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An easy gluten free stuffing, this Cornbread Dressing Recipe will surely impress! Full of italian sausage, vegetables, homemade cornbread, cranberries, spices, and more!

This is one of our family’s favorite holiday side dishes. We make it for Thanksgiving and then again at Christmas time for good measure… it’s that good.

I especially love today’s cornbread stuffing recipes for two reasons:

It’s gluten free! It uses homemade cornbread. Don’t worry if homemade cornbread isn’t your thing, you can use store-bought if you’d like.

How to make cornbread dressing (stuffing)

Because the cornbread needs a chance to dry out, this is a GREAT make ahead recipe. I like making the cornbread and letting it sit out for 24 hours for the best results. Feel free to also make the filling a day in advance.

Make the cornbread: whisk together butter, sugar, eggs, and buttermilk, then fold in cornmeal, baking soda, salt, creamed corn, and sweet corn. You can see the full cornbread recipe here. Bake, cool, cube, let sit for 24 hours, then toast in the oven for optimal crispness. Make the filling: cook sausage, onion, celery, and spices together until the meat is no longer pink, then stir in cranberries and pecans. Put it all together: place toasted cornbread cubes and sausage filling in a large bowl with whisked egg, melted butter, and chicken broth, gently fold to combine, then pour into an oven safe dish. Bake and serve: bake in a 375 degrees F oven for 20-30 minutes or until warm, then serve!

Stuffing variations

Make it semi-homemade . If you don’t want to make your own cornbread (although I highly recommend it, it’s SO quick and easy), feel free to use store-bought cornbread or make it from a box (verify either are gluten free, if necessary).

. If you don’t want to make your own cornbread (although I highly recommend it, it’s SO quick and easy), feel free to use store-bought cornbread or make it from a box (verify either are gluten free, if necessary). Make it vegetarian . Use a vegetarian sausage. I don’t recommend replacing the sausage with something like mushrooms, because the sausage (meat or vegetarian) adds a nice flavor and texture to the dish.

. Use a vegetarian sausage. I don’t recommend replacing the sausage with something like mushrooms, because the sausage (meat or vegetarian) adds a nice flavor and texture to the dish. Make it without cornbread. If you’re looking for a more traditional stuffing, be sure to check out my best ever sausage stuffing or crockpot vegetarian stuffing.

What is the difference between cornbread stuffing and dressing?

There really is no difference between dressing and stuffing, they are the same thing. Traditionally, stuffing is stuffed inside the turkey and cooked whereas dressing is baked outside the turkey in a separate dish. Nowadays, for food safety reasons, you should avoid cooking stuffing/dressing inside the turkey entirely.

It also depends on where you live. Some states call it stuffing while others call it dressing.

Can i stuff my turkey?

Most experts don’t recommend baking your stuffing or dressing in the turkey for food safety reasons. If you’d like to learn more, here’s a great article on Why You Shouldn’t Stuff Your Turkey.

The quick summary: cooking the stuffing to a safe temperature means your turkey is probably overcooked. If you cook your turkey perfectly, you’ll probably have undercooked stuffing making it prone to bacteria.

Can you make cornbread dressing ahead?

If you’d like to make the cornbread stuffing ahead of time, I’d recommend baking the cornbread and making the sausage filling 24 hours in advance, then assembling the recipe the day of. If you assemble ahead of time, you may end up with soggy stuffing.

To make the cornbread ahead of time: bake according to directions, cool completely, then cube and leave uncovered at room temperature for 24 hours.

To make the filling ahead of time: cook the sausage, onion, celery, and spices together until the meat is no longer pink, then stir in cranberries and pecans. Cool completely, place in a sealed airtight container, then store in the fridge a day in advance.

Then continue with the recipe as listed the day of.

Can you freeze cornbread dressing?

If you’d like to freeze cornbread dressing, simply follow the recipe as listed up until the point where you’d bake it. Store the unbaked dressing in the greased baking pan, cover with saran wrap, then tin foil, and place in the freezer for up to 1 month.

To reheat from frozen: thaw completely in the fridge, let sit out at room temperature while the oven preheats, then bake according to recipe directions. You may need additional baking time depending on how cold it is.

A super simple, completely homemade cornbread dressing.

It’s a little sweet, has a little kick from the sausage, is SO full of texture thanks to the celery and pecans, and I’m gonna be honest, just totally addicting. 😉

Enjoy!

– Jennifer

Other thanksgiving side dish recipes

-Jennifer

This recipe was originally published Nov 18, 2016. It has been updated with more helpful tips and answers to frequently asked questions.