Old fashioned Southern cornbread dressing uses either homemade buttermilk skillet cornbread or Jiffy corn muffin mix! This dish is loaded with beef, pork, poultry seasoning, and sage for a sausage-like flavor. Easy to make and freeze in advance, it’s a must-have holiday side for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter!
Heat olive oil in pan over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery and sauté until all vegetables are well-cooked and soft, about 10-15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, mix together ground beef, ground pork, and sage. Add meat mixture to pan with veggies and cook until browned, breaking apart into small pieces. Add poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Crumble cornbread, saltines, and breadcrumbs in a large bowl and add meat and vegetable mixture. Mix well. Add chicken broth so mixture is moist. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, and additional water if mixture looks dry.
Mix well and transfer to two 8 x 8 baking pans, one 9x13 pan, or a 3 qt casserole dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is browned and dressing is warm throughout.
Notes
To make in advance, complete all steps and stop just short of baking the dressing. Refrigerate for a couple days or wrap tightly in foil and freeze for up to a couple weeks. If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge before baking. Add another 5 minutes or so to the baking time if baking straight from the fridge.