This is my very favorite cornbread recipe, because it’s the perfect balance of everything there is to love about this easy quick bread. Follow this recipe and you’ll be rewarded with soft, moist, buttery sweet cornbread with crisp-crumbly edges.
One reader, Lia, commented: “This is the best cornbread I’ve ever made. I go back to it over and over again. It has the approval of my husband and my hard to please 13yo son. It’s delicious. ★★★★★”
Have you ever had the experience of biting into a piece of cornbread, only to be disappointed by how it crumbles apart and tastes bland, sandy, and dry? I know I have.
Which is why I spent years testing and tweaking recipes in order to hit on the right ratio of ingredients to achieve perfection. Think: thick squares of buttery moist cornbread with a touch of sweetness, and just the right amount of crumbliness. It’s become such a popular recipe around here, that I use a variation of it to make my beloved cornbread stuffing.
Why You’ll Love This Cornbread
- Quick and easy to make
- No mixer required
- Slightly sweet, extra buttery flavor
- Crunchy-crisp edges
- Moist and tender, not too crumbly
One reader, EL, commented: “I am Southern. I have tried SO MANY cornbread recipes and none have tasted like home like this one. It’s now my go-to recipe and is always a hit!! ★★★★★”
What I Learned From Recipe Testing
Cornbread is like coconut macaroons. Random comparison I know, but hear me out. Both are very easy to make, but their success depends on the ratio of ingredients. When done wrong, cornbread (and macaroons!) can be dry, crumbly, and flavorless. But when done right, this quintessentially American quick bread is moist, tender, and flavorful.
While testing batch after batch, I played around with butter vs. oil, regular milk vs. buttermilk, the ratio of flour to cornmeal, and different sweeteners.
Here are the key ingredients you need:
- Butter: Butter is one of the main flavors here. While oil can make cakes and quick breads luxuriously tender, I find the cornbread lacks flavor if butter isn’t present. Because butter doesn’t make the bread as moist as oil does, I pair it with buttermilk.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk makes cakes, muffins, and breads extra moist. It also adds flavor, and you’ll notice that flavor in my no-yeast bread and biscuits recipes, too.
- Cornmeal & Flour: Equal parts fine cornmeal and all-purpose flour makes for the BEST cornbread. With 1 cup of cornmeal, you get lots of that delicious corn flavor, and those crisp-crunchy edges.
- Brown Sugar & Honey: There are two opposing camps when it comes to how cornbread should taste: sweet vs. not sweet. This particular recipe falls more towards the sweet end of the spectrum. While it’s not as sweet as cake, it does have some sugar and a hint of honey to balance out the savory buttermilk flavor, and enhance the natural sweetness of the cornmeal. Regular white sugar is fine to use here, but I especially love this made with flavorful, moist molasses-spiked brown sugar.
And the rest:
Baking cornbread is as easy as mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately, and then combining them into 1 thick batter.
Spread into a greased or lined square 9-inch baking pan. And try it in a cast iron skillet! My skillet cornbread is a forever favorite recipe, too.
What Is Cornmeal?
A lot of readers ask about cornmeal. What is cornmeal? Is cornmeal the same as cornstarch/cornflour? What about polenta and grits? It can certainly be confusing. Cornmeal is dried and ground corn. It’s typically found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. If you’re curious, here’s an article I found about the differences between many dried corn products, including cornmeal, polenta, and cornstarch.
More Cornbread FAQs
I usually use fine cornmeal to make cornbread, but if medium-ground or coarse is all you can find, you can use that, too. Yellow cornmeal is the most common, but if you have white cornmeal, that’s also fine to use.
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.
Feel free to stir in a little something extra if you wish! Try adding in 1 cup of corn or a can of creamed corn, 1 or 2 chopped jalapeño peppers, 1 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup each dried cranberries and walnuts, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, or 1/2 cup crumbled bacon.
Here is the same recipe baked as cornbread muffins!
What to Serve With Cornbread:
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
- Homemade Minestrone Soup
- Honey Chipotle Salmon
- Crab Cakes
- Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad
- Skillet Apple Cider Chicken
And here’s my cornbread muffin recipe—I love adding jalapeño for a little kick. You can also bake it directly on top of chili when you make cornbread chili casserole.
