Corn Bread
Corn Bread is an easy side dish that comes together with a handful of ingredients that mix well to make a scrumptious golden, moist, slightly sweet and delicious bread. It is the perfect amount of crumble, moisture, and flavor. And just the right amount of sweet!
Serve this corn bread with one of these tasty options: Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup, Vegan Taco Soup or Taco Soup.
The Best Cornbread
We love a good Corn Bread with our stews and chilis. It has become a tradition to make both together for a complete meal. Which is what put me in search of the best cornbread ever. And my good friend Melissa from Bless This Mess told me she had a great recipe for cornbread.
It is light, fluffy, sweet, and savory.
I took her word for it, made it, and really loved it. Honestly, it was the best cornbread I ever tasted. But, like I am want to do, I made a few minor tweaks of my own to make it just how we love it. I ended up trying several different recipes for cornbread, trying butter vs oil, sugar vs honey, etc. to find the best combo of flavors.
And I wanted to share with you today what my findings were.
The changes: Less sugar, and using butter instead of oil. I also think it is best cooked in a cast iron skillet.
Make this recipe: You will know that your corn bread is going to be moist and delicious with these simple ingredients.
Mix it Up:
For a classic taste add some butter and honey.
I love honey butter on my cornbread, which is why I originally reduced the sugar. The added sweetness of the honey gives it just the right flavor. So I wanted to make sure my cornbread wasn’t too sweet on its own. I found we liked it so much with the reduced sugar we did not adjust the sugar back.
One, the bread is sweet enough when you add a honey butter topping. But it is also awesome with savory ingredients.
Looking to add in some extra flavor?
Jalapeños are a spicy addition or even sausage for a breakfast addition.
Mix and match meats and flavors to make even more delicious types of cornbread with this classic recipe as the base.
Just keep in mind, if you add moisture, remove some from the recipe so the texture and consistency turns out right.
How to make Cornbread:
Cornbread, like other breads, is fairly simple to make if you combine the wet and dry ingredients separately and mix it together. And this particular cornbread only has a few simple ingredients.
Cast Iron Skillet
Lightly grease a cast iron skillet or 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.
Combine Dry
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk until combined well.
Combine Wet
In a separate bowl combine milk, butter, and egg and whisk until combined.
Then make a well in the center of the dry ingredients mixture, and add the wet ingredients.
Don’t Over stir
This is really key. If you over stir the cornbread will become tough. We want a light and fluffy texture, which means it is good to stir until everything is wet, but it is okay to leave a few lumps.
Can Cornbread be made a day ahead?
Of course! It is best to freshly bake it, but you can make it ahead and store it in an airtight container to seal in the moisture.
You will want to store at room temperature.
Or, if you still want fresh baked, but want to cut time, mix your dry ingredients ahead, and stir in the wet and bake day of. Fortunately it doesn’t necessarily need to be made ahead as it doesn’t take long to make.
Can you save corn bread batter?
Absolutely! Just not for too long.
Instead of saving all the batter, consider this: You can mix together the dry ingredients of cornmeal mix. When you are ready, just add an egg and milk, stir and bake for 20 minutes.
This cornmeal mix will keep in your pantry or in a cool place, stored tightly in an airtight container up to 6 months.
If you have added the wet ingredients, it will keep in the fridge for about a day. But let it come to room temp before baking, or you may need to adjust the baking time.
Tips for Making Awesome Cornbread:
Refrigerate: While it is great to store the cornbread at room temp, it will last longer if you refrigerate it.
You do not have to refrigerate cornbread. It will last about 2 to 3 days in an airtight container.
If you prefer to refrigerate it, it will last about 1 week. And I have found it stays moist longer if you refrigerate it.
Substitute: If you need to substitute milk for almond milk use the same amount called for in the recipe and use unsweetened almond milk.
Or use buttermilk, which is tangier than milk. I love this recipe with buttermilk. Don’t have it but want the buttermilk flavor? Add a little squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar.
