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This skillet cornbread recipe will become your go-to! Bake it up in an oven-safe or cast iron skillet and prepare to be amazed.

Skillet Cornbread
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A good cornbread recipe is a necessity for the home cook, we’ve found. Cornbread is easy, goes with just about anything and it always, always satisfies. Here’s a favorite of ours: this Skillet Cornbread recipe! It’s great in a cast iron skillet, though you can use any type of oven-safe skillet that’s on hand. Bake it up and it has just the right thickness, moist crumb, and savory sweetness you want in a great cornbread.

What’s in a skillet cornbread recipe?

Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal that has roots in Native American cuisine, as well as the cuisine of the American South. There are many spins on this concept, and whether it’s sweet, savory, thick or thin often depends on the region in the US. This recipe is on the savory side, hinted with just a bit of sweetness.

Often cornbread is baked in a cast-iron skillet, which makes it crispy on the outsides and moist on the inside. Most cornbread recipes have similar ingredients and method. (For this one we were partially inspired by Toni Tipton-Martin’s cookbook Jubilee: which we highly recommend!) Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

  • Yellow cornmeal
  • All-purpose flour
  • Granulated sugar
  • Baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt
  • Eggs
  • Whole milk
  • Salted butter
Skillet Cornbread Recipe

Use a cast iron skillet, or any oven safe pan

Why is cast iron skillet cornbread so delicious? You can preheat the skillet beforehand, and it becomes very hot to make a deliciously crispy exterior and soft interior. Here are a few notes on the type of skillet:

  • A 9 or 10 inch cast iron skillet is preferable, if you have it. Some people like to preheat the skillet for the entire oven preheat time to get the bread even crispier. For our method we do just 5 minutes to melt the butter, but you can preheat longer if you wish.
  • Or, any oven-safe skillet works! Just make sure it’s around 9 to 10-inches in diameter to get the ideal bread thickness.
Cast iron skillet cornbread

Ways to serve this skillet cornbread recipe

Skillet cornbread is one of our favorite easy side dishes, because it goes with just about anything! Here are some toppings and ideas for making it into a meal:

Vegan and gluten free variations

Want to switch it up for dietary restrictions? Try these vegan and gluten-free substitutions:

  • Gluten free skillet cornbread: Substitute 1:1 gluten-free flour for the all purpose flour.
  • Vegan skillet cornbread: Make our Vegan Cornbread and cook it in a skillet following the recipe below.
Skillet Cornbread

More cornbread recipes

And that’s it! Let us know how you get on in the comments below. And if you’re craving other ideas, try these variations on the theme:

This cast iron skillet cornbread recipe is…

Vegetarian. For gluten-free, see the recipe below. For vegan, go to Vegan Cornbread.

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Easy Skillet Cornbread

Skillet Cornbread
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5 from 1 review

This skillet cornbread recipe will become your go-to! Bake it up in an oven-safe or cast iron skillet and prepare to be amazed.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 8 to 10 1x
  • Category: Side dish
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (or 1:1 gluten-free flour)
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ¼ cups whole milk
  • 6 tablespoons salted butter (or neutral oil)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisk in the eggs and milk until a smooth dough forms.
  3. Place the butter (cut into pieces) in a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet or other oven-safe skillet. Place it in the oven until the butter melts, about 5 minutes.
  4. Carefully remove the skillet with a hot pad. Brush the melted butter up the sides of the pan. Then pour it into the batter and stir until fully combined. Pour the dough back into the preheated pan.
  5. Bake 20 minutes, until puffed and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then slice into pieces and serve.

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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2 Comments

  1. Eileen Stoner says:

    Made Cozy White Bean soup and your cornbread. Both were excelent!






    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      So glad you enjoyed!