Epic Seafood Dressing Recipe
Seafood Dressing Recipe – This fabulously flavorful cornbread dressing (or stuffing!) is brimming with tender clams, crab meat, and shrimp. It’s something a bit exciting for the holidays, but feels right at home alongside your favorite comfort foods!
Stuffing vs Dressing – What’s the Difference
Looking for a unique and elegant Thanksgiving stuffing or dressing? This holiday season, make sure to put this Seafood Dressing Recipe on the menu! It’s rich, packed with flavor, and utterly irresistible. And it happens to be super easy to make!
But first, let’s go ahead and get this out of the way… How are stuffing and dressing different?
Dressing is a bread-based side dish loaded with herbs and aromatic vegetables, then cooked with butter and broth to create a rich savory bread pudding casserole.
Stuffing is exactly the same thing. However, the term stuffing refers to the concept of stuffing the dressing into a turkey, goose, duck, or chicken.
You can use this dressing as stuffing and poultry. However, we feel like you always get the best results with any stuffing/dressing recipe when you bake it in it’s own pan. The top gets golden and crispy while the interior stays moist and fluffy. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the bird overcooking while the stuffing cooks through.
Serve this outrageously delicious seafood stuffing at your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner this year, as a side dish with turkey, ham, prime rib, beef Wellington, or pork tenderloin!
Ingredients You Need
- Butter – unsalted
- Onion – chopped
- Celery – chopped
- Green bell pepper – or any color, seeded and chopped
- Garlic – minced
- Cornbread stuffing mix – can be gluten-free, if you like
- Cooked crab meat – I suggest lump crab meat, drained
- Canned chopped clams – drained
- Canned tiny shrimp – drained
- Fresh parsley – chopped
- Old Bay seasoning – or cajun seasoning, a favorite for rustic seafood dishes
- Dried sage – for that classic Thanksgiving stuffing taste… You know the one I’m talking about!
- Seafood stock – or chicken broth or chicken stock
- Heavy cream – optional, but highly recommended
How to Make Seafood Dressing
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set out a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and grease the bottom and sides with extra butter.
Chop the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and parsley. Open and drain the cans and tubs of seafood.
Set a large sauté pan (or skillet) over medium heat. Add the butter to the pan and melt. Add in the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Lightly salt and pepper the vegetables, then sauté for 3-5 minutes to soften.
Next, stir in the cornbread stuffing mix.
Then add the drained seafood, parsley, spices, and dried sage. Mix well to combine.
Get the Complete (Printable) Epic Seafood Dressing Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Pour the seafood stock and heavy cream over the dressing mixture. Gently fold to make sure the mixture is moistened throughout.
Spoon the seafood stuffing into the prepared pan.
Bake for 25 minutes, uncovered, until the top is golden and crispy.
Serving Suggestions
Seafood cornbread dressing is a delightful side dish at holiday tables! Serve it alongside classic Thanksgiving and Christmas main dishes like Oven Roasted Turkey or Deep Fried Turkey, Baked Ham with honey mustard, or Brown Sugar Ham.
Additionally, the savory stuffing pairs well with hearty red meat main dishes that are perfect for special occasions. A few of our favorites include Smoked Prime Rib, Standing Rib Roast, and a decadent Beef Wellington.
It’s also delicious with Smoked, Sous Vide, Grilled, Slow Cooked, and Roasted pork tenderloin.
And if you need some suggestions for other holiday sides, consider trying our fabulous Mashed Potatoes with homemade Turkey Gravy, Crockpot Green Bean Casserole, Southern Sweet Potato Casserole, and perfectly sweet and tart Cranberry Sauce.
Tips & Tricks
- For a drier seafood stuffing recipe, you don’t need to add all of the broth! It is up to you depending on how you like the texture of your stuffing.
- Replace the Old Bay seasoning with cajun seasoning if that is what you have on hand! I prefer Old Bay, but cajun seasoning will do the trick.
- Bake until the top is crispy! Some people prefer a crispier dressing, so bake until it is as crispy as you like! Be sure to bake uncovered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can make this stuffing up to two days in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Seafood dressing can be frozen and baked at a later date. Make the recipe up until you spread the dressing into the baking pan. Then wrap the pan tightly in aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight before baking.
Pro Tip: If planning to freeze, prepare the seafood cornbread dressing in a recyclable aluminum baking dish. That way it easily goes from freezer, to fridge, to oven.
If making a dairy free recipe, substitute plant-based butter in this recipe, and omit the heavy cream, or swap it for cashew cream.
Our recipe includes just the right amount of broth to make a perfectly moist and tender seafood dressing. Bake per the recipe instructions, and remove the pan from the oven as soon as the top starts to turn golden – don’t wait until it gets brown or it will overcook!
This seafood cornbread dressing recipe can easily be used as a stuffing for turkey! After combining all of the ingredients, use a large spoon to scoop the mixture into the clean cavity of your raw turkey. Fill the cavity but do not pack the stuffing too firmly. The seafood stuffing will cook as the turkey roasts.
Cool the dressing completely before covering the dish with plastic wrap or foil, or transferring to an airtight container. Leftover stuffing with crab and clams with keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Looking for More Scrumptious Seafood Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Seafood Stuffed Shells
- Best Shrimp Mac and Cheese
- Warm Crab Pie Recipe
- Southern Shrimp Toast
- Best Clam Dip Ever
Epic Seafood Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 bell pepper seeded and chopped (any color)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 12 ounces dried cornbread stuffing mix
- 8 ounces cooked crabmeat drained
- 6 ounce can chopped clams drained
- 6 ounce can tiny shrimp drained
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 cups seafood stock
- 1/3 cup heavy cream optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set out a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and grease the bottom and sides with extra butter.
- Chop the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and parsley. Open and drain the cans/tubs of seafood.
- Set a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the butter to the pan. Once melted add in the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Lightly salt and pepper the vegetables, then sauté for 3-5 minutes to soften.
- Next, stir in the cornbread stuffing mix, drained seafood, parsley, Old Bay, and dried sage. Mix well to combine.
- Pour the seafood stock and heavy cream over the dressing mixture. Gently fold to make sure the mixture is moistened throughout. (If making a dairy free recipe, substitute plant-based butter in this recipe, and omit the heavy cream, or swap it for cashew cream.)
- Spoon the seafood stuffing into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, uncovered, until the top is golden and crispy. Serve warm.
This seafood dressing is amazing!! It’s so comforting and delicious, I’m so glad I found this recipe, thank you!
I added this epic seafood dressing to my go-to Christmas recipes! It is rich, loaded with flavors and super pleasing.
Wow!! What a delicious change from typical stuffing!! Love the flavors that the seafood brings!! I may have to have a pan of this at our holidays too!