Meet an easy homemade cornbread that delivers a big flavor. It's cheesy and spicy, has fresh corn, and can be made ahead and frozen. No beating is required; it comes together in 15 minutes and bakes to a golden, wonderfully textured top.
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Cheesy, flavorful and easy!
There are many good reasons to make this moist cornbread recipe often.
It has a wonderful texture, is soft and full of corn kernels, with a bit of a kick from the peppers, and overall interesting flavor and crumb. It's sometimes called Mexican cornbread due to the jalapeños.
Though you can make it year-round (and should!), it is a great addition to your Thanksgiving side dish table, along with a green bean casserole, candied sweet potatoes, roasted pumpkin and apple cranberry slaw.
Cornmeal gives it a wonderful texture and is easily available. I even use it in cakes.
- Easy to make: what makes this recipe so simple to put together is that you only need a large bowl and a spatula or whisk. No electric beater or stand mixer. It's very similar to these cornbread muffins and much better than using a cornmeal mix.
- Adjust to your palate: make it as spicy as you want, choose another cheese if you don't have cheddar, or make a sweeter cornbread by adding a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup.
- Make ahead: though it qualifies as a last-minute Thanksgiving recipe that can be added to your menu, you can make it the day before and keep it refrigerated, or several weeks before and keep it frozen.
FAQ
It's a soft bread with lots of texture and flavor, so it's perfect for soups, stews, grilled meat, and for the Thanksgiving table, of course.
Not for this recipe. You can use it directly and have moist cornbread when you bite into it. But if you want a softer, less gritty crumb, you can soak it in the buttermilk for an hour or two. Then proceed with the recipe by adding the rest of the ingredients to the cornmeal mixture.
It keeps at room temperature for a day or two, wrapped. After that, keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze it for a month. Always well wrapped or in a freezer bag, so it doesn't dry out. I recommend warming it in the oven before eating.
Ingredient Notes
Quantities are listed on the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands we use.
- Corn: I use frozen corn because it's available year-round, but fresh corn can be used and is even better if it's grilled or roasted.
- Cornmeal: you can buy yellow cornmeal online.
- Cheese: my favorites are white cheddar and fontina. Look for a semi-hard cheese that is sharp in flavor.
- Jalapeños: I like fresh peppers, but canned work just as well. I even used canned jalapeños in adobo once (a small amount as they are super spicy) and the cornbread was amazing.
- Milk. Whole milk is better, but reduced in fat can also work.
- Baking powder: make sure it's not expired.
Variations & substitutions
- Milk: Instead of regular milk, you can use coconut or almond milk for dairy-free cornbread or buttermilk for a slightly tangy flavor.
- Spiciness: if fresh jalapeños are unavailable, substitute them with the powdered version, use chili powder or Merken (smoked paprika from Chile). Or use other hot peppers instead of spicy jalapenos.
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar cheese is the best for this recipe, but you can also use gruyere, fontina, parmesan, or Reggiano. They all work well. You can also use part cheddar and part mozzarella, Swiss, or some other melty cheese to create soft pools of gooeyness like the cornbread bakes.
- Muffins: use a muffin tin (or tins) and fill them ¾ of their capacity. It will yield approximately 24 regular muffins.
- Pan: If you have to serve many, a rectangular pan is better, but I have made this cornbread in a 9-inch (24cm) round cake pan for years.
- Skillet cornbread: Use a cast iron skillet instead of the baking dish to make a Southern-style cornbread casserole. The recipe can make two 8-or 9-inch round breads, so make half a recipe if using just one cast iron pan.
Cornmeal or polenta?
Cornmeal is a wonderful ingredient, unique in color and texture. In some countries, it is known as fine polenta.
It is ground maize and comes in different consistencies, from finer (cornflour, the most common) to coarser.
Polenta is an Italian dish made with cornmeal, but in Spanish, polenta is synonymous with cornmeal. So, many recipes calling for polenta refer to cornmeal, such as the Lemon Blueberry Polenta Cake, one of my favorites.
