Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (2024)

  • Bread

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Wini Moranville

Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (1)

Wini Moranville

Food, wine, and travel writer Wini Moranville is the author of "Everyday French Cooking: Modern French Cuisine Made Simple." Over the past 25 years, she has written hundreds of articles, covering everything from Christmas Cookies to Cognac for Better Homes and Gardens, Bonjour Paris, Relish Magazine, and other national publications.

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Updated on September 18, 2022

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (2)

Here's how to make cornbread any way you like it! This collection includes our best cornbread recipes ever. We start with our classic sweet cornbread recipe, then show you all kinds of variations, including a traditional Southern cornbread recipe, four takes on cast-iron cornbread, and a number of ways to whip up a great buttermilk cornbread recipe. You'll also find plenty of spot-on recipes for cornbread muffins, too.

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Spiced Nuts and Zucchini Cornbread

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (3)

Here we've added quite a few easy stir-ins to the usual cornbread ingredients for one of our best cornbread recipes ever. Zucchini and applesauce help make this a super-moist cornbread recipe, while the spicy nuts and creamed corn add extra flavor and texture.

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Cornbread Muffins

Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (4)

This recipe for cornbread muffins is actually four recipes in one! Check out the variations to make Orange-Cranberry Cornbread Muffins, Honey-Poppy Seed Cornbread Muffins, or Maple-Bacon Cornbread Muffins. Or stick with the basic ingredients for a classic, go-with-anything sweet cornbread recipe.

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Corn and Poblano Spoon Bread

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (5)

Here's another moist cornbread recipe. In fact, it's so moist you need to scoop it with a spoon! Try it as side dish to barbecue meats. Or serve it in the bowl alongside your thickest chili.

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Peach-Prosciutto Cornbread Muffins

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (6)

We designed these cornbread muffins as a breakfast treat, but we can't see any reason why they wouldn't go swimmingly with a steaming bowl of soup in winter or a patio-perfect salad in summer. Note that while the list of cornbread ingredients usually includes milk, we've swapped in half-and-half or light cream for extra richness.

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Bacon Cornbread

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (7)

This pleasantly moist cornbread recipe shows you how to make cornbread in the slow cooker. And with bacon and whole kernel corn added to the list of cornbread ingredients, how can you go wrong?

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Savory Zucchini Cornbread Muffins

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (8)

Look closer! These are no ordinary cornbread muffins. We've baked a hard-cooked egg inside each one. Indeed, this recipe shows you how to make cornbread into a main dish. Serve with bacon or sausage, and you're set for a great weekend breakfast!

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Cornmeal Blueberry Scones

Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (9)

Looking for a sweet cornbread recipe? Maybe what you really want is a cornbread scone! This quick bread has blueberries and two kinds of sugar for extra layers of sweetness. Serve it as a teatime treat or with soup or salad for lunch.

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Pull-Apart Cornmeal Dinner Rolls

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (10)

What's a dinner roll doing in our list of best cornbread recipes? We couldn't resist! When you have a little extra time, this tender yeast bread is a great alternative, especially when you're serving a crowd—the recipe makes 32 rolls.

  • Our Best Bread Recipes

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Crusty Cornbread

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (11)

You found it! The buttermilk cornbread recipe you're looking for. Because it has no flour or sugar, it also boasts the hearty texture of a classic Southern cornbread recipe. If you really want to stay true to the South, serve it with molasses instead of honey-butter.

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Cornmeal Griddle Cakes

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (12)

You might be wondering why we put cornmeal griddle cakes on our list of best cornbread recipes, but we think it makes perfect sense! These satisfying disks are a super-crispy, pan-fried cousin to the usual buttermilk cornbread recipe. Serve them with anything you'd eat with cornbread: chili, red beans and rice, navy bean soup, and more!

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Lemon-Blueberry Corn Cake

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (13)

If you're looking for a sweet cornbread recipe, this might be the sweetest option in our files! With blueberries and an extra touch of sugar, it tastes like a cross between blueberry muffins and cornbread muffins, making it a great choice to serve with breakfast or brunch.

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Chicken Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (14)

Here's how to make cornbread without turning on your stove! Cornmeal dumplings taste a lot like cornmeal muffins—the difference is that you steam the dumplings directly on top of a stew on the stove top rather than baking them in muffin cups in the oven. In our book, that means one less pan to clean!

  • How to Make Dumplings

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Pumpkin Cornbread

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (15)

Here's a textbook case on how to make cornbread moist: Add pumpkin to the cornbread ingredients! PS: Check out the recipe variation if you prefer to make cornbread muffins.

