My Grandmother’s Dressing Recipe

My grandmother Barbara, or Mema as we always called her, had a way with food and she always added a special ingredient that you could taste, LOVE! Haha that sounds corny, but it is so true. I think cooking was one of her love languages.

Mema always made the best dressing (or stuffing depending on where you live) for Thanksgiving. When we got together for the first holidays after her passing my mom and I were determined to find the recipe. Apparently my grandmother didn’t have a recipe. Like most women back then, she threw the ingredients together and it always turned out amazing. My mom however, is my grandmother’s daughter and she pulled some magic together and created a recipe for us to have. Every Thanksgiving my mom and I take turns making my grandmother’s dressing and it tastes like home. 

I’m sure you won’t have that emotional tie to this dish like my mother and I do, but it is truly the best dressing (or stuffing depending on where you live) I have ever had and I had to share it with y’all. 

It’s a delicious combination of celery, onions and herbs along with the broth and the cornbread to create that perfect texture of softness and stability. It’s an amazing side to go along with your turkey and other Thanksgiving day favorites. 

If you try it, please tag me and let me know what you think! 

The Recipe

Ingredients:

(2) 8.5oz. Boxes of Cornbread

1 Cup of Chopped Celery

¼ Cup Chopped Onion

2 Tablespoons of Ground Sage Seasoning

32 Ounces of Chicken Broth

¼ Cup Butter

(1) 15oz. Package of Bread Crumbs

Directions:

***Bake the cornbread the day or two before and leave out overnight or two, to dry out. It will absorb the broth mixture better.

1. Turn on the oven to 350 Degrees (Farenheit).
2. Saute the chopped celery and chopped onions in butter until onions are translucent.
3. Break up 1½ boxes of baked, dried out cornbread into a 9”x13” baking dish.
4. Stir the celery/onion/butter mixture into the baking dish.
5. Add the broth + sage to the baking dish and mix thoroughly.
6. The dish will be soupy, add in the breadcrumbs to thicken the mixture (1 cup at a time). You want it to be fairly moist.
7. Bake the dish for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Serve warm or refrigerate until ready and reheat in the oven.

My mother and I like to make this dish the night before and refrigerate it so that it is easy to pop in the oven the day of Thanksgiving and we can just enjoy it!