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.
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and a few more success tips.
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 13-year-old 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 (similar to this savory quick bread)
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. If you’re interested, I have plenty more on this topic in my Baking with Buttermilk post (including a DIY buttermilk substitute recipe).
- 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 or Maryland Crab Soup
- Slow Cooker BBQ Meatballs
- Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad
- Skillet Apple Cider Chicken
- Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Sweet Potato Turkey Chili
PS: Don’t forget the honey butter for on top!
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.
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 (8 Tbsp; 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 buttermilk substitute 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!
Reader Comments and Reviews
I’ve made this cornbread recipe over 5 times now and I can definitely say it’s the best I’ve ever made. I live in a two-person household and the entire thing is consumed within 24 hours. I serve it with a little pad of butter while it’s still warm. The most difficult part of this recipe is simply remembering to get the egg, buttermilk, and melted butter at room temp, but I’ve finally got the hang of that.
Will DRY buttermilk powder [I have Saco] work in this recipe? I would combine 1/4 cup of Saco dry with 3/4 cup water. Thank you.
Hi Rosalyn, yes, you can use powdered buttermilk here. Follow the directions on the packet to yield the 1 cup needed for this recipe.
Best recipe I have found so far, I doubled the recipe added jalapenos creamed corn and shredded cheese, and it turned out moist almost like cake which I really like, not much for dry cornbread at all.
Are oven temperatures for conventional or fan forced
Hi Maria, We test all of our recipes in an electric oven using conventional heat settings. Any chance you are using convection or fan forced settings? We always recommend conventional settings for baking (not convection/fan). The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection/fan settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake.
Easy to follow and great results, especially when fresh out the oven! I used what I had on hand so there were some modifications. I only had almond milk so used that with two spoonfuls of vinegar, then I added a nice dollop of sour cream to add some fat that I imagine was lacking from the almond milk. I also had a little less than a full cup of cornmeal, and used white sugar instead of brown. Everything else was as written! I made this in my 10 inch cast iron and it was delicious.
OMG this is the best. I tried a piece right out of the oven because I couldn’t resist. It’s the cornbread I’ve been searching for for years. Perfect.
ok so updating my previous review – flavor good but this is a recipe for a flavor good nut
flavor good but a light feathery cake – not even close to being cornbread…
No need for the freezing instructions, this cornbread will be gone in the blink of an eye. I wasn’t a fan until I tried this recipe. Everyone in my family loves it! It’s insanely good and incredibly easy.
didn’t see the need to flour the dish – turned out fine without doing so – love the brown sugar! thank you for putting it in your recipe! i sub brown for white in a lot of recipes and they turn out better! honey and buttermilk a great combination… will make again,
Hi Sally! Can this recipe be doubled and baked in a 9”x13” pan or Pyrex?
Hi Kimberly! Yes, you can double this recipe for a 9×13 inch pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, but use a toothpick to check for doneness.
This is my mother and grandmother’s favorite recipe for cornbread! I’ve made it dozens of times, and whenever I haven’t for… oh a couple of weeks or so, I’ll get impatient messages from them letting me know that I’m slipping on the cornbread supply.
I WHOLLY recommend looking at the link for how to make these as cornbread muffins, which is at the bottom of the recipe. Muffins are my favorite way to make these as each serving has those tasty hot pan marks on it.
There are few flavorsome ingredients, so if you can choose your favorites of those, you’ll really taste the difference. Once I was gifted a new kind of brown sugar, used it for this, and immediately was told to never ever change back because they were the best batch I’ve ever made.
If you like your cornbread sweet, this is the recipe for you, the informative blog post for you, and the accompanying cornbread muffin recipe for you. 10/10, if I ever stop making these I’m out of the family.
Hi Sally! I continue to love this recipe as cornbread, but I would like to make it as mini muffins to have little bite-sized cornbread heaven. What advice or changes to the recipe, bake time, or oven temp would be needed to ensure the muffins stay moist, but are still cooked through without coming out overdone?
