Southern Cornbread Dressing with Sausage, Apples & Sage
This Southern cornbread dressing with sausage, apples, and sage bakes up moist and tender with a golden top. Made with unsweetened cornbread, savory breakfast sausage, Honeycrisp apple, and classic seasonings, it’s a comforting side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Sunday supper.
Servings: 12 people
Calories: 242kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cake unsweetened cornbread cooled and crumbled (6–8 cups)
- 16 ounces regular breakfast sausage such as Jimmy Dean
- ½ cup butter 1 stick or 8 tablespoons
- 3 fresh sage leaves optional but recommended
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1 large Honeycrisp apple finely diced
- 1 10.5-ounce can condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 cups chicken or turkey stock plus more if needed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground sage
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning such as McCormick
Instructions
- Prepare the cornbread. Bake your favorite unsweetened cornbread, preferably 1–2 days ahead. If using White Lily Buttermilk Cornbread Mix, omit the sugar. Crumble the cooled cornbread into a large mixing bowl.
- Preheat the oven. Preheat to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking dish.
- Brown the sausage. Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it into crumbles, until browned and cooked through, about 5–8 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the cornbread.
- Sauté the vegetables. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add the fresh sage leaves, if using, along with the diced onion and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables soften. Remove and discard the sage leaves, then transfer the vegetables and melted butter to the mixing bowl.
- Mix the dressing. Add the diced apple, undiluted cream of celery soup, beaten eggs, stock, salt, pepper, ground sage, and poultry seasoning. Gently stir until evenly combined. The mixture should be very moist without liquid pooling in the bowl. Add a little more stock if needed.
- Bake. Transfer the dressing mixture to the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until golden on top, set in the center, and the internal temperature reaches 165°F (74°C). Loosely cover with foil if the top browns before the center finishes cooking. Optional: I like to save back a few chopped pieces of the cornbread and some of the sausage crumbles to sprinkle on top before baking.
- Serve. Let the dressing rest for 5–10 minutes before serving.
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Notes
Use unsweetened cornbread. If using White Lily Buttermilk Cornbread Mix, omit the sugar. Bake the cornbread 1–2 days ahead, if possible.
Adjust the stock as needed. The amount needed may vary depending on whether your cornbread yields 6 or 8 cups. The dressing mixture should be very moist without liquid pooling in the bowl.
Keep the soup undiluted. Add the cream of celery soup straight from the can.
Dice the apple finely. Small pieces soften during baking and spread evenly throughout the dressing.
Remove the whole sage leaves. These flavor the butter while the vegetables cook. Discard them before mixing; the ground sage stays in the dressing.
Watch the top while baking. Loosely cover with foil if it browns before the center is set. The finished dressing should reach 165°F (74°C) in the center.
Allow extra baking time for chilled dressing. If assembled and refrigerated the day before, it may take longer to cook through.
Be sure to check out the full blog post for more helpful tips, make-ahead instructions, storage and reheating guidance, and serving suggestions.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup, approximately | Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 602mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 366IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg