Just like Grandma’s kitchen, these old-fashioned corn sticks are classic Southern comfort food! Thanks to the magic of a cast iron pan, the baked cornbread sticks are perfectly crisp on the outside, yet tender and moist on the inside.
Table of Contents
If you’re looking for the best cornbread recipes, be sure to try this Jiffy cornbread with creamed corn, a skillet of sour cream cornbread, and this honey butter cornbread, too!
Finally a good recipe! I’m so glad I came across your blog and this recipe. The corn sticks puffed up nicely and didn’t stick AT ALL! Another recipe I tried stick horribly to the pans. But here we are now with fluffy and crispy corn bread sticks yay!
– Christine
Cornbread Sticks are a Traditional Southern Side Dish
Cornbread is practically a way of life in the South, and these easy corn sticks are a fun twist on the original dish. Slather each stick of corn with butter, drizzle with honey, and serve a basket alongside your next bowl of soup or chili, plate of fried chicken, the best grilled hamburgers, or pan of cozy meatloaf.
Corn sticks, or “cornbread sticks,” are a fun cross between corn muffins and classic Southern cornbread. The cornbread batter is baked in cast iron corn stick pans, which yields individual loaves of cornbread in the shape of miniature ears of corn. Thanks to the preheated cast iron, the cornsticks are super-crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. You get that ideal “edge piece” of cornbread in every bite!
Cast Iron Corn Stick Pan
There are a variety of different cast iron corn stick pans available on the market — from antique or heirloom pieces that your grandmother may have used, to new, pre-seasoned pans that you can add to your kitchen for less than $15. The Lodge cornstick pan has 5, 6 or 7 cavities (depending on the model that you buy). I used the 6-cavity Lodge pans here, but I also own these 7-cavity cast iron corn stick pans made by Old Mountain, which work well too.
Cast iron is ideal for baking cornbread because its naturally-seasoned cooking surface doesn’t dent, bend, or warp at high temperatures. Cast iron provides excellent heat distribution and retention for consistent, even baking. Plus, the cornstick shapes are fun — and will create fond memories around the table that last for generations.
New cast iron cornstick pans almost always come pre-seasoned, so there’s nothing that you need to do at home before using the equipment. If you have an older model, or if your pans are rusty, here are some helpful instructions for starting over with the seasoning process.
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- Use a finely-ground or medium ground cornmeal. Coarse cornmeal will give the sticks a more grainy texture. Yellow cornmeal and white cornmeal both work well.
- Buttermilk adds moisture to the cornbread sticks, creates a soft, tender crumb, provides a slight tangy flavor and richness. Use whole buttermilk (not low-fat) for the best texture and flavor.
- To grease the pan, rub a generous amount of shortening in the cavities before pre-heating the pans, or brush each cavity with vegetable oil. The trick is to be very liberal with the oil or shortening! It will probably look like you’re putting too much oil in each impression…but you’re not. I recommend about 1 tablespoon of oil or shortening per pan (about ½ teaspoon in each cavity mold), but you don’t necessarily have to measure it out.
- If you’ve properly seasoned and greased the cavities, the corn sticks should pop right out and you’ll have virtually no cleanup at all. If you have some hard-to-remove stuck-on bits, you can wash the pan with hot water and even a little bit of soap, when necessary. Once you’ve washed the pan, it’s important to dry it immediately to avoid any rusting. Finally, rub a light layer of cooking oil or seasoning oil onto the surface of your pan, then use a paper towel to wipe the surface until no oil residue remains.
How to Make Corn Sticks
These easy homemade corn sticks are ready for the oven in about 10 minutes, making them a great last-minute addition to the weeknight dinner table. I’ve included the detailed instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Grease corn stick molds and preheat them in the oven.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients to the cornmeal mixture. Stir just until the batter comes together. Don’t over-mix the batter or it will become too dense, and you’ll end up with dry cornbread sticks. Let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes before baking, if you have the time. This allows the baking powder to activate and incorporate more air.
- Fill the hot, greased pans with batter.
- Bake the corn sticks in a 450°F oven for about 12 minutes, or until they’re a light golden brown on top. The underside of the sticks will be darker and crispier since those sides are in contact with the hot pan. Don’t cook them for too long, or they can dry out or burn.
- Remove the corn sticks from the corn stick molds immediately and serve warm.
Serving Suggestions
These cornbread sticks are perfect when served warm with butter, apple butter, a drizzle of honey, homemade honey butter, or even this blackened seasoning recipe. They’re delicious alongside a classic beef chili recipe, slow cooker chili, crockpot white chicken chili, ham and bean soup with canned beans, Brunswick stew, Dutch oven beef stew, crockpot barbacoa, oyster stew, cornbread taco bake, crescent roll taco bake, this sausage rice recipe, Crock Pot pulled bbq chicken, chicken dijon, tuna noodle casserole, Dutch oven pot roast, Dutch oven pork roast with gravy, Mississippi pot roast, shrimp soup, shrimp and grits, crab cakes, grilled salmon, this New Orleans bbq shrimp recipe, a southern tomato pie, this Southern crispy fried chicken recipe, fried catfish, oven-fried fish, and fried shrimp.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Cornbread sticks are best when freshly baked and warm from the oven, but you can prepare them up to 8 hours in advance and store them in an airtight container on your countertop until ready to serve.
- How to Store: Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Wrapped tightly, you can freeze the cornbread sticks for up to 3 months. Thaw on the countertop before enjoying.
