by 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
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, (superfine sugar)
- 3 g (½ teaspoon) fine salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk
- 1 egg
- 50 g (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- unsalted butter, or non-stick baking spray, to grease the pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F (without fan).
- 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 & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Easy and oh so good. Very moist and not too sweet
Hi Dottie,
Thank you for your feedback! So glad you enjoyed this cornbread recipe.
Love this website!!
Thank you! 🙂
Delicious! Will make again.
Thank you!
I made this on the weekend and everyone loved it. I’ll be making it again for sure on Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
You’re welcome! I hope you and your family had a lovely Thanksgiving.
Decided to make this at the very last minute for Thanksgiving. Success!! Loved the buttery, crumbly texture.
That’s wonderful to hear! I hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving.
Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly. Delicious cornbread.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This looks like a delicious yet simple recipe. It’s a must-try and will be on our menu very soon. Thanks for sharing it.
Hi Kate,
I hope you will enjoy this recipe!
Could you add a can of sweet corn kernels to this without altering the consistency?
Our family did not like this recipe. The cornbread turned out very dry and the flavor was not what we enjoy unfortunately.
Delicious recipe! The cornbread was tasty and moist. Making it again this weekend for my in-laws.
Hi Sarah,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Great recipe, my family loved it.
Hi Janie,
Happy to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe!
Yummy! Happy New Year 2021!
Happy New Year! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
200 degrees??
200 degrees?
I used a 23cm cake pan and ended up with a flat cornbread, didn’t rise what so ever.
I made this cornbread with your chilli con carne. Both recipes were excellent!
Delicious!
100% using this recipe again! Thank you. Was perfect! Everyone loved it.
Hi Nicole,
So glad you and everyone enjoyed this recipe!
Even using gluten free flour, this is always my go-to cornbread recipe. It comes out great!
That’s great to hear that it also works with gluten-free flour!
Delicious! If made w/polenta, it’s crunchy… so a matter of preference and mouth feel for polenta vs corn meal. We had zero problems w/dryness, baked in a cast iron skillet, and my entire household LOVED it! ( Me and hubs.) YUMM- this cornbread recipe is now my keeper (plus easy and easy to remember– one cup x,y,z, and one egg, one stick of butter, one TB bpowder, 1/2 tsp salt (a little more is ok), and 4 TB sugar (I used 2 TB bcs am NOT a sweet fan). Thank you!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this cornbread recipe! Everyone always loves it when I make it too 🙂
Delicious recipe! This cornbread is so good!!
Excellent cornbread recipe! The family loved it
So simple to loved them I added a can of sweet corn
Easy and delicious! I’ve made it many times now. Don’t need any other recipe!
Really delicious cornbread! My family fought over the crumbs!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have done it countless times over the past months and it is now a staple in my kitchen I wouldn’t want to miss. I have changed it slightly by substituting half of the sugar with brown sugar which I think gives it a slightly more interesting flavor. Best regards from Germany
Hi Tamara,
I’m so glad you like this recipe! It’s also a staple in our home 🙂 I will definitely have to try with brown sugar – thank you for the suggestion! Herzliche Grüsse 🙂
Unbelievable!!
My husband loved cornbread but I’ve never mastered it…even using my Oma’s recipe.
This was perfect and he kept going back incl at 2am for a wedge with preserves on it.
So simple and beautiful texture. Bravo!!!
My favorite cornbread recipe! So delicious and tender.
Please advise/help! I’m in Spain and I get so confused with polenta and cornmeal. I have bought cornflour, which is flour like in texture. It is not the cornflour that the British use to thicken gravy etc, but yellow flour. Can I use this? I understood this to be ‘fine cornmeal’ in American language?? Thanks! (If not, I have regular polenta. These are the only things I can get here.) I want to try it but do not want to waste eggs, butter etc if this is the wrong ‘corn’ ingredient. Thank you so much.
Hi Jo,
My understanding is that, what Europeans call “polenta” is the same as what Americans call “cornmeal”. So if you are in Spain, I’m guessing that you should be able to find polenta. I recommend using the fine polenta, and also the instant variety, i.e. the type that takes a few minutes to cook and not 30 minutes.
I’m not sure what type of flour you have bought, but if it is like wheat flour in texture, then it is probably the wrong thing. You need “polenta” for this recipe. Hope this helps!
Thanks for replying! I didn’t see your reply and it was too late. :(. Yep. Didn’t work. Extremely dry. I *do* have fine polenta, NOT the quick kind. Will that work? Ugh! I have fine polenta for an American friend’s pastry recipe and that also didn’t work because I needed the flour type stuff – ie maize flour and NOT polenta! Every time it’s the wrong thing because of what Europeans call polenta and what Americans call cornmeal! 🙂 Loved the easiness of your recipe so really hoping it works next time! Thanks.
Hi Jo,
Any type of polenta should work in this recipe, including the type which takes longer to cook (because it will cook in the oven with the rest of the ingredients). However, the texture of the cornbread might be a bit different, e.g. it might taste a bit more gritty. The same applies if you use larger grains of polenta.
But the quality of polenta varies everywhere and, as you can see from the other comments above, almost everyone everywhere has enjoyed this cornbread recipe. Which, to me, means that you can use any type of polenta 🙂
FYI I only keep fine, instant polenta in my pantry so that I can make polenta quickly for my kids. So this happens to be the polenta I also use for this cornbread recipe, which is why I recommended it.
