Skillet Cornbread with Cheddar Cheese

Make homemade cornbread in a cast iron skillet! This skillet cornbread recipe starts with cornmeal and buttermilk for a truly southern experience. Add in cheddar cheese and fresh jalapenos and you have the best cornbread ever.

Sweet vs Savory Cornbread

I grew up in Connecticut and we Northerners are not known for our cornbread. When I moved to Texas I firmly believed that all cornbread came from a little blue Jiffy box! My southern friends were horrified! I have played around with homemade cornbread over the years but this is the first recipe I have found that was both easy and tasty.

Now, depending on your preferences, you can add a teaspoon or two of sugar to this cornbread recipe, however, I have come to love Southern cornbread, even without that hint of sweetness. 

Tips for Making Homemade Cornbread

My farmer friend swears that the only way to get a crispy bottom on a loaf of cornbread is to use lard in the pan. He gave me a jar of lard for Christmas (I love this guy!) and I used it in this recipe. While I have not tried a comparison with butter I can say that the bottom of the bread did have a light crispiness to it that was a nice contrast to the tender bread.

The other concern with using butter is that it is very easy to burn it.  If you can find real, old-fashioned lard, I highly recommend it.

Add ins for cornbread

You can use diced jalapenos if you have them but since they aren’t in season here I used dehydrated jalapeno powder from last summer’s harvest. Two teaspoons of dried hot pepper powder gave the batter a little bit of a bite although I didn’t taste much heat in the final product. You may have better luck with fresh.

Other add-ins when making cornbread from scratch are cheddar cheese, fresh corn, or even diced bell pepper for a little bit of color. 

 

Easy Skillet Cornbread Recipe with Cheddar Cheese

This homemade cornbread has a crispy bottom crust from cooking in a cast iron skillet before baking.  Loaded with kernels of corn and shredded cheddar, its an easy southern cornbread recipe the whole family will love. 

Yield: 12

Skillet Corn Bread

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A quick and easy homemade corn bread recipe with fresh corn and shredded cheddar cheese.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 TBSP sugar
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup corn (frozen or canned and drained)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 3 TBSP lard or shortening

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except lard and mix well (don't beat)
3. Heat lard in 10 inch cast iron skillet to almost smoking
4. Pour in batter and cook 3-4 minutes til golden around the edges
5. Put the pan in the oven to bake 45 minutes or til golden brown
6. Sprinkle top with a little extra salt and let cool before cutting into wedges to serve

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 224Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 324mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 7g

Nutrition information not alwasy accurate