Cornbread Recipe
I’ve had a lot of cornbread in my life and this Cornbread Recipe is my absolute favorite. It has a tender crumb, delicious flavor, and a touch of sweetness.
Cornbread is one of those foods that is very personal. For me, this is how to do it.
If you’re not familiar with cornbread variations, Northern cornbread (sometimes called Yankee cornbread) has a softer, more cake-like texture to it, and sweetness to enhance the flavor of the corn.
Southern cornbread on the other hand is never sweetened. And I often see versions with no flour at all, so the texture can be quite gritty.
I’ve played with quite a few variations of Southern style cornbread during periods of sugar-free and gluten-free eating. The truth is I just don’t enjoy Southern-style cornbread as much.
Corn has a natural quality of sweetness to it (which is why desserts like corn ice cream and corn cookies work so well). This sweetness is quite obvious when you eat fresh corn on the cob, but this quality can be lost in cornmeal form.
Adding a touch of sugar really brings that sweet corn flavor forward.
This cornbread has a slight sweetness to it, along with a tender, cake-like texture to it. There’s more cornmeal in here than flour, but there’s enough flour to keep the bites relatively soft. And there’s plenty of buttermilk, which aids in both flavor and texture.
This cornbread recipe has lived on my Youtube channel for 4 years and been made and loved by many. I’m not really sure how it never got posted on the blog, but here it is, step-by-step.
How to Make Cornbread:
Get the dry ingredients going by combining all-purpose flour, yellow cornmeal, baking soda, and salt with a whisk:
In a separate bowl, whisk to combine melted butter and sugar, until smooth, glossy, and thick:
Add two eggs to the bowl, ideally at room temperature so they don’t re-solidify the melted butter:
Whisk well until smooth and frothy on top, then add buttermilk:
The buttermilk is an essential part of this recipe.
*Please use real buttermilk and not a milk + vinegar substitute*
It’s worth it. You can always use any leftover buttermilk for these heavenly Blueberry Muffins, Lemon Buttermilk Pie, or Buttermilk Pancakes.
Whisk the buttermilk in, then add the dry ingredients:
Combine the two until the flour just disappears. I use a whisk at first, then switch to a spatula once the mixture gets too thick.
You want to make sure not to overmix the batter. This is what you want right here:
Note that there are still lumps, but there’s no dry flour anywhere.
Spread the cornbread batter into an 8×8 pan. I line with parchment paper to make it easy to get out later. You can also grease the pan with butter.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean:
Let it cool, then it’s ready to cut into squares:
I think it’s good enough to eat on its own, but feel free to spread with butter and drizzle with honey, if desired.
Or pair it with Turkey Chili or a rack of Oven BBQ Pork Spare Ribs. Enjoy!
Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (108g)
- 1.25 cups yellow cornmeal* (180g)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs (preferably at room temperature)**
- 1 cup buttermilk (preferably at room temperature)**
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper (or, you can grease with butter).
- In a medium bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk to combine the butter and sugar until glossy and thick.
- Whisk in the eggs until evenly incorporated and frothy on top.
- Whisk in the buttermilk until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix together until the flour just disappears (note: I whisk at first, then switch to a spatula when the batter gets too thick). Do not overmix, it's okay if there are some lumps (see photo in blog post).
- Pour the cornbread into the lined pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
16 Comments on “Cornbread Recipe”
Perfect Joanne, your recipes NEVER disappoint me!
Hi Deborah, really glad to hear this! Hope you’re doing well these days and cooking some great things 🙂
I would like to add fresh corn to the batter. Is it advisable? How much?
I haven’t tried it myself, but I think this would be okay. I’d start with 1/2 cup.
we like to eat cornbread like a pancake w/ butter and syrup on it!
this is the most amazing thing i have ever tasted
I was scared to try making cornbread since i failed at my first attempt (different recipe) but this one was perfect! The bread is tasty, moist and soft. The only thing i did different is I put half the amount of sugar (it was still very (not too much, just enough) sweet. I also only had to bake the cornbread 25 min.
Thank you!!!
I have tried dozens of Cornbread recipes trying to find ‘the one’, and I do believe this is it!
Hi Joanne,
Would an 8 by 8 inch glass baking dish work for this recipe? I’m planning on making this over the weekend. Thank you so much!
Hi Yuna, yes, but google “glass vs metal 8×8 baking” and do a little reading just to brush up on knowledge between the two. You will need to watch it closely and the bake time will likely be slightly different. Enjoy!
Hi Joanne,
I really can’t find any cornmeal in any grocery stores or online shopping. What brand do you use and could you give me a link?
Thank you!
Kristine
Hi Kristine, I use Arrowhead Mills. Do you have a Whole Foods around? I know they have it online but online grocery items can sometimes be expensive.
Can I use polenta instead?
What can be used instead of eggs in Cornbread Recipe ?? And one more question…Cornmeal means Cornflour ??
Hi Joanne
Is there a reason your site doesn’t include a “jump to recipe” option. ?
Di
Hi Di, if you look at the post title, below that there’s the author and date and then a colored teal bubble on the right with a number. If you click on that icon, whether on desktop or mobile, it will pretty much take you down to the recipe.