Cornbread and Ground Beef Stuffing

Serving spoon with scoop of cornbread stuffing with ground beef, celery, and fresh herbs.

5 from 1 vote

Cornbread and Ground Beef Stuffing

This cozy and comforting cornbread and Ground Beef Stuffing Recipe takes classic dressing to an entirely new level. Fresh herbs, crisp veggies, juicy beef and golden brown cornbread makes for a simple and delicious side dish for the Thanksgiving spread or any special dinner that the whole family will love.

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Lorie Yarro

Ingredients

12-14 c cornbread cubes stale/dried out
4-5 celery stalks, chopped 2 cups
1 large onion diced
1 lb ground beef
4 T butter
2 T fresh sage chopped
1½ T fresh thyme chopped
1 T fresh parsley chopped
2-3 garlic cloves minced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 large eggs
2 - 2½ c beef broth
optianal add-ins: dried cranberries, chopped walnuts or pecans, sautéed mushrooms, diced apples, etc.

Instructions

Add dried out cornbread cubes to a large bowl. (see notes below about options for cornbread and how to dry it out.)
In a large skillet, melt the butter at medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and sauté for several minutes until the onion just starts to become translucent.
Add and brown ground beef. Once the meat is browned, shift stove to medium heat and add the chopped herbs, garlic, sea salt and pepper. Heat for about 1 minute and then remove from heat.
Add the veggie and beef mixture to the bowl with the corn bread.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and broth to combine. Pour the mixture over top of the beef and bread mixture and gently toss to evenly coat all of the ingredients. The cornbread will crumble up a bit and that is normal. If your mixture seems dry, you can add more broth.
Transfer the mixture to a greased 9x13 inch baking pan or large casserole dish. Bake in preheated oven to 375°F covered with foil for about 20 minutes and then remove foil and allow to bake another 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the center is set and no excess moisture is on top.
Cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

Prep this recipe a day in advance. You can prep this stuffing a day ahead of time. Get it all made and into the greased pan. Cover and refrigerate over night. Pour some extra beef broth over top before baking to moisten it up a bit.

Make your own cornbread, or grab store bought. To save time, just grab the ready to go cubes or get a couple baked loaves of cornbread. You do not have to make your own!

Make sure the cornbread is dried out before making this recipe. For best results, you want your bread very dry, almost crouton like before making this dish. This will keep it from becoming a pile of mush and have more texture in the end.

Make this recipe a meal! While this ground beef stuffing makes for a great side, you could easily shift and make it more of a beef and cornbread casserole for a fun dinner. Add some diced green and red peppers for some extra veggies, maybe a sprinkle of cheese and you have yourself a cozy and comforting meal! Serve it up with a salad and enjoy!

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