Best Ever Cornbread Recipes – Northern and Southern Style
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If you’ve been searching for the best cornbread recipes, your hunt is over. Gram Irene’s makes a light and moist cornbread; Grandmom Murphy’s makes a gluten free, southern style skillet cornbread that you can sweeten with a drizzle of honey after baking, if you’re so inclined.
Both of these recipes are featured in my book, “Never Buy Bread Again – 20+ Homemade Bread Recipes“, now available in spiral bound print and digital formats.
Purchase the print copy and get a digital copy free! Learn more here.
Whenever I make homemade baked beans, I always make up a batch or two of cornbread to go with them. When the boys were little we call it “cowboy food”, although I’m sure the cowboy version would have been a lot simpler and probably not nearly as tasty. My youngest also loves homemade cornbread with chicken and gnocchi soup, chili and other hearty soups.
How to Make Cornbread – 5 Tips for Success
1. Use fresh, good quality ingredients.
I think most of us have had a bag of “something” get shoved to the back of the cupboard a little too long. Good cornmeal should smell fresh, slightly sweet smell. Rancid cornmeal will smell musty and stale. Dried corn contains oils, and once ground, it has a limited shelf life. If you use cornmeal infrequently, keep it in the freezer. Bring it up to room temp before you begin baking, or add extra baking time.
2. Mix gently by hand.
Cornbread is a quick bread, not a yeast bread. There’s no need for kneading – a few lumps are a good thing. Mix only enough to incorporate dry ingredients – more mixing can lead to tough cornbread.
3. Don’t let your batter sit around.
Have your pan prepped and ready to go, so you can get it in the oven promptly once mixed. Baking soda activates as soon as it’s mixed with liquid. Baking powder activates when it gets moist and once again in the oven.
4. Add honey for more flavor and browning.
If you like your cornbread a little browner with a slightly richer flavor, substitute honey for some of the sugar. You may need to skimp slightly on the other liquids or add a few minutes baking time to compensate if you switch to all honey.
5. Preheating your pan will make crustier cornbread.
For a hearty Southern style cornbread, melting your fat or oil in your cast iron skillet doesn’t just lube the skillet, it also makes for crustier cornbread. For extra crusty cornbread, keep the skillet piping hot so that when you pour the batter in, it sizzles. A hot skillet will trim your bake time by a few minutes, so plan accordingly.
Gram Irene’s Best Cornbread Recipe
I got this cornbread recipe from my mom (Irene), after having tried it at her place and commenting on how good it was. The texture is great – really moist and tender, not dry and gritty. The “secret” is in the sour cream. You can make it with whole wheat flour, although I admit, I normally use white or a gluten free blend like Namaste. I recommend full fat dairy (sour cream and regular milk) for best flavor. The photo below ifs from the first time my youngest made cornbread by himself. He got so excited about baking that he climbed right up on the counter to mix.
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Gram Irene’s Best Cornbread Recipe
The “secret ingredient” keeps this cornbread moist, never dry or gritty.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour – all-purpose or gluten free flour blend
- 1 cup corn meal
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F and lightly grease a 8″x8″ square baking dish or 9 inch round pan.
Blend dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Mix in softened butter. Blend in milk, sour cream and egg. Beat until moist. Pour the batter into prepared pan and place in preheated oven. Bake around 30-35 minutes, until surface starts to crack and edges pull away from pan.
If you are using heavy glass bakeware, it may take 5 – 10 minutes longer. A toothpick inserted near the center of the bread should test dry when it is done.
Notes
Enjoy warm or at room temperature with butter, baked beans, soup or meal of your choice.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
Grandmom Murphy’s Southern Style Cornbread Recipe
I’ve taken some flack from southern readers who say a proper corn bread shouldn’t be sweetened at all. Given that my momma was not a southerner, I don’t have a family recipe like that, but one of my readers was kind enough to share his. This recipe is an authentic southern style gluten free cornbread from Gerald Murphy. It’s savory, not sweet, and made with only cornmeal – no added wheat flour.
