Skillet Cornbread
On November 14, 2023 (Updated January 04, 2024)
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This skillet cornbread is the ultimate comfort food. It has the perfect cornbread texture with beautifully crispy edges. One bite and you’ll be hooked on this sweet, golden goodness.
Cornbread with Crispy Edges
Cornbread is the perfect BBQ side dish because you can do it right on the grill. Even though it’s most commonly baked in a dish or pan, my preferred method of cooking it is in a 12″ cast iron skillet. Baking your cornbread in a cast iron skillet is downright magical. The cast iron becomes good and hot prior to baking, allowing you to obtain crispy edges on all sides (and those golden brown edges are the best part). Honestly, my family’s favorite thing about this cornbread is those crispy edges.
And cooking in a cast iron means no fighting over who gets the best slice.
Cornbread Using a Skillet
When cooking cornbread in a cast iron skillet, it’s important to preheat the skillet at a high temperature at 425 degrees F. This gets your skillet good and hot for it to create those gorgeous crispy edges, in case you can’t you tell how obsessed I am with these perfect edges. Once your skillet is preheated, reduce the heat to 350 degrees F to cook your cornbread. This lower temperature allows the cornbread to bake evenly and maintain its moisture.
Buttermilk Cornbread
I personally believe that making cornbread with buttermilk is the best way to go. That’s because buttermilk added to cornbread creates the most gorgeous flavor. It gives you this beautiful tangy note to compliment the sweetness. I don’t like my cornbread to be overly sweet (that’s what that fresh honey is for), so the buttermilk comes in to add balance to the mixture.
Buttermilk also adds moisture to this cornbread, and it helps you get a nice crumb texture. This cornbread is the perfect consistency. It’s not cakey, but it’s not too crumbly. It holds together well, but it still has that classic cornbread texture. After all, you want to be able to get a good bite of cornbread on your fork without the whole thing crumbling back down on your plate.
How to Make Cornbread in a Skillet
Here’s how you get delicious, moist skillet cornbread every time:
- Preheat your cast iron. Preheat your oven or grill to 425 degrees F and heat your skillet. Because a hot skillet is crucial to ensure you get beautifully golden edges on your cornbread.
- Mix the batter. Combine all liquid ingredients in a mixing bowl, and combine all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and DO NOT over mix. Helpful tip: Make sure you use whole milk. The fat in whole milk makes this cornbread taste better. You can substitute for a lower fat milk, but the final result will not be as delicious.
- Cook the cornbread. Melt 4 Tablespoons of butter into the cast iron skillet and add your batter. Reduce heat and cook at 375 degrees F for approximately 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cornbread comes out clean and the cornbread is golden brown.
- Serve warm with butter and honey. Finally, sit back and watch your family and friends devour this delicious comfort food. If you really want to wow your family, serve some of this with my Easy Homemade Chili for an unforgettable fall meal.
Leftover Cornbread
There’s nothing quite like fresh cornbread right off the grill or out of the oven. But if you find yourself with leftovers, here are a couple of things you’ll want to know.
- Storing leftover cornbread. You can store homemade cornbread a couple different ways depending on the space you have. To start, wrap your cornbread in aluminum foil or plastic wrap, or place it in an air tight container. Then, store it on your counter or in your pantry. It will keep 3-4 days this way. Prepping your cornbread the same way and then refrigerating it will help it remain fresh up to a week.
- Reheating leftover cornbread. I think fresh out of the oven is the best way to go, even with leftovers. Reheating your leftover cornbread in an oven safe dish for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F is about as close as yo u can get the next day.
Looking for More Skillet Sides?
I love cooking food in a cast iron skillet. It just might be my favorite kitchen item. Hey Grill Hey has a plethora of smoked and grilled sides cooked in cast iron skillets to compliment any and all main dishes. Check out a few below.
- Grilled Ratatouille
- Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
- Pit Beans
- Skillet Potatoes
- Smoked Baked Beans
- Smoked Pulled Pork with Cholula Swirled Cornbread
Skillet Cornbread Recipe
Follow the recipe and let’s make something delicious. I’m all about helping you make better BBQ, feed the people you love, and become a BBQ hero. If you want to see more of my recipes, tips, and behind the scenes action, follow along on my social channels. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
Skillet Cornbread
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup cornmeal
- ¾ cup flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- 2 eggs
- 4 Tablespoons butter
Pink Peppercorn Butter
- 8 Tablespoons softened butter
- 1 Tablespoons pink peppercorns
- 2-3 Tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat your grill and skillet. Preheat your oven or grill to 425 degrees F and heat your skillet.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda.1 ¼ cup cornmeal, ¾ cup flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking soda
- Mix wet ingredients. In a separate, smaller bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, milk, eggs, and 4 Tablespoons melted butter.1 cup buttermilk, ⅓ cup whole milk, 2 eggs, 4 Tablespoons butter
- Combine and mix. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir lightly to combine. Do not over mix the batter.
- Add to skillet. Melt 4 Tablespoons butter in your cast iron skillet Once butter is melted, and batter to skillet.4 Tablespoons butter
- Make butter. IN a bowl, combine ingredients for Pink Peppercorn Butter, and mix together well. Serve with fresh cornbread.8 Tablespoons softened butter, 1 Tablespoons pink peppercorns, 2-3 Tablespoons honey
- Bake cornbread. Close your oven or grill and reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. Cook for 40 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the middle of the cornbread comes out clean and the cornbread is golden brown.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Will be making in my Masterbuilt Gravity 800. Could I add Chopped Roasted Hatch Chili Peppers and Cheese to the recipe?
Absolutely!
Hey Susie. Looking forward to trying this out. I like the idea of using the skillet w/buttermilk. I may even add some whole kernel corn. The preheat in the write up and recipe is 425 degrees throughout, but the cooking temp goes from 350 to 375 to 350. Which should we use?
Been looking for the right cornbread recipie for a long time. It awesome! In fact, after making this recipie, I gave some to my neighnor, as a good gesture. The very next morning she told me it was so good I had to share the recipie with her. I sent her the link. Thanks!
I arrived at this recipe since it’s linked in the “How to make beef tallow” article. In that article, it was suggested to substitute tallow for the butter in this recipe, which I did. It tasted great, albeit insanely rich. In retrospect, I think I would keep the butter in the batter and substitute the tallow for the butter that is melted in the skillet. That way, you have a nicely browned crust, while the bulk of the bread maintains the cornmeal shade. As it turned out for me, the bread itself was almost as brown as the crust.
would the recipe and cook time be the same for a smoker?
Yep!
Great recipe! I made w nonfat milk and added 1/4 tsp of cayenne for a little more kick. Delicious.
I be from the north here.
I have never heard of pink peppercorns. What are they?
It took me forever to find corn meal in the grocery stores!
Cheers!
Haven’t made it yet, but definitely will!
Fantastic! I hope you’ll love it!
It’s good but I made again using lard
same recipe I use but I use lard…I prefer the flavor.