Cornbread Chorizo Stuffing

Cornbread Chorizo Stuffing is the unique, delicious side dish you’ve been looking for to spice up your holiday dinner. With a nice balance of sweet and heat, people will be coming back for a second scoop.

Last year was the first year in a long time where I didn’t make Thanksgiving dinner, or at least have a big part in making it. Due to some medical issues, we ordered our dinner from a local gourmet grocery store. It was easy and actually super delicious.

But this year, I’m feeling better and I’m ready to cook! For sure, we will be having a turkey with maple bourbon glaze and gravy from scratch.

And of course we have to have a nice Thanksgiving salad. And probably pumpkin creme brulee for dessert. And then it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without my husband’s grandma’s old fashioned dressing.

But I love stuffing (I usually call it stuffing even when I don’t stuff it into the bird) so much, that a lot of years, I’ll make two different kinds.

Usually, the second variety involves cornbread and something spicy, and this cornbread chorizo stuffing recipe fits the bill on both fronts.

With a nice balance of sweet and heat, it’s a really unique Thanksgiving side dish that will have people coming back for a second scoop.

What you’ll need for this chorizo stuffing recipe:

• chorizo – more on this below!
• cornbread – you will need 1 pound (about 6 cups, chopped) of store-bought cornbread or homemade cornbread for this chorizo cornbread stuffing.
• frozen tart cherries – more on this below, too!
• eggs – this helps bind the chorizo stuffing together.
• onion – adds savory notes to this dish to keep it from being too sweet.
• butter – because it makes everything better.
• salt and pepper – always!
• parsley – to add some green freshness to this otherwise brown dish.

What kind of chorizo should I use for chorizo cornbread stuffing?

In the United States, there are generally two types of chorizo found at the grocery store, and they are very different.

Spanish chorizo is usually made with cured pork and seasoned with smoked paprika. It is generally sold as a long, dried sausage appropriate for slicing, and is often sold near other charcuterie meats. This is NOT what we want for this chorizo stuffing recipe.

Mexican chorizo is usually made with fresh ground pork seasoned with chiles, and that’s what we’re using for this chorizo cornbread stuffing! It’s also great in my cornbread breakfast casserole.

Mexican chorizo is usually sold in links about the size of bratwursts, with the other fresh sausages. At some stores, it can also be found loose.

We need loose ground chorizo for this cornbread chorizo stuffing recipe, so if you find it sold in sausage casings, no worries – just cut the casings open and take the meat out (discard the casings). Or, if you can find it loose, that’s even easier!

Do I have to use cherries?

I live in Michigan, one of the cherry capitals of the world. If I have a chance to add cherries to a dish, I probably will. Pickled tart cherries are the star of my jarcuterie, and I stand by that decision.

I love tart cherries because their flavor is equal parts tart, bright and sweet. They are rarely available fresh, so they are most commonly sold frozen (frozen even work for Black Forest cupcakes!).

I love the tart, sweet counterpoint they add to the spicy sausage in this chorizo stuffing recipe. But if you can’t find tart cherries, what should you do?

Well, option #1 is that you can simply omit them from this chorizo cornbread stuffing. But I prefer option #2, which is using fresh or frozen cranberries instead.

Buy an extra bag when you’re making your cranberry tart pie for dessert, and you can add cranberries to this chorizo cornbread stuffing, too! Actually, buy two extra bags so you can make cranberry sauce muffins, as well.