Traditional stuffing is elevated by the addition of bacon and cornbread! This Bacon and Cornbread Stuffing will be the best side dish on your Thanksgiving table!
I’m back with more Thanksgiving recipes today! In case you missed Monday’s post (a delicious one might I add), 19 other bloggers and I are sharing our favorite recipes with you as part of what we call a Blogsgiving Dinner. Today is dedicated to the main dish and to my favorite part of the meal: the side dishes! At the bottom of this post are tons of delicious Thanksgiving foods from my blog friends.
I made Bacon and Cornbread Stuffing for our virtual dinner! Because what is Thanksgiving without a huge helping of stuffing. Some (aka TheBetterHalf and me) might say it is the best part of the meal.
Now I am usually a traditional girl when it comes to stuffing – no sausage, no mushrooms, nothing too fancy. And last year I shared that classic stuffing with you, which by the way is an awesome recipe straight from my mom’s recipe box. But since I already have mom’s stuffing on the blog, I had to change it up this year.
My twist? Cornbread. and Bacon. Oh yes. Cornbread Stuffing with Bacon – it tastes as delicious as its sounds! I’m thinking we need to start a new tradition around our house – plain stuffing and cornbread stuffing!
This cornbread stuffing is actually very similar to my mom’s traditional stuffing. I just subbed out some of the bread for cornbread, and added some bacon! The veggies are sautéed in the bacon fat (along with some butter. because this is Thanksgiving after all), giving them so much extra flavor! Then I add tons of both fresh and dried herbs – the smell when they hit the pan is literally the smell of Thanksgiving. So good!
The cornbread gives the stuffing a hint of sweetness and a great texture, and of course the bacon adds tons of flavor. This cornbread stuffing will definitely be a hit at your Thanksgiving table!
Traditional stuffing is elevated by the addition of bacon and cornbread! This Bacon and Cornbread Stuffing will be the best side dish on your Thanksgiving table!
Ingredients
- 1 (9in) pan cornbread, cut into cubes
- 16 slices bread, cut into cubes
- 6 slices bacon
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3-4 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 ½ cups chicken stock
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- extra butter, for dotting on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread cornbread cubes onto a sheet pan and bread cubes onto another sheet pan. Toast in the oven until light golden brown and dry, about 30 minutes for the bread and 45 for the cornbread. Set aside to cool. (This can be done the night before)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large skillet, fry bacon until crispy, turning once during cooking. Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add the butter to the bacon fat and then add the onions and celery. Sauté until veggies are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the herbs, salt, and pepper and sauté for about a minute. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add chicken stock to veggie mixture. When mixture is slightly cool, add the eggs (make sure the mixture is cool enough so that you don't cook the eggs). Then add the bread cubes and toss the whole mixture together. If the mixture seems to dry, add a bit more chicken stock. Chop the bacon into pieces and then stir the bacon and parsley into the stuffing.
- Transfer the mixture to a 9x13 inch baking pan, pressing the stuffing evenly into the pan. Dot the top of the stuffing with pats of butter. Cover the pan with foil bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 20 - 30 minutes, until golden brown and crunchy on top. The internal temperature should be at least 160 degrees.
Thanksgiving is all about family, friends and delicious food. Luckily, the food blogging community is all about these things as well. To celebrate the holiday, Meghan from Cake ‘n’ Knife and Susannah from Feast + West are hosting Blogsgiving Dinner. There are 20 awesome blogs sharing 52 recipes
The idea is based on the old-fashioned progressive dinner party, in which you’d eat each course at a different guest’s home. Each blogger is bringing one or more dishes to the party on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of this week, so be sure to stop by each one and get some ideas for your own Thanksgiving meal. Pick one of the following sentences to put here.
Be sure to check out today’s recipes for entrees, salads and side dishes.
We’ll be posting to social media with the hashtag #blogsgivingdinner. Hope you can join us!