Gerald’s original recipe uses corn oil, but I asked Gerald about substituting other fats, and he said bacon grease or melted butter would probably work fine. He says, “It’s a great recipe – you’ll love it!”
PrintGrandmom Murphy’s Southern Style Cornbread Recipe
Authentic Southern Style Cornbread, savory, not sweet, made with only cornmeal – no added wheat flour.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising corn meal*
- Approximately 1 1/4 cups of buttermilk (no substitutes for this please)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup corn oil or melted lard or butter
Instructions
Heat oven to 450°F.
Oil a cast iron skillet. I pour my oil in the pan, run it all around, and then pour it into the batter.
Blend all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. You can adjust the meal or buttermilk to get the right consistency of mix. The cornmeal batter should be fully wet but not runny.
Pour the batter into the pan, scraping the bowl clean, and shake the pan back and forth until it levels out.
Place cast iron skillet in oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. You can see the underneath edges turning brown when it is almost done.
As soon as the top gets the least bit of brown on it, turn the over to broil (careful now–this goes fast) until it is the shade of golden brown you like (usually about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes).
Notes
*1 cup self-rising cornmeal = 1 cup plain cornmeal + 1 1/2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp salt
Where to Buy Cornmeal and How to Store it
Most stores stock cornmeal along with flour in the baking section. (Be sure to check the “best by” date!) If you need a source for quality organic cornmeal, check out:
You can also grind your own cornmeal from dried dent corn or flint corn. Dried sweet corn has more sugar and doesn’t keep as well or bake the same as corn varieties grown specifically for use as a dried grain. Most commercial cornmeal is made from dent corn. (Check out The Resilient Gardener for tips on growing, using and storing your own grain corn.)
For cornbread, most people lean towards a medium grind cornmeal, which is more course than corn flour but finer than grits. “Stone ground cornmeal” tends to be courser, and usually has the germ and bran left in. This adds more flavor, but also shortens shelf life, so plan accordingly.
To keep cornmeal fresh, store in the freezer in an airtight container, where it will last for up to two years. This is especially important for cornmeal labeled “stone ground” or “whole grain”, as noted above. If you purchased cornmeal that been degerminated, the bran and germ are removed and the product is more shelf stable at room temp. It’s probably okay to store for a year or so in the pantry, but cool temps are better.
Use the “sniff test” to make sure your cornmeal is still good before baking. Stale = a bitter, pungent smell; fresh = bright, lightly corn scented aroma.
More Made from Scratch Recipes
We do a lot of “from scratch” cooking, and I’ve shared over 100 family recipes and kitchen tips on the site. You can find them all listed by category on the Common Sense Home Recipes page.
They include recipes such as:
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope your family enjoys these recipes as much as we do. Please share if you feel so inclined.
Originally posted in 2011, updated in 2018.
The only thing I have ever read about heating honey is that heating it makes it lose some of its sweetness…never read or heard that it was toxic other than to small children.
This is seriously the best cornbread ever! I am now famous at family gatherings for using this recipe :-). Thank you! P.S. I used honey! And heated it! And I will do it again!
lol – Amy – you’re a wild woman!
Oh thank you. Don’t know how I missed that link right at the top! Can’t wait to try the recipe.
The cornbread photo was distracting. 😉
Corn bread sounds great! But what I really want to know is – what is your baked beans recipe?! I have yet to find a satisfactory baked bean recipe from dry beans that my family will eat. So, what do you have? Please share!
The bean link is in the post, but here’s the direct link: https://commonsensehome.com/autumn-jewels-and-musical-fruit/
Oh, I love, love corn bread and your’s looks fantastic. I really like baking with sour cream so these should be great….with some chili…
That sounds good!
Ginger – here, here! I like honey in my coffee, too.
Aagard Farms – I hope you like it!
