Hold the bread and butter please, I’d like a slice of deliciously SWEET, moist, fluffy cornbread that’s topped with salted butter and drizzled with a little more honey. Just so heavenly, right?
My favorite ways to enjoy cornbread include with my favorite turkey chili, with homemade sloppy joe meat served on top, or even with cheesy scrambled eggs + salsa + black beans. Or how about blueberry breakfast cornbread? Just the best.
There are so many ways to serve it my beloved cornbread and thankfully, I’m finally serving you up the BEST CORNBREAD RECIPE! It’s so moist (I know we hate that word, but it truly is!), tender, fluffy, and surprisingly on the lighter side — meaning you should have at LEAST two slices. Thank me later and enjoy this recipe. Can’t wait to hear how you like it! xo.
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Everything you need to make the best homemade cornbread recipe
This cornbread recipe uses just 10 super simple ingredients and the taste & texture are out-of-this-world amazing. We’re talking super fluffy, perfectly moist cornbread with a delicious crust that you’ll crave. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Flour: we’re using good old all purpose flour in this cornbread recipe. Some recipes call for whole wheat flour, but I find it to be too dense.
- Yellow cornmeal: for that cornbread flavor, of course.
- Baking staples: you’ll also need some baking powder (not baking soda!) & salt so that the cornbread bakes up nice and fluffy.
- Eggs: you’ll need two eggs in this recipe.
- Sweetener: feel free to use pure maple syrup or honey to naturally sweeten the cornbread.
- Yogurt: the secret ingredient for making moist cornbread? Greek yogurt! I like to use whole milk greek yogurt but a low fat yogurt would also work. It helps to replace additional oil (like vegetable oil) that many recipes call for. If you’re out of yogurt, feel free to use milk instead.
- Milk: feel free to use regular milk or your favorite dairy free milk. No buttermilk necessary!
- Butter: extra delicious cornbread requires some melted butter. I like to use salted butter for extra flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter. Vegan butter will also work.
How to make gluten free cornbread
Good news, this homemade cornbread can easily be made gluten free! Just swap the all purpose flour for oat flour or gluten free all purpose flour. Check out my delicious gluten free cornbread muffins, too.
Can I make this dairy free?
Yep! Feel free to use a dairy free milk, dairy free yogurt and vegan butter instead of regular butter. If you’re out of yogurt, try replacing it with milk of choice.
Can I make it vegan?
I haven’t tested this cornbread with an egg substitute, but I think flax eggs should work; the cornbread just won’t be as fluffy. Don’t forget to be sure to use maple syrup as honey isn’t considered vegan. Be sure to also make the dairy free substitutions mentioned above, and let me know how it goes!
How to make cornbread from scratch
The best part about this cornbread recipe? It’s SO easy to make. You’ll need two bowls and just 30 minutes:
- Prep your pan. Feel free to use a 9×9 inch square baking pan (or an 8×8 inch pan will work), 9-inch cake pan or 9-inch cast iron skillet and grease it with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- Mix the dry. Add all of your dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk them well.
- Mix the wet. In a separate bowl mix together all of your wet ingredients besides the melted butter until well-combined.
- Make your batter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix together until your batter forms. Stir in the butter last and be sure to not overmix!
- Bake & enjoy! Bake your cornbread for 18-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm with butter & honey!
Jazz up your cornbread
This cornbread recipe is a great base for adding your fav mix-ins and flavors. Just mix these right into the batter and bake it up! Here’s what I suggest:
- Jalapeno cheddar: 1 diced jalapeno (plus some slices for the top) + 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
- Blueberry: 3/4 cup fresh blueberries (adding a few chopped up maple breakfast sausages would also be delicious!)
- Honey bacon: 1/2 cup chopped bacon (and use honey in the batter)
- Cheesy garlic: 3 cloves minced garlic + 3/4 cup cheddar cheese
- Green chile corn: add 1 (4 oz) can drained green chile + 1/2 cup thawed frozen corn + optional 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
- Breakfast cornbread: fold in 1/2 cup chopped or crumbled cooked breakfast sausage
- Cranberry: 1/2 cup dried cranberries
Turn this cornbread into muffins
Great news! You can easily make this recipe into the most fluffy moist cornbread muffins! Here’s how to do it:
- Make the batter as directed in the recipe, then pour the batter into a muffin pan lined with muffin liners that have been greased with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Serve warm with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey. Enjoy!
