I can honestly say that this Homemade Cornbread Recipe is one of my all time favorites. It’s so easy to make and tastes better than any of the pre-made mixes.
Easy Homemade Cornbread Recipe:
You are going to love this easy homemade cornbread recipe. Making cornbread from scratch isn’t as hard as you might think. This cornbread recipe is the perfect side dish to our favorite crock pot meal.
This cornbread recipe is super easy to make. We think it tastes much better than store bought cornbread and it will save you money.
I remember the first time I made this recipe. I was surprised by how easy it was to prepare. Trust me, you can definitely make this and your entire family will be impressed with the results.
The Best Easy Cornbread Recipe:
We do call this the best corn bread recipe. We love the way it fills out kitchen with the aroma of fresh cornbread. With just a few simple pantry ingredients, you can make this easy cornbread recipe that your entire family will love.
This cornbread recipe is slightly sweet but also buttery cornbread recipe that I know your family will love. Your family will be asking for seconds.
Easy Cornbread from Scratch:
Have you ever made cornbread from scratch? Once I started making this recipe I never made the box stuff again. I usually always have the ingredients on hand which makes it easy to serve this with our favorite soups and stews.
One the best money saving tip that I use for my family is I make homemade cornbread mixes. This makes it so much easier to have the dry ingredients already mixed together. On the day I decide to make cornbread, all I have to do is add the rest of the ingredients. It really makes my life a little easier in the kitchen.
They are easy to assemble and you get the taste of this easy homemade cornbread recipe without all the extra work.
What is Cornmeal?
Cornmeal is a meal ground from dried corn. This staple ingredient is a must when preparing cornbread. It gives the cornbread a golden-brown color and the grainy texture that makes the best cornbread.
Cornbread Ingredients:
The ingredients for this recipe are not complicated. If you already love to bake, I bet you already have most of these items in your pantry!
- All-purpose flour
- Yellow cornmeal
- White sugar
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- Egg
- Milk
- Vegetable oil
How to Make Homemade Cornbread:
- Prepare oven and baking pans – First preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Then spray a 9X9 baking pan with the non-stick spray of your choice. You can also lightly grease the pan with butter or shortening.
- Combine Ingredients – Simply combine the dry ingredients together then add the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. I usually use a hand mixer but you can stir it by hand as well.
- Pour batter into pan – Then pour the batter into your prepared pan. Then bake for 30 minutes until the cornbread is golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the cornbread will be clean when removed when it’s done.
- Serve and Enjoy – Allow to cool slightly or to room temperature and then cut. I love to serve warm with butter.
Cornbread Variations:
What is great with this recipe is you can change it based on your diet or what you have on hand. Here are some variations:
- Use Water – If you are all out of milk, you can definitely use water. Just add about 1 ½ teaspoon of butter to ensure you still have soft and moist cornbread.
- Melted Butter – You can use melted butter instead of oil
- Whole Wheat flour – You can use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour
- Half the Sugar – Reduce the sugar if you don’t want it as sweet
Since you are making this from scratch, you adjust the ingredients as your prefer and what you have. That is why I love this easy recipe.
Topping Ideas for Cornbread
What do you top your cornbread with? You can use fun toppings that make this easy cornbread recipe even more amazing. Try these toppings the next time you make cornbread:
- A little bit of honey
- Butter
- Honey Butter
- Syrup
- Jelly
Even if you like your cornbread fresh out of the oven, you will not be disappointed.
What Can I substitute for Vegetable Oil?
If you prefer to use something other than vegetable oil. Here are some of our suggestions. Any of these would work great with this cornbread recipe.
- Canola Oil
- Avocado Oil
- Melted Butter
What is the Difference between Southern Cornbread and Regular Cornbread?
- Southern Cornbread – This type of cornbread is made with white or yellow cornmeal. It usually is made with more eggs and has a cakelike texture.
- North Cornbread – This type of cornbread has a crumbly texture and is made with fewer eggs and yellow cornmeal.
What kind of Pans can you Cook Cornbread in?
There are 3 different types of pans that can be used for this recipe. I usually use a metal or glass 9X9 baking dish. However, you can also use a cast iron skillet for this recipe.
When using a cast iron skillet, warm up the skillet by putting it into the oven while it is preheating. Then follow the rest of the original recipe and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes until cutting this cornbread recipe.
What to Serve with Cornbread:
- Soups or Stews – It is the perfect bread to serve with soups and stews. We also like to crumble it and mix in a bowl of beans.
- Chili – Add to your favorite chili recipe. I like eating it on the side of my chili with some melted butter on top. But my husband crumbles it up puts it in his bowl of chili.
- Other Options – Check out What Goes with Cornbread for more ideas.
Variation Ideas:
I love that this recipe is so versatile. This easy recipe is a base cornbread recipe. It is so simple to add in your favorite ingredients to make this recipe your own!
