Thanksgiving Cornbread Stuffing Recipe with Apricots and Herbs

Aside from the turkey, the next most important piece of the Thanksgiving meal has to be stuffing, so I thought I would hurry up and do a post on my favorite kind of stuffing.  I didn’t grow up eating cornbread stuffing.  My mother always prepared stuffing with freshly baked, crusty French bread which she would slice the night before and leave out to stale up a bit overnight.  She always included lots of onions and celery, and every year she would alternate the other ingredients, including sausage some years and chestnuts others.  I never thought it could get any better than that stuffing, and believe me, I still appreciate her methods.  But there is just something about cornbread.

If you are like me, and you love cornbread, you will like this recipe.   It is just a little sweeter than regular stuffing, with a nice texture from the cornbread.  I would recommend preparing the cornbread the day before, both to alleviate some of the work the morning of Thanksgiving, and because it will firm up a little bit, which is you want.  Don’t be ashamed to prepare the boxed version.  You are making the stuffing from scratch and you have plenty of other things to worry about.  I would recommend the Trader Joe’s variety.  It is super easy and really quite delicious!  To save yourself even more time you could stop by your favorite local bakery and pick it up pre-made.  Just don’t eat half the loaf on your way home!

As with any stuffing recipe, feel free to substitute with any ingredients that you love or anything that screams Thanksgiving and honors your family’s traditions.  If you really like stuffing with sausage, go for it.  Or if you are up to the challenge of roasting up some chestnuts, that would make a delicious addition.

I think it is also worth mentioning that it doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving to make stuffing.  I will often stuff Cornish game hens or chickens throughout the year, as you will see in the picture below.  I love stuffing smaller poultry because then everyone gets their own miniature little bird on their plate.  It is pretty easy to do and it really impresses guests!

The recipe below is enough to stuff a medium sized bird and serve six people.  You may adjust according to your guest list.  Here are the ingredients that you will need:

Cut the cornbread into 1 inch cubes and place into a large mixing bowl.  In a heavy skillet over medium (not high!) heat, melt the butter.  Add the vegetables, apricots, salt, pepper, and thyme, and cook them until they have softened, about ten minutes.

Add the vegetables to the mixing bowl with the cornbread.  Add the stock.  Combine the ingredients by folding them in so that you don’t break up the cornbread too much.

Stuff your turkey at this time, if you plan to do so, and put the rest of the stuffing in a casserole dish or dutch oven.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until it becomes golden brown on top and is heated through. Enjoy!

Serves 6