Crawfish Cornbread Dressing

5 from 1 vote

Meaty crawfish tails, smoked sausage, buttermilk cornbread, and veggies come together to create this comforting crawfish cornbread dressing. Flavored with just the right amount of Cajun spice, this flavor-packed dressing will be the star of Thanksgiving dinner!

Prep Time15

Cook Time50

Total Time1 5

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 355kcal

Author: Ashley Boyd

Equipment

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
6 to 8 ounces smoked sausage about 2 links, andouille, turkey, chicken, or beef
4 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more for greasing dish, divided use
2 medium sweet yellow onions chopped
1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 pound frozen crawfish tails thawed
4 teaspoons homemade Cajun seasoning or store-bought, divided use
2 batches of homemade buttermilk cornbread without the added honey, cooled and coarsely crumbled
4 - 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth or more as needed
2 stalks green onions chopped
1 - 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
2 large eggs lightly beaten
Freshly chopped parsley for garnish

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and set it aside.
In a 10-inch nonstick or cast-iron skillet, brown the smoked sausage in 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat and set aside.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter, onions, bell pepper, and celery to the same skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until softened. Add the crawfish, garlic, and 2 teaspoons of Cajun seasoning and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes until crawfish are heated.
Transfer the cornbread, crawfish mixture, browned sausage, remaining Cajun seasoning, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper, and 3 cups of chicken broth to a large mixing bowl. Gently mix and add more broth until desired texture is reached. The dressing should have the texture of thick oatmeal, wet but not soupy. Stir in beaten eggs.
Transfer the dressing to the buttered baking dish, smooth into an even layer, and top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, sliced into thin slivers.
Bake the dressing, covered, for 35 minutes then uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes until the center is no longer giggly and the edges are browned. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Notes

mise en place (prep work to do beforehand, not included in recipe prep time) - bake and cool cornbread, rinse and chop vegetables.
Switch up the flavors by substituting shredded chicken, shredded turkey, or ground sausage for the smoked sausage.
Not a fan of crawfish? Try using shrimp, crab, or scallops instead.
Tony Chachere's Cajun or Creole seasoning are great store-bought seasoning options.
If your dressing turns out dry you may not have added enough broth. A wet but sturdy texture is what you are looking for while mixing, similar to thick oatmeal. Overbaking the dressing can also make it dry. Bake the dressing just until the center no longer jiggles and the edges are browned.
Crawfish cornbread dressing can be assembled the night before, stored in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic wrap, and baked the following day. Leftover crawfish dressing can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Nutrition