The Best Homemade Cornbread Recipe
on Dec 14, 2020, Updated Sep 25, 2023
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Fill your kitchen with the aroma of homemade cornbread! My family has been making this easy cornbread recipe for decades. The crisp golden crust and moist, fluffy center really can’t be beat. If you have some cornmeal sitting in your pantry, cornbread is comfort food just waiting to happen.
If you’re wondering how to make cornbread, this simple cornbread recipe is what you’ve been looking for. It makes buttery, perfect cornbread – every time. Plus, it only takes 25 minutes from start to finish! You can make it in a skillet or any baking dish, too.
Homemade Cornbread
This cornbread has been a staple for my family for years and years, but I realized a while back that I hadn’t created a post to share it with you! My family absolutely loves this cornbread and I’m sure your loved ones will too.
This cornbread is EASY. No buttermilk. Bake it in any pan. Ready in 25 minutes!
One of the reasons I love this cornbread recipe is that you don’t need anything fancy to make it. Many cornbread recipes require buttermilk or creamed corn or a very specific kind of pan. By comparison, my recipe is one you can make any day, any time, with what you have on hand. You can use any kind of pan and don’t need any special ingredients. With just a few things you probably already have on hand you can make the best cornbread ever!
What Makes this the Best Cornbread?
Well for starters, it tastes DIVINE. It’s sweet but not over the top, soft but not cakey, and crumbly without being a plain mess. I can’t recommend it enough!
Plus, there’s a lot of room to play with the recipe. Use melted butter OR oil, use fine OR medium ground cornmeal, use all-purpose flour OR a white whole wheat flour. Don’t like a sweet cornbread? Feel free to reduce the sugar to as little as 1/4 cup. It’s perfect, the ingredients are simple, AND you can make it your own.
Cornbread Ingredients
- All purpose flour: All purpose flour will allow the bread to rise a bit and give it the spongy, caky consistency of bread.
- Yellow cornmeal: A must for cornbread! It give the bread its beautiful golden-brown color and the grainy, delicious consistency.
- Granulated sugar: This gives the bread a touch of sweetness it needs to balance out the corn and bread flavors.
- Salt: Just a pinch to bring out the complexity of flavors.
- Baking powder: To help the dough rise and expand as it bakes.
- Butter: This is a must — it gives the bread a moist, flaky, rich flavor that is heavenly.
- Egg: This binds everything together and helps the bread to rise.
- Milk: For a rich, moist cornbread!
How to Make Cornbread
Okay, now let’s get to the subject of this post: how to make homemade cornbread! You may be surprised to discover that baking a perfect pan of cornbread only requires a few easy steps:
- Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or cast iron skillet well and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine well.
- Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add your oil or butter, milk, and egg. Stir just until the mixture comes together and there are only a few lumps remaining.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Serve hot.
See! It’s that easy. I love a side that comes together in a snap and is on the table in about 30 minutes.
Topping Ideas for Cornbread
Did you know that you can add fun toppings to cornbread that make it even more delicious to eat? Here are some of my favorite topping ideas for homemade cornbread:
- A drizzle of honey
- Butter
- Honey butter
- Jelly or jam
- Ham and cheese
- If you live someplace where you can get your hands on maple cream, that’s amazing on cornbread too!
- Or just as it is
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve cornbread with beans or chili. It goes well with lots of things. My favorite thing is crumbling the cornbread into my chili, mixing it in, then sprinkling cheddar cheese on top. So good! It’s a great side for any meal that needs a few extra carbs though.
Homemade Cornbread FAQs
What kind of baking dish should I use?
You can make it in a 9-inch round cake pan, square baking dish, or 9-inch cast iron skillet. Bonus! You can also make these into muffins or double the recipe and toss it in a 9×13-inch baking pan. You’ll just need to adjust the baking time if you are making muffins or doubling the batch. Muffins take around 15 minutes to bake and a doubled recipe takes 35-40 minutes to bake.
What is the best kind of cornmeal to use for cornbread?
Use yellow cornmeal in this recipe. White works fine, but it just doesn’t look the same. Golden yellow cornbread is a must. Also, don’t try to sub any of the cornmeals used for making tamales – they are a different grind and the texture doesn’t come out the same.
What is Cornmeal?
A lot of readers ask about cornmeal. What is cornmeal? What about polenta? It can be confusing. Cornmeal is dried and ground corn. It’s found in the baking aisle of grocery store. Cornmeal is just dried and then ground field corn and you can typically find it in a fine or medium grind. Both will work well for this recipes. Polenta and grits will also work in this recipe. Corn flour is more finely ground and can also be used.
What Can I Substitute for Vegetable Oil in Cornbread?
Another great thing about this particular tried-and-true cornbread recipe is you don’t NEED to use vegetable oil. You can use any mild oil you prefer, like canola oil, avocado oil, or even melted butter!
Why is My Cornbread Crumbly?
Ugh, isn’t overly crumbly and dry cornbread just the worst? If you’re experiencing just a little bit of crumble, that’s normal. It shouldn’t be true quick bread consistency, but it also shouldn’t be totally dry and feel like wet sand. Using too much cornmeal is one way to dry it out, so don’t skip out on the equal portion of flour.
What Should I Serve With Cornbread?
A lot of people love to pair cornbread with chili… for the obvious reasons (it’s amazing). But I love cornbread with so many other meals, too! It’s great with all kinds of barbecue or grilled meats. Its subtle sweetness makes it a great accent for spicy and meaty foods.
What is the ideal cornbread texture?
This recipe is perfect because it makes a delectable texture: spongy, moist, and soft, and just crumbly enough to sprinkle crumbs over chili. It’s buttery and rich with just the right amount of sweetness.
