Chorizo and Roasted Poblano Thanksgiving Dressing Recipe

To stuff or not to stuff, that is the question.

Okay, it’s not really the question, but let us settle something once and for all.

It’s stuffing if it’s stuffed inside the bird, and it’s dressing if it’s baked casserole style and served as a side dish.

Like that beautiful cast iron skillet full of chorizo, poblanos, onions, garlic, cilantro and dried cranberries up there ^^^^

That’s Thanksgiving dressing, not stuffing.

Do y’all see the distinction?

Dressing has always been one of those dishes that I’ve quite easily skipped over at pretty much every Thanksgiving ever.

A few weeks ago, I was presented with a challenge by Pepperidge Farm. A challenge involving their newest Holiday product —

Unseasoned Cubed Stuffing:  No herbs, no spices, no pre-determined flavor.  Just toasted white and wheat bread cubes – an edible blank canvas (or a bunch of mini canvases, as the case may be)

I love a good challenge, and trying out new products is always fun; plus I’m hosting the full on Thanksgiving at our house for the first time ever, and I thought it would give me a good excuse to practice some Thanksgiving recipe ideas.

Like any good southern girl, I whipped out my biggest cast iron skillet, and tossed in some Chorizo and simmered and stirred it around until I was ready to grab a tortilla and some eggs and make myself a breakfast taco, but I didn’t – and I can’t tell y’all how hard it was to resist!!

After the chorizo was cooked, I removed it from the cast iron skillet, leaving all the yummy chorizo drippings in the skillet and added in some butter.

mmmmmm butter…

While the butter melted, I chopped up some onions, garlic, and roasted poblanos (they definitely do show up in my Thanksgiving Recipes rather frequently, don’t they.)

I mixed everything together, and tried to refrain from once again whipping out some tortillas and piling it all inside, because holy cow y’all – the smell!!!!  Absolutely mouthwatering.

I simmered this all together for a while,  tossed in the cubed stuffing and some dried cranberries, mixed it all up and then popped it in the oven to bake it off.

Oh.

My.

Word.

Wait, this deserves a closer look.

I popped out to pick the kids up from school while this was baking, and the first thing they said when they walked in was “WOW Mom! What smells so good?”  The smell in the house was intoxicating; spicy, savory, rich, heady – pretty much exactly how you want your house to smell over the holidays.

I’m pretty pleased that I accepted this challenge, because truthfully, had I not – there wouldn’t be dressing on our table this Thanksgiving, and I wouldn’t be having turkey and dressing on a roll for lunch tomorrow.

I loved playing around with some of my favorite flavors to create this spicy sweet Thanksgiving dressing recipe.

I was compensated and received product from Pepperidge Farms for my participation in this #stuffing challenge.  I seriously stand behind, and will be serving my family this stuffing recipe for this and probably many future Holiday meals to come, so y’all can believe that every opinion presented here is 100% mine and real.  I thank Pepperidge Farms for sponsoring this post, and supporting A Southern Fairytale.

Chorizo and Roasted Poblano Thanksgiving Dressing Recipe

spicy chorizo, savory garlic and onions, roasted poblanos and sweet dried cranberries make this a non-traditional, but definitely unforgettable Thanksgiving side dish.

Print Recipe

Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:40 minutes mins

Total Time:1 hour hr

Ingredients

• 2 to 3 poblanos roasted
• 1 1/2 lb Chorizo
• 1/4 C 1/2 stick butter
• 2 medium yellow onions chopped
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 package Pepperidge Farms Unseasoned Cubed Stuffing
• 1 C vegetable broth
• 1 C dried cranberries
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• *salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Roast the poblanos under the broiler, or over your gas stove until the skins are blistered and blackened. Immediately place them into a paper bag, close and set aside.
• Remove the chorizo from the casing (if there is one) and place it into a large cast iron skillet over medium heat.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350°F
• While the chorizo is cooking, chop the onion, mince the garlic, slip the poblanos out of their skins, remove the tops, and the seeds - if you want - and chop the poblanos.
• Once the chorizo is cooked, remove it from the skillet and set it aside - make sure to leave some of the yummy browned chorizo bits and grease in the skillet.
• Add in the butter and melt.
• Toss in the onions, garlic, and poblanos and cook until the onions just start to become translucent, but are still slightly crisp.
• Add the chorizo back in and blend.
• Pour the cubed stuffing into the skillet along with the vegetable broth and dried cranberries, mix thouroughly (if you're not cooking it in the skillet - you can mix it all up in a bowl and transfer it to a large 9X13 baking dish)
• Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes, until the top layer is crispy.
• Sprinkle with freshly chopped cilantro and serve.

Course: side dishes

Author: Rachel - A Southern Fairytale