Hi Sarah, we would recommend following our cornbread muffins recipe. Almost identical recipes, but with a smidge of oil to help keep them moist. For mini muffins, bake at 350°F (177°C) for around 10-12 minutes.
It was tasty but very crumbly. I will try adding an extra egg yolk next time and a bit less cornmeal.
I have made this recipe several times and loved it. However, I recently read that the “buttermilk substitute” of milk and lemon juice isn’t ideal to use. Could I mix some whole milk Greek yogurt with milk to create a similar consistency?
Certainly! Usually you would want a 1:2 ratio of greek yogurt to milk.
I make this recipe all the time and I never buy buttermilk. I use whole milk which is what we drink and add a splash of vinegar and let it sit for a minute. Thickens right up-works great as a buttermilk substitute in all recipes too!
We loved the sweet balance of this recipe! Probably my favorite and I’ve tried several! YUM! Thank you, Sally!
Recipe is super simple and bread is moist. It took me 16 mins to bake. Only reason I’m giving the recipe 2* is because it tastes nothing like corn bread.
Great recipe! Super easy, very tasty and great balance. Also, living in EU, I appreciate the conversion and some extra tools such as the “cook mode” button, the ready to print option etc.
This is a wonderful recipe. One question, why does the cupcake recipe call for 2T oil and this one doesn’t?
Hi BB, The oil lightens up the crumb and helps prevent the cornbread muffins from crumbling all over the muffin wrapper.
I’m doing a bread basket for Easter instead of rolls. This cornbread is in the freezer and everyone loves it. Along with the corn bread I made the dough for the “red Lobster” biscuits and will do the dough for the soft breadsticks tomorrow.
My new go to cornbread recipe. Light fluffy, and not too sweet.
Thank you!
The best cornbread EVER. Look no further.
Tried and true, everytime. I have baked this cornbread as written as well as with various substitutes, with success. So it’s a great base recipe too. I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill egg replacement and flax egg replacement, worked great. We drink plant milks, all work well with lemon or apple cider vinegar for buttermilk. i still have to try gf flour.. it’s on the sweeter side, so have been using coconut sugar. thank you for this fantastic recipe!!
This is so fluffy and delicious. I’ve made a similar one before with brown sugar but couldn’t find the recipe, so glad I tried yours! Thanks!
Fantastic recipe! I tried a few gluten free cornbread recipes and they were just plain inedible. I simply replaced the flour in this one with King Arthur Gluten Free flour (not the 1 for 1, just the regular) and it worked! I don’t keep honey on hand but I do use maple syrup a lot, so I did that swap as well. It was undetectable. These are fantastic and I’d definitely recommend if you like a light, sweet cornbread. I’m not a fan of dense, savory ones. Thank you for the recipe!
Great results
The flavor is excellent but I hesitated over the 9-inch pan. I prefer a taller cornbread and I should have used my 8X8 pan. But overall, I’ll make it again. It was delicious topped with a bit of homemade whipped honey butter.
Of course everyone loves this cornbread, too much sugar. I would never put sugar in cornbread. Seems like every recipe now days has sugar.
Best cornbread ever and I made a lot of cornbread recipes. This is a keeper.
I loved the recipe. Sooo very easy and very moist and delicious.
This cornbread is definitely on the sweet side, but you won’t hear me complain about that! It was a great side with our red beans and rice. Another winning recipe!
This is now my favourite corn bread too! I am addicted!!
Just about to make it a second time.
Please tell me can it work in an 8 x 8 pan without affecting one crumb of quality?
If so, how long should I bake it for?
Another one of your absolute winner!!
Hi Sally, you can bake it in an 8-inch square pan, but your cornbread will be extra thick and may change the baking time so just keep your eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness. So glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks so much – made it again in the 9 x 9 – scrumptious! Will give the 8 x 8 a try another time – glad to know it can work. You suggestions are much appreciated>