Miranda Lambert Says Thanksgiving Dinner Isn’t Complete Without This One Traditional Dish Passed Down From Her Grandmother

Miranda Lambert is one of the most decorated women in country music. She has won dozens of awards including Grammys, CMT awards, CMA awards, ACMs–including one that long eluded her, ACM Entertainer of the Year. She runs a successful pet rescue charity, Muttnation, and she’s just released her first book, a cookbook called Y’all Eat Yet. More than just a collection of recipes, it’s a love letter to the strong women in her life, including her grandmother, Nonny. 

Recently the Texas native took time to join Southern Living’s editor in chief Sid Evans on the podcast, Biscuits & Jam to tell us all about it. “She was very fancy,” Lambert said with a laugh. “She was very much glamour to us. She lived in Mesquite, Texas. I think I was 10 when she moved to Lindale to be closer to Luke and I, but she just was, like, super glam and she always had crystal and her china always matched. Going to Nonny's for a holiday felt very glamorous to us, and I think that's where I get my love for the pretty things in life, is from her. She loved fur and, just really, for a small town person, felt very big.”

Thanksgiving at Nonny’s, Lambert explained, was very traditional. 

“Turkey, dressing, ham, green bean casserole, homemade rolls, cheesecake. She really was a stickler to make the holidays very traditional. And I'm a little bit like that now too. Her dressing is famous and it's not been mastered since we lost her, but I've gotten really close. Last year, my family voted that I got the closest that anyone has since we lost her.”

Mastering Nonny’s dressing has become a labor of love not only for Lambert but for her whole family. 

“My brother and I videoed her telling us how to make it, just 'cause we knew we would want that one day. And she would just go, ‘it's all in the hands.’ And I'm like, ‘What does that mean?’ And I would say, ‘So how much sage?’ ‘Well, just a pinch. Not more than a pinch, 'cause then your dressing will be green.’ And we're like, ‘Okay, well, How big is a pinch?’ she recalled with another laugh. 

She continued, “her recipe was not to the T, but it was to the T to her. So, it's a very special thing, the Nonny dressing, and she would always make six big tin pans of it 'cause she knows we would all want dressing for days after Thanksgiving. So, it was really special. I mean, holidays were a huge deal to her.”

Listen To The Biscuits & Jam Podcast Episode