Cornbread Favorites
My Favorite Cornbread Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9 servings
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
I was never a fan of cornbread until this recipe! After lots of recipe testing, I found the perfect ratio of ingredients for soft, moist, and buttery cornbread with crisp-crunchy edges. I guarantee this is the best cornbread recipe you’ll try!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g) fine cornmeal
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) honey
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Grease and lightly flour a 9-inch square baking pan. Set aside.
- Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and honey together until completely smooth and thick. Then, whisk in the egg until combined. Finally, whisk in the buttermilk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Avoid over-mixing.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and the center is cooked through. Use a toothpick to test. Edges should be crispy at this point. Allow to slightly cool before slicing and serving. Serve cornbread with butter, honey, jam, or whatever you like.
- Wrap leftovers up tightly and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze baked cornbread for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm the cornbread in the microwave or in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 10 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. If you don’t have any, you can make a DIY sour milk by adding 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to make 1 cup total. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes before using. Whole milk is strongly recommended for moistest, richest texture, but you can use lower-fat or nondairy milk in a pinch.
- Optional Add-ins: 1 or 2 chopped jalapeño peppers; 1 cup blueberries; 1/2 cup each dried cranberries and walnuts; 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese; or 1/2 cup crumbled bacon
- Skillet Cornbread: Baking cornbread in a skillet gives it an even heartier, crunchier crust. Bake this cornbread in a 9-inch or 10-inch oven-safe greased skillet at the same temperature for the same amount of time.
- Cornbread Muffins: Here is the same recipe as cornbread muffins!
My first try making corn bread was a success!
Thanks Sally for the recipe and tips!!!
Definitely will bake more of this 🙂
Would give this 10 stars if I could! Excellent directly as written. Made two batches and added a couple chopped jalapeños for some heat on the 2nd batch. Not one piece leftover!
Yes! This is the cornbread recipe I have been looking for! Perfect texture, perfect flavor! Thank you, Sally, for this and all your wonderful recipes!
I’ve made this countless times- perfect every time! Such a great balance of salty and sweet, and the brown sugar adds a nice touch. I used a combination of milk and vinegar once when I didn’t have buttermilk. Love love love!
This was so delicious! Flavorful and moist! Followed recipe except for adding some southwest corn to the batter. Maybe due to this addition did have to bake an extra 5 minutes. Perfect and lots of compliments! Thanks Sally!
Have always been afraid of cornbread…. made it once for a potluck and it was fine, but crumbly. This is excellent and seemingly foolproof. My husband made chili and wanted us to have a cornbread side, decided just a couple of hours before dinner, and luckily this came together super easy and was quick to the table. I did have to bake for about 23 minutes but once that toothpick came out clean, it was perfect and moist. Thank you Sally! I felt like a total champ!
I have used this recipe several times over the last couple of years and it is amazing! Everyone loves it! I have a little guy with several food allergies so I’ve used lots of replacements and it doesn’t matter – it always turns out great. If this helps anyone, I’ve used coconut milk in place of milk, coconut oil in place of butter, and I’ve used different replacements of eggs (applesauce, aqua faba – since I usually make this alongside chili and have the extra bean liquid, and flax egg). Oh and I’ve replaced flour with gluten free flour blend too. Thanks for the great recipe!
This is the very best hands down no bs amazing cornbread recipe . I have literally spent the past 5 days trying out different recipes and in all 7 of them would get a rating out of 10 possible points they would get a 5 to 6. Yours in my taste testing gets a solid 10 ” ” PERFECT ” ” THANK YOU
YOUR new admirer Dean
The best cornbread I have made yet and I have made a lot. Trying again tonite to replicate previous results
I just made this cornbread to pair with my Moose (venison) sausage chili. I have a recipe that we all like, but it was too much like cake, so I searched for a different recipe and tried yours. This truly is a Perfect cornbread mix ( love the brown sugar idea, didn’t change a thing in this recipe ) and it is now my “go to” cornbread recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!