I have tested the recipe both ways, and it is good both ways. Milk is easier, and I love it, so I usually stick with that.
Cornmeal: Use a good quality cornmeal, that is stored in an airtight container or bag. It is best when stores in the refrigerator or freezer.
All flour and cornmeal can be frozen for indefinite storage.
How do you store cornbread overnight?
To store cornbread for 1-2 days, wrap it in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and leave it out at room temperature. If you want your cornbread to stay fresh for longer, wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for 1 week.
To maximize the shelf life of corn bread, cover with foil or plastic wrap or place in a plastic bag to prevent drying out. Properly stored, freshly baked corn bread will last for about 1 to 2 days at normal room temperature.
How to Avoid Crumbly Cornbread
We love cornbread to crumble, but it is too crumbly, it is a big problem. No one wants a mess when eating cornbread. So how can you keep your cornbread from becoming too crumbly?
Don’t skip the step of mixing wet and dry ingredients separately, then combining.
Simply stir the wet ingredients together until they are combined. And separately the dry. Then make your well and combine.
The well helps you fold the dry ingredients into the wet so it gets mixed, but you can avoid over-mixing.
Why avoid over-mixing?
Stirring, or mixing can activate glutens. When you stir too much, this will cause more glutens to be formed which will result in crumbly bread.
Also, the more cornmeal you have over flour will result in a drier, more crumbly cornbread. So use the specified amount of ingredients for best results.
Do you know how to measure flour?
Do not stick your measuring cup into the container and fill that way. This results in a denser flour, and often as much as 20% more flour.
Instead, take a spoon, and spoon out flour into your measuring cup. This will add air to the flour, and help you get the proper measurement that is not super dense.
What can I add to my cornbread?
- Jalapeños: Try this Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread
- Cheese or Cheesy Garlic
- Hot Dogs
- Creole Seasoning
- Sausage
- Mushrooms
- Ground Beef
- Chili
- Canned Corn
What does cornbread go with?
- Soups and Stews: Ham and Bean Soup or Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup
- BBQ Food: Spicy Honey BBQ Sauce Ribs or Baby Back Ribs
- Beans: Instant Pot Baked Beans orThe Ultimate Easy BBQ Baked Beans
- Chilis: Slow-Cooker Southwestern Style Chili, Sweet Chili or White Chicken Chili
Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1 egg large
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Lightly grease a cast iron skillet or 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk until combined well.
- In a separate bowl combine milk, butter, and egg and whisk until combined.
- Use the back of a measuring cup to make a well in the center of the dry ingredients mixture, and add the wet ingredients to that well.
- Use a spoon to stir mixture until it comes together and is not too lumpy, but be careful to not overstir. A few lumps are okay.
- Pour batter into prepared skillet or baking dish and bake for 20-22 minutes. Top should be a nice golden brown, and toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.
- Serve hot with honey and butter!
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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Stephanie says
So fluffy and sweet! Love this cornbread!
Katerina @ diethood .com says
Oh my, this cornbread looks incredibly delicious!! I have to try this soon!!
Sara Welch says
What a light and fluffy side dish! This will be perfect with our barbecue dinner tonight! Yum!
Becky Hardin says
Love this cornbread. So good and so easy.
Laura Reese says
This looks delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Elizabeth Wagner says
Hi! I’ve never made cornbread, but I’ve wanted to try and make one. The only thing stopping me is that I don’t know what type of cornmeal is used. Is it coarse or fine cornmeal. I use the fine one at home for certain foods. I don’t want to ruin the recipe by using the wrong one. Can you enlighten me, please and thank you!!
Rachael says
I like the fine cornmeal. Thanks for asking.
Emily says
I love that you can make the dry mix ahead and store in your pantry. Best cornbread recipe ever!
Aimee Shugarman says
This is the BEST cornbread recipe. LOVE all the tips, it turned out perfect.