This Buttermilk Cornbread is so easy to make, super delicious — and it even passes muster with my Southern friends — even if it’s sweet cornbread.
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I love cornbread. It’s a perfect accompaniment to chili or soup. It’s a great breakfast when you want something warm and filling. It pinch hits at snacktime, with a dab of butter. And for some wild reason, I really like to serve it with Lasagna or Asian Chicken Salad.
I like to make my cornbread with whole wheat pastry flour and whole grain cornmeal. Makes it a little bit more substantial and toothsome. Using buttermilk instead of milk or water gives it a nice tang.
A few years ago, I was making dinner to take to my friend Suzanne and mixed up a batch of this cornbread for the bread basket. It didn’t occur to me later that that might not have been the best meal plan.
Suzanne’s from Mississippi and her parents (also from Mississippi) were visiting. California girls aren’t supposed to make cornbread for true Southerners! Neither Suzanne nor her mama had ever had cornbread made with buttermilk and brown sugar.
What was I thinking?!
Well, it’s really good. And they agreed! Or they were just being polite. You’ll have to make it yourself and let me know what you think!
And yes, I know it’s not true cornbread if it’s sweet. Humor me. 😉
How to make this good and cheap:
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Bake it yourself from scratch – Don’t buy cornbread mixes. You can make your own better and cheaper at home!
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of flour, cornmeal, and buttermilk can help keep the price down.
- Buying in bulk – It’s rare that I would buy one bag of flour. I usually stock up when there are good baking sales. I also have gotten into the habit of buying cases of flour from Bob’s Red Mill. The same goes for butter and other baking staples.
How I make this recipe easy:
This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.
Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
- stainless steel mixing bowl – I’m not sure you have too many of these.
- wire whisk – Be sure to get one with a closed barrel so dishwater doesn’t get stuck in its innards and drip into your food. Ask me how I know.
- rubber spatula – I have two of these; I love them so much.
- square baking pan – I love the USA pans. No greasing needed and no burning!
Buttermilk Cornbread
Ingredients
- ½ cup neutral oil or melted butter
- 2 egg
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ¾ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornmeal
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the oil, eggs, and buttermilk. Whisk to blend.
- Add the flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and a tester inserted comes out with a few crumbs attached.
Notes
Nutrition
Post updated March 25, 2017.
Carla
Just made this! Never made cornbread from scratch before. I’ve wanted to make some, but HAD to have a sweet cornbread. Oh, sooo good. If my guys are lucky there will still be some in the pan when they get home! Not just for dinner, this one. My teen will appreciate it with our white chicken chili tonight as corn chips are problematic for braces. 😉 Now to see if they leave any in the pan by the time “I” get back.
Jessica Fisher
It is really yummy. Might need to make that for dinner tonight.
Stacy
I love cornbread too. I make one with corn meal, white whole wheat flour and white flour. I didn’t even realize there was such a thing as whole grain corn meal–I thought corn meal was always whole grain. I’ll check that out. I love to make partly whole wheat tortillas. Here’s the recipe: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Pipin_-Hot-Bakery-Whole-Wheat-Tortillas-Recipezaar
Shelly
Thanks for this recipe! I used coconut oil and ground my own ww flour and whole corn. My family absolutely loved eating this with chili tonight~God bless you and have a Merry Christmas!
Rachel
yum – I just made this – it’s so good! Thanks for an awesome recipe! I didn’t have whole wheat flour on hand, so I just used white all-purpose and splashed a little extra in.
Lawanna
I’m gonna have to try your cornbread. It sounds good. I like to grind my own wheat and use it in breads. Recipe linked.
Katherine
I made the cornbread last night. So yummy! My family loved it and my hubby said it was restaurant quality! This will definitely become a regular recipe in our house. Thanks!
Nicole aka Gidget
Our family loves cornbread and this sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
Jillian
I linked up our favorite whole-grain, date-filled cookie recipe! Yum!!
Your cornbread looks wonderful. It might have to make it into this weekend’s breakfast menu… 😉
Lisa
What a beautiful golden cornbread.
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy
I’m not much for cornbread, but that recipe looks awesome! I’m definitely going to have to try it.
Carla
I love whole grains. I just linked to my microwave popcorn recipe but just realized I only put in my first name and not the recipe name! Oops!
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef
i linked up another cornbread recipe that i made w/ whole wheat flour recently!
Michelle
Love looking through these recipes! Thanks for the great ideas.
Susie's Homemade
That looks awesome:-)
Carrie
My cornbread recipe came from my mom (and, I believe, from HER mom) – nice mid-westerners from Oklahoma. It has a cup and a half of WHOLE CREAM in it. We now live in Tennessee and I use half-and-half and people still think it tastes like cake, but they usually gobble it all up. 🙂 And for the record, toothsome is a delightful word!
Carrie
@Carrie, I knew that didn’t look right – I blame it on the fact that I’ve been medicated for the last three days trying to get over some sort of nasty cold/flu thing. The recipe uses WHIPPING CREAM (whole cream? Is that even anything? My sneezing, DayQuil-ed self doesn’t know anymore).
Jessica Fisher
@Carrie, cream is the same thing as whipping cream in my book. 🙂
Miz Helen
Your Buttermilk Cornbread looks so good, I am going to give it a try. I brought my Pear Pie Pocket for everyone to try. Thank you for hosting us today and you have a great week!
Kimberly
I don’t have one to share yet… but i am looking forward to trying all this recipes out!
Thanks!
8)
Wendy (The Local Cook)
I substituted quinoa for the couscous in the recipe I posted, although quinoa is a seed not a grain I think it still counts 😉
Angela Shrader
You had me until….brown sugar? lol….but I’ll definitely try it! A southerner who hadn’t put buttermilk in thier cornbread?!?!?! That’s even harder to understand!
Jessica Fisher
Well, I could be remembering wrong. I know very little about southern cooking. But, I sure thought those were the two ingredients that surprised her.
Georgia
sounds amazing!! having to cut dairy out of my diet and because of that things that have dairy in the recipe sound even better! can’t wait to make this!!!