Easy Cornbread

By
Danilo Alfaro
Danlio Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro
Danilo Alfaro has published more than 800 recipes and tutorials focused on making complicated culinary techniques approachable to home cooks.
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Updated on 06/20/21
Corn bread

The Spruce

 
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 40 mins
Servings: 9 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
195 Calories
10g Fat
23g Carbs
5g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 9
Amount per serving
Calories 195
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g 12%
Saturated Fat 6g 28%
Cholesterol 64mg 21%
Sodium 358mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 23g 8%
Dietary Fiber 1g 5%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 130mg 10%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 106mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

If people get to talking about cornbread for long enough, the discussion will inevitably turn to the question of whether cornbread ought to be sweet or savory (which just means unsweetened). People who favor savory cornbread insist that it is the only way to make it. Likewise, those who prefer it sweet feel their version is correct.

If you are in the sweet camp, follow this recipe using sugar and honey. For a savory cornbread, leave these ingredients out. For something in between, use less of the sweeteners, or choose just one. If you eliminate the sugar, however, you'll end up with a slightly less tender cornbread, which might not bother you but is something to consider.

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    ingredients for basic corn bread
    The Spruce 

  2. Preheat oven to 400 F. Prepare a 9 x 9-inch baking dish or pan with cooking spray or butter and flour.

    Oiled cornbread pan.
     The Spruce

  3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.

    Sifting flour and cornmeal.
     The Spruce

  4. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine the half and half, eggs, melted butter, and honey and sugar if using.

    Combined wet ingredients.
     The Spruce

  5. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix just until the flour is moistened, no more than 10 to 15 seconds. The batter should be visibly lumpy; do not overmix.

    Mixing cornbread batter.
     The Spruce

  6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake the cornbread immediately.

    Cornbread batter.
      The Spruce

  7. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the edge of the bread starts to pull away from the pan.

    Toothpick test on cornbread.
      The Spruce

  8. Cool for about 10 minutes, then remove ​it from the pan. Let it cool for 5 more minutes on a rack, and serve as soon as possible.

    Easy cornbread.
      The Spruce

  9. Enjoy!

Tips

  • This recipe will make a 9 × 9 cornbread. You can use a regular square baking dish, a nonstick baking pan, or a flexible silicone pan. For glass or ceramic dishes, you should grease and flour the dishes. If the pan is nonstick, you can coat with a quick spritz of cooking spray. The silicone baking pans don't need any greasing at all.
  • It is important that you don't mix the batter too long—you should be able to see lumps. If you overmix, you'll end up overworking the gluten in the batter and your cornbread will be too tough once baked.

Recipe Variation

  • Whether you choose to make this cornbread sweet or savory, there is always room for a few added ingredients in a basic cornbread recipe. If making an unsweetened version, toss in a bit of shredded cheddar cheese or fresh herbs. And corn is a great addition whether you make the bread with sweeteners or not.