Homemade Cornbread Recipe

This easy Homemade Cornbread Recipe is moist, perfectly sweet, and incredibly soft on the inside with crispy brown edges. Perfect for an easy side dish!

One of my favorite side dishes growing up would hands-down have to be cornbread. Between the golden brown crispy edges and the soft and fluffy interior, there’s something so irresistible about it. A few weeks ago I decided to ditch the store-bought mixes and work on a homemade cornbread recipe.

Not just any cornbread though, I wanted to create one with those beautiful crisp edges and one that was sweet, but not too sweet. This simple homemade cornbread checks all of those boxes and it’s incredibly easy to throw together too. In fact, this recipe uses simple ingredients and you probably have on hand right now.

Bonus – If you want to bake this cornbread into muffins or bake it in a cast iron skillet, I’ve included instructions for how to do that too!

How To Make This Cornbread Recipe

To make this cornbread recipe, start out by whisking together the dry ingredients. For the dry ingredients, you’ll be using some all-purpose flour, yellow cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

• All-Purpose Flour: When it comes to measuring the flour, make sure to use the spoon and level method. This will ensure that you end up with a soft and fluffy cornbread instead of a dense one.
• Yellow Corn Meal: I’ve found that equal amounts of all-purpose flour and yellow corn meal is the perfect ratio for this recipe. The corn meal gives this cornbread that beautiful flavor we all know and love. Just make sure to use regular corn meal and not self-rising corn meal, which has baking powder and salt already added to it. 
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda: There’s a mix of baking powder and baking soda in this recipe to give it the perfect lift. 
• Salt: To enhance the flavors and balance out the sweetness.

Once you’ve mixed up the dry ingredients, you’ll whisk together the wet ingredients: unsalted butter, granulated sugar, honey, eggs, and buttermilk.

• Unsalted Butter: To keep this recipe simple, you’ll melt the butter and whisk it together with the other dry ingredients. I recommend using unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt in this cornbread. If you only have salted butter on hand, just reduce the salt in this recipe to 1/8 teaspoon.
• Granulated Sugar & Honey: There’s 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of honey to sweeten it. I find that a combination of the two gives this cornbread the perfect amount of sweetness without it being overly sweet.
• Eggs: To help bind everything together and add structure.
• Buttermilk: This helps to keep the cornbread moist and gives it a tender crumb. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use my homemade buttermilk substitute instead. 

Once you’ve mixed up the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients, you’ll mix them together until just combined.  Then, pour the batter into a greased 8-inch square baking pan and bake it for 18-22 minutes at 400°F (204°C).  The higher oven temperature will not only help the cornbread rise properly, but it gives you those beautiful golden brown edges too. 

Once the cornbread is done, you’ll want to let it cool slightly before you slice into it and enjoy. I also highly recommend topping it off with some butter and a little drizzle of honey!

How To Make This Recipe In Different Size Pans

I like to bake this cornbread in an 8-inch square pan to make things a bit easier. However, you can also bake this in a muffin pan or a cast iron skillet. Here’s how I adjust the recipe for these two pans:

• To make cornbread muffins: Spray the cavities in a 12-count muffin pan well with nonstick cooking spray or grease with butter. Evenly distribute the batter between all 12 cavities in the muffin pan, then bake at 400°F for 13-15 minutes.
• To make skillet cornbread: Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet into the oven while you prepare the batter. Once the batter is ready, melt one tablespoon of butter in the microwave, then carefully remove the skillet from the oven (careful – it will be hot!). Pour the melted butter into the skillet and use a pastry brush to brush it around the skillet. Pour the batter into the hot skillet, then return it to the oven and bake at 400°F for 18-22 minutes.

Homemade Cornbread Recipe

5 from 5 ratings

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

This easy Homemade Cornbread Recipe is moist, perfectly sweet, and incredibly soft on the inside with crispy brown edges. Perfect for an easy side dish!

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Ingredients

Servings: 12 slices or muffins

• ▢ 1 cup (155 grams) yellow cornmeal
• ▢ 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 grams) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• ▢ ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup (85 grams) honey
• ▢ 2 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk room temperature

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Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Grease an 8-inch square baking dish generously with butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
• In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, honey, eggs, and buttermilk until fully combined.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth it out.
• Bake at 400°F (204°C) for 18-22 minutes or until the edges are browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack to cool, then slice, and enjoy.

Notes

Store cooled cornbread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Freezing Instructions: Once the cornbread has cooled completely, you may store it in a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw to room temperature before serving or reheat frozen slices/muffins in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.

Yellow Corn Meal: Make sure to use regular yellow corn meal and not self-rising corn meal. I really love Quaker yellow corn meal in this cornbread, but anything similar will be fine.

Unsalted Butter: I recommend unsalted butter so that you can control the amount of salt. If using salted butter, reduce the salt in this recipe to 1/8 teaspoon. 

Buttermilk: If you don't have any on hand, you can use my homemade buttermilk substitute. 

To make cornbread muffins: Spray the cavities in a 12-count muffin pan well with nonstick cooking spray or grease with butter. Evenly distribute the batter between all 12 cavities in the muffin pan. Bake at 400°F for 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

To make skillet cornbread: Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet into the oven while you prepare the batter. Once the batter is ready, melt one tablespoon of butter in the microwave, then carefully remove the skillet from the oven (make sure to be careful - it will be hot!). Pour the melted butter into the skillet, use a pastry brush to brush it around the skillet, then pour the batter into the hot skillet. Return to the oven and bake at 400°F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

For a jalapeño cheddar cornbread: After you combined the wet and dry ingredients, add 1/2 - 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and 2-3 chopped jalapeños with the seeds removed. 

Cuisine: American

Course: Side Dish

Author: Danielle Rye

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