Easy and so delicious! I will be making this cornbread again for Thanksgiving!
This is the only cornbread recipe I use now. Works out perfectly every time and everyone, esp my mom, loves it. Thank you!
I am pleased with this recipe… its the first time I have ever made in the UK ????????….
Hi Mary,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I tried this recipe and it’s really good.
Hi Elsie,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Just wanted to thank you for the lovely recipe. I made it two times in two days in a row lol we all loved it including my hard to impress son. Its easy, quick, not overly sweet and sensible amount of butter.
thank you
Hi Violet,
That’s great that you and your family enjoyed this recipe! It’s a staple in our home 🙂
Loved this! Never ever tasted cornbread in my life as it’s not a typical Aussie staple, but I have always been curious since it features a lot as an accompaniment in bbq recipes. It will be a menu regular in our house from now on! I made it with GF flour. Simple and delicious. Thank you:)
Hi Rey,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! I agree that cornbread is not very typical in Australia. I first tried it on a holiday in the US. But great to hear that the recipe worked well with GF flour 🙂
This cornbread is delicious! I love the soft tender texture it has…I think because of the added flour. I saved it, and it will be my new go to for quick, easy, and delicious cornbread. What could be better! Thanks!
Hi Meghan,
I’m so glad you enjoyed this cornbread recipe! It’s a favourite in our family 🙂
This will be my go-to cornbread recipe from now on. This tastes fantastic! Love, love, love!
Hi Kmach,
I’m so glad you love this recipe!
This is a fantastic recipe but tastes much better with much less sugar. I use only one tablespoon rather than four.
Hi Anne,
That’s great to know! I will try that next time 🙂
Excellent cornbread recipe. Thank you! I have made it several times and my family fight for the last piece.
Our favorite cornbread recipe by far, and we have tried many.
Fantastic recipe! I will be making this again for Thanksgiving!
Excellent Recipe, just had Cornbread, with Baked Bean’s and Bratwurst, for Family Dinner.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for your feedback! Your dinner sounds delicious!
The best cornbread recipe I have tried!
Thank you for the recipe
Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Cornbread should always be cooked at 375 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes. Then it won’t need to rest because it will be done all the way through. But you should cut it, then turn the pieces over to prevent sweating. Also, yankees make it too darned sweet. You should cut the sugar by half for proper southern cornbread. We do right in the south lol
I made this corn bread tonight to go with black bean soup. It was absolutely delicious and so simple to make. I will never by Jiffy mix again!! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Shelly,
I’m happy you enjoyed this recipe! My family love this cornbread too ????
Very good recipe! I used almond milk because it was what I had and it was great! I preheated the cast iron with the butter in it to grease the pan, melt the butter, and then pour the melted butter into the batter. Then when you pour the batter back in the hot cast iron it helps with a crisp bottom on the loaf. It’s a great technique I learned from my mom’s southern cooking!
Oh that’s a great tip! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe that I can make with polenta
Hi Vivian,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This recipe is great and simple. Visibly too sweet for me, I halved the amount of sugar, works a treat.
That’s great to know that the recipe still tastes great with half the sugar! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I make this every year for thanks giving and Christmas! So good! Thank you!
So glad you enjoy this recipe!
Turned out great! Polenta gives a slightly crunchier texture, which I actually enjoyed. I have only ever used corn meal and was needing a UK-ingredient friendly recipe. Polenta is much more accessible and it turned out just fine- everyone enjoyed it. I cut down the sugar a tad (3T vs 4), and soured my milk before mixing in with a little lemon juice.
Hi Jess,
So glad you enjoyed this cornbread recipe! Love the small changes you made too – sounds delicious!
The recipe was wonderful. I only had sucunat which turned out delightful. I also threw a few shakes of ground cardamom. Definitely make again.
Hi Jean,
Great to hear that you enjoyed this recipe 🙂 The addition of cardamom sounds delicious!
It’s always a win to find something that my three year old will eat! Thanks for this recipe, I made it with gluten free flour 1:1 and it worked really well
Thank you for the recipe. It will go great with our beans for dinner tonight.
Hi Dee,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Really delicious!
Hi Peter,
Thank you!
I have used this recipe several years in a row now and we love it. This year I made a double batch!
Hi Angela,
That’s wonderful to hear! Happy Thanksgiving!
Very delicious, thank you!
Hi Lisa,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This recipe works perfectly every time.
Hi Sylvia,
Thank you!
Quite possibly the best cornbread I’ve ever made! I made 1 ½ batch so I used 2 eggs … the rest was simple to ½. I didn’t have milk so I used evaporated milk. I made it in a new Lodge cast iron Dutch oven.
So glad you liked this recipe!
A really nice recipe – thanks. I prefer to use buttermilk in polenta dishes, and I tweaked the ratios to 180g polenta, 120g flour. The first time I made this, I halved the amount of butter to add at the end and it was fine. The second time, I forgot the butter completely (I thought the batter was too thick, so I added a little more milk) and it was good, but a little dry. This time, I skipped the butter and added 30g of mayonnaise (Hellmans) instead and made muffins. Brilliant!
I made muffins with this recipe and they were wonderful!!
Hi Leanne,
That’s great to hear! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