Cornbread Dressing with Chicken (Small Batch)

Hosting a small Thanksgiving dinner? This deliciously moist Cornbread Dressing with Chicken recipe is super easy to make and sure to please your family and friends! 

This southern-style cornbread dressing is easy enough you could make it any time of year and serve it with roast chicken. For the holidays, this goes great with fresh cranberry sauce, roasted fingerling potatoes, and some unbelievably good sautéed brussels sprouts with pancetta.

Chicken And Dressing Recipe

The key to good chicken and dressing is making the cornbread a day or two ahead so that it can dry out some. Then, start by sautéing some onions and celery. Next, crumble your cornbread into a large bowl.

Add the celery, onions, and seasonings to the bowl. One of the most important parts of making a delicious and moist dressing is that you use enough chicken stock. You’ll want to add the stock a little at a time until you get the right amount. The mixture should look pretty soupy like this.

I use my own recipe for Skillet Cornbread to make this, but you could use a mix if you want. Just do NOT add any sugar to your cornbread. It’s best to make the cornbread the day before so that it has time to dry out a bit. I have how to make cornbread dressing video on my post from last year if you’d like to check that out. The Same basic method here, just with chicken added.

This Cornbread Dressing with Chicken serves 4-5 people, so it’s perfect for a Thanksgiving dinner for two. Or, if you are having a big group of people, but need a gluten-free dressing option for a couple people attending, this works for that, too. Just make sure that your cornmeal is certified gluten-free, or that the mix and the rest of your ingredients are as well.

I used this simple shredded chicken recipe to prepare mine. I didn’t make the whole amount used in that one because I didn’t need that much. I cooked 1 pound of chicken breasts, used part of it for the dressing and served extra chicken on the side when I was testing this recipe out. It comes out really moist and tender. Just make sure you don’t overcook the chicken or it’ll be really dry.

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5 from 1 vote

Southern Chicken and Dressing

This Southern Chicken and Dressing is super easy to make, delicious and perfect for a small Thanksgiving dinner! 

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 5 people

Author Tempie

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cooked and shredded chicken breast (can also use chicken thighs)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 cups crumbled cornbread
• 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp ground sage
• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt or salt to taste
• 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 baking pan.
• Crumble cornbread into a large bowl and set aside. 
• In a 10-inch skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until tender. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. 
• Add the veggies to the bowl with the cornbread. Add the seasonings and mix together, then add the chicken stock (a little at a time) and mix again to combine. At this point, you can taste and adjust if necessary.
• Pour the egg into the cornbread mixture and stir to combine. It should look soupy at this point. Pour into the prepared baking pan and bake until dressing is cooked through, about 45-50 minutes. Serve hot.

Notes

Cook times will vary based on amount of stock used.

Salt amounts needed will vary based on how salty the cornbread used is and personal preference. And whether you use low-sodium chicken stock or not.

I ended up using 2 1/4 cups plus a couple of splashes of stock for my dressing. Add a little at a time until you reach the right level of soupiness.

By Tempie at October 25, 2018.