Southern Skillet Cornbread
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Last Updated on May 4, 2023 by Lisa Johnson
Southern skillet cornbread is a classic dish that has been a staple in Southern cuisine for generations. This cornbread is known for its crispy edges and moist, tender inside.
It is made with simple ingredients including cornmeal, flour, eggs, buttermilk, baking powder and baking soda to help it rise. There is no sugar in this cornbread.
If you are looking for Northern-style cornbread that is as sweet as cake, you will love this Marie Callender’s copycat Cornbread recipe.
The key to making a great Southern skillet cornbread is to use a cast-iron skillet, which helps to create that crispy crust on the bottom and sides. The skillet is heated until it is smoking hot, then a little bit of oil, bacon grease, or butter is melted before the batter is added, which gives the cornbread an even crispier crust.
What you’ll need
- Bacon Grease – this is a favorite and adds the most flavor, but melted butter or cooking oil will work too…when you can’t find your jar of bacon drippings!
- Yellow Cornmeal (not-self-rising) – white cornmeal will both work.
- All-purpose Flour
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – to help the cornbread rise. Make sure it’s fresh!
- Salt – Kosher or sea salt
- Buttermilk – adds even more flavor and reacts with the baking soda and creates carbon dioxide gas to the cornbread light and fluffy.
- Large Eggs
- 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet, mixing bowls, and a whisk or wooden spoon.
Be sure to check out the detailed printable recipe card below
How to make Southern Skillet Cornbread
Preheat oven to 425° F.
When oven is hot, place the cast iron skillet in the oven and allow it to heat for 10 minutes.
While the skillet is heating, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
Mix the buttermilk, eggs, and melted bacon grease or butter in a separate bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon to combine. You only need to mix until the batter is moistened. There will be a few lumps or dry spots. Do not over mix!
Carefully remove the HOT skillet from the oven and place on a trivet. Add one-tablespoon of bacon drippings or melted butter and swirl around in a circular motion to coat the bottom and halfway up the sides of the skillet.
Add the cornbread batter to the skillet and return to the oven.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top of the cornbread is golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides. They center should spring back when pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
FAQs
Simply mix 2-cups of whole milk (minus 2 tablespoons) with two tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 8 minutes before using.
You can substitute CashewMilk mixed with white vinegar as written above. There is less fat so it may be a bit drier and more crumbly.
Yes, you can substitute Crisco vegetable shortening or any light colored oil. Do not use olive oil, the taste is too strong.
Yes that will work. Your cornbread will be thinner with the large pan so your baking time will probably be less. Keep an eye on it!
Recipe Tips
- Cornbread is best served hot out of the oven.
- Store leftover cornbread in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a day or two. Store in the freezer for longer storage.
- Once the baking soda starts to “fizz” and gets puffy, it needs to go into the oven to bake. Skillet cornbread is not something that you want to mix together ahead of time.
Tools used
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- Large Mixing Bowl for the dry ingredients
- Medium Mixing Bowl for the wet ingredients
- Wire Whisk
- Silicone Spoon
- 10-inch Cast Iron Skillet
Serving suggestions
This homemade, southern-style cornbread is perfect for any occasion, from family dinners to potlucks to backyard barbecues. These are some of my favorites:
- Guinness Beef Chili
- Creamy Potato Cheese Soup
- Bourbon and Brown Sugar Barbecue Ribs
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Grilled Shrimp
The possibilities are endless. What do you serve your cornbread with?
Enjoy!!
Skillet Cornbread
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 cups yellow cornmeal not self-rising
- .75 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder make sure it's fresh
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda definitely needs to be fresh
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- .25 cup bacon grease melted butter or light oil
- butter and honey for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° F. When oven is hot, place the cast iron skillet in the oven and allow it to heat for 10 minutes.
- While the skillet is heating, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Mix the buttermilk, eggs, and melted bacon grease or butter together in a separate bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients to the the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon to combine. You only need to mix until the batter is moistened. There will be a few lumps or dry spots. Do not over mix!
- Carefully remove the HOT skillet from the oven and place on a trivet. Add one-tablespoon of bacon drippings or melted butter and swirl around in a circular motion to coat the bottom and halfway up the sides of the skillet.
- Add the cornbread batter to the skillet and return to the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top of the cornbread is golden brown and starting to pull away from the sides. They center should spring back when pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
- Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve from the pan.
Notes
- Don’t have buttermilk: mix 2-cups of whole milk (minus 2 tablespoons) with two tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 8 minutes before using.
- Cornbread is best served hot out of the oven.
- Store leftover cornbread in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a day or two. Store in the freezer for longer storage.
- Once the baking soda starts to “fizz” and gets puffy, it needs to go into the oven to bake. Skillet cornbread is not something that you want to mix together ahead of time.
- It is best to store cornmeal in the refrigerator or freezer.
Corn bread is my FAVORITE!!! This looks delicious!!! Thanks for linking up to our Link Party Palooza – if you ever want to contribute to SomewhatSimple.com on a regular basis, we’d love to have you on our team! Shoot me an email! 🙂
This cornbred looks amazing! Thanks for linkin’ up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Mmm…we’ll be making chili next week for Halloween, this cornbread will go perfect with it. Thanks for linking up to the Creative K Kids’ Tasty Tuesday!