Collard Green Cornbread Dressing
This Collard Green Cornbread dressing is a sure-fire hit at Thanksgiving and Easter! Even naysayers of any type of “green” like this dish and it’s super easy to make!
Years ago, I made this as an alternative to the traditional cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving and it was a great success!
Even those who won’t touch collard, mustard or turnip greens devoured this Thanksgiving side dish! It has a nice flavor and texture to it and it pairs beautifully with turkey or ham!
This is a vintage recipe that’s been around for years in the South and it makes sense, afterall, greens and cornbread go together naturally! This recipe is similar to Southern Cornbread dressing, but not quite as dense. I use canned, seasoned greens.
Ingredients
This makes about 6 cups of dressing, so you’ll get about 10-12 ½-cup servings out of this recipe. If you use a packaged cornbread mix (like Jiffy or Martha White) or my cornbread recipe, you’ll get 4 cups of crumbled cornbread which is what you need for this recipe.
Note: you’ll want to use day-old cornbread. It holds up best in this casserole and absorbs some of the liquid better than fresh.
The ingredients are: ground sausage, canned mixed greens, dried and crumbled cornbread, sweet yellow onion, cream of chicken condensed soup and a splash of Trappey’s Louisiana Peppers in vinegar.
How to make it
Here are the easy steps for making collard green dressing. The prep time for this recipe is about 15 minutes. After you assemble the ingredients, the cook time is 30-40 minutes.
Prepare cornbread about two days in advance; crumble and let it sit out on the counter; Cook sausage and onions; drain off excess oil if there’s any.
Mix greens and their juice with the soup; fold in cornbread, sausage and onions
Add seasonings; transfer to ungreased baking dish; Bake 30-40 minutes uncovered
Recipe tips
- Do NOT drain the canned greens; I repeat…do NOT drain the greens
- Use day-old dried cornbread; make cornbread two days in advance, crumble it, and let it sit out; it absorbs the liquid from the greens and gives a nice flavor
- Use a 9 x 13 baking dish or big aluminum pan
- Do not overmix the cassserole or it will get mushy
- Bake uncovered in an ungreased pan
What kind of greens do I use?
This recipe calls for canned Seasoned Mixed Greens with their liquid. I like either Margaret Holmes or Glory brand Southern Mixed Greens.
Can I use fresh greens?
If you use fresh greens, you’ll want to cook a lot of them (maybe 3-4 bunches) and season them well. Be sure to reserve a bit of the cooking liquid for this recipe.
Make ahead, storage and freezing
Make this collard green dressing in advance and refrigerate up to 3 days. Freeze in a freezer container for up to 1 month. Let it thaw, then reheat covered in the oven or in the microwave.
Remove uncooked casserole from fridge and allow to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Bake at 350ºF uncovered, until liquid is absorbed.
If it’s already cooked, reheat until it’s warm throughout.
What can I substitute for the condensed soup?
If you do not want to use a canned condensed soup, make a homemade condensed soup.
I make Collard Green Cornbread Casserole at Easter, too. It pairs really well with ham and macaroni and cheese!
If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a rating and comment below! I love to hear from you!
Collard Green Cornbread Dressing
Ingredients
- 54 ounces Canned mixed greens and juice – Do NOT drain; (I use Glory brand seasoned mixed greens)
- 1½ cans condensed cream of chicken soup , (10.5 oz. per can)
- 4 cups dried and crumbled cornbread (see recipe notes)
- 1 cup chopped sweet yellow onion
- 1 pound ground sausage ,cooked and drained
- 1 tablespoon pepper sauce ,Trappey's Louisiana hot peppers in vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Prepare a pan of cornbread (best if the cornbread is made a day or two ahead); crumble into small pieces (One packaged cornbread mix yields approximately 4 cups of crumbled cornbread)4 cups dried and crumbled cornbread (see recipe notes)
- In a large skillet, cook the onion and sausage; drain any excess oil1 pound ground sausage, 1 cup chopped sweet yellow onion
- In a large mixing bowl, combine greens with their juice and the condensed soup; add crumbled cornbread, sausage and onions and seasonings. Combine well and transfer to an ungreased baking dish and cook uncovered on the middle rack for 30-40 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed; allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving54 ounces Canned mixed greens and juice, 1½ cans condensed cream of chicken soup, 4 cups dried and crumbled cornbread (see recipe notes), 1 tablespoon pepper sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Notes
- Do not drain the mixed greens!!!
- Make sure your cornbread is crumbled and at least two days old
- This dish tastes great with crumbled sausage added in, however, I would not recommend adding the sausage if you’re serving another salty protein, like ham…
- One package of Jiffy cornbread yields 4 cups of dried, crumbled cornbread.
Nutrition Estimate
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- How to Season and Cook Southern Greens
What kind of sausage? Breakfast sausage? Diced ham would be good.
The recipe calls for a pound of ground sausage. I usually use Jimmy Dean’s or the store brand that comes in a tube. This is also called “breakfast sausage” by some folks.
Could you add a can of black eyed peas to this?
Hey Cindy!
That sounds good! I haven’t actually tried adding black eyed peas to it so I don’t really know how the peas would change the texture of the dish…I suppose if you drained them first, that might work…if you try it, let me know!
This was delicious and enjoyed by all!
Thank you, Amy! Glad you enjoyed it!