Southern seafood dressing folds shrimp and crab into seasoned cornbread for a holiday side with coastal flavor. Celery, onion, bell pepper, seafood stock, and herbs keep the dressing savory rather than overly rich.
The seafood is cooked only briefly before baking because it will finish in the casserole. That keeps the shrimp tender while the top of the dressing browns.
What You’ll Need Before You Start
- 9×13-inch baking dish
- Large skillet
- Large mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Whisk
- Instant-read thermometer
ShiMuv Holiday Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups crumbled day-old cornbread
- 1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
- 8 ounces lump crabmeat, picked over for shell
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 1 small green bell pepper, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2½ to 3 cups seafood stock or low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
How to Make It
- Heat the oven to 350°F and butter a 9×13-inch baking dish. Place the crumbled cornbread in a very large mixing bowl.
- Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, celery, and bell pepper 7–8 minutes until soft, then add garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add the chopped raw shrimp and cook only 1–2 minutes, stirring, until the outsides just begin turning pink. Remove the skillet from heat before the shrimp cook through.
- Scrape the vegetables and shrimp into the cornbread. Fold in crab gently so the larger pieces are not completely broken apart.
- Whisk eggs with 2½ cups stock, seafood seasoning, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour over the cornbread mixture and fold gently, adding more stock only until the dressing is very moist but not soupy.
- Spread into the prepared dish without packing down firmly. Dot the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
- Bake 35–45 minutes until the top is golden and the center reaches 165°F. The shrimp should be opaque and the dressing should be set without becoming dry.
- Rest 10 minutes and finish with parsley. Serve from the browned edge and moist center together for the best contrast.
Recipe tip: Undercook the shrimp slightly in the skillet; they finish cooking in the dressing and stay more tender.
Food safety: Cook the assembled seafood dressing to 165°F. Keep crab and shrimp refrigerated before use and refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
From Recipe to Content
Turn the Recipe Into a Simple Food Story
- Open on the finished holiday dish.
- Show the measured ingredients before cooking.
- Capture celery onion bell pepper and chopped shrimp sautéing briefly in butter for seafood dressing.
- Film moist cornbread seafood dressing with visible shrimp and crab being spread into a baking dish before baking.
- End with a serving close-up.
TRY THIS IN SHIMUV
Create this recipe as a short food video
Open the editable prompt and finished example image in ShiMuv, then review or customize everything before generation.
Create a short Thanksgiving food video showing how to make Southern seafood dressing. Open on the finished golden dressing with shrimp and crab visible. Show cornbread being crumbled, celery onion and bell pepper sautéed, shrimp added briefly, crab folded in gently, seasoned stock mixed into the crumbs, the dressing spread in a baking dish, and a spoonful revealing the moist seafood-filled center.Opens with this prompt and finished example image ready to review. Nothing generates or spends credits until you confirm.