I just made this using cornmeal mix and flour. Cut the leavening in half. All other ingredients and portions unchanged. Delicious, moist and not too sweet.
I honestly didn’t think anything could top my mom’s cornbread which calls for more cornmeal than flour – and so much sugar?? No. But!! Even though it was crumbly and dry-ish because apparently blue cornmeal requires more liquid (as I learned in comments) – hubby LOVED it. Loooooved it! So looks like this is my new cornbread recipe
I’ve recently tried a few of your recipes, including this cornbread. I haven’t been disappointed. This cornbread has a wonderful balance of sweet and savory, is simple and quick; I’ll be keeping this one. Thanks for great recipes.
I substituted the buttermilk with unsweetened hazlenut milk and added one more teaspoon of baking powder. It turned out so nice!!
Love this recipe. Light, fluffy but has substance. A keeper!
Accidentally browned the butter in the cast iron– was having too much fun with this recipe. Had a secret hunch it was going to be bomb… Used coconut sugar instead of white. Subbed Two Tbsps of the flour for Flax meal for some extra goodness too. It turned out so so tasty! Thank you Sally!!
My husband is in love with this recipe! Very yummy!
Great recipe for corn bread very light and fluffy. I would cut back a bit on the sugar and honey. Plus wonder if could cut down on calories with something other than butter??
Thank-you for this delicious recipe. You have finally made cornbread delicious! I made it yesterday to have with black-eyed peas & collards which are a southern New Years Day tradition. Everyone ate 2 pieces. <3
I made this to go with my New Year’s Day Blackeyed peas and greens. I love the texture on this… soft and not gritty like cornmeal heavy cornbread. I reduced the sugar and honey by half because my guy does not like sweet things, but I know I would love it even more with the full sweetness. Very good!
My go-to cornbread recipe! I love the level of sweetness and it’s perfectly moist. I substitute almond milk for buttermilk and it still tastes great and maintains its moist-ness.
What adjustments would I make if I use a glass pan instead or metal?
I usually bake this cornbread in a glass pan. I find it takes an extra minute or 2 since metal cooks a little quicker. Other than that, no other changes necessary.
Have never made cornbread before, after searching through recipes I felt like this one was most conceptual in it’s explanation. The proportions of the ingredients in this recipe yielded a perfect bake! I am so happy. I added a few steps that I saw from other recipes and liked! 1. I whipped the egg to a ribbon stage and folded it as the last thing I added to the batter. 2. I used a little less sugar and added a splash of vanilla and cinnamon (i mean its the holidays right??? Haha) 3. I preheated the oven with my baking pan in it, greased the pan hot, and then added the batter – it really made a beautiful crunchy crust and a moist interior!
Can the buttermilk be replaced with whole milk if I do not have buttermilk and if so is the measurements going to be different?
Hi, Lois! Buttermilk is required for this recipe. See my recipe notes for a DIY version using milk and lemon juice or white vinegar.
Oh, my, this is sooooo good. My slight alteration was to use two eggs and a slightly rounded measurement of the flour to compensate. All cornbread lovers know that scratchy throat feeling when eating cornbread; Add the touch of sweetness from the sugar and honey and this is just a gorgeously tasting treat. Merci/Thank you
Amazing recipe! Straightforward and easy to follow – yielding a delicious and moist result. Thank you for posting this. I’ve never made cornbread before and found your recipe after my husband made a special request after sampling cornbread at an evening out. Will be saving this recipe and making again. I will also try freezing some to reduce the temptation of eating the whole pan in one day. 🙂
Love this cornbread. Made mine to go with chili.
I just made this Cornbread to go with a nice split pea soup that I used my leftover ham in.
I sub’d the buttermilk with one cup of canned full fat coconut milk, the butter with Smart Balance (margarine), as my daughter is vegetarian. Everything else exactly per the recipe. This turned out excellent!
Absolutely delicious and moist. So easy to make! A huge hit at our Thanksgiving dinner.
This was excellent! I did substitute milk with almond milk + lemon juice due to an allergy and margarine for butter . I used bread flour instead of all purpose to experiment.
I added cheddar and 1 jalapeno.
I’m not sure they’re lasting until dinner, tbh.