You’ll love this southern style cornbread recipe, and want to make it again and again. Cornbread is a staple on most southern tables for good reasons. It’s inexpensive and easy to make. It’s delicious with soups and stews in the winter, and fresh vegetables in the summer.
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Nanny K’s Southern Style Cornbread Recipe
My grandmother, Nanny K, passed away last year. I have so many memories of the time I spent with her. She was a fantastic southern cook! She worked a full time job as our church secretary, and still had a home cooked meal on the table every night.
Nanny K never could master biscuit making, but she was known for her cornbread. She made cornbread muffins with just about every meal, and she’d serve them with soft butter. As a child I could eat three or four muffins in a sitting. This is her simple southern cornbread recipe we all loved.
Cornbread FAQs
What is Cornbread made from?
Cornbread is made from cornmeal. Most cornmeal is made up of finely ground yellow corn. White Lily is the best cornmeal I’ve found for cornbread.
What is Cornbread Typically Served With?
Cornbread is a versatile bread that can be savory or slightly sweet. It has a unique crumbly texture that goes great with soups and stews, or as a dinner roll.
Southern Style Cornbread Recipe Ingredients
Cornbread is very easy to make from scratch with just a few simple ingredients. Homemade cornbread is also so much better than anything you’ll get in a box mix. Give it a try, and you’ll never look back.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Cast Iron Skillet
- 1 1/2 cups White Lily cornmeal
- 1/2 cup white lily self-rising flour
- 2 tbsp sugar (optional)
- 1/4 cup olive or avocado oil, plus more for the skillet (bacon grease and lard also work great)
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Preparing the Cornbread
-Start by preheating your oven to 425° F.
-Pour olive oil into a cast iron skillet until it is about 1/8″ deep. Bacon grease works great for this also! Put the skillet into the oven while it is preheating. This will heat the oil.
-Next, pour the buttermilk over the cornmeal and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. This makes a big difference in the moisture in the cornbread.
-While the cornmeal soaks, whisk the flour and sugar together in a separate bowl. Add the eggs, and olive oil and whisk until it is combined.
-After the cornmeal has soaked, combine it with the flour mixture.
-Remove the hot skillet with oil from the oven once it has preheated.
-Pour the batter into the skillet. It should sizzle in the hot oil.
-Bake in the oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until the cornbread is golden brown.
-Serve warm with soft butter and honey!
More Tips
- If serving with a soup, stew, or chili, leave out the sugar for a savory cornbread.
- Add jalapeños, cheese, and whole kernel corn for what we call Mexican cornbread.
- Here in the south, it’s not uncommon for people to crumble their cornbread in a glass of buttermilk as a snack.
Southern Style Cornbread
Equipment
- 1 Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups White Lily cornmeal
- 1/2 cup White Lily self-rising flour
- 2 tbsp sugar optional
- 1/4 cup olive or avocado oil Plus more for the skillet. Pork lard also works great
- 1 1/2 cups whole buttermilk
- 1 egg, large
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° F.
- Add enough oil or lard to coat the bottom of a cast iron skillet to about 1/8".
- Put the oiled skillet into the oven while it preheats.
- Combine the buttermilk and cornmeal, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. This will let the milk saturate the cornmeal making for a moist cornbread.
- Whisk together the flour and sugar.
- Whisk 1/4 cup of oil and the egg together, and combine with the flour and sugar.
- Stir everything in with the saturated cornmeal until well combined.
- Remove the hot oiled skillet from the oven once it has preheated. Pour the batter into the skillet. It should sizzle.
- Bake at 425° for 25-30 minutes or until it is golden brown.
- Serve warm with soft butter and honey.
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[…] Iron Skillet. You’ll need a cast iron skillet to make the cornbread. You could make it in another type of dish, but it won’t turn out nearly as good and it does […]