This bacon cranberry cornbread stuffing will have everyone at your Thanksgiving table going back for thirds! A gluten free cornbread base is combined with flavorful herbs, studded with salty bacon, tart cranberries, and topped with sweet honey butter pecans for a decadent side dish.
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This is the most DELICIOUS spin on a traditional turkey day side that we’ve ever dreamt up. We take a slightly honey sweetened gluten-free cornbread base, and jazz it up with a bit of tart sweetness from cranberries, crispy, salty bacon, and a picture-perfect crust topping of honey butter pecans.
Chances are, you’ve probably at some point in your life consumed that old secret family recipe – Stovetop Stuffing! The 1970s made this boxed, just add water mix wildly popular, and easily accessible to most families. While the ingredients may leave much to be desired, this is the texture and flavor that so many of us associate with our stuffing needs! Our Bacon Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing delivers on that moist, fluffy texture, but amps up the flavor and knocks the boxed options out of the park.
Looking for more incredible Thanksgiving sides? We’ve got you. Be sure to make our sweet potato casserole, traditional turkey gravy, and easy homemade cranberry sauce.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s flavorful – the salty bacon pairs beautifully with the sweet honey coated pecans and tart cranberries. This recipe is so flavorful!
- It can be made ahead – Thanksgiving day is hectic enough as it is, am I right? Thankfully, this recipe can be made, from start to finish, up to 2 days ahead of time. All you’ll have to do on the day of is reheat it in the oven until warmed through!
Bacon Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing Ingredients
Though the ingredient list may feel long (don’t confuse that with the recipe being difficult to make, though, because it’s not), it’s important to remember that this is a special occasion side! Going the extra mile with Thanksgiving sides makes a big impact. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Cornbread – follow the simple cornbread recipe included in this stuffing recipe or make your favorite boxed cornbread. Either will work!
- Cranberries – fresh or frozen cranberries will both work great here. Buy whichever you can find.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Bacon Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing
This recipe truly could not be easier to throw together. You’ll start by making a few of the components (baking the cornbread, cooking the bacon, and sautéing the celery and onions), then you’ll mix everything together, put the mixture in a casserole dish, and bake. Follow along for step-by-step directions below.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, mix together the corn meal, flour, honey, baking powder, sea salt, milk, egg, and coconut oil until smooth.
Step 2: Pour the cornbread batter into a buttered (or oiled) cast iron skillet or 8-9 inch cake pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cornbread comes out clean.
Step 3: In a large pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Then remove the bacon and drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Roughly chop the bacon, then set it aside.
Step 4: Add butter to the pan, then cook the onion, celery, and garlic until soft.
Step 5: In a large mixing bowl, break up the already baked and cooled cornbread into small chunks, then stir in the onion mixture, chopped bacon, broth, eggs, cranberries, and seasonings (except for parsley).
Step 6: Put the stuffing mixture back into a your desired baking dish in an even layer (see notes for options). Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes.
Step 7: While the stuffing is baking, in a medium mixing bowl, stir together the honey and butter, then toss to coat the pecans. Spread the pecans on top of the stuffing and return to the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve!
Make-Ahead Tip
If you want to make this Thanksgiving side ahead of time, feel free! There are two ways to go about it, so pick whichever works best for you.
- Make the cornbread – make just the cornbread ahead of time so that all you have to do the day of is cook the bacon, saute the celery and onions, mix everything together, and bake.
- Make the whole thing – if you’ve got the time, go ahead and make the entire recipe, from start to finish, up to two days in advance. 45 minutes before serving, pop it in a 350°F oven to warm it through (should take 20-25 minutes, but give yourself a little bit of extra time in case it takes longer).
How to Serve
Serve your sweet potato casserole alongside all of the classic Thanksgiving dishes. Here’s my ideal menu, in case it’s helpful:
- Main: Oven Roasted Turkey
- Starchy Side: Creamy Mashed Potatoes (topped with traditional gravy, of course)
- Stuffing: this DELICIOUS bacon cranberry cornbread stuffing!
- Sweet Starchy Side: Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel Topping
- Veggie Side: Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Dessert: Easy Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftover stuffing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat the whole dish, simply pop it into a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes until warmed through, or heat a single serving of leftover stuffing in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Simply put: stuffing is *technically* only stuffing when it is actually stuffed inside of the turkey. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Because the two names (stuffing and dressing) have been thrown around interchangeably for so long now, though, either is acceptable, stuffed or not.
This stuffing is NOT stuffed inside of a turkey, but we’re calling it stuffing nonetheless because that’s what it is to us!
Bottom line: if you’ve always called this delish side “stuffing” (even if you’ve never actually stuffed your bird with it), keep calling it stuffing! If you prefer the term “dressing,” call it that! You do you.
This recipe serves 12, so if you’ve got a larger crowd than that, you should definitely double it. The rule of thumb here is about 3/4 cup of stuffing per person.
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Bacon Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients
For the cornbread base:
- 1 cup gluten-free corn meal
- 1 cup gluten-free flour
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk or coconut milk
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted but room temp
For the stuffing mixture:
- 10 ounces bacon
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 onion diced
- 6 stalks celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons dried rubbed sage
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup cranberries fresh or frozen
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1-2 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
For the honey butter pecans:
- 1 cup pecan halves
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
Instructions
For the cornbread base:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix all ingredients.
- Pour in buttered (or oiled) cast iron skillet or 8-9” cake pan.
- Bake 30 minutes – check with toothpicks after 20 minutes. Remove from oven when toothpick is clean. Some ovens are hotter than others, so baking time may vary.
For the stuffing mixture:
- In a large pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Then remove the bacon and drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Roughly chop the bacon, then set aside.
- Add butter to the pan, then cook the onion, celery, and garlic until soft.
- In a large mixing bowl, break up the already baked and cooled cornbread into small chunks, then stir in the onion mixture, chopped bacon, broth, eggs, cranberries, and seasonings (except for parsley).
- Put the stuffing mixture back into a your desired baking dish in an even layer (see notes for options).
- Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
- While the stuffing is baking, in a medium mixing bowl, stir together the honey and butter, then toss to coat the pecans. Spread the pecans on top of the stuffing and return to the oven to bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Garnish with parsley and serve!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
I served this for a church gathering this past Sunday. Adjectives that should never come out of the mouths of Christians came out. They loved it and 4 people finished off the entire tray. I followed the recipe exactly, but had two green onions left over from other dishes, so I diced them and threw them on top before I served it. This really made me a hero lol. Thank you!
HAHAHAH! That is amazing, Robert!!
Hi! Could you half this recipe? If so, what changed should be made?
I’d keep the oven temp the same and just start with 20 minutes of cooking time! If it needs more once that’s up, add 5-10 minutes more until a toothpick comes out clean!
Wow! I will never again make regular stuffing for Thanksgiving. We have had this for two years in a row now, once gluten free and once with regular cornbread, and everybody raves about it. Sooooo delicious!
So awesome, Jessica!! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Any tips on prepping or making this ahead? Would the cornbread improve with a day of drying out?
Hey Katherine! So what we’ve always had luck with in my house is assembling the stuffing the day before (minus pecans) then cooking day-of. You can also bake it a day ahead, minus pecans again, then rewarm it day up with the pecans on top (I’d say 20-30 minutes at 350)!
OMG this looks fantastic and so unique! We have a Friendsgiving this weekend- I can’t wait to give this a shot. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