The Best Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe
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This quick and easy Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe can be mixed up in minutes. My version is slightly sweetened and moist, and it makes the perfect side dish! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Better-Than-Box Mix Cornbread Recipe
Are you still making your cornbread from a box mix? If so, let me introduce you to homemade buttermilk cornbread. Incredibly moist, perfectly soft, and just as quick and easy to make, my cornbread recipe will make you swear off the boxed stuff forever.
My buttermilk cornbread is slightly sweetened (by now, this shouldn’t shock you), but it’s not too sweet or cakey. It pairs well with pulled pork or my faavorite chili recipe, but it’s a great standalone, too. However you serve it, make sure you have some butter nearby–you simply can’t beat a square of warm cornbread topped with butter!
What you’ll love:
- Takes just 10 minutes to prep
- Uses buttermilk for a super soft, tender crumb
- Can be made in a baking pan, muffin tin, or cast iron
- Use a combination of butter AND oil for flavor and moisture (like my vanilla cake!)
What You Need
Here are the key ingredients you’ll need for this homemade cornbread recipe:
- Buttermilk. For the best cornbread, I highly recommend using real buttermilk. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use my buttermilk substitute. I don’t recommend using plain milk (see the FAQ below for details!).
- Sugar. I use a blend of brown sugar and granulated sugar for a slightly sweet–but not too sweet–cornbread recipe.
- Cornmeal. Traditionally, southern style cornbread uses white cornmeal and northern style uses yellow. Since my cornbread recipe leans more towards northern style (with the addition of sugar), I stick with yellow cornmeal. You can really use either type though!
SAM’S TIP: Slather your buttermilk cornbread in honey butter for a sweeter, more indulgent bite!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!b
How to Make Buttermilk Cornbread
- Combine the melted butter and and oil until incorporated.
- Stir in the sugars, then add in the eggs and buttermilk and stir well.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gently stir them into the wet ingredients.
- Pour the batter into a parchment-lined pan and bake for 25 minutes.
SAM’S TIP: Be gentle with your batter! Like any quick bread (or pancakes, muffins, or vanilla cake, etc.), this batter is susceptible to over-mixing and can turn out dense, dry or crumbly if it’s overworked.
Frequently Asked Questions
I recommend using buttermilk in this cornbread recipe for the best texture; it helps keep it soft and moist. If you use just regular milk for this recipe, your cornbread will come out drier than I personally care for, but since cornbread is classically crumbly, you might be able to get away with it.
Obviously, the answer to this question depends on your personal preference, and if you live in the US, the geographical region you live in also has some influence. Northerners prefer their cornbread to be sweeter, while southerners leave out the sugar (which I find interesting, because sweet tea and deviled eggs are sweeter in the South!).
I prefer mine on the sweeter side, but if you like a more savory cornbread, you can leave out the granulated sugar and reduce the brown sugar to suit your taste. Try this cornbread recipe at least once as written, though, because it’s really so good (especially paired with my chicken tortilla soup — yum!)!
If you overmixed your batter or over-measured your flour, your buttermilk cornbread could turn out dense. Be gentle with your batter and make sure you know how to properly measure flour.
For a little bit of added heat, try my jalapeno cornbread recipe!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral cooking oil, use avocado, canola, or vegetable oil
- ⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar
- 2 ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature preferred
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- 1 cups (125 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (120 g) cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and line an 8×8 metal pan with parchment paper or lightly grease and flour. Set aside.
- Combine the melted butter and canola oil in a large bowl and stir well.¼ cup (56 g) unsalted butter, ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral cooking oil
- Add sugars and stir until combined.⅓ cup (70 g) light brown sugar, 2 ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
- Add eggs and buttermilk and stir well2 large eggs, ⅔ cup buttermilk
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.1 cups (125 g) all-purpose flour, ¾ cup (120 g) cornmeal, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add dry ingredients to wet and stir until just combined.
- Spread into prepared pan and bake on 350F (175C) for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Notes
Storing
Buttermilk cornbread is best enjoyed warm and fresh, but will keep up to two days in an airtight container at room temperature.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Can I use a skillet?
