Cornbread Stuffing With Sausage and Corn Nuts

Name: Cornbread Stuffing
Yield: 8–10 servings
Ingredients: 3 lb. cornbread, cut into ¾" pieces (14–16 cups); 1½ lb. breakfast sausage, casings removed if needed; 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), plus more for pan; 2 medium onions, chopped; 4 celery stalks, chopped; Kosher salt; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 2 Thai chiles or 1 jalapeño (with seeds), chopped; ¾ cup corn nuts, finely ground in a food processor, blender, or mortar and pestle (about ½ cup); ¾ cup dry white wine; 1 Tbsp. finely chopped sage; 2 tsp. finely chopped thyme; 3 large eggs; 3½ cups turkey stock or low-sodium chicken broth; Freshly ground black pepper

By Rick Martinez and Chris Morocco

October 16, 2021

Cornbread Stuffing recipe With Sausage and Corn Nuts

Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski

Whether your family calls this cornbread stuffing or dressing, this recipe goes beyond the traditional, with heat from Thai chiles and an extra hit of corn flavor from corn nut magic dust. (We bloom the pulverized corn nuts like a spice to bring out all their earthy, funky, wonderful corniness.)

There are distinct bites of toasted bread on top and an almost-but-not-quite-custardy interior. You can absolutely use store-bought cornbread, or this recipe we developed specifically intended for stuffing. If the stock pools in the dish when you pour it in, don’t panic, it will get absorbed in no time. This cornbread stuffing recipe can take a lot, absorbing tons of flavor and staying moist and vibrant, even when made as many as three days ahead. You can even use it to make stuffing fried rice with the leftovers like we did.

See all of the Absolutely, Positively Perfect Thanksgiving recipes here.

Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published October 15, 2019.

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