Tennessee Cornbread Salad

This Tennessee Cornbread Salad is a favorite recipe of mine! I had heard of cornbread salad but never tried making it. When I discovered a recipe at Krusteaz called Tennessee Cornbread Salad, it looked really good, so I decided to try it out. You don’t have to use a cornbread mix in this recipe–you can use your favorite homemade cornbread instead! I made a few changes to the salad recipe, using a little more crumbled cornbread, adding 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and substituting turkey bacon for regular bacon. I thought this salad was so good! It really surpassed my expectations.

I was a little skeptical about the dressing–a mix of mayonnaise and sweet pickle juice–but it actually tastes great! I did make a little change to the dressing, substituting a small amount of plain Greek yogurt for the mayo. I also thought corn would be great in this salad, but didn’t have any to use at the time I was making it, so I listed it as an optional ingredient.

I usually make cornbread from scratch, but a mix is convenient–especially when you’re making a recipe like this where you need to make the cornbread to use as an ingredient! It saves a little time, and the Krusteaz Southern Cornbread mix that I used bakes up really nice and tastes like homemade.

Tennessee Cornbread Salad

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: easy
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TENNESSEE CORNBREAD SALAD adapted from Krusteaz

Makes 12 servings                                          

Dressing:

  • 1 cup mayonnaise (I used 3/4 cup light mayonnaise and 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt)
  • 1/4 cup sweet pickle juice

Salad:

  • 4 cups crumbled, baked cornbread (I used Krusteaz Natural Southern Cornbread & Muffin Mix, 11.5 oz.)
  • 12 slices crisp cooked bacon, crumbled (I used turkey bacon)
  • 3 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped sweet pickles
  • 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
  • Optional: 1 (15-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
  • Optional: some finely chopped celery and crumbled cornbread for garnish

For Dressing: Whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt (if using), and pickle juice; set aside.

For Salad: In large clear bowl, place half of the crumbled cornbread (2 cups). In separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients and spoon half of the mixture over the cornbread. Spread half of the dressing over the vegetables. Repeat layers. Instead of spreading the top layer of dressing over all the veggies like the original recipe, I heaped it in the center, as you can see in the photo. Then I added a little finely chopped celery and crumbled cornbread for a garnish. Chill 2-3 hours before serving.

Recipe from NancyC | nancy-c.com

I’m not sure why this is called Tennessee Cornbread Salad other than that it must be a popular salad in Tennessee. Are any of you from Tennessee or have you made cornbread salad this way before?

Sharing at Silver Pennies Sunday, Mix it Up MondayInspire Me MondayHappiness is HomemadeMeal Plan MondayFiesta Friday, Thursday Favorite ThingsFull Plate ThursdayWeekend PotluckWonderful WednesdayHearth & Soul.

21 responses to “Tennessee Cornbread Salad”

    • donnafrancesscadfl@gmail.com I moved to Tennesser when I was 16, that is when I heard of and tried cornbread salad it wasn’t layered just mixed all together, loved it but I like this recipe better, Thankyou for sharing, I think I’m going to make it for my parents 54th anniversary next weekend. Wonder how the folks in North Carolina will like it.

      Liked by 1 person

  1. Hi, Nancy. Sorry about my comment earlier, I was in the bus and didn’t pay much attention to my keyboard.🤦🏻‍♀️ Please don’t approve, lol.

    Anyway, what I meant was – I am in the mood for salad and this one looks perfect to me. Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday party!

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  2. We love a good Cornbread Salad and your recipe looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday,444 and hope you have a great week!
    Miz Helen

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  3. Yes! I was born and raised in Upper East Tennessee and this is the exact same recipe we have made for years. It’s fabulous.

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  4. I first had Cornbread Salad about 10 years ago at Sunshine Hollow, Riceville, TN. It was delicious and they were gracious enough to share the recipe with me. Their recipe had pinto beans (drained) and chopped green pepper…no celery. The dressing they used was Ranch. We would make Mexican Cornbread and would use the leftovers for this salad.

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    • This Cornbread Salad you’re describing sounds so good, Janice! I’ll have to try it with the pinto beans and green pepper! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂

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