- To reheat leftover corn sticks, wrap in foil and warm in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes. You can also microwave the corn sticks (without foil) just until warmed through — about 20-30 seconds.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
Corn Sticks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons shortening or vegetable oil, for greasing the pan
- 1 cup cornmeal (yellow or white)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar (increase to ¼ cup for sweeter corn sticks)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted shortening
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease two (6-cavity) corn stick pans with about 1 tablespoon of shortening or oil per pan. Place the greased pans in the hot oven to preheat for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add buttermilk, egg and melted shortening (or vegetable oil). Stir just until the batter comes together; do not over-mix.
- Carefully remove the hot corn stick pans from the oven. Fill each cavity with batter. Bake until slightly brown on top, about 14-16 minutes for larger corn sticks (in the 6-cavity pans) or 12-14 minutes for smaller corn sticks (in 7-cavity pans). Remove from pans immediately.
- If you have extra batter, you can grease one of the hot pans and bake another batch of corn sticks to use up the leftover batter.
Notes
Nutrition
Corn Stick Recipe Variations
- Buttermilk gives the corn sticks an even more moist and tender crumb; however, you can substitute with regular milk or cream if that’s what you have on hand.
- Instead of vegetable or shortening, use melted butter or bacon grease to coat the pan.
- Optional add-ins: 1-2 chopped jalapeño peppers, 1 cup fresh blueberries, 1 cup shredded cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese, or orange zest and dried cranberries.
- You might also like to season the corn sticks with your favorite herbs and spices, such as garlic powder, onion powder, fresh chives, or Cajun seasoning.
- Sweet corn sticks: increase the sugar to ¼ cup.
More Cornbread Recipes to Try
Cornbread Muffins
27 minutes mins
Cornbread with Cake Mix
45 minutes mins
Cast Iron Cornbread
30 minutes mins
Originally published in August, 2021, this post was updated in April, 2025.
Are these the same as corn fritters or hush puppies?? Kind of look the same but has been MANY years since I’ve had them??!! Used to get a lot of these when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska. My Dad fished a lot and my Mom would make fried Catfish with hush puppies or fritters….. miss those!!
Where was the “little guy” during the Christmas/New Year break?? He’s SO cute!!!!
Hi, Sherrie! No, these are different. They’re like cornbread or cornbread muffins, since they’re baked instead of fried. I love fried hush puppies, too! Here’s our recipe for those if you’d like to make them yourself: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/hush-puppies-recipe/
Teddy was right in the mix all throughout the holiday celebrations! I’ll have to snap another picture of him soon. Thanks for asking!
I inherited a pan like this (7-cavity) and figured it was for cornbread! I found your recipe and they turned out so nice! Will be using your recipe again and again! Thank you!
We’re so glad! Thank you for trying it out, Andrea!
Blair: Sorry to say, but right now, those corn stick pans are not available at Amazon.They stated that they didn’t know when they would be available again. Just a quick “heads up” here.
Lucky you, having such nice weather. Your fields are even showing a bit of green grass. We have snow here.
Best Wishes for a great New Year to you & your whole family!
Sandra W.
Thanks, Sandra! I’ll have to find some different pans to link to. There are many different brands that make them. Take care, stay warm, and have a great New Year!
I found one of these pans at a second hand store so had to try corn sticks. Yum! Love how crunchy they get.
Oh, good! I’m so glad that you like them. Yes, I love those crispy edges. The best!
Roughly any guidance on how much batter should go into each little corn basin in the pan? I’ve tried these twice now, and am having a tough time getting it right. The batter seems to pile up and not spread through the mold unless I overfill. Maybe my batter is too thick or I should try vegetable oil instead of melted shortening?
Hi, Dave! I don’t have a specific measurement, but I spread the batter in each cavity so that it’s almost to the top. You want it thick so that it doesn’t overflow, and you can just use the back of a spoon (or something similar) to spread it evenly. Then when the corn sticks bake, the batter should puff up, but it shouldn’t run over the edges. Hope that makes sense!
I was just wondering… What if you are not able to get a corn stick pan? Is there another substitute for that or not really? Only because I’m already enjoying the look of these sticks and would REALLY LOVE to make them one day!!!
Hi Lubaba!
This recipe works best with a corn stick pan as it allows for the perfect doneness. In a pinch, we’ve heard that madeleine pans can be used, but we can’t attest to the results. Instead, we recommend one of our other cornbread recipes.
Is this self rising cornmeal for the recipe? Thanks!
Hi, Kristen! This recipe just calls for regular cornmeal (not self-rising). If you have self-rising cornmeal on hand and would rather use that, you can follow this recipe: https://www.theseasonedmom.com/cast-iron-cornbread/ Just use that batter, but divide it between the corn stick pans instead of baking it in a cast iron skillet. Follow the cooking time/directions for the corn sticks. Hope you enjoy!
Finally a good recipe! I’m so glad I came across your blog and this recipe. The corn sticks puffed up nicely and didn’t stick AT ALL! Another recipe I tried stick horribly to the pans. But here we are now with fluffy and crispy corn bread sticks yay! My family had but one request for time – can I make them sweeter? They like the sweeter corn bread and I’m thinking I can simply up the sugar. Thought?
Thank you, Christine! We’re so happy to have you here. You can increase the sugar to 1/4 cup for a sweet option. Hope that helps!
RE: Buying cornstick pans..WalMart online has them, plus several sizes of iron skillets, made by Bayou Classics. Great products and service!
That’s a great tip, Allowee. Thank you! I will definitely check out that brand.