Good timing! Hubby is planning his chili for tomorrow’s ‘big game’ so maybe I’ll whip off some of this corn bread to go with! Sounds fabulous!
Well I put honey in very hot tea &/or coffee daily and its in my granola recipe & we’re all alive & well so I’ll just roll my eyes & maybe add a “whatever” whenever I see those unsafe claims, lol! Gonna try this recipe thanks!
Plain yogurt should be fine, although it might change the texture a bit. I've used plain kefir, too.
can I substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream or do I need to run to the store???
Pamela – I hear you. I can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone making the claims.
Don't cook with honey!!!!!!!! What!!!! Toxic!!!! If it turns toxic then why did I not die from it or even get sick. Been using it in baking, etc. all 38+ yrs of marriage. I'm still standing and in very good health.
Amy – glad it worked for you.
I've never made these as muffins, so I'm not sure. I usually bake most of my muffin recipes at 350 or 375, for around 18-25 minutes.
I don't know what the heck is the deal with heating honey. Not so sure I'd buy that until I had some good evidence. Anyways, this recipe SAVED me! I'd just made a total flop on cornbread muffins from a food.com recipe. I know it's foolish to try a new recipe last-minute, but I couldn't find my old standby. So right before a luncheon, I made these after throwing the other "bricks" away. This turned out great! I had to bake them longer than 25 minutes recommended for a Pyrex. I made two 8×8 pans, but I'd love to know what you'd recommend for cooking time/temp for muffins.
Well, my email has bounced back already, so no answers from Mr. libido-increaser. For my part, I'll still be using honey, unless I get a better explanation.
Not sure I buy it either. You heat honey when it goes sugared, so why would cooking with it make it toxic. I’d be interested if you find out more.
I researched, but the only thing that ever came up was that heat destroys the natural enzymes, so it looses some of it’s vitality and medicinal qualities, but it certainly still sweetens.
I found an ayurvedic post at http://www.pioneerthinking.com/dk_ayurvedahoney.html that makes these statements:
a.. Honey should not be mixed with hot foods.
b.. Honey should not be heated.
However, the author gives no explanation as to WHY they make these recommendations. I sent an email off to the author and am waiting for a reply. I am reluctant to accept these claims at face value, as the author's email address ended in "ayurveda-increaselibido.com"…ahem…
For my part, I view honey as an extremely environmentally friendly sweetener, as raising honeybees enhances the environment, unlike the production of most other sweeteners. Honey is also shelf stable for years, unlike maple syrup.
Honey, when heated above about 110.* , destroys all the good stuff that makes it healthy, leaving only sweetening. It does NOT make it toxic, just makes it less healthy as all the healthy attributes have been destroyed.
I HAVE SEEN WHERE YOU CAN HEAT HONEY TO GET IT BACK TO ITS NATURAL FORM IF IT CRYSTALIZES. also WARM TEA WITH HONEY. tHIS MAKES NO SENSE.
Hmmm, this is the first I've heard of any issues regarding cooking with honey. I've found maple syrup to be a good substitute most of the time though.
My cornbread recipe is very similar to this one. It calls for white sugar though. I'll have to try switching the sweetener next time. I've slowly been converting most of my recipes as I make them again.
i always avoid cooking w/honey. i use maple syrup instead. i have found VERY FEW folks, however, that follow this "rule".
I know Ayurveda is a time honored tradition, but I don't understand the chemistry behind this claim (not cooking with honey). Sure, the enzymes are no longer intact after cooking, but I don't see any physical way it could become toxic. Could you please supply some evidence to back this assertion?
please don't cook with honey! according to Ayurveda, heating honey turns it toxic. use raw sugar instead. (it's okay to add honey to tea, just let it cool a little…) (and honey is a good carrier for medicinal herbs or spices, ie, 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder in a tsp of honey is good for sore throat – and you can add to warm water to gargle with it)
Sorry; But you are wrong girl!!
wow, and living will kill us all.