Homemade Cornbread (Three-Quarters Recipe)

Yellow, fluffy, yet full of that distinct cornmeal crunch, and deliciously fluffy, this Homemade Cornbread is a family favorite recipe. Using pantry staple ingredients, this cornbread recipe whips to a batter in under 10 minutes and is out of the oven in 20 [mins]. It’s simple, it’s quick, and boy! does it taste delicious under a large dab of melting butter and a thick drizzle of local honey.  

Match Made in Heaven

Like any good writer beginning an article late in the evening, I started out by asking my spouse what he would say about cornbread. His response: “[Cornbread] goes great with chili.“

There you have it folks. Enough said. If ever there was a match made in heaven, it would certainly be homemade chili with a main course of cornbread.

Garden Fresh Chili, Simple White Chicken Chili, Chocolate Chili, and any chili recipe you already know and love.

Once the chili is gone and you find yourself with half a pan of cornbread left – your second pan of cornbread, or course, which you made to eat alongside the leftover chili after the first pan got wiped out clean – you won’t be surprised to learn that cornbread tastes great paired with more than just chili. Including Macaroni and Cheese, Sweet Potato Casserole, Pan Fried Green Tomatoes, Fried Chicken, Beef Stew, and more.

Starts with Cornmeal

The star of the show for this cornbread recipe is, of course the cornmeal. And it is an essential ingredient. It’s pretty hard to have cornbread without the corn (that would be called just plain bread, my friend).

If you have made homemade cornbread before or have planned to do so, you will likely have cornmeal readily available in your pantry. If, for some reason you had decided on a whim to make cornbread and you don’t have cornmeal at your home, well, take a pause and get some. You need it.

Not only is cornmeal at the very heart of this tasty dish, but the coarse grind adds a crunchy, almost sandy texture to the otherwise moist and fluffy cakey-bread that is irreplaceable.

Corn is key.

Family Recipe

This Homemade Cornbread recipe came from husband’s side of the family. As a small gift when we my husband and I married, my mother-in-law gave me a small photo album of handwritten recipes, family mealtime favorites.

Though I have made minor adjustments to the original recipe given to me by my mother-in-law, I still mentally refer to this cornbread as one of “her” recipes.

That heirloom-ing treasure of family recipes makes this recipe even more special to me. A reminder each time I make it how important family is to every aspect of life.

Kin Recipe

This Homemade Cornbread recipe is kin to my Best Homemade Cornbread. This recipe is simply the little sister to that one.

My Best Homemade Cornbread recipe yields a large 9X13 pan with a thick cornbread. That recipe is great for large families or meals with friends/guests, or for those who have a cornbread obsession (…like me).

This Homemade Cornbread recipe is simply a smaller version of that recipe. This is the equivalent in portion to the original recipe my mother-in-law offered me, and yields three-quarters the amount of cornbread as the Best Homemade Cornbread recipe.

The two recipes are the exact same, it is simply a scaling difference.

Substitutions

Milk – The original recipe called for 1 ½ cups of evaporated milk. As you will see below, this recipe calls for regular whole milk (or 2% or raw milk – whatever type of milk you normally eat). Almond milk, buttermilk, and even whipping cream also taste great in this recipe.

Flour – This recipe is not particular on what type of flour is used. I suggest you start by using whatever flour(s) you use for baked goods regularly. Then, if you choose, you can experiment using different variations of flour.

Personally, I like to add 2-parts unbleached flour 1-part whole wheat flour for this cornbread recipe. The unbleached flour keeps the lightness and “cake-ness” of this sweet cornbread, while the whole wheat adds just a slightly healthier scoop. Because this recipe uses cornmeal, which already has a grainy texture, the coarser texture that often comes with whole wheat products is completely hidden.

Oil – This recipe calls for “oil”, which is very vague. I generally use canola oil when baking in my kitchen, but other oils such as vegetable oil or even butter can certainly be used.

I am a wholehearted believer in being pantry flexible. Meaning that you don’t have to follow a recipe to the T in as far as the specific, name brand ingredients. Bring your brain with you to the kitchen, and use what you have to make it work.