Cornbread is as American as baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie. But make no mistake—there are loads of opinions about which recipe is the clear winner. Any Southern cook worth her grits would be horrified by this recipe, but to my Northern palate, this is the best cornbread I have ever tasted!
Traditionally, Northerners prefer a sweeter cornbread while a Southern cook would never add sugar to hers. In the Southwest, cornbread is often spiced up with lots of onion and peppers.
I was looking for a cornbread recipe to serve with my savory, rather salty ham and bean soup. This one has a little more sugar than most and butter—lots of butter! So it had to be good. (And it did not disappoint!)
Since sweet and salty is a tried-and-true combination, I chose this recipe made in a cast iron skillet. I have three cast iron skillets in three different sizes, and each one is even older than I am. (Shocking, I know!) I use them all the time for cooking and baking!
Lodge makes good skillets today, but if you find old ones, learning how to recondition them and use them confidently is well worth your time. Here's a good article on the subject from The Spruce, one of my most trusted websites.
This cornbread fascinated me from the get-go—not because of what's in it—the ingredients are pretty typical. I just love how it goes together! This was fun!
Everything happens in the cast iron skillet, and I love that! It's all done in one pan, from mixing to baking to serving! Yay!
Melt a WHOLE STICK of butter over low heat in a cast-iron skillet, then stir in 2/3 cup of sugar. Remove the pan from the heat. Next, beat two eggs and, working quickly, stir them into the butter/sugar mixture.
In a separate bowl, mix buttermilk and just 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. When they meet, they get excited and bubbly. This is all it takes for the tender, moist loaf!
The secret to this type of leavening is combining an acidic ingredient, in this case, buttermilk, with an alkaline ingredient, baking soda. The resulting bubbles make the bread rise!
If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute milk soured with lemon juice or vinegar. Put 2 tablespoons of either one in a one-cup measure and fill it with milk.
Another possibility is using sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. If you choose that option, I suggest thinning it with milk until it's about the consistency of buttermilk. Try 1/3 cup milk and fill the cup measure with yogurt or sour cream.
When you add the buttermilk and soda mixture to the sugar/butter/egg mixture in the skillet, it bubbles up! So cool! Stir this all together well.
All that's left to do is stir in the cornmeal and flour along with a wee bit of salt. Stir well. There should be almost no lumps.
If you bake it in the skillet, pop it in the oven at 375 degrees and bake it for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the thickest part comes out clean.
Here's what your finished loaf will look like! The top will be lightly browned.
Cut in wedges and serve warm. Papa added butter and honey, but for me, it was perfect, just like it came out of the oven!
I crumbled it into my bowl of ham and bean soup and savored every last drop! This morning, I had another wedge for breakfast! Yep, I am hooked! It is the best cornbread ever (in my humble Northern opinion!).
There's something deliciously homey and comforting about cornbread. It's simple and humble, but it's the perfect partner to a bowl of soup on a cold night. I think you'd love it in my Ham and Bean Soup!
Do you put butter and honey on your cornbread? Have you ever crumbled it into your soup? Did you ever eat it like cereal for breakfast, broken into pieces with milk and sugar? Such happy childhood memories!
What's your cornbread story?
You may also like my Easy Beer Bread recipe, and if you think ahead to the night before you make soup, you can make this delicious Rustic Loaf for just pennies!
This delicious cornbread is moist, tender, and sweet. Bake it right in a 9" cast iron skillet or in a greased 8" square baking pan.
Do I need a cast iron skillet?
No. You can mix the cornbread in a bowl and bake it in a greased 8-inch square pan instead. You’ll miss the fun of making it all in the skillet, but you’ll still get delicious cornbread.
What can I use if I don’t have buttermilk?
Put 2 tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar in a one-cup measure, then fill it with milk. Let it stand for a few minutes before using it in the recipe.
Is this cornbread sweet?
Yes! This is a moist, sweet cornbread with ⅔ cup of sugar. It’s especially good alongside a savory bowl of chili, soup, or beans.
How do I know when it’s done?
The top should be lightly browned, and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Start checking near the end of the baking time, since ovens and pans vary.
If you enjoyed a post, I'd love it if you would leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review or a comment. It really helps others find my recipes- because you are exactly the kind of cook I write for!
Love GB (Betty Streff)
Real food. Real kitchen. Real easy.
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