Traditional Sausage and Cornbread Dressing/Stuffing

You can’t have a Thanksgiving or holiday meal without Dressing! Whether you do it dressing or stuffing style, you can’ t go wrong with a traditional recipe. I’m breaking down how to make simple and delicious Traditional Sausage and Cornbread Dressing, but gluten-free, with a crispy top and full of fresh herbs.

This recipe for Thanksgiving Dressing or Stuffing is a staple in my family and what I would call “traditional” but that’s only because it’s all I’ve ever known. So, since you probably have a family that has an ideal classic in their mind for the holiday, we are going to stick to the traditional. But of course, we are making it gluten-free and damn good.

I will say, if my family was the tiniest bit more adventurous when it comes to the holidays (every other day, yes, but holidays no) I’d say, add chopped delicata squash, roasted Brussels, dried cherries, or diced sweet potatoes to this mix! Honestly, it could adapt really easily and be even more amazing. BUT the classic is so freaking good, I won’t mess with it here. 

FIRST discussion: stuffing vs dressing. I call them all stuffing. But if it’s baked outside of the bird, it is actually dressing. So this is dressing. Because ain’t nobody got time for stuffing it into a bird and having everything come out mushy and underbaked just for the sake of semantics. Ok? So this is dressing, although I’ll probably slip and call it stuffing a thousand times over.

SECOND discussion: what is “traditional stuffing” to your family? Some people’s have legit chestnuts or oysters or raisins…dear lord. So here’s what ours is: a mix of bread and cornbread, walnuts, sausage and aromatics. Period.

Now, usually I get all high and mighty about picking good meat because you SHOULD. But we keep it plain and simple and easy with this one. Breakfast sausage. Yup, as in, you can slice it into patties (HATE that word) or brown it in crumbles for pizza toppings. We do Jimmy Dean spicy breakfast sausage. You can look for an alternative equivalent, but that’s honestly what I’m using here.

My mom always uses “poultry seasoning” when she makes her Traditional Sausage and Cornbread Dressing, but I like to swap that for all fresh herbs. I think it makes a big difference in flavor. You can buy small packages of fresh thyme, rosemary and sage at most grocery stores, so grab one of each! You’ll use the rest on and in your turkey and gravy too, so they won’t ever go to waste.

Bread. I start saving bread ends in a freezer bag and try to bake a bit extra when I’m in a good bread-baking swing, just for the upcoming holidays. I use THIS cookbook and make a gluten-free sourdough with lots of different gluten-free grains. You can use whichever gluten-free bread you love here, you don’t need to make it from scratch. Cornbread is the same story. I save mine in the freezer after a round of chili but you can easily buy a box mix and whip up a batch right now.

The KEY is having the bread and cornbread DRY though. So, after you cut up your bread and cornbread, just toast it a touch on a very low heat in your oven or toaster oven to dry it up a bit. (Traditionally, my mom leaves hers on the counter on a wire rack overnight, but toaster oven is lickety split.)

PORTION. My mom makes probably six times this much for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Apparently we’re afraid of running out. But I pared down the recipe a bit so it isn’t so overwhelming. Mine makes a good 6-8 sides. Heaping sides at that. So if you’re feeding an army, easily multiply this recipe. But this recipe works perfectly for my smaller family unit and won’t monopolize my fridge the day after. Mine is baked up in this 3.5qt Staub Pumpkin (which gives it GREAT crispy edges) but you can bake it up in a 9×9 square dish.

Ready? Let’s get to it!

Traditional Sausage and Cornbread Dressing/Stuffing
Recipe by Melissa @ Treats With A Twist
Makes 6-8 side servings

INGREDIENTS
4 cups cubed gluten-free bread (½” cubes)*
4 cups cubed cornbread
3 cups browned spicy breakfast sausage **
1 cup diced white onion
1 cup diced celery
3 Tbs. fresh thyme
2 Tbs. minced fresh rosemary
1 Tbs. minced fresh sage
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
You’ll also need: olive oil, salt, pepper

METHOD
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and grease your baking dish with olive oil.

In a toaster oven (or in your oven before it preheats), lightly toast the bread and cornbread cubes so they dry out a little (I set mine to just a level 2, which doesn’t add any color to my bread).

Combine all of the ingredients except the broth in your baking dish and toss together with your hands, carefully (don’t break the bread too much). Add a large pinch of sea salt and black pepper evenly throughout.
Carefully and evenly pour broth over the top of everything until when you press down on the top of everything it feels slightly spongy. I use a carton of broth and pour around half of it over the dressing.
Drizzle the top with a bit of olive oil (1-2 Tbs) so the top will end up golden and crispy.

Cover the baking dish and bake for 40 minutes. Then uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the top is completely golden and crispy.
Let the dressing cool on a wire rack a little, sprinkle with more herbs and serve! Enjoy!

NOTES
To reheat dressing, I just pour a little more broth over the top and bake covered for 15 minutes then uncovered for 10 minutes.
*I make my own bread and store scraps in the freezer, then use those for this recipe. You can use any gluten-free bread you love, though.
**I use Jimmy Dean “hot” breakfast sausage. One roll of raw sausage cooks up perfectly to the right amount for this recipe.

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For more gluten free Thanksgiving recipes, check out THIS post!