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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.
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If you love cornbread as much as we do, be sure to try this Jiffy cornbread with creamed corn, this pumpkin cornbread, a skillet of sour cream cornbread, and this honey butter cornbread, too!
Cornbread is practically a way of life in the South, and these easy corn sticks are a fun twist on the original dish. Slather them with butter, drizzle them with honey, and serve a basket alongside your next bowl of soup or chili, plate of fried chicken, or pan of cozy meatloaf.
You’ll want to keep these simple ingredients in your pantry all year round so that you can stir together a batch of the best cornbread sticks whenever a craving for grandma’s cookin’ strikes. Don’t forget the butter and honey on top!
What are corn sticks?
Corn sticks (also called “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.
How to Season
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.
How to Keep Corn Sticks from Sticking to the Pan
A properly seasoned cast iron pan is naturally non-stick. That said, we want to be absolutely certain that the cornbread sticks will pop right out of the pan after baking, so it’s helpful to take extra precautions to really grease the pans well.
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.
How to Clean
Cleaning the pan is the easy part! 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. Use a pan-scraper or chainmail scrubber for stubborn food.
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. The cast iron will be ready for its next use in minutes!
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a batch of corn sticks. As always, specific measurements and complete baking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Shortening or vegetable oil: for greasing the pan and to keep the cornbread sticks moist. Melted unsalted butter or bacon grease also work fine!
- Yellow or white cornmeal: cornmeal is dried and ground corn, and can be found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores. Either medium or fine ground cornmeal will work well.
- All-purpose flour: adds a softer, finer consistency to the base of the cornsticks.
- Granulated sugar: just enough to make the cornbread sticks slightly sweet in the background, but not as sweet as this cornbread.
- Baking powder and baking soda: leavening agents that help the corn sticks rise.
- Salt: to enhance the other flavors in the cornbread.
- Buttermilk: adds moisture to the cornsticks, creates a soft, tender crumb, provides a slight tangy flavor and richness. Use whole buttermilk (not low-fat) for the best texture and flavor.
- Egg: for structure.
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.
- 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 will be darker since it’s touching the hot pan.
- Remove the corn sticks from the corn stick molds immediately and serve warm.
What to Serve with Cornbread Sticks
These cornbread sticks are perfect when served warm with butter, apple butter, a drizzle of honey, or homemade honey butter. They’re also a great side dish for any of the following entrées:
- Chili (like this Slow Cooker Chili, Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili, Classic Beef Chili, Texas Chili, Instant Pot Turkey Chili, White Bean Chicken Chili, Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili, or Pumpkin Chili)
- Soup (such as Beef Barley Soup, Grandmother’s Hamburger Soup, Chicken Vegetable Soup, Split Pea Soup, Hamburger Soup, Sausage and Bean Soup, or Creamy Cauliflower Soup)
- Stew (like this Brunswick Stew, Chicken Stew, or Dutch Oven Beef Stew)
- Beans (such as Appalachian Beans and Greens, Southern Lima Beans with Ham, Hoppin’ John, Black-Eyed Peas, Ranch Style Beans, or Cowboy Baked Beans)
- Barbecue (like these Crock Pot Ribs, Pulled BBQ Chicken, Dutch Oven BBQ Beef, Crock Pot Pork BBQ, or Pulled Pork)
- Roasts (like Dutch Oven Pot Roast, Pork Roast with Gravy, and this Mississippi Pot Roast)
- Seafood ( such as Shrimp and Grits, Crab Cakes, Grilled Salmon, New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp, and Shrimp Creole)
- Fried Favorites (such as Fried Chicken, Fried Catfish, Oven-Fried Fish, Fried Oysters, or Fried Shrimp)
Preparation and Storage
- 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 Corn Sticks: 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 cornsticks, 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.
Corn Sticks 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.
- 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.
Tips for the Best Corn Stick Recipe
- 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.
- Whole buttermilk (not low-fat) yields the best texture and flavor.
- 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.
- Don’t over-mix the batter or it will become too dense, and you’ll end up with dry cornbread sticks.
- This recipe yields about 11-12 large corn sticks (when baked in 6-cavity corn stick pans) or about 18 smaller corn sticks (when baked in 7-cavity pans). The larger corn sticks require about 14-16 minutes in the oven, while the smaller corn sticks are done in about 12-14 minutes. The nutritional information provided is an estimate assuming a total of 11 corn sticks.
- The corn sticks are done when the tops are golden brown (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.
More Cornbread Recipes to Try
Cornbread Muffins
27 minutes mins
Cornbread with Cake Mix
45 minutes mins
Cast Iron Cornbread
30 minutes mins
…or check out this collection of the 15 Best Cornbread Recipes!
Old-Fashioned Southern Corn Sticks
Equipment
- 2 corn stick pan
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
- 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
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- Use a finely-ground or medium ground cornmeal. Coarse cornmeal will give the sticks a more grainy texture.
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- Whole buttermilk (not low-fat) yields the best texture and flavor.
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- 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.
-
- Don’t over-mix the batter or it will become too dense, and you’ll end up with dry cornbread sticks.
-
- This recipe yields about 11-12 large corn sticks (when baked in 6-cavity corn stick pans) or about 18 smaller corn sticks (when baked in 7-cavity pans). The larger corn sticks require about 14-16 minutes in the oven, while the smaller corn sticks are done in about 12-14 minutes.
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- The corn sticks are done when the tops are golden brown (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.
This recipe was originally published in August, 2021. The photos were updated in March, 2023.
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!
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!