A quick and easy Cornbread recipe which you can make in 30 minutes! This cornbread is perfect as a side dish or even served as a sweet snack.
What is Cornbread?
As an Australian, I didn’t know what cornbread was until one of my trips to the US. In fact, my first taste of cornbread was at a breakfast one day during our honeymoon in Nantucket. That cornbread muffin, served warm with a dollop of butter and honey, remains one of my fondest food memories.
After a few years of living and working in the US, I soon learnt that cornbread was either a cake which you could eat as a dessert (e.g. smothered with jam or honey) or, more commonly, as a side dish to a savoury meal, often a barbecue.
Why This Recipe Works
- This cornbread takes a mere 5 minutes to prepare!
- Bake this cornbread in either a cast-iron skillet or a cake pan, or even as muffins.
- Cornbread is a quick and easy side dish to make when entertaining.
Cornbread Recipe
This easy cornbread recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks of all time, Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson.
Her recipe is for making cornbread in a cast-iron cornstick pan, if you are lucky enough to own one. Thankfully, you can also make cornbread in a cast-iron skillet, or even in a normal cake pan.
I think there is something very warm and welcoming about bringing a large pan of cornbread (which is essentially cake) to the table for everyone to slice and share.
What to Serve with Cornbread
Cornbread is perfect served alongside so many dishes. My favourites include:
Easy Cornbread
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Pin Recipe
A quick and easy Cornbread recipe which you can make in 30 minutes! This cornbread is perfect as a side dish or even served as a sweet snack.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 3 to 4
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 175 g (1 cup) cornmeal or yellow polenta
- 125 g (1 cup minus 1 tablespoon) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 45 g (4 tablespoons) caster sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk
- 1 egg
- 50 g (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- butter or non-stick baking spray to grease the pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F).
- Grease a cast-iron skillet (26 cm/10.5 inch) with butter or non-stick baking spray. (See Kitchen Notes below for using other pans.)
- In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal (or polenta), flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.
- In a measuring jug, whisk together the milk and egg.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients.
- Lightly mix until everything is just combined.
- Last, mix through the melted butter.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared skillet (or cake pan).
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top of the cornbread is lightly golden.
- Serve warm, but allow the cornbread to rest for about 5-10 minutes before serving (not crucial, but the cornbread will be very soft if served straight from the oven).
Kitchen Notes
USING A CAKE PAN
Instead of a cast-iron skillet, you could also use a 23 cm/9 inch round cake pan or 20 cm/8 inch square cake pan.
CORNBREAD MUFFINS
This recipe makes 12 muffins which need 12 to 15 minutes to bake in the oven.
RECIPE CREDIT
This recipe is adapted from Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson.
OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.
CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
