Cornbread Stuffing
Add this cornbread stuffing to the menu for your next holiday celebration and watch it disappear! No one can resist tender, sweet cornbread baked with fresh herbs, celery, and onions.
After making this cornbread stuffing, I am NEVER going back to the boxed stuff. Not only did I love it, but the non-vegans in my family devoured it too—let me tell you, this stuffing went FAST. Whether you call it cornbread dressing or stuffing, it’s going to be a hit!
With sage, celery, onions, garlic, and thyme, every bite of this cornbread stuffing is packed with flavour. But, of course, the star of the show is the cornbread itself. I used my jalapeño gluten free cornbread muffins, which is the perfect cornbread to soak up all that flavourful goodness—plus, it adds a little zip to the stuffing, which I love.
Why You’ll Love This Cornbread Stuffing Recipe
- Vegan and gluten-free. As long as you use a gluten-free and vegan cornbread, this stuffing is suitable for plant-based and gluten-free eaters. But it’s so delicious, everyone at the table will love it!
- Easy to make. Yes, you can buy stuffing in a box, but you don’t need to! It takes just 12 minutes of prep work to put together this recipe, and it’s done cooking in 25 minutes. (This traditional vegan stuffing recipe is also super easy.)
- So flavourful. In theory, stuffing should be full of savoury flavour, but some versions fall flat. This cornbread stuffing won’t let you down! It has so much depth, from the subtly sweet cornbread, to the fresh herbs and aromatics.
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Cornbread – If you don’t use my cornbread muffins, you can use this vegan cornbread recipe or your favourite store-bought vegan cornbread.
- Coconut oil – Or another oil you like to use for cooking.
- Celery and onion – Two classic vegetables for making stuffing! They create a base of flavour.
- Fresh herbs – I use sage and thyme.
- Salt and ground black pepper
- Vegetable broth – I love to use my homemade vegetable broth made from kitchen scraps.
- Garlic
- Flax egg – Here’s how to make a flax egg.
How to Make Cornbread Stuffing
- Prepare. Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
- Cook the aromatics. Melt the coconut oil in a pan set over medium heat, then add the onion, garlic, celery. Stir in the herbs, salt, and pepper; cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the onions are tender and garlic is fragrant.
- Assemble. Add the cornbread to a casserole dish with the vegetables and flax egg. Stir to combine, then add the broth and stir again.
- Bake. Place the dish in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and slightly crispy.
Tips for Success
- Make sure the cornbread is stale. If it’s still a bit moist, place it in the oven while it preheats to dry it out. Dry cornbread soaks up more flavour!
- Adjust the moisture level. If you want a more tender stuffing, add more vegetable broth ¼ cup at a time.
- Know when it’s done. Because there’s no egg in this cornbread stuffing recipe, you don’t have to wait for it to set. I like to pull it out of the oven when the top is a little bit crusty, but you can pull it out earlier if you prefer your stuffing softer—without the egg, it’s perfectly safe to do so.
Cornbread Stuffing Variations
- Add mushrooms. Sautéed mushrooms (or these garlic mushrooms) make a savoury addition to this cornbread stuffing.
- Use half the cornbread. Some stuffing recipes call for half regular bread, half cornbread. If you try this, use a good quality bakery-style bread—or my crusty no-knead bread.
- Make it (vegan) meaty. Add your favourite crumbled plant-based sausage or even diced bits of vegan turkey or vegan chicken.
How to Store
Store leftover cornbread stuffing in an airtight container or covered in the baking dish for up to a week. Reheat in the oven at 350ºF until it’s warmed through.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
You can freeze your cornbread stuffing in an airtight container for up to a month. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating according to the instructions above. If needed, you can add vegetable broth before baking it keep it moist.
More Classic Holiday Recipes
- Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole (From Scratch)
- Sweet Potato Soufflé
- Vegan Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Caramelised Onions
- Vegan Wellington
Enjoy friends! If you make this cornbread stuffing, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients
- 9-10 cups of 1 batch gluten-free cornbread muffins, dried out for a day and broken into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 4 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped finely
- 1 small onion, chopped finely
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth, or more for your preference
- 3 cloves garlic, minced finely
- 1 flax egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Ensure your cornbread is dried out. If it’s still a bit moist, stick it in the oven on a baking sheet while the oven is preheating for about 15 minutes or so until dried out. It should feel like just gone stale bread.
- In a pan over medium heat, melt the coconut oil and add the onion, garlic, celery. Add the thyme, sage, salt and pepper, stir together, and cook until onions are tender and garlic is fragrant, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a casserole dish, add the cornbread pieces. Add the cooked down veggies. Add the flax egg and combine everything. Add the vegetable broth and stir everything together once more to incorporate. If you want more liquid, just add some more vegetable broth by the ¼ cup until it’s moist enough for you. Alternatively, if you prefer drier cornbread, add a cup at a time until your preferred moist level.
- Bake for 25 minutes until cornbread is set and top becomes golden brown and slightly crusty.. Remove, cool slightly and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I’ve actually never made my own stuffing (GASP)! Your version looks incredible! Love that it uses your flavorful cornbread muffins in place of bread! So much flavor!
Beautiful presentation! And it’s gluten free?! Perfect! Pinned!
Thanks so much Tonya!!
I only started making stuffing about two years ago. Now it’s my family’s favorite dish! Next I have to try a cornbread version – this looks great!
Thanks so much Megan!! So awesome re the stuffing too!
I’m obsessed with your recipes !! The best.
Aw thanks so much Alexandra!!
This looks so delicious! I’m adding this to my Thanksgiving menu. I don’t heat my flax though, what would you recommend instead of the flax egg?
Hi Elizabeth,
Thank you! You could just use a different egg replacer like the one by Bob’s Red Mill!! I hope you enjoy so much!!
Wow this was soooo good. The corn bread to start was stellar, better than traditional, I really loved that pumpkin addition The stuffing was perfectly seasoned as I followed your recipe to the T, it was my first time having corn bread stuffing and it wont be my last. This will be added to my christmas menu and also looking forward to the holiday recipes that your creative mind will bless us with lol
We’re so happy that you enjoyed this recipe Schenell! Thank you so much for reading and leaving such a nice comment!
This is my second time making this stuffing this week and it’s so good and easy. I used the standard cornbread recipe instead of the muffins so I was able to make it in one pan. It tastes so good!