best cornbread stuffing

This savory cornbread stuffing with sausage, apples and herbs will steal the show at your Thanksgiving! Easy to make ahead and great leftover.

Cornbread Stuffing

unsalted butter

milk (at room temperature)

white vinegar or lemon juice

yellow cornmeal (I use medium grind)

white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose flour)

baking powder

baking soda

salt

honey

eggs (at room temperature)

chicken broth

eggs

sweet Italian chicken sausage or turkey sausage

onion

celery (cut in small dice)

black pepper

garlic (minced (about 1 tablespoon))

cranberries

sage sage

thyme leaves thyme

parsley flakes or 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

apple

Melt

Bake the cornbread (do this up to 2 days in advance): Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, with a baking rack on the middle level. Coat an 8×8-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Melt the butter and let come to room temperature.

Stir

In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, stir together the milk and vinegar. Allow it to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the milk has curdled slightly (you can also swap the milk for buttermilk, omit the vinegar, and skip this step). Stir in the honey, eggs, and melted butter.

Whisk

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients and fold gently to combine.

Bake

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, until the cornbread is light and golden brown, with a deeper golden brown at the edges. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean. Set aside to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Toast

Once the cornbread is cool, cut it into 1-inch cubes (since the pan of cornbread is thicker than 1 inch, I cut mine into 1-inch cubes from the top, then turn each "row" of cubes on its side and then cut it in half again through the middle). Spread in a single layer on an ungreased or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. The cubes can touch, but don't overlap them (if your pan is too small, divide them onto two pans). Toast in the oven for 15 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

Make the stuffing: Lightly coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. In a very large bowl, whisk together the eggs and chicken broth.

Cook

In a large skillet on the stove, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, salt, and pepper. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, until fragrant.

Add the sausage to the skillet (if it’s in its casing, you can squeeze them into the skillet directly). Cook, breaking up the meat into crumbles. Add the apple.

Continue cooking until the sausage is cooked through almost completely, about 4 minutes more, then stir in the cranberries, sage, thyme, and parsley.

Pour

Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool a few minutes. Pour into the bowl with the broth and eggs, along with any cooking juices.

To the bowl, add the toasted cornbread cubes. With your largest spoon, stir very gently to combine the ingredients. Continue stirring and folding, until everything is evenly moistened.

Spoon into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until toasted on top and the center is moist but not overly damp. Serve warm.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/g1YDBePv.mp4

Cornbread Stuffing with Fennel Bulb, Dried Cranberries, and Toasted Pecans is richly flavored and soul comforting.  The perfect addition to your holiday table.  This recipe can easily be made a day ahead of baking!  Vegetarian and Gluten Free adaptable.

Cornbread Stuffing with Cranberries and Pecans 

cornmeal

flour

sea salt

buttermilk (sub yogurt, mixed

Cornbread (from above)

shallots

celery, 2-3 ribs chopped small

fennel bulb, 1 medium bulb, chopped small

fresh sage, minced

fresh rosemary, minced

thyme leaves

sea salt

white wine

pecans,

chicken stock or vegetable broth

parsley

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Place cast iron skillet (or other baking dish) in the oven.

Whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Remove skillet from oven and put the butter in the hot skillet, stir around until it melts.  Pour melted butter into a bowl.  Now your skillet is buttered and warm.  This will make a nice crust on your cornbread.

Along with the melted butter, whisk in honey, buttermilk and eggs until completely mixed.

Pour flour mixture into the wet ingredients and gently mix until just combined.

Pour cornbread batter into the skillet, and spread out evenly.  Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. It is ok if it overbakes a bit when used in the stuffing.

Make the Cornbread ( Tip: Do this a day ahead!) 

Cut the cornbread into 1-inch cubes and toast on a sheet pan in the oven for 20 minutes.

Sauté celery, fennel, shallots, thyme, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper for about 6-8 minutes until softened and fragrant.  Add white wine and turn up the heat for 2 minutes more, cooking it off.  Turn heat off.

Whisk the egg with 1 cup of chicken broth.

In a large bowl gently mix sautéed veggies together with toasted cornbread, pecans, cranberries, parsley and 1 1/2 cups of the egg broth mixture.

Place in a buttered baking dish, 9 x13 or equivalent, and pour over the remaining 1/2 cup of broth mixture if needed to further moisten.

Bake covered at 375 F for 30 minutes.  Remove the cover and bake for 15 more minutes, until golden and puffed.

Make the Stuffing

Made this for Thanksgiving today and it was absolutely delicious! I didn't have the fennel so I left it out, and used about 3/4 of the stick of butter and it still turned out splendid. Everyone raved about it. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!

Loved it! I tried this recipe for a Thanksgiving get together and it was a HUGE hit. It will definitely be a go-to for us going forward. Thanks for another great recipe!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/XCHElOrJ.mp4

Cornbread Stuffing with Fennel Bulb, Dried Cranberries, and Toasted Pecans is richly flavored and so delicious! The perfect addition to your holiday table. This recipe can easily be made a day ahead of baking. Vegetarian and Gluten-Free adaptable.

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