Cornbread stuffing is hands-down my absolute favorite kind of stuffing, and I think it goes well with just about any kind of meat you could possibly want to serve it with. (Or as I’ve been known to do, top it with a fried egg and serve it with a big salad and call it a meal, no roast chicken required.)
Turkey-Sage Cornbread Stuffing, Served with Salad Greens Dressed with Grape-Thyme Vinaigrette
For me, any add-ins to cornbread stuffing (like sausage, veggies, apples, chestnuts, and other stuffing classics) are just gravy, so to speak.
In this recipe, you can use sausage instead of the turkey if you like, but since I have a hard time finding a good non-pork sausage in my area, I used ground turkey and tried to mimic the flavor of sausage with the flavors of maple, sage, thyme, nutmeg, and fennel. Fresh herbs really brighten up the flavor here and that isn’t something you get out of a box of stuffing mix! If you’re not used to making homemade stuffing, after you realize how it’s flavor blows boxed stuffing out of the water, I think you’ll be hooked.
I know the “holiday only” reputation that stuffing has, but don’t wait for next Thanksgiving or Christmas to make this! (And if you have time to whip up a batch of my Creamed Corn Cornbread Muffins to use in this recipe, it is even that much better.)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 large stalks celery, diced
- 1 lb (450 g) ground turkey
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh sage
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon fennel seed
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 6 cornbread muffins (store-bought or homemade)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup (240 ml) low-sodium chicken stock
- Preheat oven to 425F; grease an 8 by 8-inch casserole dish with ½ tablespoon butter.
- Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion and celery and cook until the veggies are softened but not browned, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the turkey and cook until browned, about 5 minutes, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon.
- Add the garlic, maple syrup, Worcestershire sauce, sage, thyme, salt, pepper, fennel seed, and nutmeg, and cook 3 minutes more, stirring frequently. Turn off the heat and cool slightly.
- Crumble the muffins into a large bowl; stir in the turkey mixture and then the eggs. Stir in the chicken stock a little at a time, and then spread the stuffing into the prepared dish.
- Dot the top with the remaining ½ tablespoon butter and bake until the top and sides are light golden, about 30 minutes.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Rosa says
December 17, 2011 at 5:51 amA lovely stuffing! I always add sage to mine…
Cheers,
Rosa
Coco says
December 17, 2011 at 7:36 amI enjoyed reading the interview and learn more about you. s that pic you Faith?
I like your answer about what’s the good and bad part of blogging. it’s true that it’s easy to let blogging leaking into other aspects of life, we should always be conscious about it! :)
Faith says
December 17, 2011 at 8:21 amCoco, Yup, that’s me! :)
Diane says
December 17, 2011 at 7:41 amMmmmmm my mouth is watering. I have 3 huge bushes of sage so it will be a good idea to use some up. Diane
Amy (Savory Moments) says
December 17, 2011 at 8:43 amWhat a wonderful interview! Very interesting and informative. Also, I adore the salt shaker and pepper grinder in your photos. They are so cute.
Sanjeeta kk says
December 17, 2011 at 8:59 amWonderful interview, Faith and what a lovely idea to stuff cornbread. Beautiful clicks..love those props.
Katerina says
December 17, 2011 at 10:23 amWe eat the turkey on Christmas Day and usually our stuffing consists of rice, pine nuts or chestnuts, raisins and herbs. This stuffing looks very tasty Faith I would love to try it! Congratulations on your interview!
Daisy@Nevertoosweet says
December 17, 2011 at 1:04 pmAwwww that’s such a lovely interview!!! :) And when is the book going to be released? I don’t know much about middle eastern food so i’m so excited about reading it ~
Alyssa (Everyday Maven) says
December 17, 2011 at 5:08 pmFaith what a wonderful interview! Your wedding and time abroad sounds so exciting! I seriously CANNOT wait for your cookbook. Those are some of my favorite flavors! This stuffing looks great – I love cornbread stuffing. Ok, I think I love ALL stuffing ;)
BeadedTail says
December 17, 2011 at 5:48 pmThat was a great interview Faith! I enjoyed it very much! This recipe looks like something I’d enjoy very much too!
Veronica Miller says
December 18, 2011 at 12:42 amI really enjoyed reading that interview! Stuffing is one of my favorite foods of all time (it’s the only thing I HAVE to have at Thanksgiving) so this is really making me drool. I love how you made your own turkey sausage for it! or at least, adding the flavorings to make it taste like sausage. :)
Sharon | Chinese Soup Pot says
December 18, 2011 at 3:24 amHi Faith, your photos are beautiful! I love the pretty red wood bowl and the matching salt and pepper grinders. And the turkey sage cornbread stuffing looks delicious! Its appearance remind me a bit like Chinese fried rice which I absolutely adore too! =)
Ramya says
December 18, 2011 at 9:32 amHi Faith..
I njoyed reading ur interview.
Lovely clicks..awesome writeups..I am head over heals over edible garden and ofcourse you:-)
Infact i come back to ur space again n again n again to see ur spectacular clicks!! love them!!! cant get enough of it!!
U r my macaroon Guru as well:-)hats off to u:-)
I am also a big admirer of middle eatern cuisine and am dying to visit middle east sometime soon!!
Faith says
December 18, 2011 at 10:13 pmRamya, Thank you so much for your kind words — they brought a huge smile to my face! I just checked out your blog, which is stunning…I will definitely be visiting again soon! :)
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says
December 18, 2011 at 10:41 amI love the idea of serving stuffing with green and a poached egg! This sounds delicious…
Angie's Recipes says
December 18, 2011 at 11:26 amLove sage in the stuffing. Yummy!
Carolyn Jung says
December 18, 2011 at 5:53 pmLeftover stuffing with a fried egg on top? Why have I never thought of that before? Gawd, sounds like my ideal midnight indulgence. ;)
Lisa says
December 18, 2011 at 7:51 pmThis looks good—I’m not a huge fan of stuffing unless it has a lot of things going on—in my family, it seemed to be a lot of just…well, mushy bread! This look completely awesome. Mmmmm.
anh@anhsfoodblog.com says
December 18, 2011 at 8:45 pmi am roasting a turkey this Xmas! This recipe comes handy :)
Heba @ midEATS says
December 18, 2011 at 11:26 pmThanks for linking the interview to your blog! I’m glad so many readers enjoyed it :) It was a pleasure having you on midEATS. And btw, this recipe is awesome. I’ve made a similar stuffing with beef sausage, but the spices you use are intriguing – I’ll have to try that combination next time! And to echo a comment above, your pictures & props are outstanding – I esp. LOVE the wooden S&P shakers!
5 Star Foodie says
December 18, 2011 at 11:40 pmA wonderful stuffing, great flavor with sage!
grace says
December 20, 2011 at 2:03 pmi can’t hide it–i’m a big pig fan. that said, however, i would enjoy this turkey-fied stuffing very much–it looks like it’s exploding with flavor!
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom says
December 22, 2011 at 7:54 amThis looks wonderful. I tried another cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving, but it wasn’t great. Hopefully I can give this one a run soon! Maybe for Xmas. Thanks!