Buttermilk Cornbread
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So easy! No mixer needed here! Amazingly moist and slightly sweet. A classic side dish loved by EVERYONE. Serve with butter. SO GOOD.
Featured Comment
This side dish is such an underrated side. It’s sometimes overlooked. Kind of seen as just a filler perhaps?
Except it’s not. It’s absolutely not. It’s the best kind of southern cornbread one can ask for.
It’s perfectly fluffy, moist, and slightly sweet, and IT IS DANGEROUSLY GOOD, particularly with extra butter on top, melting right into the warm bread with a drizzle of honey. It’s perfection to say the least.
tips and tricks for success
- Preheat the cast iron skillet first. Using a preheated cast iron skillet is key here. This allows for even cooking, achieving everyone’s favorited golden brown crispy edges. You can also serve the cornbread warm right in the skillet.
- Use buttermilk. While adding a slightly tangy flavor, buttermilk is a key ingredient here yielding light, moist and fluffier cornbread. Using milk will lead to more neutral flavors and a drier consistency. You can also make a buttermilk substitute using milk, adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.
- Use fine or medium-ground cornmeal. Dependent on personal preference, fine or medium-ground cornmeal are typically the most popular options for cornbread. For a more smooth consistency, fine-ground cornmeal is ideal, but for more texture and grittiness, medium-ground is the way to go.
- Do not use cornbread mix. Cornbread mix is not the same as cornmeal. Cornbread mix comes pre-mixed with leavening agents.
- Avoid overmixing. Using a rubber spatula, stir the batter just until everything is just combined and moistened with a few lumps here and there. Overmixing will lead to dense, tough cornbread.
- Freeze as needed. Cornbread freezes very well and can typically last up to 3 months in the freezer.
what to serve with cornbread
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Buttermilk Cornbread: Frequently Asked Questions
A quick and easy buttermilk substitute is creating your own buttermilk with whole milk and something acidic such as lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.
You can add 1 tablespoon acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to 1 cup milk, letting it stand for 5-10 minutes.
Cornbread can be made 1-2 days in advance, reheating in the oven at 350 degrees F, covered, for about 5-10 minutes, or until warmed.
Yes! Once cooled completely, portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating at 350°F (covered in foil) until heated through.
You can make one of our favorite cornbread stuffings, a holiday staple.
Buttermilk Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups reduced fat buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a large cast iron skillet in the oven.
- In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg and 3 tablespoons butter. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
- Remove skillet from the oven and add remaining 3 tablespoons until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Working carefully, immediately scoop the batter into the hot skillet. Place into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes.
- Serve warm.
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This was so tasty! I will make this again for sure! How would you transport cornbread when taking a meal to someone? This stuck. to my cast iron skillet which was fine for us because I just served out of the skillet. But, if I am trying to take it to someone, how would you do that?
The very best cornbread ever!!! Wow! Crunchy crust and moist, tender interior. Loved it! Looked exactly like the photo when it came out of the oven.
Not gonna lie. Don’t have to. This here is some marry me cornbread
I wish sites like this had a Q&A section because I don’t like taking up questions and the review section.
I forgot to mention I do have a 10 inch cast-iron, but not a 12 inch. Is there a way to manipulate the recipe in order to get it to work in a 10 inch cast-iron?
I still would prefer to do muffins and hoping you can add that to your current recipe, the adjustments and modifications in temperature and time when using a muffin tin.
I do not have my cast iron skillets with me.
Can a different cooking vessel be used like muffin tin or 8 x 8 x 2 pan? If so, does this change the oven temperature and time?
Also, can I use half dry polenta meal and half cornmeal? If so, what would the outcome be and the differences versus just using straight cornmeal?
Thx!
Mo
Sooooooo good!
Can you omit baking powder in this cornbread recipe ?
This is the absolute best cornbread I have ever made and im almost 7 decades young!
This is the only cornbread recipe I will make going forward. It was not too sweet not too salty. It was perfect. I’m not a bit cornbread person, but my husband is, but with this it was very moist and not dry even after a few days.
Thank you so much for making your website easy to find the recipe!!!
I made the cornbread just as directed with two exceptions. I did not put the sugar in it, and cut the flour to 1/2 cup, increasing the cornmeal to 2 cups. Where I grew up (north Georgia) they don’t put sugar in cornbread. The cornbread was good, a little crumbly, but good.
I do have one question tho. It seemed more salty than expected. Would that be because I didn’t put the sugar in? I could probably cut the salt slightly and it would be fine. It did rise higher in the pan than I expected. I’m assuming that would be because of the amount of baking powder??
All in all, I am keeping the recipe and will make it again.
Elaine, In general, Asians have a high taste sensitivity to the sweetness level of any dish and have an innate preference for less sweet, particularly when compared to Western dishes. This recipe says up front that it is “not too sweet”. You can trust this if you follow the recipe. Always helpful to not have pre-conceived expectations of a new recipe, try it as written so you know what the baseline is, then tweak it to your liking next time.
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent that helps baked goods rise and become lighter and fluffier.
As yummy as other reviewers have noted. Planning on making regularly.
I only had polenta vs. cornmeal and subbed in gf flour for wheat flour, and it still was delicious. Oh, I used homemade cashew milk kefir instead of buttermilk and cut back on sugar a bit too. Clearly a forgiving recipe! My cast iron pan wasn’t the right size, so I used a 10 inch stainless steel skillet.
Because of gf flour I cooked for 30-35 minutes.
The best cornbread I have ever made! Thanks for the recipe. made it gluten free…just awesome!
Sooooo delish. Very much like my Granny made and I could never master!
I only used 1/2 the amount of sugar because I like mine less sweet. But hey, that is just me.
Fantastic cornbread, thank you for the recipe!!!
I forgot the sugar and the cornbread was still perfect.
Best cornbread ever. I use a 10 inch baking stone dish and it comes out perfect. It only takes about 18 mins in my stone to cook. I have also made it gluten free.
I forgot the egg and it was still moist, buttery and good. It was easy so this will definitely be my go-to- cornbread recipe.
I have used this as our go-to recipe for a while. I use powdered buttermilk since I have it on hand. Tonight, I spooned 1/3 cup batter into each place in the muffin tin for an even dozen. They look great.
I don’t have an Iron Skilet, can I use baking pan?
I don’t have a cast iron skillet! What should I do now?