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Cornbread

An easy, moist, and delicious cornbread recipe that is sure to please everyone in the family. You can't beat the delicate crumb, slightly sweet flavour, and perfectly crispy crust on this cast iron skillet cornbread!

He came home from work one day raving about a brisket, Traeger, and "golden bits of sunshine".

I knew what exactly 2 of those things were?

a black cast iron skillet holding 7 wedges of cornbread. One is missing.

Turns out, they had a huge BBQ for everyone at work that day, and Kevin was fed the "best damn brisket" and "these amazing golden bits of sunshine".

Golden bits of sunshine, AKA cornbread. He was that pumped about cornbread muffins?

I mean, we're Canadian, and while cornbread is delicious, it doesn't exactly have a cultural stronghold here.

OR SO I THOUGHT!

Girl with neon orange fingernails is stirring the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients for this cornbread recipe.

I snagged the recipe from Kevin's co-worker and tweaked it to support my tastes. We have made this cornbread no less than 8 times. I've served it with BBQ, I've snacked on it in the afternoon with the kids, I've served it as appetizers before Friday night dinners, and it was devoured in minutes each time.

Apparently, the only place that Cornbread didn't have a stronghold was MY house while I was growing up!

This recipe is dedicated to vitamin D and Kevin's co-worker.

Whisking eggs into the wet ingredients for cornbread.

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What's In Cornbread?

  • flour
  • cornmeal
  • sugar
  • salt
  • baking powder
  • honey or maple syrup
  • butter
  • milk or cream
  • eggs
golden brown cornbread in a black cast iron skillet.

How easy is this cornbread recipe to make?

You might be able to tell from the photos that Aedyn, my 9-year-old with neon orange fingernails, loves this recipe. With a little help around the oven, she can make the entire thing!

There are 5 basic steps:

  1. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  2. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
  3. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
  4. Preheat oven.
  5. Rest the batter.
  6. Bake in a heated and oiled skillet for approximately 25 minutes.
Dense yellow cornbread batter in a cast iron skillet, the top of the batter has been smoothed.

Cornbread Best Practices:

LET the batter sit for 15-20 minutes before baking. This allows the baking powder to activate and incorporate more air.

BE gentle!! When pouring your rested batter into the hot skillet, try to disturb the battle as little as possible - once you pop the air bubbles they don't come back.

girl with neon orange nails is carefully dumping the yellow, leavened cornbread batter into a hot, greased cast iron skillet.
See all the beautiful air bubbles? We want to preserve those!

START preheating your oven as soon as you set aside the batter to rise, by the time it's preheated, your batter should be ready to go in.

HEAT your skillet. This step cannot be overlooked. A screaming hot skillet plus a healthy coat of lard (or another oil) makes for the most scrumptious crispy brown crust.

a close up look at the thick yellow cornbread batter in the hot skillet. You can see bubbles and a slight rise forming on the edge of the pan.
That little bubbly bit on edge of the pan is the start to a beautiful crust!

Got Leftover Cornbread?

This recipe is literal make-ahead magic. It freezes and thaws incredibly well.

I've found if you turn the cornbread out of the skillet onto a cooling rack and then allow to cool to room temp, you can either wrap it in single-serve wedges OR, wrap the entire cornbread in plastic wrap, slide it into a freezer bag, then pop in the freezer for later!

When ready to use, simply pull the bread out of the freezer, unwrap, and place on a cooling rack 1-2 hours before you want to serve.

two wedges of yellow cornbread stacked on top of each other.

What to serve with Cornbread?

This cornbread recipe is wonderful as:

  • an appetizer with softened whipped butter
  • a side to smoked goodness from the Traeger
  • an accompaniment to Maple Baked Beans from my Instant Pot
  • a Chili side dish
  • a straight-up snack on its own.
a collage of images depicting the wet ingredients being poured into the well in the dry ingredients and mixed together.

How To Take Your Cornbread Recipe To The Next Level

SUBSTITUTE regular salt for this amazing Smoked Salt.

SWITCH the milk for buttermilk, OR, for extra brownie points, try Smoked Cream.

USE maple syrup instead of honey.

ADD some interesting mix-ins; we've been very successful with pickled jalapeños and bacon.

overhead look at a cast iron pan with cornbread cut into wedges. Two are stacked to the side of the pan.

WHAT'S MY SECRET TO PERFECT CORNBREAD?

Here's my secret. There are 2.

  1. Let the batter rest. This allows the leavening power of the baking powder to shine.
  2. Cook in a preheated and greased cast-iron skillet - this allows the crust on the cornbread to be crispy, but also to cook evenly, as the heat is coming around the entire cornbread, instead of trying to cook in a cold pan, where you'll get uneven baking.

Now, go forth and make perfect fluffy, delicious, cornbread!

Looking For Cornbread Muffins?

Try my Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins

A mans hands cracking open a jalapeno cornbread muffin. You can see the green jalapenos and slightly orange cheddar cheese.

📖 Printable Recipe

a black cast iron skillet holding 7 wedges of cornbread. One is missing.
Yield: 8

Cornbread

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Rest Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

This delicious cornbread recipe is as easy as it is moist. You can't beat the delicate crumb, and crispy crust that you get baking this cornbread in a cast iron skillet.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour or bread flour * See notes
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt, smoked or regular
  • 4 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup, melted
  • 1 cup of milk, buttermilk, cream, or smoked cream
  • 2 eggs
  • lard or butter, for greasing

Instructions

  1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisking well. Once combined, make a well in the centre of the bowl, and set aside.
  2. Combine the wet ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking well to ensure the wet ingredients are smooth.
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients and quickly whisk all the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Don't over-mix.
  4. Allow the batter to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400f, and place a 10" cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat.
  5. Remove the skillet from the oven and use a small dollop of lard, or butter to grease the pan.
  6. Carefully pour the batter in the skillet, trying to disturb it as little as possible. Smooth the top, if desired.
  7. Bake at 400 for 22-25 minutes or until a tester stick comes out of the middle clean.

Notes

* Please use a flour that has 13% or higher protein content. Using a flour that has less protein content will affect the finished product. Please see this post for more information: Whole Wheat Bread.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 441Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 79mgSodium: 627mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 2gSugar: 33gProtein: 9g

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Susie

Wednesday 10th of August 2022

While I have not made this yet, I will today. Being from the south, we did not use much sugar. I however, kind of like a light cornbread. With chili I go for the heavier kind to crumble on top. Will definitely try the jalapeno salt today. Thanks for the recipes.

Ally

Wednesday 10th of August 2022

I am a sucker for a sweet cornbread for sure! Though I can definitely see that crumbled cornbread would be delicious on chili! You're so welcome.

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