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):Â 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!
I noticed that you do not include oil in the plain cornbread recipe but it is in the jalapeño cornbread and cornbread muffin recipes. Is it an omission or is it not to be added?
Hi Christine, In this plain cornbread the buttery flavor is front and center! Because we aren’t adding oil here we use buttermilk to make up for the moisture.
It turned out a little drier than I’d hoped.. I followed the recipe faithfully, only change was using brown coconut sugar. Could it be that?
Like you, I was never much of a cornbread fan until I tried this recipe. Wow! I baked in a muffin top pan for 30 minutes instead of 20 and it was perfect. Making this again 3 days after the first batch because everyone here is obsessed with them!
Having tried many cornbread recipes, I like this one best.
Being almost out of brown sugar, I had to make up with some white sugar but the richer flavors came through. I like that the batter is thick.
Okay I admit one other change. 1/8 tsp salt for two cups of grain and flour is for people with heart conditions. Typically one would use 1 tsp. I split the difference.
We made this as a side with our jambalaya and it was delicious! I highly recommend making this recipe. It is quick, easy and tasty. Thanks again for another great recipe.
Made this recipe today. Followed the instructions exactly and it came out perfectly. I have had no luck with cornbread in the past but this will definitely be my go to from now on. Tomorrow I’m going to try the biscuit recipe.
WOW! Best cornbread I have ever eaten! I didn’t have cornmeal so I used cornflour, weighed. It did make it denser (nothing more butter can’t fix;) but it was still delicious (that honey flavor!!) so I can’t imagine how it would taste if I could get my hands on cornmeal. Unfortunately I can’t find it where I live.
Hi Sally thank you so much for this recipe! Could I half this recipe and use a 9 x 5 loaf pan for a small batch?
Pretty tasty, but it tasted more like a dessert cake than cornbread: very sweet with a tender crumb. Not necessarily a bad thing but I like my cornbread to be more on the savory and crumbly side.
Really good flavor and texture….not too sweet.
Two small questions. I do not have any honey and am not wanting to don mask and gloves to go out for it. 1) Is the honey really a necessity? 2)Can I substitute half as much molasses fir it?
Hi Daniel, You can simply leave the honey out if desired.
Can I do this recipe in a cast iron skillet?
This is my Honey Skillet Cornbread!
Absolutely loved cornbread both times I’ve used this recipe. Goes perfectly with chilli on a cold night. (Only thing I found is it’s taken at least 30 minutes both times).
Thanks for the recipe!!!
This cornbread was amazing, thank you!
I made this cornbread and surprised my hubby and he just loved it! He normally uses Jiffy. He liked this a whole lot better. Very easy. Thank you Sally. I’m totally enjoying your site.
Delicious! I browned the butter and made hot honey to serve with it. Only issue is that at 20 minutes my toothpick came out clean but it was undercooked. I popped it back in the oven after it had cooled a bit for 7 or 8 minutes and it came perfect. So amazing!
Absolutely adored this cornbread! It has the perfect amount of sweetness without feeling like you’re eating cake. It’s soft and moist. The perfect compliment to any southern meal. My new fav recipe. Thank you!
Excellent and super easy to make! I cut back the brown sugar to just a couple of tablespoons and the sweetness level was just perfect for us. Depends on whether people prefer it sweet or not
Made this tonight to go along with smoked ribs. Made exactly per recipe with one minor addition. Added some chopped candied jalapeños. Corn bread was very moist with a really nice texture. Thanks for a delicious recipe!
I’ve made this recipe twice and loved it!! It came out exactly how described. Crispy edges and soft buttery crumbs. Simply delicious. Thank you Sally. Your baking addiction is a welcome gift in my kitchen. 🙂
Made this to the letter and it was excellent. The whole family devoured it. Thank you!
Delicious with pinto beans cooked with a ham hock, fried chicken thighs and coleslaw. Being cooped up in the adirondack woods I’m cooking and baking much more. Lots of leftovers!
Thanks for this delicious recipe! My cornbread was delicious except for hard crunchy bits. Any idea of how to fix that?
Hi Linda, glad you loved it! Did you use a coarse cornmeal? That could be why!
Perfect cornbread as written. Used the buttermilk substitute and it worked wonderfully. Thanks for the recipe Sally, we’ll use it again and again.
I just finished making this cornbread. It turned out fantastic!!
I am not a huge fan of cornbread but my husband loves it so I have tried to find a good recipe. This is by far the best I’ve made, and much to my surprise I also really enjoyed it. It has a wonderful flavor — a hint of honey comes through and the consistency is great. This will now be my go-to cornbread recipe! We loved it!!
Fabulous and so easy!
This cornbread turned out delicious! The honey note really added to the richness of its taste. The bread was moist and dense at the same time, it held well in slices. I baked it in a bundt cake pan for 30 minutes.
Love this cornbread so much! When making for a crowd…do you think it would work as well when doubled and baked in a 9×13??
Hi Lauren! Yes, you can double this recipe for a 9×13 inch pan. I’m unsure of the exact bake time, but use a toothpick to check for doneness.
Dear Hubby is cooking his ham and bean soup for dinner tonight. I have some cornmeal but was watching the grocery shelves for flour and today I purchased a 5lb bag, thinking “Cornbread tonight!” This recipe is a winner for sure, especially for this (almost) Oklahoma gal. Thanks!