Southern Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing (Vegan, Allergy-Free)

The Southern twist on classic Thanksgiving stuffing (or dressing)! This super easy Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing recipe is vegan, allergy-free, and perfect for a holiday crowd! A traditional old-fashioned favorite with minimal ingredients, homemade cornbread, and grandma’s touch of Southern hospitality!

What’s (possibly) better than Thanksgiving stuffing? SOUTHERN-style Thanksgiving stuffing! That means we’re ditching the gluten-free white bread for gluten-free cornbread! Has anyone ever passed up a serving of cornbread? No (and I think that’s a sin in the South). Has anyone passed on the stuffing? Yes. So what if we use cornbread as our stuffing base? I think you’re getting the idea…right?

Drying Cornbread for Stuffing

When it comes to a stuffing recipe, if you don’t have the right bread, your entire recipe will be a sad flop. If you’re going to be making “baked mushy bread” then it better well be GOOD mushy bread! That all comes down to drying (making stale) your bread or cornbread in this case. To do so, I recommend making a batch of these gluten-free cornbread muffins a day or two in advance, crumbling them, and letting them sit out in an opened bag or container to dry.

If you’re short on time and have to make the gluten-free cornbread they day you’re making the stuffing, simply crumble and toast the cornbread in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes.

Best Gluten-Free Cornbread for Stuffing

This stuffing recipe calls for one batch of my gluten-free mini cornbread muffins. It’s the perfect amount and they are so easy to whip up. Mini muffins are easier to crumble and get the right size for a stuffing recipe. However, if you would like to make a full cornbread, my skillet recipe will work as well.

Cornbread Stuffing vs. Cornbread Dressing

As I mentioned at the bottom of this stuffing recipe, calling it “stuffing” is actually wrong.

• Stuffing = Baking the stuffing in an actual Turkey (or some other food).
• Dressing = Baking the stuffing separately, sans bird.

So this is actually gluten-free cornbread dressing, but depending on where you grew up (in the South they call it dressing) and/or what your family has always called it, whatever rolls off the tongue is fine. Dressing sounds odd, wrong, and like “salad dressing” to me, a New Jersey girl. Stuffing sounds much more like Thanksgiving and comforting side dish. Baking this dish outside of the Turkey is also the safe way to bake it (no food poisoning potential from undercooked stuffing in the bird cavity), and well, it’s vegan.

How to make Guten-Free Cornbread Stuffing

Since the cornbread is the dominant “showcase” ingredient, the extra veggies and seasonings shouldn’t be overpowering and simply take on a supporting role in this cozy side dish.

What you need:

• Gluten-Free Cornbread
• Celery
• Onion
• Garlic
• Fresh Parsley
• Dried Rosemary
• Dried Thyme
• Ground Sage
• Black Pepper
• Vegetable Broth

Easy, simple, heavy on the cornbread and essential Thanksgiving seasonings! Rosemary, thyme, and sage are what I like to call the “Thanksgiving Trifecta” of flavor and aroma!

Steps to make it:

1. Prebake, crumble, and “stale” your gluten-free cornbread.
2. Saute the veggies, herbs, and spices on the stove.
3. Add the cornbread to a large bowl, add the sauteed veggie mixture, and add 1 cup of broth (always add less liquid to begin. You don’t want to over saturate your stuffing!)
4. Spread the moist stuffing mixture in a baking dish or seasoned cast iron skillet, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for another 5 minutes to let the top crisp slightly.

Ease the holiday stress and make it ahead of time

Stuffing/dressing is ideal for making the day (or two) before Thanksgiving and/or other holidays. In this vegan stuffing, there aren’t even any animal products to worry about. So go ahead and whip this up, let it cook completely, and cover your baking dish with some foil before placing it in the fridge. To reheat the stuffing on the big day, just pop it back in the oven at 350°F for 15-20 minutes until it warms through.

Healthy Vegan Cornbread Stuffing

I never understood why typical stuffing recipes called for egg. You 100% do not need eggs in the stuffing. Making it egg-free and vegan in the process (as well as using vegetable broth instead of turkey or chicken stock). This cornbread dressing is a perfectly easy and healthier side dish to add to the holiday table the almost everyone can enjoy without food allergies worries or dietary constraints. It’s…

• Gluten-Free
• Vegan
• Allergy-free (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free, Peanut-Free, Wheat-Free, Sesame-Free, Coconut-Free)
• Oil-Free
• Sugar-Free
• Kid-Friendly
• Healthy, Quick, and Easy!

If you think you don’t like traditional stuffing or you have some guests you know will be coming for dinner and they tend to turn their nose up to stuffing, give them a warm heaping scoop of this cornbread dressing and watch as they devour every bite (yes, everyone will need seconds!)

Southern Gluten-Free Cornbread Stuffing

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More Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes:

• The Best Gluten-Free Vegan Stuffing
• Gluten-Free Brown Rice Stuffing Casserole
• Healthy Green Bean Casserole
• 5-Minute Sugar-Free + Vegan Cream-Style Corn
• Rustic Rosemary Thyme Mashed Potatoes
• Easy Creamy Mushroom Gravy

It’s recipes like this that make me wonder why stuffing isn’t a “normal” side dish to a cozy weeknight meal? While I hated stuffing as a kid, I started loving it a year or two before I was diagnosed with celiac (go figure!). My mom actually did prepare good old Stovetop boxed stuffing on random weeknights, but we, as a collective society, need to make this humble Thanksgiving side dish a much more prominent food on the family dinner table. Who’s with me?

So tell me:

+ Dressing vs. Stuffing?

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