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Homemade Cornbread

August 7, 2024

Irresistible all year long, the old-fashioned comfort of a pan of homemade cornbread—served with salted butter and honey, of course—makes nearly any meal just a little bit better.

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homemade cornbread in a baking pan with butter

A Fabulously Moist Cornbread Recipe—Nothing More and Nothing Less!

Cornbread is probably the first bread most of us learn to make. It’s so simple—mix the wet ingredients, mix the dry ingredients, combine and bake. The batter is hard to screw up. Like any cake batter—and really, cornbread is like a savory cake—it’s good to not overmix the batter. But beyond that, ours is a cornbread recipe that’s really built for success! Warm, tender, moist cornbread, fresh from the oven with plenty of salty butter and honey on the side—an absolute must—is a pleasure that few can pass up. Plus, it really goes with anything! That slightly sweet—our cornbread has a little honey in it, to echo cornmeal’s natural sweetness—buttery-crisp crust and moist, dense inner crumbly goodness makes any meal just a little better, including our Award Winning Chili or Black Bean Soup. It’s one of our favorite BBQ side dish ideas, too (try it with our Hot Honey Chicken!). Check out cornbread’s cousin, Spoon Bread, for another great bake or corn fritters for a crispy corn recipe.

egg, flour, cornmeal, butter, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sour cream and sugar
egg, butter, sour cream and sugar in a bowl for corn bread

What Goes in Cornbread?

A lot of recipes call for buttermilk, but our cornbread recipe stays moist and tender thanks to the magical baking powers of sour cream! Because sour cream is fattier than milk or buttermilk (which are perhaps more traditional cornbread ingredients) it adds a lot of richness without thinning the batter at all. Combined with the fat in the butter, this cornbread is sure to stay nice and moist with a really lovely, slightly dense crumb. In other words, it’s pure cornbread perfection. Here’s everything you’ll need to make our easy cornbread recipe:

  • Cornmeal

  • All-purpose flour

  • Baking powder

  • Baking soda

  • Salt

  • Unsalted butter

  • Sugar

  • Honey

  • Egg

  • Sour cream

  • Milk

flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl for cornbread
egg, butter, sour cream and sugar in a bowl for corn bread
cornbread batter in a 9 inch baking dish
homemade cornbread in a baking dish

How Do You Make Cornbread From Scratch?

This cornbread recipe is easily the best we’ve ever made. And we’ve made lots of them over the years! We’re no strangers to cornbread mix—sometimes when you’re hungry for cornbread, you just need the shortest distance between two points and that’s using a mix. But you know that homemade cornbread is always, always going to be just a little better. Fresher, richer, more satisfying. And it’s really not much harder than a mix! Here’s how to make the best cornbread recipe ever:

  1. Butter and flour a baking pan. This is super important! You want your slices of cornbread to just slide right out of the pan, so take a minute to really get that butter, then flour into every corner. If you’re new to prepping a pan like this, here’s a handy how-to video.

  2. Mix the dry ingredients! The cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

  3. Mix the wet ingredients! Melted butter, sugar, honey, egg, milk and sour cream.

  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. This is your one moment of focus—remember not to overmix the cornbread batter. Once you see a relatively cohesive batter, STOP stirring.

  5. Spread the batter in the pan and bake!

  6. It’s done after roughly 25 minutes, when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pan comes out clean.

homemade corn bread in a baking dish with a slice taken out and a pat of butter
homemade cornbread in a baking pan with butter

What to Serve With Cornbread

Cornbread goes with so, so many things! And we’re happy to just have it around as a snacking bread—can you even imagine a better after-school snack than warm cornbread with butter and honey?! But we also think cornbread goes really well with:

Tools You’ll Need

homemade corn bread in a baking dish with a slice taken out and a pat of butter

There’s Nothing Corny About How Much We Love This Cornbread Recipe!

Except maybe this headline. But yeah, it’s a great recipe. We just adore it—it’s foolproof and it’ll make you feel like a master baker, even if you’re just getting started. And who wouldn’t love that!? When you make it, let us know how you like it, OK? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!

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Homemade Cornbread

  • Serves:  6
  • Prep Time:  15 min
  • Cook Time:  20 min
  • Calories:  343

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fine cornmeal
  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup whole milk

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the center position. Grease and lightly flour a 9x9-inch baking dish.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, honey, egg, sour cream, and milk until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until just combined. Don’t overmix.

  4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and or a tester inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean. Use a toothpick to test the center for doneness.

  5. Let cool slightly before serving.


Note: Do not substitute with medium or polenta-style cornmeal as it’s gritty and doesn’t get tender.

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories 343
  • Protein 3 g
  • Carbohydrates 38 g
  • Total Fat 20 g
  • Dietary Fiber 1 g
  • Cholesterol 52 mg
  • sodium 817 mg
  • Total Sugars 24 g

Homemade Cornbread

Questions & Reviews

Join the discussion below.

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  • Nina

    I’m a savory cornbread girl. Do you think you could cut the sugar from this recipe and it would still work? Or decrease the amount?

    Hmm we haven't tested it but you could try to cut it in half

  • Christine

    Is there a cornmeal you would recommend? I can't fine one designated as fine ground...

    Goya sells one. If you look it up on amazon you can see a lot of brand options. Hopes this helps Christine!

  • Piper

    Does this recipe make enough cornbread for your cornbread stuffing recipe?

    It will take 1.5 batches of this cornbread for the cornbread stuffing. Hope you enjoy Piper!

  • Sarah

    I made this for a BBQ and got so many compliments! Really is the perfect cornbread and so easy to make.

    Thanks Sarah, so glad you loved it!

  • Kylee

    So good!! I used brown sugar and they were almost like a dessert. Delicious! I will definitely make these again and again!

    Thanks Kylee, we are so happy you loved it!

  • Alana

    I used medium ground cornmeal and baked in a muffin tin for about 14 mins and they turned out perfect — not dry at all!

    Thanks Alana, so glad you loved it!

  • Katie

    This is my go to cornbread recipe now. I don’t even need to try any others.

    Thanks Katie! That is so wonderful to hear!

  • Jenn

    LOVE THIS CORNBREAD!

    Thanks Jenn!