Cornbread Stuffing, but Make It Taco Recipe on Food52 (2024)

This stuffing is for all my Taco Bell lovers out there. Cornbread and ground turkey (or beef, pork, or even crumbled tofu) is showered in my patented Bell seasoning blend. The stuffing is baked until browned and served with all the fixins: sour cream, shredded lettuce, out-of-season diced tomatoes, and of course, cold shredded cheese. You can make a meal out of just this dish, or show it off at Thanksgiving.

My stuffing formula is simple: First, make crisp croutons out of any bread by cutting it up, tossing it with seasonings, and baking until dry and crunchy (just like that stuff in the box!). This adds a base layer of flavor and allows the bread to drink up even more tasty broth. You can make the croutons up to 1 week in advance, so come Turkey Day you have less to worry about.

Next, add fast-cooking or par-cooked mix-ins. Much like a strata or frittata, the mix-ins will just be warmed through in the stuffing. Dense veggies (like raw potato or squash) and raw meats (like ground beef or sausage) won’t have time to cook through. Instead try quick-cooking vegetables like spinach, corn, or shredded Brussels sprouts, or precooked ingredients like hunks of mortadella and wilted onions.

Finally, bring on the moisture with a flavorful chicken broth, vegetable stock, dashi, or milk. You want to add enough to hydrate every crouton without leaving a soggy puddle behind. Following these steps, you’ll never need a stuffing/dressing recipe again, but here’s one for you to try anyway. (And okay, and here’s one more: my .) —Sohla El-Waylly

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325°F.
2. In a small skillet over medium-high heat, toast the cumin and oregano until fragrant, about 1 minute. In a spice grinder, blitz the cumin and oregano until fine. In a small bowl, combine with the paprika and chile powder.
3. Spread the cornbread onto a sheet pan, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil, and toss to combine. Sprinkle with half of the spice blend, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and toss to evenly coat. Taste and add more salt if needed.
4. Bake, tossing once midway through, until toasty and crisp, 35 to 45 minutes. Once the cornbread is out of the oven, increase oven temperature to 375°F.
5. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of oil until it shimmers. Add the ground turkey, breaking into crumbles with a potato masher or whisk. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until deeply browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add ½ cup of chicken broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits. Scrape the mixture and all the liquid into a large heatproof bowl and set aside.
6. Return the skillet to medium-high heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and heat until it shimmers. Add onion, garlic, tomato paste, remaining spice mixture, and a big pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion and garlic have wilted and the tomato paste looks darkened and sticks to the bottom of the skillet, about 5 minutes. Add ½ cup of chicken broth and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Simmer until reduced, thickened, and the fat starts to sizzle in the pan, about 5 minutes. Scrape this mixture into the bowl with the turkey.
7. Add the croutons to the bowl and mix well but gently to combine. Add enough broth to make the bread moist but not soggy (you may not need it all) and half of the cheddar cheese. Toss to combine, taste the mixture, and add more salt if needed. Transfer the mixture to a 3- to 4-quart casserole dish.
8. Bake until steamy and brown, 35 to 40 minutes.
9. Serve hot with diced tomato, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and the remaining shredded cheese alongside (like a taco bar!).

Recipe by: Sohla El-Waylly