Better than any traditional Thanksgiving dressing recipe, Mom’s Best Dressing is made with 3 types of bread (including cornbread!) and Mary’s secret ingredient – Campbell’s Chicken Gumbo Soup. This is sure to be your family’s favorite comfort food side dish for holidays or any occasion.
Jump to RecipeDressing has always been my favorite Thanksgiving side dish. On Thanksgiving morning, my job was always to tear up the dried bread my mom had been collecting in the freezer for months. I loved my mom’s dressing, and my sister, Jamie, always made great dressing, too.
When I got married, my mother-in-law, Mary, gave me her dressing recipe, and that was it – it’s the only recipe I make now. First of all, she is from Texas so this dressing is cornbread-based. But there are a couple of other breads as well to give more texture. And second, the dressing does not have a lot of herb seasoning – the main flavor comes from the secret ingredient – Campbell’s Chicken Gumbo soup. (see my Souper Sloppy Joes recipe for another use for this soup). Hot pork sausage adds another layer to the flavor. You work the raw sausage into the crumbled breads and the bread absorbs the sausage flavor as it bakes.
While this is a great side for poultry, I’ve also served it as a main course with sauteed vegetables as the sides. Delicious any time of year!!
Recipe Ingredients
Cornbread, Toasted Bread, and Biscuits. This trio of bread gives the dressing lots of different delicious textures.
Hot Pork Sausage. Spicy sausage is our family’s favorite. But feel free to use mild pork or even turkey sausage.
Butter. Unsalted is best as we’ll be adding salt later in the dish and there is salt in the canned soups.
Onion. White onion has a sharper bite, while yellow onions tend to be sweeter. Choose your favorite!
Celery. Light, fresh, and crisp. This staple veggie adds a bit of crunch and that classic holiday flavor you love.
Hardboiled Eggs. I like to make a large batch of eggs at once, then have plenty on hand for snacks and using in recipes.
Campbell’s Chicken Gumbo Soup. The “secret ingredient” of the BEST dressing recipe. This thick, rich and robust soup has a great balance of savory and spicy flavors.
Cream of Celery Soup. Makes the dressing perfectly scoop-able and creamy.
Eggs. Acts as a binder and makes the dressing nice and tender.
Milk. For the most moist and fluffy dressing.
Salt and Pepper. A bit of both to bring together all of the flavors.
How to Make the Best Dressing Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Generously grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.
- Crumble cornbread, biscuits and toast slices into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped celery and onion and sauté for a few minutes just to soften.
- Add chopped eggs and onion/celery mixture to the crumbled breads and mix to combine. Pinch pork sausage into small bits and add to the bread mixture. Using your hands, squeeze the pork sausage into the bread mixture so that the sausage is mixed well throughout the mixture.
- Add both soups, beaten eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Add additional milk if the mix is too dry.
- Spread mixture evenly in the baking pan. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes.
Tip: If you are not serving immediately, cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thanksgiving stuffing and dressing are made with essentially the same ingredients. However, stuffing is “stuffed” raw into the turkey (or other poultry) and cooks with the bird in the oven. Dressing, on the other hand, is baked in a pan outside of the turkey. This creates a more dense dish with golden brown top.
The best way to thicken dressing before spreading into the baking pan is to simply add more bread. I suggest keeping an extra piece of toast around for just such a need. Crumble bit by bit, gently stirring in between, until the dressing reaches your desired consistency.
Yes, after cooking (and cooling) the dressing does need to be covered and kept in the refrigerator.
Homemade dressing will keep well for up to 3-4 days in the fridge. Transfer the cooled dressing to a container with a lid, or tightly wrap the baking dish in a layer of aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
This side dish is also great to freeze! You have the choice of either assembling and freezing before baking, or baking and cooling before freezing. Either way the pan needs to be tightly wrapped in a layer of both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, and either bake per recipe instructions or reheat, covered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then uncover and continue baking another 15-20 minutes.
More Recipes to Try:
- Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- Squash Casserole
- Favorite Pasta Salad
- Homemade Handmade Bread
- Best Tossed Salad
Mary’s Dressing
12
15
minutes45
minutes379
kcal1
hourBetter than any traditional Thanksgiving dressing recipe, Mom's Best Dressing is made with 3 types of bread (including cornbread!) and Mary's secret ingredient – Campbell's Chicken Gumbo Soup. This is sure to be your family's favorite comfort food side dish for holidays or any occasion.
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Ingredients
1 8" pan 1 cornbread
3 slices 3 toasted bread
4 4 biscuits
1 pound 1 hot pork sausage
1 stick 1 butter
1 medium 1 onion chopped
1 cup 1 celery chopped
3 large 3 hardboiled eggs chopped
10 ounces 10 Campbell's Chicken Gumbo Soup
10 ounces 10 cream of celery soup
2 large 2 eggs lightly beaten
1/2 cup 1/2 milk
salt and pepper
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Generously grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.
- Crumble cornbread, biscuits and toast slices into a large mixing bowl and set aside.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped celery and onion and sauté for a few minutes just to soften.
- Add chopped eggs and onion/celery mixture to the crumbled breads and mix to combine. Pinch pork sausage into small bits and add to the bread mixture. Using your hands, squeeze the pork sausage into the bread mixture so that the sausage is mixed well throughout the mixture.
- Add both soups, beaten eggs, milk, and salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine. Add additional milk if the mix is too dry.
- Spread mixture evenly in the baking pan. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. If you are not serving immediately, cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil.
Notes
- Homemade dressing will keep well for up to 3-4 days in the fridge. Transfer the cooled dressing to a container with a lid, or tightly wrap the baking dish in a layer of aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
- This side dish is also great to freeze! You have the choice of either assembling and freezing before baking, or baking and cooling before freezing. Either way the pan needs to be tightly wrapped in a layer of both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, and either bake per recipe instructions or reheat, covered, at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Then uncover and continue baking another 15-20 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
- Calories: 379kcal
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