A Southern Favorite: Oyster Dressing
Granny’s oyster dressing! My Thanksgiving memories would not be the same without it. She did not always make her dressing with oysters, true, but on occasion she would surprise my family with this briny addition to the dish.
This oyster dressing recipe is now our new favorite!
It is truly delicious whether you’re serving it for Thanksgiving dinner, or as a side dish… —Helen
Seriously, I don’t think any dressing on earth compared to my Granny’s. I love the fact that during her later years, she would come to my home for Thanksgiving and watch me cook the dressing. She would taste it as I prepared it and correct my seasonings and make little changes here and there. This was a tremendous help. Not just everyone could get away with that, but throughout her life my grandma let me get away with many, many things. So about cooking, I always listened, and I am certainly thankful that I did.
To this day, I can hear her telling me how to add a piece of white bread to the dressing give it the right consistency or to add more chicken broth. Isn’t it amazing what a difference one little change to a recipe makes?
What Is the Difference Between Dressing and Stuffing?
In the South, dressing is a must for Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Many people say that dressing and stuffing are the same thing, but not to me.
Dressing seems a bit thicker than stuffing (perfect with giblet gravy) and it does not have the “crunch” that stuffing usually seems to have. Stuffing also tends to taste sweeter than dressing, in my experience.
In fact, there are as many variations to dressings as there are to Bolognese in Italy. You can use French bread in place of regular white bread, or wheat bread if you prefer. You can also swap out white pepper for black and flavor your dressing with cajun or poultry seasoning. Some people like to add garlic or a dash of hot sauce. But the base of this dressing, whether you use oysters or not, remains my family’s favorite.
When and How to Serve Oyster Dressing
Not only is this dish a favorite for the holidays, but for Sunday dinner special occasions as well. Sometimes I like to keep leftover turkey in a freezer zip-top bag and mix it into the dressing mixture in place of the oysters. The turkey gives it a very nice texture and flavor.
I love serving oyster dressing with coleslaw with mustard and apples and fried wild turkey.
Can I make oyster dressing ahead of time?
Yes! This dressing will still be great if prepared ahead. Cover the casserole pan and store in the refrigerator. As long as the oysters are fully cooked, the dressing will be excellent on reheating. If the dressing is dry, you can add a little more liquid such as a cup chicken broth.
Oyster Dressing
Ingredients
- 6 cups cornbread crumbled
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 1 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 3 cups fresh oysters shucked and roughly chopped
- 4 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 4 pieces white bread cubed
- 1 Tablespoon poultry or Creole seasoning
- 1 can mushroom soup
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray or grease a 9 X 11 baking dish.
- Prepare cornbread (from scratch or Martha White yellow, not sweet). Crumble cornbread into very small pieces a large bowl.
- Melt butter (or add olive oil) in a large sauté pan or skillet and sauté onions, celery, and oysters on medium heat until vegetables are translucent and oysters are cooked through, about 8 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk eggs.
- Add eggs, onions, celery, oysters, broth, white bread cubes, Creole or poultry seasoning, mushroom soup, salt and pepper to the cornbread and stir. Mix thoroughly and spoon into prepared casserole dish. Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until golden.
- Garnish with parsley sprigs, fresh sage, or green onion slices if desired.
I want to try this, never made it before, but don’t want to mess up a main side dish on turkey day.
Mona, I think you will really like the dressing, but if you are afraid of the oysters, you can leave them out and just have a fantastic dressing to go with your turkey. I make with oysters and sometimes just alone. Try it this weekend and see how you like it. Let me know and God Bless!
I’ve been making southern dressing (without the oysters) for at least 60 years and never heard of a recipe that didn’t call for sage. Are you omitting sage because of the oysters or you just don’t ever add it to your dressing? Just interested.
6 cups of cornbread: Would this be sweet cornbread or “regular” cornbread? Or does it make a difference? 🙂
It does make a difference Alicia, but no matter what you will get a great dressing. I use Martha White packages (the yellow, not sweet, cornbread). I have done the recipe with outer cornbread recipes and it works well too. The white bread makes this dish great. Don’t leave it out. I hope you love the recipe. Let me know.
Awesome recipe – thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your comment! I hope you enjoy the recipe.
I made this for my oyster loving Hubby and he loved it! Thank you so much for sharing your family recipe!
Carla, I am so happy that you made it for your husband! That is what I am here for and you have no idea how I love hearing that you are using the recipes!! Awesome!!
