My grandpa’s southern turkey cornbread dressing recipe is ALWAYS our favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. This old-fashioned holiday recipe is made with crumbled cornbread, white bread, tender green bell peppers and onions, juicy turkey meat, and of course, plenty of ground black pepper! Serve this classic southern side dish alongside your other holiday favorites.
6cupstorn white breadmost of one loaf (homemade or store-bought)
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Instructions
Start by rinsing the turkey then add it to a large pot with the water, salt, 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper, celery, and half of the chopped onions and green bell pepper.
Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer then cover. Boil the turkey until the meat is very tender and falls off the bone, around 2.5 - 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 10 x 15 baking dish (4.5 qt) with parchment paper then set aside.
Once the meat is tender, take the turkey out of the pot and set it on a plate. Separate the meat from the bones.
Pour turkey broth into a separate container. You should have 9 - 10 cups.
In the same pot that you boiled the turkey in, add the crumbled cornbread, torn white bread, the turkey meat, the rest of the ground black pepper, and the rest of the onions and green bell pepper.
Finally, pour in enough broth so that your dressing mixture is loose and a little liquidity but still has some resistance when you stir it. I like to add most of the broth and then slowly add in more until it reaches the right consistency.
Taste the dressing mixture for seasoning. Adjust as desired. It should taste more like cornbread instead of bread.
Pour dressing into the prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly. Cover the top with a layer of parchment paper, gently pressing down the aluminum foil.
Bake your cornbread dressing for 1 hour covered, then remove the parchment paper and aluminum then bake for another 30 - 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom is crusty.
Allow the dressing to cool for 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Dressing should have a liquidy almost soupy consistency before being baked. If you ran out of turkey broth add a little bit of water until it reaches the right consistency.Taste the dressing mixture before baking to add more salt or ground black pepper as desired.Homemade cornbread dressing will spoil very fast in the refrigerator. It’s best to slice and portion out any leftovers the same day you make it or the next day at the latest.Wrap your dressing sections tightly with plastic wrap then place it in a freezer-safe bag to store in the freezer for several weeks. Reheat frozen dressing covered in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 - 40 minutes or until heated through.
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.