Can I Make This Cornbread Gluten Free?
Yes! I have made this recipe gluten free by simply swapping out the all purpose flour for a gluten free baking blend (often labeled 1:1 gluten free baking blend) and it worked perfectly. This truly is the best cornbread recipe! It can be whatever you need it to be and still come out amazing.
Watch my video showing you how to make this easy cornbread recipe here:
The Best Homemade Cornbread Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8–10 1x
Description
Fill your kitchen with the aroma of homemade cornbread! My family has been making this easy cornbread recipe for decades. The crisp golden crust and moist, fluffy center really can’t be beat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/3 cup neutral oil or melted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or cast iron skillet well and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Whisk to combine well.
- Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add your oil or butter, milk, and egg. Stir just until the mixture comes together and there are only a few lumps remaining.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- You can make it it in a 9-inch round cake pan, square baking dish, or 9-inch cast iron skillet. Bonus! You can also make these into muffins or double the recipe and toss it in a 9×13-inch baking pan. You’ll just need to adjust the baking time if you are making muffins or doubling the batch. Muffins take around 15 minutes to bake and a doubled recipe takes 35-40 minutes to bake.
- Use yellow cornmeal in this recipe. White works fine, but it just doesn’t look the same. Golden yellow cornbread is a must. Also, don’t try to sub any of the cornmeals used for making tamales – they are a different grind and the texture doesn’t come out the same.
- To make this recipe gluten free simple sub the all-purpose flour for a gluten free 1:1 baking flour.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Baking
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
After you master this recipe (and you will!), I challenge you to learn how to make biscuits and gravy next. Also a staple in this house 🙂
More Cornbread Recipes:
Easy dinner recipes to serve your cornbread with:
- Classic Ham and Bean Soup (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker recipe)
- Hearty 15 Bean Soup in the Instant Pot
- Slow Cooker Pork Tenderloin and Potatoes
- Easy Slow Cooker Chili
- Quick and Easy Chili Recipe
- Side salad with any of these 9 homemade salad dressing recipes (a good dressing makes everything better)
Ohhh see how simple, flexible, and adaptable this recipe is? Now you can whip up a pan of cornbread any time the craving hits. It’s so simple and this recipe will turn out perfect every time, just read the reviews!
Can I use yogurt whey from my Greek yogurt in place of milk?
That’s a great questions. I haven’t tried it but I do think I’d try it… you wouldn’t be out a ton. Do you think it would make it too sour tasting? I’m totally curious, if you try it will you let me know. I always have extra whey too.
Does well at high altitudes with out needing full adjustments
I’m baking at 5200 feet and don’t adjust it but sometimes my middle does sink, still tastes great, not as pretty. So yes, you can adjust it, but I don’t think it’s worth the effort.
What is cornmeal called in the uk. Is it what we call polenta ?
I think that will be closest thing too it! I can’t wait to hear how you like it.
Thanks for this post!
I had never made cornbread, actually I had never even tasted it before I made this recipe! Cornmeal in Australia is called polenta and we also have self-raising flour which has a rising agent in it, so don’t need baking powder. I only put 1/2 cup of sugar as I was using it as a side dish. The family said it was still too sweet for a side dish but for dessert it was lovely with cream! We agreed it tasted much like our scones, which is a very popular morning tea treat here in Oz 🙂
Yay! So glad that it worked out for you! I love that you are enjoying it on the other side of the world, SO COOL!
This recipe actually wowed us!!! We have made cornbread in the past; but nothing compares to this recipe. We had out of state friends over to watch a football game, and I made a chili! The chili is always a winner; however the cornbread took 1st place!!
I love the fact that we could bake it in a cast iron pan! A winner for sure! It’s a recipe I will use now going forward! My girlfriend is also a great cook and Baker; she too now has the recipe. Thank you for sharing this delicious and moist recipe.
LOVE THIS! Thank you so much for letting me know, that means so much to me. Hearing real life stories makes a sometimes lonely internet job so much more fun. Thank you!
I could cry! My boyfriend and I absolutely love cornbread, but I’ve been searching for years to find a good recipe. Most are way too dry and crumbly, and the ones that aren’t are entirely too sweet. I gave this recipe ago thirty minutes ago and now I am happily eating the best cornbread I have ever made as I write this review. Bookmarking this recipe and using it for years and years! Thank you!
Best Comment EVER! Thank you for taking the time to come back and let me know, totally made my day!
My husband is super picky about cornbread and he LOVESSSS this recipe….he says it’s better than his moms and that’s a HUGE shock since nothing is better than moms!
Alexis, this was such a great comment. Thank you for taking the time to leave it. I read it out loud to my husband and we totally laughed out loud. Thank you for making out day!
Can I use fat free milk instead of whole milk?
Yes, it’ll still work well enough. It might be a bit more crumble but I’d still make it if I only had fat free milk!
Just pulled the cornbread out of the oven…and (ahem!) sampled a corner…yum! One issue though…you need to post a warning: If you’re Polish, check out my Sour Cream Cornbread recipe before you go ahead with this one! I wish I’d seen that one first (dab some sour cream and fresh dill behind your ears and I’ll follow you anywhere!). Next time!!
Just tasted this bread based on this recipe. Delicious! I even doubled the amount and it doesn’t taste like baking powder. I used a rectangular bread pan. I don’t eat lentils or beans with sweet bread, so would you know how much salt I should add to make it suitable for a salty meal?
So glad you liked it! I would half the sugar and double the salt! I bet it would be delightful if you are looking for something salty.
Thank you, Melissa.