The BEST Sweet Cornbread recipe (2024)

This is the Best Sweet Cornbread Recipe because it’s light and cake-like with the perfect buttery and moist texture.

We love this simple cornbread recipe with my Slow Cooker Chili or BBQ Baby Back Ribs for some good ‘ol fashion Southern comfort food. Slather this sweet cornbread with butter and honey for an extra special treat.

Sweet Cornbread Recipe

When it comes to cornbread there is much debate on whether it should be sweet or savory.

Northern cornbread isn’t very sweet, and has fewer eggs, resulting in a more crumbly texture. Southern cornbread, on the other hand, is more cake-like in texture with plenty of butter and sugar.

We’re making Southern-style cornbread today. It happens to be my favorite, and I’m positive you’ll enjoy it as well.

Ingredients Needed for Southern Cornbread –

You’ll only need a few ingredients, but they are crucial to making the best cornbread.

• All Purpose Flour– make sure you spoon and level the flour, don’t pack it in
• Yellow Cornmeal– found in the baking aisle
• Sugar –try swapping in 1/2 cup packed brown sugar for a little more molasses flavor
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Melted Butter– if using salted butter, adjust the amount of salt you add to the recipe accordingly
• Buttermilk– gives the cornbread it’s signature tang and moistness
• Eggs – helps give the cornbread it’s delicious texture

How To Make Sweet Cornbread

Making cornbread is actually quite simple. It’s the basic combination of dry ingredients with wet ingredients, then baking!

1. DRY Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk together.
2. WET Combine the melted butter, buttermilk and eggs in another bowl and whisk to combine.
3. COMBINE Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined and then spoon mixture into a prepared baking dish.
4. BAKE Bake until set in center.

My family goes bananas for this easy cornbread recipe. We make it all the time to accompany soups, bbq dishes, roasted chicken, and so much more.

Even my picky 10 year old LOVES it with butter and honey on top. It’s almost like a dessert when you serve it this way.

Skillet or Cake Pan?

Some cornbread is cooked in a skillet, while others are baked in a cake pan. I like to make this recipe in a cake pan simply because I like to cut it into little squares, and because it’s a little easier than dealing with a hot skillet out of the oven.

Baking cornbread in a hot skillet will give it an even heartier, crunchy crust.

To do this, you’ll place a 9-inch or 10-inch oven safe greased skillet in the oven while it’s preheating and then add cornbread batter to the pan when it’s ready. Bake at the same temperature for the same amount of time.

Tips for Making the BEST Cornbread

• Don’t over mix your cornbread batter or you’ll end up with a more dense cornbread.
• Cook the cornbread just until the center is done and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Use buttermilk at room temperature for ultimate flavor.
• Keep leftover cornbread wrapped tightly and stored at room temperature for up to a week.

What To Serve With Cornbread –

This sweet cornbread is out of this world with extra butter and honey served on top. You can also serve cornbread with jams and jellies.

Even though this cornbread is sweet, it’s the perfect balance for savory dishes like…

• Instant Pot Chili
• Easy Vegetable Soup
• Quick Taco Soup
• Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs
• Instant Pot Beef Stew

I’m so excited for you to give this a try. I think you’ll really enjoy it!

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