Everything old is new again! Well, that’s the approach to this unique spin on a traditional holiday classic. This delicious recipe for our Croissant Italian Cornbread Dressing is below.
We took cornbread dressing with our latest recipe and gave it an Italian flair.
Try it this year for your holiday dinner.
Croissant Italian Cornbread Dressing
Are you looking for a way to spice up your holiday dressing recipe?
Because now and again, it’s fun to take an old favorite and give it a delicious twist straight out of left field.
That was our thinking when we put together our Italian Cornbread Dressing; this holiday, level up!
Don’t worry; this recipe has got all of the classic cornbread traditional components with a few flavorful upgrades like Italian salami, chopped prosciutto, and Italian sausage.
I think we have a winner on our hands!
How do you make your cornbread for the dressing?
There are two camps: those who like their cornbread savory and those who want their cornbread a bit on the sweet side when it comes to dressing.
Mind you, neither is wrong; it just comes down to preference. But any good home cook worth his or her salt knows that sometimes it is all about compromise.
For this recipe, we came up with a compromise when it comes to creating the cornbread because it is one part Jiffy mix and one part scratch.
We accomplished this by combining a boxed cornbread mix with homemade ingredients like fresh eggs, buttermilk, whole milk, yellow cornmeal, celery seed, and ground sage.
It’s a little bit sweet and a whole lot of savory.
Adding meat to cornbread dressing
Now, if you’re familiar with making dressing or stuffing, it’s not unusual to add meat to a traditional cornbread recipe.
My mama, may she rest in peace, used to add shredded chicken or chopped turkey to her holiday dressing recipe.
Here’s where we shake things up by adding uncured salame, chopped prosciutto, and Italian sausage.
How this Italian cornbread dressing comes together.
This recipe is essentially made in three easy stages: prepare the cornbread dressing and make a mixture of sautéed onions, peppers, celery, and garlic.
Then brown the Italian sausage, drain off any excess grease, add the chopped Italian salame and prosciutto (the salame and prosciutto don’t need to be cooked, both will heat through in the oven), and mix well.
Fold the veggies and meat into the crumbled cornbread and seasoning. Add the chicken stock and mix until all of the ingredients are well combined, and the mixture is damp; if you add too much liquid, the dressing will not firm up or set.
Make sure the dressing is evenly distributed in the baking dish. Toss the remaining meat and veggies with croissants and evenly top the cornbread dressing with the mixture, then drizzle with herb-infused melted unsalted butter.
This dressing is awesome, with lots of visual appeal and so many incredible layers of texture and flavor.
Here Is What You Will Need
Cornbread Dressing. I compiled a typical cornbread recipe with many of the usual suspects and a few new ones. I used cornbread, peppers, onion, garlic, and celery. You can also add additional flavors like dried cranberries, toasted chopped walnuts, mushrooms, shallots, and green onion.
Uncured Pepperoni. Chopped Prosciutto. Italian Sausage. Here’s where this dressing recipe gets interesting and so much fun. Adding uncured salami, prosciutto, and browned Italian sausage is a game-changer and a fun, off-the-beaten-track take on one of the most iconic Thanksgiving recipes ever!
Croissants. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy buttery light-as-air croissants? And they make the perfect topping for such an indulgent recipe. It’s not every day we celebrate with so much luscious food, so why not go fancy? Plus, adding croissants is an easy way to make this recipe look and feel extra decadent. When it comes to adding the croissants, I have done it one of two ways. You can slice the croissants into bite-size pieces, or you can put the croissants into the food processor to make croissants breadcrumbs; either way, it is fine, so it’s 100% your call.
All The Seasonings. Okay, not all the seasonings because we are getting very specific about the dish’s flavors. As a matter of course, Dressing and stuffing must have sage and a healthy amount of it. Other traditional seasonings include celery seed, onion powder, and Old Bay seasoning. Then, because we’re using the word Italian by necessity, we are using rosemary, thyme, and oregano, and making things easy, I am using a skillful Italian seasoning blend.
How To Make Italian Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients:
- a pan of cornbread crumbled (see step 2)
- 8 ounces croissants cut into 1-inch cubes or pulsed in a food processor for breadcrumb-style
- 3 tablespoons rubbed or ground sage
- 2 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon fennel seed
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon old bay seasoning
- 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black peppercorns
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 small yellow bell pepper
- 1 small orange bell pepper
- 1 celery stalk
- 5 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 stick melted unsalted butter OR EVOO
- 4 celery sticks thinly sliced
- 3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 6 ounces chopped salame
- 6 ounces chopped prosciutto
- 1 cup browned Italian sausage
For the top of the dressing: 1 stick melted butter mixed with 1 tablespoon rubbed sage, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, and 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black peppercorns. (for step 9 below)
Drizzle mixture on top of the dressing just before baking in a preheated 350° F oven for 45 minutes.
