Old Fashioned Sweet Cornbread Recipe (2024)

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Bake this sweet homemade cornbread recipe in a cast-iron skillet for a moist and delicious old-fashioned cornbread with a crispy crust. It’s our favorite cornbread recipe!

Originally published March 2020; this post has been updated.

Old Fashioned Sweet Cornbread Recipe (1)

While I think many of us will agree that a crispy crust on the cornbread is ideal, a lot of people balk at the idea of a sweet cornbread.Southern cornbread, they say, has no such thing as sugar in it. And they aren’t wrong.

But you know, it’s such an indulgent comfort food for me, and in my opinion this continues to be the best cornbread recipe I’ve used. It has just the right amount of sweetness, and it tastes delicious with a little pat of butter.

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Golden Sweet Cornbread Recipe

This easy cornbread recipe has been in my recipe file for years upon years and it never fails to make us happy. It makes a cake-y sweet and moist cornbread that tastes delicious with a little pat of butter or a drizzle of honey. If you’ve never made cornbread from scratch, you’re going to love this easy recipe.

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Ingredients

This moist cornbread recipe starts with real food ingredients. If you maintain a well-stocked pantry, it’s very likely that you have most (if not all) of these ingredients on hand.

Butter — Allow the butter to come to room temperature for easy mixing. I used salted butter; if you prefer unsalted, that will work fine. Many recipes call for vegetable oil, but I prefer using butter.

Sugar — Use your favorite brand of granulated cane sugar. I prefer organic.

Eggs — Fresh eggs, store bought, use what you have readily available.

Milk You can use whole milk, skim milk, or if your family is dairy free, an alternative nut milk. For best results, I don’t recommend using buttermilk in this sweet cornbread recipe, as it is more acidic and will impact how the baking powder performs.

Flour When I bake with all purpose flour I opt for the unbleached option. Bleached flour is very white, but it’s also treated with bleaching agents that I don’t really need in my food.

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Cornmeal — This is what gives this quick bread it’s recognizable flavor. Cornmeal comes in fine, medium, or coarse grind. I suggest sticking with the fine or medium grind yellow cornmeal for this recipe. I also make sure that I’m using an organic cornmeal, to avoid the genetically modified corn that has been altered to survive being sprayed with poison.

Leavening — Baking powder gives this cornbread recipe its lift.

Salt Use your favorite table salt or sea salt.

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Making this Homemade Cornbread

Start by creaming the sugar and butter together. It’s easiest to do this with a stand mixer or hand mixer, but a good old wooden spoon works, too. It will just take a bit more work on your part.

Once creamed, add the eggs and milk.

Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then stir into the wet ingredients.

Stir the cornbread batter just until the ingredients are combined.

To get the crispy edges on this made-from-scratch cornbread, heat a cast iron skillet in the oven. Pouring the batter into an already-hot pan is the trick. Bake until the top of the cornbread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cut the cornbread into wedges and serve with butter and sweet honey, if you like. This sweet cornbread makes a perfect side dish for chili and for soups or stews. It’s also good with fried eggs — it’s perfect for sopping up the soft yolk of an over-medium egg.

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Serving Suggestions

Warm cornbread is a natural (a must have?) when serving ground beef chili, of course, but don’t stop there! It’s a great side dish for so many other meals. Or serve it for breakfast with a little dab of honey butter or maple syrup.

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Storing Leftover Cornbread

Store leftover cornbread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. For longer storage, wrap bread in a layer of waxed paper followed by a layer of aluminum foil, and store in the freezer for up to three months.

You can also use leftover cornbread to make cornbread French toast the next day or reheat it and spread on some of this slow cooker apple butter.

★ Did you make this sweet cornbread recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! ★

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Easy & Delicious Sweet Cornbread Recipe

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

This cornbread recipe is sweet and might just end up being your favorite. It really is the best cornbread recipe and it comes together using simple pantry ingredients. You can bake it in a skillet for extra crispy edges or a standard baking dish.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup butter + 1 tablespoon
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1-2/3 cup milk
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/3 cup cornmeal
  • 4-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Put a 12” cast iron skillet in the oven while it preheats. (See notes for using a baking dish instead.)
  2. Cream 2/3 cup butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Stir in milk and eggs.
  3. Combine dry ingredients; stir into wet ingredients until just combined.
  4. Remove hot cast iron pan from oven and drop 1 tablespoon of butter into the pan and swirl it around to coat the bottom and sides of skillet.
  5. Pour batter into hot skillet and return it to the hot oven. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  6. Cut into eight wedges and serve warm with butter and/or honey.

Notes

To get the crispy edges on this made-from-scratch cornbread, heat the cast iron skillet in the oven. Pouring the batter into an already-hot pan is the trick.

If you'd like to bake this in a 9" x 11" glass baking dish or cake pan instead, grease the pan with melted butter and do NOT put it in the oven before adding the batter. You don't want to shatter the pan!

