Rich, savory spoonbread dressing is loaded with traditional holiday flavors. Part corn pudding + part traditional stuffing = totally wonderful!
If Spoon Bread Dressing isn’t in your best holiday recipe file, it should be! This isn’t your traditional Thanksgiving “turkey and dressing” style stuffing – it’s more a rich, fluffy, custard-like souffle.
Made from corn & corn meal, eggs & butter, onions & celery, and loads of herbs & seasonings, this recipe is an absolute showstopper!
Is Corn Spoonbread Dressing the Same as Corn Casserole?
Yes! No! Maybe?
Whatever it is, Spoon Bread Dressing is heavenly!
The herbs and spices will remind you of traditional stuffing. The basic ingredients will make you think of cornbread or corn casserole (or Jiffy Corn Pudding, for my southern readers!). But using 4 eggs and beating the egg whites until fluffy make this dressing feel more like a warm custard.
It’s light, flavorful, and impressive.
Other Recipes to Serve for the Holidays
I love putting a twist on traditional holiday meals – taking beloved staples like corn, cranberries, and pecans and elevating them to something spectacular!
- Instead of wiggly, jiggly canned cranberry jelly, try this light, pink, sweet, delicious Cranberry Fluff!
- Everybody and their mom brings pecan pie to your family Christmas dinner, but you will stand out from the crowd with this creamy, decadent Pecan Pie Cheesecake!
- Cranberry Pecan Green Bean Casserole takes ALL the traditional holiday ingredients and combines them into THE BEST green bean casserole recipe you’ve ever put in your mouth!
Ingredients
Batter Base: Spoon bread casserole starts like classic corn pudding with yellow cornmeal, a can of corn, baking powder, sugar, milk, and butter.
Veggies: Like traditional turkey stuffing, spoon bread dressing uses a stalk of celery and a half cup of diced onion.
The Fluff: Four eggs (separated) are the key to taking this recipe from traditional cornbread casserole to fluffy, fabulous souffle!
Seasoning: If this recipe were a winter outfit, the seasonings would be your scarf, hat & gloves – ESSENTIAL and fabulous! Sage, thyme, rosemary, ground nutmeg, salt & pepper, and parsley bring “the style” to this dressing!
How to Make Spoon Bread Dressing
STEP ONE: This recipe takes about 10 minutes to prep, but it’s pretty straightforward. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray. In a skillet, melt the butter and saute the onions and celery until the onions are translucent. Add in all the herbs and cook for another minute.
STEP TWO: Pour the milk into the onion and herb mixture and heat until it begins to bubble. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal, sugar, and seasonings until everything starts to thicken. Remove from heat and gently blend in the baking powder and corn. Set aside and let cool down for several minutes.
STEP THREE: In a large bowl, separate your 4 egg whites and beat until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat the yolks for one minute. Once the batter mixture has cooled a bit, blend the beaten yolks into the warm pan with all the other ingredients. Last, gently fold in the egg whites.
STEP FOUR: Pour the entire mixture into the greased pan and place in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
STEP FIVE: This spoonbread dressing will rise up tall in the oven but may fall a bit as it cools. This is totally normal, don’t worry. Now sprinkle with a garnish of parsley and spoon it onto plates! It’s SO GOOD.
Tips for Success
- Be sure to let the corn and milk mixture cool down a bit before stirring in the eggs. You don’t want the eggs to scramble when they’re added in!
- If you bake your spoon bread dressing in a cast iron skillet, cut the baking time to 25 minutes, as it will continue to bake in the hot skillet after you remove it from the oven.
- For an even smoother, creamier spoonbread dressing, use a can of creamed corn instead of whole kernel corn.
What’s the Difference between Cornbread and Spoonbread?
A classic cornbread recipe is a mild-flavored bread made from cornmeal that has a muffin- or biscuit-like consistency. Spoonbread (which gets its name simply because you serve it by scooping out a spoonful!) is a smooth, moist, souffle-like casserole with the feel of bread pudding or custard. It’s fluffy and full of flavors, making it a perfect side dish for your holiday meal – or any meal, for that matter! It’s especially good as a complement to winter soups and stews.
Can Spoon Bread Dressing be Frozen?
Leftover spoonbread will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. But it also freezes and reheats very well! Make sure it’s room temp, double-wrap in plastic wrap, and freeze for weeks! I like to wrap mine into individual servings so I can pop out what I want when I take food to a friend or neighbor who needs an easy meal.
Other Scrumptious Stuffing & Delicious Dressing Recipes:
- Pear Pomegranate Stuffing
- Cornbread Dressing
- Butternut Squash and Leek Stuffing
- Apple & Cranberry Cornbread Dressing
- Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Apple Sausage Stuffing
- Skillet Turkey Cornbread Casserole
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup yellow onion peeled and diced
- 1 rib celery finely diced
- 2 leaves fresh sage finely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh thyme finely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary finely chopped
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup fine stone-ground cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 15.25 ounces canned whole kernel corn drained
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 large eggs separated
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the herbs and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour the milk into the skillet. Heat until the milk begins to bubble. Whisk in the cornmeal, sugar, salt, pepper, and nutmeg (making sure there are no lumps) and cook until thickened.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the corn and baking powder. Let the mixture cool until it's only slightly warm before continuing on. (If you add the eggs while the mixture is too hot, it will scramble the eggs.)
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Set aside. Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl for 1 minute. Stir the egg yolks into the corn mixture, and then gently fold in the egg whites.
- Pour the spoon bread batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes. (Don’t overbake. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out somewhat clean with a little bit of the dressing sticking to it.)
- Remove the baking dish from the oven. The spoon bread may fall a bit as it cools, this is normal. Let rest for 5 minutes and then sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving warm.
Notes
- If you prefer to use dried herbs instead, you’ll need 1/4 teaspoon dried sage, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary.
- This spoon bread can also be made in a large cast iron skillet. If you use cast iron, make sure to reduce the cooking time by 5 minutes early, as the spoon bread will continue to cook in the pan once it’s out of the oven.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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