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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Great Recipe! Instead of regular salt I used coarse gain pink Himalayan salt. What this did was make the salt not full incorporate into the batter, instead, most of it sank to the bottom. When cooked like said in the recipe in a cast iron skillet, the bottom comes out almost like a salty cracker, and the rest of the bread above is lighter and sweeter. It was different, but not in a bad way. I’m sure if you don’t like taking risks and use regular/ground salt it would be EXACTLY what you’d expect. I also subbed 1/2 a cup of buttermilk with sour cream.
Very easy to follow directions and super scrumptious with white chicken chili!
Seemed a tad salty to me, though. I think I’d half the salt next time.
Best cornbread I’ve ever made.
So good, you don’t need to serve with butter.
If I double this recipe, would I bake it in a 13×9? I’m making chili for a large crowd next weekend and will need A LOT of cornbread to go with it. 😉 Thanks!
This recipe came out delicious! Thank you so much for sharing. Another star for this mommy! I didn’t have buttermilk so I learned a trick to add distilled vinegar.
I added 2 tablespoons of vinegar to my milk.
Missed the part about reduced fat buttermilk so used full strength. Cut the sugar to two Tbs. due to preference. Added a chopped seedless jalapeño, mostly for color. Rest I did as written and the result was a lovely corn bread not a cake .. just what I wanted , it went perfect with my jambalaya and everyone at the party loved it.
I love this recipe!!
I didn’t have buttermilk so I used a cup of sour cream and thinned it down with some 1/2 and 1/2 and whole milk. Then- I forgot the melted butter in my microwave-when I heard a beep coming from my microwave- the cornbread was already set- so I just poured the melted butter on top- and it really worked great. I’ll try to follow the recipe correctly- but that what cooking has become- learn to modify and substitute!
Made this recipe with modifications to make Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread. (1 c. whole kernel corn, 1 cup shredded cheddar, 2 Tbs minced jalapenos)
Rave reviews although the texture a bit “rustic” rather than cake-like.
This is truly THE BEST cornbread recipe I have every tried. Not too sweet; the right crunch texture, yet tender & moist.
Just the right amount of sweet and the crust was perfect without using bacon fat. LOVE IT!!!
I just Made it. It’s soon delicious. It will be a regular on my kitchen table
Easy recipe to follow and so delicious. Definitely my go-to!
Perfect! Just like my grandmother’s!
My husband says, this is the best cornbread he has ever had and he is from Mississippi.
This recipe has become my go-to for cornbread. Depending on my mood and what we’re having with it I will adjust the sugar—sometimes none, sometimes a teeny bit. We’re more not- sweet cornbread folks. Last night I made this to go with our black-eyed peas, and I added about a third of a can of cream style corn and some leftover chopped jalapeño pepper. The skillet had been in the oven for a really long time so it was sizzling hot. It was the best crust on cornbread I’ve ever had. I love watching the edge of that fresh batter fold over with the little pools of butter. I think I’m gonna go warm up a piece right now with some honey!
U make it sound so good!!!! I have to make this myself even though I don’t have any buttermilk. So I’ll be using carnation or whole milk……But I’ll definitely use my cast iron pan for that “crust” and crunch that u got. Thank you!!
This was a wonderful recipe, we used blue corn meal and a coconut sugar to throw a little healthier shade in there, btw my 9 old made it! So good
Super easy – can make and serve in under 45 minutes. Delicious whether you have it dipped in chili, under ice cream or for breakfast the next day. BIG hit!
Thank you for making this post. Cornbread is one of my favorite foods but happens to be one of the food my family does not know how to cook. I am going to try this ASAP. I also really appreciate how simple you made the recipe out to be because for people new to cooking like me its nice to have an easy to follow recipe.
What a wonderful recipe for such a crowd favorite!! Thank you for sharing, I can’t wait to try it for the Holidays 🙂
This was delicious. Made as written in a 9 inch Griswold. Took probably 28 minutes. Absolute perfection.
thank u that helps@
I bake a lot, and I think this recipe looks like something my Kansas grandmother would have made.
Best Cornbread ever!
My first time making cornbread and this came out Perfectly! Just the right amount of sweetness and not too cakey. My family loved this!