My grandmother made oyster dressing, but used regular seasoned bread cubes rather than cornbread. It was my absolute favorite part of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, no one else in my family is a big fan, so I don’t make it anymore. I sure do miss it.
my great great mother kept the stale plain bread we had left over or buy plain bread and leave it open to get hard before she made the stuffing
I normally don’t eat bread but at Thanksgiving and Christmas I make a small pan of oyster dressing along with regular. I normally wind up eating it myself but over a few days so don’t feel guilty. I love oysters, they are expensive and this is my treat to look forward to.
How many packages of cornbread do I need for all the cubes?
I use my homemade cornbread recipe. The packets are fine to use for the cornbread and I would guess to say it would take around 3 or 4 packets.
How do u cook the Oysters
They cook in the dressing once you put it on the oven. Hope you’ll give it a try.
Is it necessary to sauté the oysters since you will be baking the stuffing anyway?
No, since they will bake, you can just put them in the dressing. I believe that will work just fine.
The oysters cook in the dressing so you don’t have to cook them beforehand.
Thank you so much for this recipe! My aunt made oyster dressing years ago, and I absolutely loved it. She doesn’t know what recipe she used, but this looks like it.
I hope she enjoys it!
do you use regular sandwhich white bread or somthinl like a french bread
Regular white sandwich bread. You could use a French loaf though if you have it.
Can this be prepared ahead of time, cooled in the refrigerator and then re-heated on Thanksgkving?
Yes, it can!! It will be fantastic. The oysters will be cooked and the dressing will be excellent on reheating.
Is it a can of cream of mushroom soup? I have never made oyster dressing but trying to make it for my husband and came across this recipe
It is can of mushroom. I think you will love this!!
my great great mother kept the stale plain bread we had left over or buy plain bread and leave it open to get hard before she made the stuffing
That makes sense!! I sure know you must have loved it!
Is it Cream of mushroom or just mushroom?
Yes, cream of mushroom soup.
We always have oyster dressing for the holidays. If someone new comes to eat, they never know it has oysters because I put them in a blender or food processor then add them in. You get just a slight flavor but not a chunk of oyster.
You know, that would really be good. That’s a great idea. I’m going to try that!! Thanks!
This oyster dressing recipe is now our new favorite! It is truly delicious whether you’re serving it for Thanksgiving, dinner, or as a side dish, to complement a great dinner!
Fabulous recipe! Delicious! Recipe is easy to follow
I’m so happy you like it!! That means so much to me. And thanks for commenting. I love knowing who’s reading and making the recipes!
I have a very picky sister in law who calls this the best thing she’s ever eaten. And I love it. I tried many recipes before this one, and this is the absolute best!
Wow!! Thank you Vicki! This is so good to hear. I do love this recipe. It has been in my family for many years! Thanks for giving it a try and letting me k own here you (and she) like it!
I’m a third generation oyster dressing maker. My grandfather was a chef from New Orleans! So I compared your ingredients to our family recipe, very close. Ours we add sage also!
I love love love oyster dressing!! I’m so glad our recipes are similar, especially that you are a native of New Orleans! My daughter in law is too!
I saw the question about sage not being used in this recipe, and before I make it I wanted to know whether or not to use sage?
I don’t add extra sage to this recipe. The poultry seasoning has a bit in it already. Some folks like extra safe, and if you do, I say add a little more. I love this recipe just as it is written. Make it your own though!! Happy Cooking. Let me know what you decide.
can you use canned oysters in this recipe?
You certainly can. Just make sure to dry them very well.
do you use the liquor from the oysters in this recipe?
No, you just use the oysters, drained and dried.
It seems there will be a ‘dressing throwdown’ this Thanksgiving with my older sister making regular, and oyster relegated to myself! She’s already cooked her hen for the broth-game on! Can this be frozen, then add oysters once thawed, before baking?
Lisa, I am not thinking that you should add the oysters if you’ve already baked the dressing. I have never tried to freeze the dressing batter, but if the batter uncooked freezes well, then that would probably be ok to add the oysters to after it is thawed. I’d have to try that to see if it would work. It would be worth a try.
We add pumpernickel and rye bread to this dressing along with the white bread and cornbread. My Grandma and mom always made this for the holidays and now it’s up to me to keep it going in our family. I have never added the cream of mushroom soup so I might try that next time I make it.
I wanted to double check on the can of mushroom soup, Please specify if it’s Cream of Mushroom soup. Thank you!
It sure is.