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Our 13 Best Cornbread Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Yankee cornbread and Southern cornbread? ›

The thing that distinguishes Southern cornbread from, say Yankee cornbread, or any other cornbread one is likely to eat outside of the southern states, is that it is savory, not sweet, and it is made mostly with cornmeal.

Why do Southerners not put sugar in cornbread? ›

Sugar in the cornbread interferes with the flavor of the vegetables. Don't put sugar in your cornbread! Traditional cornbread isn't sweet, but many favorite recipes have sugar in them.

What ingredient keeps cornbread from crumbling? ›

I want to keep the cornbread taste, just less crumbly! I recommend extra egg yolk, adding corn, and using cast iron to bake. Also, try a little lower temperature.

What is the difference between southern cornbread and sweet cornbread? ›

A quick Google search will tell you that Southern cornbread is oftentimes devoid of any sugar, while its Northern counterpart is light, sweet, buttery and cakelike.

What is cornbread called in the South? ›

It is commonly called "cornbread" in the Southern United States and is not known by a different name in this region. Cornbread is a simple bread that is made by mixing cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, and milk to form a batter, which is then baked in the oven.

Is medium or fine cornmeal better for cornbread? ›

As for the best cornmeal for cornbread, either fine- or medium-grind cornmeal is a great choice. Medium-grind cornmeal will bring slightly more texture and grittiness to the batter, which you may or may not want (it's up to you!). You can use fine or medium cornmeal in these extra corny muffins.

Why is cornbread not healthy? ›

The exact nutritional profile of cornbread can vary depending on the specific recipe and ingredients used. However, cornbread generally contains high amounts of carbs, phosphorus, and sodium in each serving. One piece of cornbread prepared from a commercially prepared mix contains ( 2 ): Calories: 198.

Is cornbread good or bad for diabetics? ›

Cornbread can help you control your blood sugar levels.

Cornbread is made with whole grain cornmeal, making it an excellent choice for people trying to control their blood sugar levels as eating whole grains has been linked to better blood sugar control.

Which is sweeter northern or southern cornbread? ›

Northern Cornbread: History and Recipe

She notes that Northern cornbread is sweeter, lighter, and more cake-like than Southern cornbread. Not surprisingly, it includes sugar (or molasses, in the earlier centuries), unlike traditional Southern cornbread.

What does adding an extra egg to cornbread do? ›

The extra egg which is increased protein and binder makes the cornbread denser and heavier in texture.

Should you let cornbread batter rest? ›

1Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Note: We recommend allowing cornbread batter to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before baking, so if you prefer, you can delay heating the oven until you make the batter. 2Melt the butter, and then set aside to cool slightly.

Why does my cornbread fall apart when I cut it? ›

Cornmeal gives cornbread its classic color and flavor, but too much can make your bread crumbly. Try replacing a little bit of cornmeal with flour. The specific measurements will depend on how much cornmeal and flour is in your recipe, but you should try to have more flour than cornmeal in your batter.

Which makes better cornbread white or yellow cornmeal? ›

Southerners, on the other hand, tend to prefer white cornmeal. Many people believe that it is because, in the old South, families used white cornmeal as it more closely resembled “fancy” European wheat flour. In any case, today it remains a main component in traditional Southern buttermilk cornbread.

Which cornmeal is best for cornbread? ›

Yellow cornmeal is the most common, but if you have white cornmeal, that's also fine to use. Can I Bake This in a Skillet? Baking cornbread in a skillet gives it an even heartier, crunchier crust. Bake this in a 9- or 10-inch oven-safe greased skillet at the same temperature for the same amount of time.

What kind of corn is best for cornbread? ›

But one of the easiest ways to jazz up a basic cornbread is by adding sweet corn, which creates more layers of that sweet and sunny flavor. Fresh corn is always best if it's in season, cut straight off the cob, but frozen is nearly as good. Just let the corn thaw and then drain it completely, patting dry if needed.

What is Southern cornbread made of? ›

In a large mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients: cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and buttermilk. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well. Take the cast iron skillet out of the oven and pour the batter into it.

Is real Southern cornbread sweet? ›

Real, traditional, Southern-style cornbread is savory, not sweet, and always has been.

Should Southern cornbread be sweet? ›

In 1892, a Times correspondent, after enumerating the many types of corn-based breads eaten in Virginia, noted, "It will be observed that in none of them is sugar used. There are cornmeal puddings served with sweet sauces, but no Southern cook would risk the spoiling of her cornbreads by sweetening them."

Who invented Southern cornbread? ›

Native cooks developed a number of recipes based on corn, including cornbread, that were later adopted by European settlers and enslaved African people—especially those who lived in Southern colonies.

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