- Honey is a great addition to this recipe, if you like sweet cornbread. All you have to do is add ¼ cup of honey to the ingredients and mix it in before baking.
- If you prefer spicy foods, I recommend that you add chopped jalapeños prior to baking. You can easily remove as much seeds to give this homemade corn bread recipe the prefect amount of spice.
- Cheese is also a great add in for this recipe. I love making cheddar cornbread. Mix in approximately ½ cup of your favorite cheese to all the other ingredients.
- Cornbread Muffins – We love cornbread muffins in muffin tins.
Can you Freeze Cornbread?
Yes, you can freeze cornbread. Cornbread freezes very well if stored properly. Place cornbread in a freezer safe container and it will last about 3 months.
Print this Homemade Cornbread Recipe below:
Homemade Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Spray a 9×9 baking pan with non stick spray.
- Combine all ingredients into a bowl. Stir well.
- Pour into your prepared pan and baked for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cornbread comes out clean.
- Allow to cool, and then cut and serve.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
More Easy Cornbread Recipes
- Sweet Honey Cornbread Recipe
- Corn Bread Muffin Recipe
- Best Jiffy Cornbread Recipe
- Gluten Free Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Recipe
I love savory cornbread, but my family loves sweet. They’ll love this recipe for sure!
I always pour honey or guava all over the top of the cornbread as soon as I take it out of the oven. Love sweet!!
Personally not a big fan of cornbread but my husband is and one of my favorite memories of my great grandma before she passed os saying NY cornbread was just as good as her mama’s. Might have to give this a try #Giveaway
On this recipe for cornbread, can you use olive oil instead of vegetable oil? I was just wondering.
My kids and I LOVE cornbread! We prefer cornbread on the sweeter side versus savory. I have added pumpkin spice to mine in the fall! We always put butter and honey on ours!
I like sweet cornbread. My husband prefers regular. He loves to eat his cornbread in a bowl with milk and onions.
I’ve only made it a couple of times, but I love cornbread. I like it both sweet and savory :). I would love trying this recipe with some jalapeños added and dipping it in chili!! yum!
Thank you for including the “how to cook in a cast iron skillet….just inherited some and have been dying to try cornbread cooked in one. I look forward to making this recipe with some jalapenos and cheddar to serve with collards or some chili.
I like sweet cornbread, I’m plain when it comes to cornbread. I like to eat mine toasted from a butter pan with jelly, hot.
Here in East Texas we prefer savory, that is what I like about this recipe. No added sugar.
Can you use self rising corn meal mix? Thanks, Tim
I never have cooked with self rising corn meal mix, but I imagine it would work.
My mama taught me how to make her southern cornbread, around 50-52 years ago. I have made it on and off through the various seasons and phases of my life. I just entered a new phase. After not making it in quite a while, I’m ready to get back to it. But I needed to find a recipe to check my memory with. Your recipe is very close to how we made it.
If you don’t mind, I’d like to offer a few tips you might want to consider:
1. I nearly always use my cast iron skillet, never a plain ol’ cake pan. The only time I’ve ever used anything else was when I used to bake corn muffins for church singles pot lucks. Of course for that I used a muffin tin.
2. Heating the cast iron in the oven is good and recommended by most websites I’ve explored. One particular reason is more even heating. However, it does just as fine, heating it on the stovetop. I like it that way because I can monitor it – and have it convenient for the twist coming up in #3 below – and I don’t have to take it out of the oven to fill it and then put it back in.
3. THIS tip has always been a hit at the pot lucks and with my dinner guests at home: instead of combining the oil in the batter, I heat it in the skillet while I whip up the batter. Then, just as I’m getting ready to pour in the batter, I add a good portion of butter to the skillet – maybe half a stick (I have to experiment a couple of times to find the right amount again) giving it a minute or so to melt and mixing it evenly in the oil. Then pour in the batter. You get a good sizzle – that’s good. You can also adapt this to muffins. For the muffin process it’s easier to add the oil into the batter. But then simply add a bit of butter in the bottom of each muffin cup prior to pouring batter into it. Adding the butter during the cooking process gives the cornbread that nice, buttery flavor right out of the oven.
I’m quite glad to have found your recipe today. Thanks so much for sharing it. ?
I added about 10 green chili peppers (not super hot ones) finely diced; a handful of shredded Mexican blend cheese and 1/2cup more sugar. This recipe is great. My hubby loves it!
Thank u!
Can I make them into corn muffins?
Yes you can! I have a recipe for corn muffins here https://www.eatingonadime.com/corn-bread-2/
Is this self- rising cornmeal ?
No I used regular cornmeal.
Wonderful and super eager
I followed this recipe to the letter, and it was amazing. I could have eaten the entire pan!