Instant Pot Cornbread Dressing The Soul Food Way
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Cornbread dressing is the heart of every Black Southern holiday table, and making it in the Instant Pot brings all the soulful flavor in a fraction of the time. This recipe keeps the tradition alive with golden, buttery cornbread, onions, celery, and classic herbs like sage and thyme, seasoned the way our mamas and grandmas taught us.
The Instant Pot locks in moisture and flavor, giving you tender, savory dressing that’s never dry, always delicious, and ready without the stress of all-day cooking. It’s soul food comfort, made easier and faster for today’s kitchen, but still carrying the taste of generations.
Cornbread dressing in the Instant Pot
Using the Instant Pot means fewer dishes to clean, so you can spend more time gathered with loved ones instead of stuck at the sink. It also slashes the cooking time, pressure cooking in just 15 minutes instead of the usual 2 hours! This is perfect for those last-minute moments when your family’s hungry and ready to eat. And best of all, it frees up precious oven space during big holiday spreads like Thanksgiving and Christmas, so every soulful dish gets its chance to shine!
Ingredients
Instant Pot cornbread dressing is made with mostly the same ingredients that make my traditional soul food dressing so beloved. Homemade cornbread, rich butter, onion, celery, savory herbs and seasonings, and chicken broth. Since this recipe is not baked, there is no need for a binding egg. The major difference here is the cooking method, giving you all the same comforting flavors in less time, without losing a bit of that soulful taste and tradition!
How to make dressing in the Instant Pot
- First, bake the cornbread to prepare it as bread cubes for the dressing.
- Next, use the Instant Pot’s sauté setting to soften the onion and celery in butter, along with the herbs, seasonings, and broth.
- Then, combine the cubed cornbread with the sautéed mixture.
- Before pressure cooking the dressing, make sure to clean the inner pot, add water, place the trivet rack inside, and wrap the inside in foil to insulate the dressing while cooking.
How to know when Instant Pot dressing is done
Knowing when Instant Pot dressing is done is effortless because the Instant Pot does the work for you! When the cooking time ends, just allow a natural pressure release, and your soulful cornbread dressing is ready to enjoy!
For a little extra Southern flair, you can pop it under the broiler for a few minutes to give the top a golden, crispy baked finish.
Stuffing it in the turkey
While stuffing the bird leans more toward a Southern tradition than a soul food one, my Instant Pot cornbread dressing works beautifully as a flavorful stuffing for your holiday turkey. Just make sure the dressing is fully cooked before spooning it into the bird, then roast the turkey as usual. The dressing will soak up all those savory drippings, adding even more soulful flavor to every bite!
My Instant Pot cornbread dressing is a soulful showstopper! But it’s just one piece of a holiday spread worth celebrating. For more must-have dishes to round out your feast, be sure to check out my soul food Thanksgiving menu—your guide to a table full of soulful flavor and holiday cheer!
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Equipment
- 8″ baking dish
- mixing bowl
- Instant Pot trivet rack (an accessory that comes with the Instant Pot)
- Aluminum foil
Ingredients
Ingredients for the cornbread
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal medium grind
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar optional
Ingredients for the dressing
- ¼ cup butter unsalted
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 tablespoon thyme dried
- 1 tablespoon rosemary dried
- 1 teaspoon sage ground
- ½ cup chicken broth (use vegetable broth to make the dish vegetarian)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Instructions for the cornbread
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the 4 tablespoons of butter in a baking dish. Melt the butter in the oven for approximately 5 minutes.
- While the butter melts, combine the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar) with the cream cheese and heavy whipping cream in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Pour the melted butter from the baking dish into the mixing bowl, then mix all the ingredients together.
- Pour the cornbread mixture into the baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Once the baking time is complete, let the cornbread cool for about 10 minutes.
- Slice the bread lengthwise, then cut it across into 1-inch cubes, and set them aside.
Instructions for the Instant Pot cornbread dressing
- Remove the lid from the Instant Pot and turn on the sauté setting for 8 minutes.
- With the lid off, melt the butter.
- Add the chopped onion, celery, thyme, rosemary, and sage.
- Stir to coat the vegetables in the herbs and melted butter, then sauté until they soften and slightly brown.
- Add the broth, salt, and pepper to the inner pot’s simmer and stir to combine.
- Remove the herb mixture from the heat and set aside.
- Clean the stainless steel inner pot, and return it to the Instant Pot.
- Then, pour in the water and place the trivet rack inside the pot.
- Using two pieces of aluminum foil, create a tall bowl that matches the height of the inner pot and can sit on top of the trivet rack. This foil bowl will help insulate the dressing while it cooks, preventing the stuffing from leaking out the bottom.
- In a large bowl, combine the cubed cornbread with the set aside sautéed mixture, and add the dressing to the foil bowl inside the Instant Pot.
- Close the Instant Pot lid (ensure the valve is up, in the sealing position), and then pressure cook on high for 15 minutes.
- When the cooking time is finished, allow a natural pressure release for at least 8 minutes.
- To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
- Using oven mitts, carefully remove the trivet rack with the foil and dressing from the inner pot, then transfer the dressing to a baking dish.
- Optionally, use the oven broiler for about 5 minutes to give the top of the dressing a golden, crispy baked finish. Then, serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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