Recipes Holidays & Events Thanksgiving Recipes Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipes Bacon-Cornbread Stuffing 5.0 (1) Smoky and just a touch sweet, this Thanksgiving side is sure to please. Prep Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 35 mins Total Time: 1 hr Servings: 8 Jump to recipe Shake up your Thanksgiving spread with our bacon-cornbread stuffing recipe. Smoky, savory, and just a touch sweet, it’s sure to be a hit. It uses a combination of cornbread and white bread, which gives the stuffing the best texture—the white bread holds its shape and becomes golden and crunchy while the cornbread crumbles into a nubbly, earthy accent. (We’ve got a great cornbread recipe if you’d like to make it yourself, or you can use store-bought to cut down on prep time.) It only requires about 25 minutes of prep time and comes together without any fuss. Plus, your kitchen smells amazing as it bakes. Cornbread, bacon, onion, and sage—what could be better? 24 Thanksgiving Recipes That Are Perfect for Feeding a Crowd Credit: Brie Goldman The Best Cornbread for This Stuffing This recipe is versatile; you can use either homemade or store-bought cornbread for this stuffing. You'll need an 8-inch square pan's worth, which comes out to about eight cups once cubed. Our recipe for classic cornbread makes just enough and is a great option for this recipe. Whether you make it yourself or use store-bought, look for an option that's not overly sweet. Equipment Needs A few basic pieces of kitchen equipment are all that is needed for this recipe: Baking sheets: Spread the bread onto two rimmed baking sheets before drying it out in the oven. If you only have one available, work in two batches rather than piling it all on at once. Medium skillet: Reach for a medium (10-inch) skillet to render the bacon fat and cook the vegetables. A nonstick, cast-iron, or stainless-steel skillet will work equally well. Large bowl: Grab your largest bowl for combining the bread, vegetables, and wet ingredients. If you don't have a large enough bowl handy, divide the ingredients in half and mix in two batches. Alternatively, you can combine everything in a large pot in a pinch. Baking pan: You'll need a 9x13-inch baking pan to bake this stuffing in. Alternatively, you can bake it in two 8-inch square pans. 3 Tips for Sensational Stuffing Dry out your bread: Bread that's had a chance to dry out—whether in the oven on baking sheets or cubed and left out on the counter overnight—will absorb moisture much better than fresh bread, resulting in a cohesive stuffing that's full of flavor. Dried bread cubes also hold their shape better than fresh bread, which can fall apart and turn to mush when combined with moist ingredients like eggs and broth.Toss gently: Working gently when tossing together the ingredients in step 3 will help keep the cornbread from falling apart completely (Some crumbling is to be expected).Add moisture gradually: To keep the stuffing from becoming too wet, we suggest stirring in 2 cups of broth to start, rather than the whole amount. If the stuffing looks like it needs more liquid to thoroughly moisten the bread, add the remaining 1/2 cup. Directions Credit: Brie Goldman Preheat oven; dry cornbread and bread in oven: Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread cornbread and bread on two rimmed baking sheets and bake until dry and golden, about 15 minutes. Credit: Brie Goldman Cook bacon; add onion, celery, and garlic: Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, cook bacon over medium until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in sage. Credit: Brie Goldman Transfer to large bowl and add remaining ingredients: Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add cornbread, bread, eggs, broth, parsley, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to bowl and toss until combined. Let sit 5 minutes, then toss again. Credit: Brie Goldman To keep stuffing from becoming too wet, add just 2 cups of broth to start. Mix stuffing, then add remaining 1/2 cup only if bread looks like it needs a touch more moisture. Transfer to baking dish and bake: Transfer stuffing to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Bake until top is golden brown and stuffing is hot throughout, 25 to 35 minutes. Credit: Brie Goldman How to Store and Reheat Leftover Stuffing Leftover stuffing can be stored in an airtight container for up to four days. Reheat it, covered, in a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven until hot, about 30 minutes, then uncover and cook for a few additional minutes to crisp up the top. Variations Swap in dried sage: If you don't have fresh sage handy, use 1 teaspoon of dried sage. Make it vegetarian: Omit the bacon and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. 5 More Stuffing Recipes to Try Test Kitchen's Favorite Stuffing Vegan Stuffing With Mushrooms and Leeks Cranberry-Sage Stuffing Cornbread and Sausage Stuffing Mushroom and Walnut Stuffing Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.