My mom’s recipe for cornbread stuffing is an essential side dish on our Thanksgiving table and you’ll soon see why it’s the best ever! Super moist and flavorful and the perfect accompaniment to any turkey dinner.
We’re long overdue for me to share the number one reason I look forward to Thanksgiving every year.
I’ll give you a hint: the bird is great and all but if I had to pick one part of the meal to solely eat forever, I’m picking my mom’s legendary cornbread stuffing every time.
I’m talking crispy outside, moist interior, and the most incredible mix of savory flavors I’ve ever had in a stuffing. My mom definitely had a couple of tricks up her sleeve for this recipe and I cannot WAIT to share them with you!
As far as stuffing goes, this recipe is the absolute EASIEST and pretty much impossible to mess up. Did I mention it’s been in my mom’s recipe box for like 20 years now? Mom’s been making this one for as far back as I can remember.
My mom passed away recently (about 9 months ago from now when I’m updating this recipe in fall 2025) and this recipe is by far the most treasured recipe I have from her. I can’t wait to pass it on to my own kids someday and share parts about her legacy with them.
Whenever I make this stuffing it always brings back sweet memories of my mom and past Thanksgivings we had together. as a family. My hope is that you can make this recipe as meaningful of tradition in your family too!
This Stuffing features…
- A moist and fluffy texture
- Rustic crumbled cornbread and biscuits
- Lots of flavor from sautéed onion, celery, garlic, and herbs
Making the Stuffing
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Unsalted butter
- Yellow onion
- Celery
- Garlic
- Parsley
- Poultry seasoning
- Rubbed sage
- Cornbread
- Biscuits
- Eggs
- Chicken broth
Choosing Your Bread
I recommend choosing a less-sweet cornbread recipe or brand of mix for this stuffing as we want the flavors on the savory side. Both homemade cornbread and boxed mix work great in this recipe.
Rather than use standard stuffing bread cubes, one of my mom’s tricks with this stuffing was to use crumbled baked biscuits in addition to the cornbread for a little bit of extra richness. Likewise with the cornbread, refrigerated biscuits, biscuit mix, or homemade will all work in this recipe.
Tips for Perfect Stuffing
- Sauté vegetables – this is the flavor base to your stuffing. The fresh onion, celery, garlic, and parsley sautéed in lots of butter is nonnegotiable, Mom said so!
- Allow sautéed vegetables to cool before assembling stuffing – this will prevent the eggs from scrambling.
- Crumble cornbread and biscuits – the pieces don’t need to all be uniform, just aim for bite-sized pieces.
- Moisten stuffing with broth – start with 2 cups and add a few extra splashes as needed to moisten bread.
- Bake stuffing uncovered – this will help the exterior brown into those crispy bits you know and love about stuffing.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this oatmeal.
- Make it vegetarian – replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.
- Add sausage – a lot of cornbread stuffing recipes use sausage. My mom never used any meat in hers, but feel free to add 1/2 lb browned sausage if you want that meaty kick.
- Use different herbs – try rosemary, thyme, or fresh sage.
- Add dried fruit – try adding dried cranberries or golden raisins.
Make-Ahead Tips
Follow these instructions for time-saving make ahead tips.
- Sauté vegetables – follow step 2 and store vegetables in refrigerator up to 6 days.
- Crumble cornbread and biscuits – bake the cornbread and biscuits, allow to cool, crumble into pieces, and store in refrigerator up to 6 days. You may also freeze them up to 2 months.
- Assemble in pan – follow instructions through step 4, but do not bake. Cover stuffing with a lid or tin foil and store in refrigerator up to 24 hours before baking. Allow pan to come to room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding with baking.
One bite of this moist and flavorful stuffing is all it’s gonna take for you to declare it a new Thanksgiving tradition in your house! Mom’s recipes always win and she sure did something very right with this recipe.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Try these other keeper Thanksgiving recipes next!
Mom’s Cornbread Stuffing
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Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
- 1-1/2 cups finely-diced celery
- 6 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1-1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dry rubbed sage
- 6 cups crumbled baked cornbread
- 3 cups crumbled baked biscuits
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 to 2-1/2 cups chicken broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish. Set aside.
- Melt butter in a large high-walled skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and saute 3-5 minutes until tender. Add garlic, parsley, poultry seasoning, and sage and saute 1-2 additional minutes until fragrant. Remove pan from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Fold crumbled cornbread and biscuits into vegetable mixture until evenly combined. Drizzle eggs over top and add 2 cups chicken broth, lightly tossing until mixture is moistened, adding an additional splash of broth as needed to moisten bread. Season stuffing with salt and pepper to taste.
- Scrape stuffing into prepared dish. Bake stuffing at 375F 30-35 minutes until top is golden brown. Serve stuffing warm and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 10/15/25.
Amanda says
Oh my goodness stuffing is the main event on my Thanksgiving plate. That and mashed potatoes. And with cornbread in there what could be better? Yum!
Vicki says
What recipe do you use for cornbread?
Julie says
Can this be assembled 1 1/2 days ahead before baking?
Sarah says
Yes, that would be fine, Julie!
Just4Foodies says
I made this last night and it was good.
John says
biscuits” is too vague a description for me. Homemade and cooked? Store bought and raw? What did you use?
Sarah says
Hi John – I go into detail about the biscuit options in the blog post. I will update the wording in the recipe card though!
Beck says
Where can we find the original recipe? We really enjoy the old one
Sarah says
I’m happy to send you a copy of the old version if you want it! Is it okay if I send it to the email you have listed here?