Salads
Pomegranate & Goat Cheese Salad from Feast + West
Persimmon & Pear Salad from Wit Wisdom and Food
Roasted Butternut Squash & Gorgonzola Salad from Hello Little Home
Entrees
Roasted Turducken from The Speckled Palate
Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Orange-Cranberry Reduction from Home at Six
Beer Brined Turkey with Bacon Gravy from Cake ‘n’ Knife
Smoked Mushroom Steaks with Herbed Bread Crumbs (Vegan) from Betty Becca
Side Dish
Turkey, Apple & Sweet Potato Pot Pies from Love & Flour
Creamy Pumpkin Apple Pasta from My Cooking Spot
Mushroom Spinach Farro from Think Fruitful
Bacon and Cornbread Stuffing from Chez CateyLou
Sweet Potato Crunch from I Cook. I Eat. It’s Life.
Blue Cheese & Bacon Mashed Potatoes from A Savory Feast
Sausage Stuffing from the Wetherills Say I Do
Butternut Squash Grits from Homespun Seasonal Living
Wine
Thanksgiving Wine Pairings from Twin Stripe
Connect with Chez CateyLou!
Cornbread and bacon? You know the way to my heart! I can’t get enough stuffing around the holidays and this sounds divine! I’ll have to ask my mom to make it! yum!! Happy #blogsgivingdinner!
I’m loving the Thanksgiving recipes, Cate! Stuffing is one of my favorite side dishes, so this variation sounds perfect! I’ve never tried stuffing with cornbread before. Such a great idea! Pinned!
I love the idea of adding bacon to stuffing! This sounds amazing. I think I may need to have a bacon-themed Thanksgiving this year.
You can never go wrong with bacon! Have not tried this before, I’m gonna keep it, hope to try it out during Christmas!
Jasline I couldn’t agree more – can never go wrong with bacon!
Ohh this is making my stomach growl!! If I had it my way, we would rename “Turkey Day” as “Stuffing Day” (is that sacrilege?) and there would be a buffet of all different types of stuffings. There are too many awesome stuffing recipes I want to try, now including this one!
We’re a cornbread dressing family so this recipe calls my name. What a great idea to add bacon!
Bacon and cornbread, great stuffing, I like the idea of bacon in it, it probably gives so much flavor:)
Anything with bacon in it is amazing! I try to make a new stuffing recipe every year, so this is really awesome. Thanks for being a part of Blogsgiving Dinner, Cate! It has been so lovely to have you.
This looks like some fabulous stuffing! Pinning!
I love the use of bacon in this – who doesn’t love bacon, right?! You never cease to amaze me with your seriously creative (and delicious!) ideas!
What a gorgeous dish! I’m normally not the biggest cornbread stuffing fan… but how could I not love this with bacon? And vegetables? And all the goodness you’ve put in it?
Also, we’re on the same wavelength. Tomorrow, I’m sharing a rendition of my family’s traditional stuffing with baguettes and bacon. And like you and your better half, my hubby and I agree that the bread/carb side is always the best for Thanksgiving. 😉
This bacon cornbread looks perfect. . you really don’t need to do a lot if you eat with this turkey and all those other sides! Plus anything similar to mom’s traditional stuffing is the best!
Oh my gosh, I could stuff my pie hole with this all day. I have to cook for a lot of people this year and I was in need of a few extra stuffing recipes (the best part of the meal). This looks like a winner!
Thanks, Tanya!
OMG. Bacon and cornbread?! Booyah! This stuffing looks awesome! Pinned!
This is going to sound really wrong, and trust me, I know it is.
I’ve never had stuffing.
I don’t even know how, but seriously. I’m just now seeing this and I’m kinda sorta slapping myself for never getting it at the Thanksgiving table and wasting twenty years of my life without this deliciousness.
I love cornbread stuffings and what a beautiful recipe you have created!
I’ve never made stuffing before, but this one looks and sounds so good!
It’s not Thanksgiving without stuffing, that’s for sure! ANd I love that you used cornbread in yours. My favorite!
Did someone say veggies sauteed in bacon fat? I just got excited!
You had me at bacon….I need to make this cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving! Pinned 🙂
Bacon in my stuffing?! Heck yes! You’ve taken my favorite dish to a new level, Cate 🙂