Cornbread Sausage Stuffing

Gluten Free Cornbread Stuffing or Cornbread Dressing

Is it cornbread stuffing or cornbread dressing?  After you try this recipe you’ll just call it fantastic.  The sweet and savory mix of sausage and apples is a classic pairing on so many of our holiday tables during the holidays.  

And stuffing can always be tailored to your own liking.  Toss in a few cranberries if you want or add a few nuts to suit your own tastes.  Sometimes I like to add chestnuts.  Everyone has their personal favorite.  

This stuffing is my answer to a Thanksgiving dinner at my mom’s where I was forced to refrain from her similar stuffing made with a traditional bread base.  I’m not complaining too much since there was an endless array of choices for me to indulge my vociferous holiday appetite.  

Now back to this recipe.  It’s all about the cornbread.  It stands up perfectly in this dish.  The recipe yields a cornbread that is shallower than I’d make if I were serving the cornbread as a solo act.  For the stuffing, I wanted something with a lot of top and bottom surface so it wouldn't fall apart in the recipe.  

If I were going to serve this cornbread by itself, I’d double the recipe and bake it in a 9 inch pan.  I’d also tack on an additional 10 minutes to the bake time. But if I wanted to double the recipe for the stuffing I’d double the cornbread recipe and bake it in two 8 inch pans for more surface area.  I hope I've explained that well enough.   

Cornbread Ingredients:

·         1 cup gluten free Bisquick

·         1 cup fine ground corn meal

·         1/3 cup sugar

·         ½ tsp salt

·         1 ½ tsp baking powder

·         1 egg

·         1 cup milk

·         1/3 cup vegetable oil

Stuffing Ingredients

·         1 gluten free cornbread (prepared as directed above)

·         6 oz sausage, casings removed

·         1 apple

·         1 rib of celery

·         1 carrot

·         1 onion

·         1 egg

·         3 cups chicken stock

·         4 tbsp butter

·         1 tbsp ground sage

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Video Tutorial:

Instructions for the cornbread:

1.      Preheat the oven to 400°F or 205 °C and grease an 8” round cake pan.

2.      In a large bowl stir together the Bisquick, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

3.      In a small bowl lightly beat the egg, milk, and oil together. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir them together with a rubber spatula until they are well combined then pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

4.      Let the cornbread cool down. I actually made mine the night before.  

Instructions for the stuffing:

1.      Preheat the oven to 350°F or 175 °

2.      Dice the cornbread into small cubes and put it onto a foil lined baking sheet then bake it for about 10 minutes. 

3.      In a large skillet over a medium high heat crumble and cook the sausage until just browned then add the butter, diced onions, carrot, celery, and apples to the pan with some salt and pepper to taste.    

4.      Meanwhile beat the egg and chicken stock together then stir in the ground sage and set this aside. 

5.      Add the cornbread cubes to the pan with the sausage and veggies and stir to combine then pour over the stock mixture and gently stir but do not over mix.

6.      Spoon the mixture into a greased casserole dish, then dot the top with butter and bake for 40 minutes.