How to make the cornbread: two boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix into a bowl, add 1/2 pint of full-fat buttermilk, one cup of whole milk, and 1 cup of yellow cornmeal. (for step 2 below)
Don’t forget to add one tablespoon each of celery seed and ground or rubbed sage.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Pour two boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix into a bowl. Add 1/2 pint of full-fat buttermilk, one cup of whole milk, and 1 cup of yellow cornmeal. Don’t forget to add one tablespoon each of celery seed and ground or rubbed sage.
- As the cornbread is baking, prep and sauté the onions, peppers, celery, and garlic, then set aside.
- Use a serrated knife, cut the croissant into one-inch cubes, and set aside. Or, if you prefer a more breadcrumb style, put the croissants into the food processor and make croissant breadcrumbs.
- Into a large bowl, crumble the cornbread and add the sautéed vegetables, seasoning, and half of the chopped uncured salame, prosciutto, and browned Italian sausage.
- Brush melted unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil. Brush the bottom and along the sides of a baking dish.
- Spoon the cornbread mixture into the prepared baking dish, add three cupfuls of chicken or vegetable stock, and mix well.
- Add the croissants and the remaining meat; make sure to distribute the meat over the top of the dressing equally.
- Drizzle melted unsalted herb butter (recipe above) over the top of the croissant topping.
- Place the dressing onto the middle rack of the 350°F oven, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the dressing shiny side up, and bake for 45-50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the dressing to cool for ten minutes.
- Serve.
Can I make this dressing recipe a day ahead?
Absolutely! Making major dishes like this is a game-changer; it means you have one less thing you have to worry about on the day of the dinner!
Make sure you refrigerate properly and reheat by heating the dressing.
Can I freeze dressing or stuffing?
You sure can. Store any leftover stuffing in smaller 1-2 servings in an airtight freezer bag or container.
Properly stored dressing (or stuffing) will be kept in the freezer for up to three months.
Reheat by placing the dressing in a microwave-safe dish and reheat for 3 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 F, place the dressing in a covered container, and warm through for 10-15 minutes.
Want to make this recipe even better?
Here are a few other ingredients you may want to toss into the mix:
- fresh rosemary
- fresh thyme
- fresh marjoram
- diced apples or pears
- dried cranberries
- dried blueberries
- caramelized sweet onions
- toasted and chopped pecans, walnuts, or macadamia
- crumbled thick-cut bacon
- fennel chopped
Remember these are optional ingredients and not essential to the recipe; add according to your taste.
Okay, now you have the recipe; all you have to do is gather up the ingredients and make your next holiday dinner nothing short of amazing.
I think you’re going to love this one!
And always, if you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line in the comments section below!
Find more holiday dinner ideas below:
Cornbread Dressing with Chicken
Croissant + Italian Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- * pan of cornbread crumbled
- * 8 ounces croissants cut into 1-inch cubes or pulsed in a food processor
- * 3 tablespoons rubbed or ground sage
- * 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- * 1 tablespoon fennel seed
- *1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- * 1 tablespoon old bay seasoning
- * 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black peppercorns
- * 1 large yellow onion
- * 1 small red bell pepper
- * 1 small yellow bell pepper
- * 1 small orange bell pepper
- 1 celery stalk
- * 5 cloves of garlic minced
- * 1 cup dried cranberries
- * 1/2 stick melted unsalted butter
- * 4 celery sticks thinly sliced
- * 3 cups chicken stock
- * 6 ounces chopped salame
- * 6 ounces chopped prosciutto
- * 1 cup browned Italian sausage
- For the top of the dressing: 1 stick melted butter mixed with 1 tablespoon rubbed sage 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, and 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black peppercorns. Drizzle mixture on top of the dressing just before baking in a preheated 350° F oven for 45 minutes.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Pour two boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix into a bowl. Add 1/2 pint of full-fat buttermilk, one cup of whole milk, and 1 cup of yellow cornmeal. Don't forget to add one tablespoon each of celery seed and ground or rubbed sage.
- As the cornbread is baking, prep and sauté the onions, peppers, celery, and garlic, then set aside.
- Use a serrated knife, cut the croissant into one-inch cubes, and set aside. Or, if you prefer a more breadcrumb style, put the croissants into the food processor and make croissant breadcrumbs.
- Into a large bowl, crumble the cornbread and add the sautéed vegetables, seasoning, and half of the chopped uncured salame, prosciutto, and browned Italian sausage.
- Brush melted unsalted butter or extra virgin olive oil. Brush the bottom and along the sides of a baking dish.
- Spoon the cornbread mixture into the prepared baking dish, add three cupfuls of chicken or vegetable stock, and mix well.
- Add the croissants and the remaining meat; make sure to distribute the meat over the top of the dressing equally.
- Drizzle melted unsalted herb butter (recipe above) over the top of the croissant topping.
- Place the dressing onto the middle rack of the 350°F oven, place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the dressing shiny side up, and bake for 45-50 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the dressing to cool for ten minutes.
- Serve.
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