Store leftover cornbread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days. For longer storage, wrap bread in a layer of waxed paper followed by a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to three months.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8Serving Size: 1 wedge
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 378Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 11gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 310mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 1gSugar: 19gProtein: 6g

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Old Fashioned Sweet Cornbread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between southern cornbread and sweet cornbread? ›

A quick Google search will tell you that Southern cornbread is oftentimes devoid of any sugar, while its Northern counterpart is light, sweet, buttery and cakelike.

What does adding an extra egg to cornbread do? ›

Eggs are responsible for giving baked goods structure, which means the amount you use directly affects the resulting texture. Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery.

Is authentic cornbread sweet? ›

This traditional cornbread is made without flour, isn't sweet and has a crumbly texture. You can change the adaptable recipe to suit your cornbread preference. For a variation, substitute 1/2 teaspoon baking soda for the baking powder and use buttermilk instead of milk.

Can you add sugar to cornbread mix? ›

I love to bake from scratch, but I have often used packaged cornbread mix, adding a little extra something to the ingredients and making the finished product taste more homemade. My favorite thing to add is sugar—a hot topic for another conversation!

Why isn't southern cornbread sweet? ›

The most common theory is a change in cornmeal itself. Until early in the 20th century, Southern cornmeal was made with sweeter white corn and it was water-ground. When industrial milling came along, that changed. The steel-roller mills used yellow corn that was harvested before it was ripe, so it had less sugar.

Do southerners add sugar to cornbread? ›

Sugar Is Optional

Whether to include sugar or not in a southern cornbread recipe is an issue for debate. We've included as an option a tablespoon which just intensifies the flavor of the cornmeal; it doesn't make the cornbread sweet. The choice is yours as to whether or not to include it.

How can I enhance my Jiffy mix? ›

24 Things To Add to Jiffy Cornbread Mix to Make It Even Better
  1. ⅓ cup white sugar + ¼ cup brown sugar + ⅓ cup sour cream + 4 tablespoons melted butter + 1 tablespoon vanilla.
  2. 1 tablespoon oil, melted butter, or browned butter.
  3. ½ cup mayonnaise.
  4. ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt.
  5. 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup.
Dec 18, 2022

How to jazz up boxed cornbread? ›

To give your cornbread some autumnal flair, stir 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon into the dry mix. And if you really want to go big, stir 1 (15-ounce) can of pumpkin purée, along with ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom into the batter.

Can you over mix cornbread? ›

Pour batter into prepared pan. The batter will be lumpy. Overcome the urge to mix until smooth. Overmixing can cause the corn bread to peak and have tunnels, resulting in a tough texture.

Is Bob's Red Mill cornbread sweet? ›

It's the perfect choice for traditional cornbread, corn muffins, cornbread stuffing or casserole topping. This easy mix makes perfectly moist, light cornbread with just a touch of sweetness, making it close in flavor to Southern cornbread.

What is the difference between yankee cornbread and southern cornbread? ›

The thing that distinguishes Southern cornbread from, say Yankee cornbread, or any other cornbread one is likely to eat outside of the southern states, is that it is savory, not sweet, and it is made mostly with cornmeal.

Why put sugar in cornbread? ›

If you use one of the stone-ground varieties of cornmeal, you can omit the sugar. But if you use the more common finely-ground cornmeal, adding sugar will help attain the flavor of stone-ground cornmeal.

Is real southern cornbread sweet? ›

Real, traditional, Southern-style cornbread is savory, not sweet, and always has been.

Did cornbread originally have sugar? ›

Early cornbread consisted of cornmeal, water, and salt and was baked over a fire or in a hearth. Without milk, eggs, or sugar, early versions of the bread were quite different than what we eat today, but they offered a vital source of energy.

How to dress up cornbread mix? ›

Sour cream and honey. Makes a lot of sense when you think about it, doesn't it? The sour cream works to make the cornbread moist and gives it a little bit of a tang while the honey helps the cornbread to get a nice golden crispy edge while sweetening it up a little.

What's another name for Southern cornbread? ›

Corn pones are a staple of Southern U.S. cuisine and have been discussed or referenced by many American writers, including Mark Twain.

What is sweet cornbread made of? ›

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix egg, sour cream, milk, and butter in a small bowl. Fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened; pour into prepared baking dish.

What is Southern cornbread made of? ›

Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, throw in the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Give it a good stir to make sure everything's combined. Whisk the Buttermilk and Eggs: In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and those golden egg yolks.

Is sweet cornbread a northern thing? ›

In contrast to the dryer, less-sweet nature of Southern cornbread, Northern cornbread is much more cakey and sweet. Indeed, colonial Americans made their cornbread with molasses to sweeten it. Also, Northern cornbread sometimes uses milk rather than buttermilk.

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