The peppers
- Red peppers: I like to use red (as opposed to yellow or green) because I find they have a deeper flavor. But you can use your favorite.
- Jalapeños: I like to use fresh red jalapeños. But again, use whatever color you like or find. Remove seeds for a milder bread, or use them for a spicier one.
Steps to make jalapeño cornbread
This recipe has 4 super easy components that are done in minutes:
- Corn and jalapeno/pepper mixture.
- Cornmeal butter mixture.
- Binding cream: simply mix the wet ingredients together.
- Chopped or grated cheeses.
- Start by cooking the chopped onion, red pepper, and jalapeños in some butter. It will take 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat.
- When they are softened, add the corn kernels and cook for a minute or two more.
- For the dry mixture, integrate the butter pieces with the combined cornbread, flour, and spices.
- It's very easy to make by hand or using a pastry cutter. The final mixture is fine, not lumpy as a regular crumble.
Assembling the cornbread
Once you have the separate preparations, you simply need to mix them all together.
- The binding cream, chopped cheese and corn mixture are added to the dry ingredients.
- Pour the cornbread batter into the prepared pan. I grease and line it with parchment paper so the baked bread is easier to remove. But you can also serve it directly from a baking dish.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
Use a wooden or silicon spoon or a spatula to mix the components of this cheesy cornbread. An electric mixer is not needed, especially with the binding cream, which only needs to be stirred until well integrated.
Baking cornbread
- Family-style cornbread: if you want to serve it directly from the dish, use one you like to take to the table. Butter it, but don't line it with paper. Here are some baking dish options.
- You can reserve some of the cheese and scatter it on top. I like to mix it all in the batter. Either way is fine.
- Oven: ensure the oven is preheated at a medium/high temperature.
- When it's done it will be puffed and gloriously golden like the image below. Parts of the top will be cracked, and some cheese might be bubbling here and there.
Serving cornbread
- This is a great bread to eat warm while the cheese is still melty, so you might even consider using a pretty ceramic baking dish that goes straight to the table and serve it from there.
- Warm with a dollop of sour cream and chopped green onions is one of our favorite ways, especially when eating it with soup or a bowl of chili.
- Add a drizzle of honey or maple syrup before serving for a mix of sweet and spicy.
Related recipes you might like:
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Jalapeno Cheese Cornbread
Ingredients
Jalapeño mixture:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup chopped onion, about 1 small-medium
- 1 cup corn kernels
- ½ cup chopped red pepper, seeded and deveined
- 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno peppers, seeded if you want a milder bread
Cornmeal mixture:
- 1 ¾ cups yellow cornmeal
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and in pieces
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk or whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups grated white or yellow cheddar cheese, packed (don't use the orange slices for cheeseburgers)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Butter a round 9-inch springform pan, a rectangular 8x11-inch pan (lined with parchment paper, see Notes below) or ceramic baking dish.
Jalapeño mixture:
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter. Add 1 cup chopped onion and ½ cup chopped red pepper and cook for a few minutes until softened and a little browned.
- Add 1 cup corn kernels and 2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno peppers and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and reserve in a small bowl.
Cornmeal mixture:
- In a large mixing bowl, stir 1 ¾ cups yellow cornmeal, 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.
- Add 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and in pieces, and integrate by rubbing them with your palms into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Or use a pastry cutter.
- In a medium bowl, mix 1 ½ cups buttermilk or whole milk and 3 large eggs but don't beat them much.
- Add all at once to the dry mixture and stir just to combine.
- Add 1 ½ cups grated white or yellow cheddar cheese and sauteed vegetables and mix. Alternatively, add 1 cup of grated cheddar and leave the ½ cup to sprinkle on top.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack.
- Store leftovers covered for a day at room temperature, or wrapped in the refrigerator for 4 days or frozen for a month.
Notes
Adapted from an old Bon Appetit magazine.
Anonymous says
This is my go to cornbread recipe. I omit the onions and bell peppers and add extra jalapeño and corn to keep the flavors simple