{"slug":"southern-cornbread-dressing","collection":"recipes","is_recipe":true,"visibility":"public","title":"Southern Cornbread Dressing","description":"A classic Southern dressing made with crumbled cornbread, soft white bread, sage, thyme, and rich stock — golden-edged and custardy at the center.","body_md":"\n## Source\n\nhttps://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018382-southern-cornbread-dressing\n\n## Notes\n\n-   The cornbread must be diced and dried before using. Be sure to prepare cornbread at least one day in advance.\n\n## Equipment\n\n-   8-by-11-inch baking dish\n\n## Preheat Oven\n\nPreheat oven to 450°F — **only if baking the cornbread from scratch** (see the linked cornbread recipe). With cornbread already on hand, skip this: the dressing itself bakes at 350°F.\n\n## Ingredients\n\n-   One recipe **cornbread**\n-   720ml (3 cups) soft white bread, crust removed and torn or cut into 1-inch pieces (do not pack)\n-   120ml (½ cup) butter (1 stick), plus more for the pan\n-   480ml (2 cups) chopped sweet onions\n-   360ml (1½ cups) chopped celery (4 or 5 stalks)\n-   1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt\n-   2 eggs\n-   1 ¼ tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage\n-   1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme\n-   ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper\n-   960–1200ml (4 to 5 cups) rich vegetable stock\n\n## Preparation\n\n### Dry Cornbread\n\n1. After baking and cooling cornbread, dice into ½\" cubes.\n2. Spread cornbread cubes in a single layer on a lined baking sheet.\n3. Leave to dry several days, or leave overnight in an oven at about 150°F.\n\n### Combine Breads\n\n1. Heat oven to 350°F.\n2. Combine **cornbread** and **white bread** in a large bowl, tossing to mix, and breaking cornbread into smaller pieces.\n\n### Vegetables\n\n1. Melt **butter** in a large skillet.\n2. Add **onions**, **celery** and ½ teaspoon **salt**.\n3. Sauté until vegetables have softened, about **6 minutes**.\n4. Add vegetables to bread mixture and combine.\n\n### Final Steps\n\n1. Lightly beat **eggs** and add to bowl.\n2. Sprinkle in the **sage** and **thyme**\n3. Add remaining 1 teaspoon **salt** and the **pepper** and toss together.\n4. Add 960ml (4 cups) **broth** and stir well.\n5. Using your hands, work the mixture to get a very lumpy, thick, batter-like consistency.\n6. Add another 240ml (1 cup) of **stock** if needed.\n7. The mixture should be very wet and pourable but without standing liquid.\n\n### Bake\n\n1. Butter an 8-by-11-inch baking dish.\n2. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and bake until dressing puffs slightly and has browned well around the edges, about **45 minutes** to **1 hour**.\n3. If you have drippings from a roasted turkey, spoon some over the top about **30 minutes** into the baking time.\n\n\n## Notes\n\n- **Dietary correction (2026-07-30):** the stock line read \"rich chicken, turkey, or vegetable stock\" on a recipe themed Vegetarian, with the meat stocks named first. Vegetable stock is now the ingredient — use a well-reduced one, since it carries the dressing.\n- **Clarity fixes (2026-07-30):** the 450°F preheat had no matching step in this recipe — it belongs to the cornbread sub-recipe, now stated. And 'Sprinkle in herbs' named neither of the two listed herbs; now explicit.\n","draft":false,"servings":"8","prep_time":"20 minutes","cook_time":"1 hour","total_time":"1 hour 20 minutes","source_name":"NYT Cooking","source_url":"https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018382-southern-cornbread-dressing","created_at":"2018-11-30T18:14:27Z","updated_at":"2026-08-27T21:26:28.353503Z","categories":["Side Dish"],"tags":["Cornbread"],"methods":["Baked"],"themes":["Thanksgiving","Vegetarian"],"ingredients":[{"section":"","items":["-   One recipe **cornbread**","-   720ml (3 cups) soft white bread, crust removed and torn or cut into 1-inch pieces (do not pack)","-   120ml (½ cup) butter (1 stick), plus more for the pan","-   480ml (2 cups) chopped sweet onions","-   360ml (1½ cups) chopped celery (4 or 5 stalks)","-   1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt","-   2 eggs","-   1 ¼ tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage","-   1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme","-   ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper","-   960–1200ml (4 to 5 cups) rich vegetable stock"],"parsed":[{"raw":"-   One recipe **cornbread**","item":"One recipe cornbread"},{"raw":"-   720ml (3 cups) soft white bread, crust removed and torn or cut into 1-inch pieces (do not pack)","qty":720,"unit":"ml","item":"soft white bread, crust removed and torn or cut into 1-inch pieces"},{"raw":"-   120ml (½ cup) butter (1 stick), plus more for the pan","qty":120,"unit":"ml","item":"butter","prep":"plus more for the pan"},{"raw":"-   480ml (2 cups) chopped sweet onions","qty":480,"unit":"ml","item":"chopped sweet onions"},{"raw":"-   360ml (1½ cups) chopped celery (4 or 5 stalks)","qty":360,"unit":"ml","item":"chopped celery"},{"raw":"-   1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt","qty":1,"item":"½ teaspoons kosher salt"},{"raw":"-   2 eggs","qty":2,"item":"eggs"},{"raw":"-   1 ¼ tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage","qty":1,"item":"¼ tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage"},{"raw":"-   1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme","qty":1,"unit":"tsp","item":"chopped fresh thyme"},{"raw":"-   ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper","qty":0.25,"unit":"tsp","item":"ground black pepper"},{"raw":"-   960–1200ml (4 to 5 cups) rich vegetable stock","qty":960,"qty_max":1200,"unit":"ml","item":"rich vegetable stock"}]}],"related":[{"slug":"cornbread","title":"Cornbread","relation":"component"}],"servings_int":8,"qc":{"status":"passed","last_checked_at":"2026-08-27T21:28:29.914409Z","checked_by":"robert@sigler.io","standard_version":"2026-07-30","findings_count":0,"stale":false}}