Stuffings or Dressing? Growing up we always called it stuffing. Most likely because we grew up eating Stove Top Stuffing and then moved on to Pepperidge Farm Classic Herb Stuffing, but we never stuffed the bird… so, really we always made dressing. It is all so confused! No matter what you call it, Thanksgiving won’t be the same without it.
Our local grocery store, Publix, bakes a great cornbread. When it’s available, I buy two and cube about 1 1/2 rounds for the recipe. While I bake cornbread throughout the year, I don’t need to make everything on Thanksgiving. It’s a daunting feast even for professional chefs so I don’t mind purchasing grocery store items that can help me execute my dinner. You can’t find corn bread? Don’t worry, French bread works great. The key is to dry out the bread whether it’s done in the oven or left out to dry the day before. No matter which bread you use, the ratio of cornbread to sausage/apple/cranberry mix should be equally balanced, 1:1 ratio.
LET’S GET STARTED
Preheat oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the middle. Butter your 9X13 casserole and set aside. Cut cornbread into bite size cubes, about 5 cups, and place on a baking sheet. Toast for 5-7 minutes in the oven and set aside to cool.
Note: The cubed cornbread can also be left out to dry on the counter overnight instead of toasting in the oven.
In a large skillet, cook the sausage and diced onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the sausage until it resembles ground beef and it’s evenly browned and onion translucent. Add diced celery, sage, rosemary and thyme. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to blend all the ingredients. Add chopped apples, dried cranberries and chopped parsley and combine. Add cornbread cubes and combine. Evenly drizzle chicken stock and melted butter. Fold to combine as not to break up the moist cornbread and transfer to the buttered 9X13 baking dish. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden. Serve immediately.
Unlike other dishes that require rest time, dressing/stuffing tastes best freshly baked. This is the last dish I bake before the great feast.
Sausage, Apple, Cranberry Cornbread Dressing
Sweet cornbread with sausage, apples and cranberries with all our favorite fall flavors baked until golden. A delicious Thanksgiving side dish that's easy to make and packed with flavor.
Ingredients
- 5 cups cornbread, cut in bite size pieces substitute French baguette
- 1 pound ground sausage turkey, chicken, pork, mild Italian
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- ¾ cup celery, diced
- 2½ teaspoons dried sage
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 apple peeled, cored and cut in bite size pieces Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious or Granny Smith
- ¾ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the middle. Butter your 9X13 casserole and set aside.
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Cut cornbread into bite size cubes and place on a baking sheet. Toast for 5-7 minutes until golden, then set aside to cool.
Note: The cubed cornbread can also be left out to dry on the counter overnight.
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In a large skillet, cook the sausage and diced onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the sausage until it resembles ground beef and it's evenly browned and onion translucent.
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Add diced celery, sage, rosemary and thyme. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to blend all the ingredients.
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Add chopped apples, dried cranberries and chopped parsley. Cook for a 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently to combine.
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Add cornbread cubes and combine. Evenly drizzle chicken stock and melted butter. Fold to combine as not to break up the moist cornbread. Transfer to the prepared 9X13 baking dish.
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Bake uncovered at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden. Serve immediately.
