellow Onion – red onion, sweet onion, or shallots will work as well.
Celery – feel free to omit if you’re not a fan.
Spices: Rosemary, Thyme, Nutmeg, Sage, Salt, and Pepper – feel free to omit any of the spices, if desired and keep it simple with just salt and pepper. Although, I love how the additional spices make this taste like Thanksgiving!
Dried Cranberries – another dried fruit such as raisins, dried cherries, or chopped dates may also be used.
Pecans – omit, if necessary for a nut allergy, or replace with another nut such as chopped walnuts.
Egg – you’ll need 1 large egg. There is no substitute, because it helps bind all the ingredients together.
Butter – salted, unsalted, or even plant-based butter may be used.
Broth – chicken or vegetable broth will work.

Pro tip

Don’t want to make your own cornbread? Use your favorite boxed variety! Be sure you’re making enough to fill a 9×13 inch pan.

How to make

Because the cornbread needs a chance to dry out, this is a great make ahead recipe.

Bake, cool, cube, and toast cornbread.
In a large skillet, cook sausage, onion, celery, and spices until the sausage has cooked through and the veggies are tender. Remove from the heat and stir in cranberries and pecans.
In a small bowl, whisk together egg, melted butter, and chicken broth. Set aside.
Place the sausage mixture and cornbread into a large bowl and pour in the egg mixture. Gently fold everything together.
Transfer the mixture into a greased baking dish and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Pro tip

I like making the cornbread and letting it sit out 24 hours in advance for best results. Feel free to also make the filling a day in advance!

What is the difference between stuffing and dressing?

Technically, stuffing is stuffed inside the turkey and cooked whereas dressing is baked outside the turkey in a separate dish, but the two words are often used interchangeably.

Can you stuff the turkey?

Experts now advise against baking your stuffing/dressing inside the turkey for food safety reasons.

Cooking the stuffing to a safe temperature means your turkey will probably become overcooked. If you cook your turkey perfectly you’ll probably have undercooked stuffing prone to bacteria.

Basically, you’re better off just avoiding it altogether!

Variations

Make it semi-homemade. If you don’t want to make your own cornbread (although I highly recommend it), feel free to use a store-bought variety instead. Or try my How to Make Jiffy Cornbread Better!
Swap the dried fruit. Not a cranberry fan? Try raisins!
Make it vegetarian. Swap the sausage for a vegetarian variety.
Make it without cornbread. If you’d rather go the traditional route, try my sausage stuffing or my crockpot vegetarian stuffing.

What to serve with cornbread dressing

This cornbread dressing is a classic for the holidays. Here are some of my other favorite holiday dishes!

Can you make cornbread dressing ahead of time?

You sure can! If you’d like to make the cornbread dressing ahead of time, bake the cornbread and make the sausage filling 24 hours in advance, then assemble the recipe the day of! I don’t recommend assembling ahead of time or you may end up with soggy stuffing.

To make the cornbread ahead of time: bake according to directions, cool completely, cube, then leave uncovered at room temperature for 24 hours.
To make the filling ahead of time: cook the sausage, onion, celery, and spices together, stir in cranberries and pecans, cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 24 hours.
To freeze the entire recipe ahead of time: follow the recipe as directed but wait to bake after assembled. Instead, cover it with saran wrap and foil and freeze for up to a month. When you’re ready to serve, thaw in the fridge and bake as directed!