While I haven’t tried it myself, several other commenters have done so with success. 🙂
Hi! two questions,
1. Can I use whole wheat flour here to make it a bit healthier?
2. Can I substitute cornstarch for the cornmeal?
Thanks so much! I love your recipes!
Hi Riley! The whole wheat flour will dry the cornbread out so I don’t recommend a full substitution. The cornstarch for the cornmeal unfortunately won’t work well. 🙁
Can this be made into muffins?
Sure thing! Enjoy! 🙂
Regular muffins or mini? Same temperature and cooling time?
Hi Joy! You can make this recipe into muffins, but we aren’t sure what the bake time will be. Enjoy 😊
I made this corn bread. Soooo good. I made the chili too. I made the chili first and sorry to say I am not a fan. But the corn bread is out of this world!!! Champion!! Thank you so very much for sharing your recipes with us and your tips. Stay well.
I am so glad you enjoyed everything so much, Hope! 🙂
Haha! Love your positivity, Sam. Hope is NOT a fan of the chili, so she didn’t enjoy everything. I can’t wait to try the chili recipe though!
Hello Sam,
I would like to try your Buttermilk Cornbread recipe; it looks delicious. I wanted to ask you if I would be able to pour it on top of some beans with enchilada sauce at the bottom, or on top of just some beans sauteed w/ onions for a more of a complete meal. Thank you for your time & the recipe🙂
I haven’t tried it but I think it could work. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Chili is delicious. Thank you Sam for sharing your recipe with us👍
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Sally! 🙂
Hi there – can you tell me if this reheats well? I am going to a dinner Saturday night and would like to make this in the morning to take with me. I’ve never made cornbread (gag!) so didn’t want it to dry out. Thanks!
Hi Susan! It’s best to reheat it for a few seconds in the microwave. I haven’t tried reheating the whole pan.
Hi Sam, I have seen recipes for cornbread used a cast iron pan but the oven is set at 425. If I were to try a cast iron, should I up the temp on this recipe?
Hi Denise! It can be baked in a cast iron pan, but you won’t need to adjust the temperature. I hope you love it! 🙂
Hello Sam!
I happened to have self-rising corn meal. Can I substitute that instead?
I’m not sure how it would work here. It may not turn out. 🙁
Just leave out the leavening (baking powder).
Made this just a short time ago, had a nice warm piece with a little butter….delicious!! Your recipes never disappointment Sam. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Denise! 🙂
Can I use a cast iron skillet instead
Hi Deborah! I haven’t tried it but that should be just fine. 🙂
I made the potato creamy soup and I made the broccoli as well. Just to say I do appreciate you. Thank you for sharing. My family loved it. Thank you so much ☺️
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Sally! 🙂
I tried your apple cake and was left with 2/3 cup of buttermilk so I thought Id try this recipe. Ive never had cornbread before and this one is sooo good. It came out of the oven an hour ago and the pan is already half empty. Amazing! Thank you so much for sharing!!
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Yasmin! 🙂
This was so fast and easy. It was a very last minute idea with dinner tonight. Took no time at all. Very moist and delicious. I added a bit of jalapeno pepper as well!
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Heather! 🙂
Looks great but could you use gluten free flour instead of wheat flour ?
Hi Clare! Unfortunately I haven’t baked it with gluten free flour so I’m not sure how it would turn out. If you try it I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
another perfect result! so light and fluffy, just the right amount of sweet. thank you!
I am so glad you enjoyed it os much, Samantha! 🙂
This cornbread is wonderful. I made it about a week ago and everybody loved it. Will be making it again
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Deirdre! 🙂
Can I use cornflour instead of cornmeal?
Hi Aya! That won’t work here unfortunately. 🙁
I’ve made it a couple times now, as written, and we enjoy it! I was curious to know how it would be if used as batter in a waffle iron. I just made a half batch and tried it (netted 2 waffles in my iron). They are a little dense because they cook so quickly there really isn’t time to get any rise. But they didn’t stick and came out crunchy and cooked through in about 4 minutes per waffle.
I’m glad you enjoyed it so much, Carin! I actually have a really good waffle recipe if you are looking for some good waffles. 🙂