Cornbread is the one thing I can always get on the table, no matter how the rest of supper is going! One bowl, one pan, and it bakes while everything else finishes up. Some nights that’s a hot cast iron skillet with bacon grease in the bottom, and some nights it’s a box of Jiffy and whatever’s in the refrigerator door.
Classic Skillet Cornbread
If you only ever learn one, make it one of these. A hot skillet does most of the work, and the payoff is a crackly golden bottom crust you cannot get from a cold pan. Preheat the skillet with the fat already in it, and pour the batter in while it’s still shimmering.
Cast Iron Cornbread
Preheating the skillet with the oil already in it is what gives you that crackly golden edge. Six ingredients, thirty minutes, and no mixer required.
Southern Cornbread
Five ingredients, one hot skillet, and twenty-five minutes start to finish. This is the plain, savory, buttermilk cornbread that belongs next to a pot of beans or greens.
Sour Cream Cornbread
Sour cream and a can of creamed corn keep this one seriously moist. Just five ingredients, and it slices clean instead of crumbling all over the plate.
Cornbread with Corn
Whole corn kernels stirred right into the batter add little pockets of sweetness and a softer, cakier crumb. On the table in thirty minutes flat!
Sweet Cornbread
For anyone who loves a sweet pan! Tender, buttery, and just cakey enough that a square with honey passes for dessert.
Honey Butter Cornbread
The hot honey butter you spoon over the top is the whole point here. A pinch of cayenne in that butter keeps all the sweetness in check.
Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
Fresh jalapeño, sharp cheddar, and chives baked into a buttermilk batter. Enough heat to notice, but not so much that the kids push it away!
Short on time? Grab a box of Jiffy.
For the same cheesy, jalapeño-flecked cornbread with a fraction of the effort, my Jiffy Mexican Cornbread comes together in about fifteen minutes.
Jiffy Mix and Other Shortcuts
There’s no shame in a box of Jiffy, especially when a few additions turn it into something nobody would guess started as a mix. These are the pans I reach for when the oven is already full and I’ve got about ten minutes of hands-on time.
Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn
Two boxes of Jiffy, sour cream, and a can of creamed corn make the moistest pan on this whole page. This is the one I make most often, hands down.
Pimento Cheese Jiffy Cornbread
Pimento cheese folded straight into the batter, which is exactly as good as it sounds. Sharp cheddar and diced pimentos in every single square!
Squash Cornbread
Finely diced summer squash and cottage cheese vanish into the batter and leave behind a pan so moist that nobody guesses what’s in it. This is one of Aunt Bee’s classics!
Broccoli Cornbread
Six ingredients, one of which is a bag of frozen chopped broccoli. It lands somewhere between a side dish and a casserole, and it holds up beautifully on a potluck table.
Cornbread with Cake Mix
Jiffy plus a box of yellow cake mix bakes up tall, tender, and genuinely sweet. Call it cornbread cake, serve it with plenty of butter, and everyone’s happy!
Muffins, Sticks and Handhelds
When you’re feeding a crowd or packing lunches, individual portions beat a pan every time. You also get more crust per serving, which is the real reason to do it.
Cornbread Muffins
Buttermilk, butter, and yellow cornmeal baked in a muffin tin. Seventeen minutes in the oven and you’ve got individual portions with crisp edges all the way around.
Jiffy Corn Muffins with Sour Cream
Sour cream and a handful of corn level up the boxed mix! Twenty-five minutes start to finish, which is quicker than dinner rolls.
Sweet Cornbread Muffins
Brown sugar instead of white gives these a deeper, almost caramel note. Good for breakfast with butter and jam, good beside a bowl of soup at night.
Southern Corn Sticks
You do need the cast iron corn stick pan, but that pan is the entire trick. Every stick crisps on all sides, which is more crust than a skillet can give you.
Orange Cranberry Corn Muffins
Orange zest and dried cranberries brighten up the box mix for holiday mornings. Six ingredients, twenty-five minutes, and the kitchen smells wonderful.
Old-Fashioned Southern Cornbreads
These are the cornmeal breads that came before ovens were standard in every kitchen, and they’re too good to let go. A couple of them get fried rather than baked, and one of them you eat with a spoon.
Virginia Spoon Bread
Somewhere between cornbread and a soufflé, and soft enough that you serve it with a spoon. An old Virginia dish that deserves a place on far more Sunday tables!
Hoe Cakes aka “Johnny Cakes”
Cornmeal batter cooked on a hot griddle, the way cornbread was made long before ovens were common. Crisp edges, soft middle, butter melting on top.
Hush Puppies
Fried in the same oil as the fish, which is really the only correct way to do it. Craggy on the outside and steaming when you break one open.
Corn Fritters
Sweet corn kernels in a buttermilk batter, fried until golden. Try them with honey butter for breakfast and comeback sauce for supper!
There’s a reason cornbread has stayed on Southern tables this long. It’s cheap, it’s fast, and it makes whatever else you’re serving feel like a real meal.
Bookmark this and work your way through it! I’d love to hear which one your family loves the most.
A few recipes to use up that Leftover Cornbread:
A Few Cornbread Tips
A few things carry across almost every recipe on this list. Get these right and the rest is just picking your favorite.
⇢ Preheat the skillet with the fat in it. Slide the greased pan into the oven while it heats, then pour the batter into the hot fat. That sizzle is what gives you the crackly golden crust.
⇢ Don’t overmix the batter. Stir just until the dry streaks disappear, lumps and all. Overworking it develops the flour and turns tender cornbread tough.
⇢ Know your mix before you start. Plain cornmeal, self-rising cornmeal mix, and Jiffy are not interchangeable. Jiffy already has sugar and leavening built in, so check which one the recipe calls for.
⇢ Pull it a few minutes early. Cornbread goes from moist to dry fast at the end. Take it out when the edges are golden and a pick comes out clean, then let it finish on the counter.
FAQs
Do I need a cast iron skillet to make good cornbread?
No, but it does make a difference. Cast iron holds heat, so when you preheat the empty skillet with the oil or butter in it, the batter starts crisping the second it hits the pan. That’s what gives you the crackly bottom crust.
A metal baking pan or an 8-inch square dish will work fine, and the cornbread will still be good. It just won’t have quite the same edge.
What’s the difference between cornmeal, self-rising cornmeal mix, and Jiffy?
Plain cornmeal is just ground corn with no leavening. Self-rising cornmeal mix already has flour, baking powder, and salt added, which is why so many Southern recipes call for it. Jiffy corn muffin mix goes a step further and includes sugar and shortening, so it bakes up sweeter and more tender.
They aren’t interchangeable, so check which one a recipe calls for before you start.
Why did my cornbread come out dry and crumbly?
Usually one of three things. Overbaking is the most common culprit, so start checking a few minutes early. Overmixing develops the flour and toughens the crumb, so stir just until the dry streaks disappear. And a batter that’s short on fat or dairy will always bake up drier, which is exactly why recipes with sour cream, creamed corn, or extra butter stay moist so much longer.
Love, love your cornbread collection! I have just discovered the Dolly Parton sweet cornbread in a box….there is a recipe on the back that makes a delicious, moist, jalapeño cornbread in a skillet …need to try. I look forward to your gorgeous photos and recipes each week…Thank you, from a 74 year old fan
Thank you so much, Julie! You better believe I’ve tried the Dolly cornbread mix. It’s great! I’ll have to look for the jalapeno recipe on the back. Sounds like a winner!