Cornbread

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This easy Cornbread recipe is made in the Northern style: Fluffy, cake-like, ultra moist, and with a hint of sweetness. It’s perfect with the barbecue at your next picnic or on the side of a bowl of chili.

Four squares of cornbread on a cooling rack.


 

There’s a pretty big difference between the two types of cornbread. Most people prefer one or the other. No matter what anyone tells you, there’s no wrong way to make it.

  • Northern-style cornbread: Like the homemade cornbread recipe below, this style has a cake-like texture and almost always includes some sugar, brown sugar, or even honey. Made with yellow cornmeal, it is golden, buttery, and moist, and perfect as a side dish for barbecued meats or chili.
  • Southern-style cornbread: Most recipes use coarse, stone-ground white cornmeal, less flour, and no sugar whatsoever. It’s traditionally made in a sizzling, pre-heated cast iron skillet with bacon drippings, for a crispy crust. It’s thinner, too, and on the crunchy side.

Recipe ingredients

Labeled ingredients for cornbread.

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

  • Cornmeal: Plain, old-fashioned yellow cornmeal works great in this recipe. Stay away from the coarse, stone-ground whole-grain cornmeal or medium-ground cornmeal (used to make polenta) which will make this cornbread drier and even gritty.
  • Sugar: Feel free to use brown sugar, instead of granulated, for a little molasses flavor. You can even substitute a bit of honey for half of the sugar in the recipe.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. To start, preheat the oven to 375 degrees, adjust the oven rack to the middle position, and grease a 9-inch square or round pan (or line with parchment).
  2. Grab a large mixing bowl and add the dry ingredients: cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix everything together, then make a well in the center of the cornmeal.
Dry ingredients for cornbread in a clear glass bowl.
  1. Pour in the melted butter, eggs, and milk.
Wet ingredients for cornbread in a clear glass bowl before being mixed.
  1. Stir until everything is just combined. A few lumps are totally okay here.
Wet ingredients for cornbread in a clear glass bowl after being mixed.
  1. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish.
Cornbread batter in a pan before being baked.
  1. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Let the freshly baked cornbread sit in the pan for about 15 minutes before cutting into chunks and devouring.
Baked cornbread in a pan.

Recipe tips and variations

  • Honey butter: Tastes so delicious on cornbread! Beat 1 cup softened butter until smooth, then add ⅓ cup honey, and a pinch of sea salt. Keep out at room temperature for easy spreading while you serve the cornbread.
  • Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
  • Freezing: For longer storage, freeze baked cornbread squares or muffins for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and gently reheat in the microwave.
  • Storing cornmeal: Most store-bought cornmeal is shelf stable and can be stored in the pantry at room-temperature for between nine months and a year. The fancier versions are better kept in the freezer.
  • Spicy: Finely dice 1 to 2 seeded jalapeño peppers and add to the batter. The spice will diminish a little as it bakes. You can also try sprinkling cheddar cheese on top!
  • Gluten-free: Corn is naturally gluten-free, but read the package to be sure. Also, switch out your favorite GF baking blend for the flour in the recipe.
A pan of cornbread with four slices resting on a cooling rack with a bread knife.

Delicious with cornbread

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Four pieces of cornbread on a cooling rack.

Cornbread

This easy Cornbread recipe is made in the Northern style: Fluffy, cake-like, ultra moist, and with a hint of sweetness. It's perfect with the barbecue at your next picnic or on the side of a bowl of chili.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 9 servings
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Calories 392
5 from 6 votes

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9-inch round or square baking pan with nonstick spray.
  • In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  • Make a well in the cornmeal mixture and add milk, eggs, and melted butter. Mix together just until combined (do not overmix). The batter should be slightly lumpy.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until golden brown around the edges and on top, about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Let stand for 15 minutes, then cut into wedges or squares and serve.

Notes

  1. Cornmeal: Plain, old-fashioned yellow cornmeal works great in this recipe. Stay away from the coarse, stone-ground whole grain cornmeal or medium ground cornmeal (used to make polenta) which will make this cornbread drier and even gritty.
  2. Sugar: Feel free to use brown sugar, instead of granulated, for a little molasses flavor. You can even substitute a bit of honey for half of the sugar in the recipe.
  3. Honey butter: So delicious on cornbread! Beat 1 cup softened butter until smooth, then add ⅓ cup honey, and a pinch of sea salt. Keep out at room temperature for easy spreading while you serve the cornbread.
  4. Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
  5. Freezing: For longer storage, freeze baked cornbread squares or muffins for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and gently reheat in the microwave.
  6. Storing cornmeal: Most store-bought cornmeal is shelf stable and can be stored in the pantry at room-temperature for between nine months and a year. The fancier versions are better kept in the freezer.
  7. Spicy: Finely dice 1 to 2 seeded jalapeño peppers and add to the batter. The spice will diminish a little as it bakes.
  8. Gluten-free: Corn is naturally gluten-free, but read the package to be sure. Also, switch out your favorite GF baking blend for the flour in the recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 pieceCalories: 392kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 10gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 87mgSodium: 713mgPotassium: 215mgFiber: 3gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 644IUCalcium: 229mgIron: 3mg
Did you make this recipe?Tag @culinaryhill on Instagram so we can admire your masterpiece! #culinaryhill
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Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.

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Comments

  1. I’ve tried three or four cornbread recipes over the past two months but have not thoroughly enjoyed them. When your recipe showed up in my inbox, I decided to give it a try. The good news is that I like the flavor of the cornbread. The bad news is that I would prefer it a little less dense. Maybe I did something wrong, but my cornbread was heavier and thicker than I desired. Which ingredients should I tweak in the future to thin it out a bit? Overall, I enjoyed the cornbread and look forward to playing around with it in the future. Thanks!5 stars

    1. Hi Jeff, thank you for the feedback! I would try adjusting the amount of cornmeal or flour. The cornbread may be less crumbly, though. I haven’t tested it out myself, so please let me know how it works out! I’m glad you enjoyed it! – Meggan

  2. Hi Meggan,

    Regarding the recipe on Cornbread which I will definitely make as it looks nice but are there any reason that you use 2/3 cups of this and that. Should it not be easier to use whole numbers like 2 or 3 cups of that ingredient and either increase or decrease the size of the baking pan or bowl.

    1. Hi Pieter, baking always works in ratios so yes, you could increase certain quantities of ingredients and scale up everything and just use a larger bowl or pan. That’s is true. However, I like to make a recipe for a certain amount of servings in a standard-sized pan that everybody has. In this case, it’s a 9-inch baking dish (square our round) which makes 9 pieces when you cut it 3×3. People could make a larger pan of cornbread, but people are always trying to reduce food waste and not everyone has a freezer to store extra or can eat that much. I could scale it down, to a smaller recipe, but then I’d have to use a bread pan. Not to mention that changes the baking time, and I don’t really have time to test all the possible variations. So I guess that’s how it happened. Also, everyone has a set of measuring cups that include the 1/3 cup, so using a 1/3 cup twice, or using a 1-cup twice, really doesn’t take more or less time. You know? Sorry about that. :( There are just so many factors and so little time! -Meggan

  3. Hi Meggan!

    Do you know if anyone has tried to use baking powder/baking soda instead of the eggs? What do you recommend for amount?
    Thanks!