This Mushroom Cornbread Stuffing is flavored with mushrooms and all the herbs! Cranberries are studded throughout for the perfect holiday side dish!
I am an equal opportunity stuffing lover. Stovetop or homemade, I will eat both with gusto. Cornbread or regular bread, get in my belly! I just love it. My plate at Thanksgiving will be 95% side dishes all joined in the center with a GENEROUS scoop of cranberry chutney.
While all stuffing is my weakness I am partial to cornbread stuffing. There is just something about that savory cornbread flavor that is unparalleled (even by StoveTop?). This year I decided to layer in the flavor will all the fresh herbs and aromatics and then add a whole bunch of sautéed mushrooms. The cranberries are for extra flare. To be honest, I just had them on hand (from the aforementioned cranberry chutney), and it sounded really delightful to me.
I was not wrong. Cranberries should always be in stuffing. Or some sort of fruit like my Apple Sage Sausage Stuffing.
Please note that my Sweet Southern Cornbread does not make good stuffing. It makes for a bomb side dish all on its own but it is too sweet and too soft for a stuffing base. I use my Savory Cornbread recipe for this stuffing. It is still soft and moist but it lends itself better as a neutral flavor base.
Mushroom Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients
- ½ cup Cranberries (fresh, whole)
- 3 cup mushrooms (diced, I used button and cremini)
- 2 tablespoon Celery (finely diced (1 stalk))
- 1 ½ cup Onion (diced (1 medium))
- 3 tablespoon Rosemary (fresh, picked and chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Sage (fresh, picked and chopped)
- 1 tablespoon Thyme (fresh, picked)
- 5 tablespoon Butter (divided)
- 1 tablespoon Canola oil
- 1 ½ cup Chicken stock (or turkey stock)
- 8 cups Savory Cornbread (cubed, my recipe here)
- Kosher Salt (to taste)
- Black Pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, place cubed cornbread.
- Melt ¼ cup butter and sauté herbs, onion and celery until soft, tender and the onions are opaque. Pour over cornbread in bowl.
- Return pan to the heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon butter plus 1 tablespoon canola oil. The oil helps the butter not to burn as fast. When pan is hot, add the mushrooms and cook over high heat, stirring minimally to get a nice sear. Once they have started to brown, add a generous pinch of salt. This will help draw out their remaining moisture. Continue cooking until they are a nice brown. Pour over cornbread in the bowl.
- Slowly add stock to the cornbread, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. The exact amount of stock will depend on how dry your cornbread is. If you let it air dry overnight, you will need another ½ cup of stock (so 2 cups total). The amount of salt depends on how salty the stock is. I use unsalted stock, so that I can control my seasoning
- Stir in cranberries.
- Spread into baking dish and bake in preheated oven. Bake until warmed throughout and the top has begun to brown. This can also be mixed the night before and baked when needed!
Video Instructions
Notes
For years I have added cranberries to my stuffing, first time was an accident, but I loved the way the tart cranberries cut through the fat and richness of the turkey. So Happy Accident and I have continued the addition of cranberries. (some even make it into whatever I make with left over turkey.)
Great minds think alike, Nikki!