Storing & freezing tips
- To store: store leftover cornbread in an airtight container at room temp for a day, and then transfer it to the refrigerator.
- To freeze: let the cornbread cool completely, slice if you’d like, and freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw the cornbread slices at room temp or reheat in the microwave.
What to serve with the BEST cornbread
Besides enjoying an afternoon snack with some butter & honey, try this cornbread with soup, stew, chili, and more:
- The Best Healthy Turkey Chili
- Healthy White Chicken Chili
- Lightened Up Cheddar Cauliflower Broccoli Soup
- Cheddar-Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf
- The Best Minestrone Soup
- Actually, the Best Vegetarian Chili Ever
- Butternut Squash, Chickpea & Lentil Moroccan Stew
Get all of my soups, stews & chilis here!
I hope you love this cornbread recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment & a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
The Best Fluffy Moist Cornbread Recipe Ever
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Wet ingredients:
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup or honey
- ½ cup plain yogurt (a whole milk greek yogurt works great!)
- ½ cup milk of choice (cow’s milk, oat, cashew or almond milk are great options!)
- ¼ cup melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9x9 inch pan or 9 inch skillet or 9 inch cake pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: eggs, maple syrup/honey, yogurt and milk. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir with a spoon until it just begins to combine, then stir in the melted butter until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.
- Bake for 18-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Serve warm with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz of Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eat
102 comments
I cannot begin to describe how good & easy this recipe was! So phenomenal and tasty! I will reiterate the instructions above: don’t over-mix!
This was incredible! I made this as a side for chili. I added one thinly sliced jalapeno to the top. Highly recommend! My husband described this as “savory cake—genius”!
I just made this lastnight and it was DELICIOUS!! I used Redmill GF flour, cashewmilk yogurt and almond milk and it was still the best, most moist cornbread I’ve ever had. We ate it with butter and honey just as recommended alongside our AK Turkey Chili as well LOL everything AK. So delicious!
This is such a yummy recipe and so easy to make!. I used PAN harina as I did not have cornmeal, so I needed to add a couple extra splashes of milk. But it came out so delicious and moist! Can’t wait to make this again!
Holy moly, you weren’t kidding that this was the best and fluffiest cornbread! Brought it over to my family’s for Sunday lunch, and every reaction was the same: “Oh my gosh, it tastes like cake!!” So fluffy, so buttery, so sweet, and so incredibly good!!! Wow wow wow!! 🤩🤩🤩
Amazing! So happy to hear that!
So good! Had it with chili tonight and made it in a pie dish. Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow
Love that! Perfect combo 🙂
Yum!!
I’ve tried lots of cornbread recipes and I finally found a keeper with this one!!!!
So glad you loved this one!
This was really amazing and delicious. It is really fluffy and moist. As I’m form Latin america I used Harina Pan (the yellow one) ant the result was very similar, except that my batter was thicker than the one shown in the video, but the final product was incredibly delicious. Just drizzle on top with honey and it tastes like heaven.
Love it! So glad you enjoyed!
Just made these with your Turkey Chili. So Good. The family loved them.
The best! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Being from the South (Texas, to be exact), I think it’s just fine to put sugar in cornbread.
Growing up, there was always a box or two of Jiffy Cornbread Mix in the pantry. We ate sweet cornbread depending on what the main dish was. Generally the unsweet cornbread was reserved for bean or chili.
I’ll have to give this a try. I’ve never put yogurt in it, and I always have a big tub of plain yogurt in the refrigerator.
Everyone’s take on cornbread is a bit different! Let me know if you try my version out 🙂 Delicious with some chili!
Best corn bread ever
Glad you loved it!
Made this tonight and omg seriously was the best cornbread I’ve ever had. So light and fluffy. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
So happy to hear that!
Have made this many times – goes perfect with Chili. It is very good, my whole family enjoyed!
So happy to hear that!
Substituted chickpea flour for all purpose flour and it worked beautifully.
Perfect! Love that.
I love cornbread but have struggled finding the perfect recipe. I made this tonight and it was perfect! It will be my new go-to. Thanks for always delivering delicious content!
Amazing! I’m so glad!
The cornbread was amazing. Very flavorful and moist and not too sweet. I used honey, oat milk, and vanilla yogurt, because I didn’t have the plain yogurt on hand. Served it with pork tender loin. It will definitely be my go to recipe for cornbread going forward.. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I believe it would be very easy to make this dairy free with Earth Balance butter sticks, oat milk, and a dairy free yogurt. I had to make everything dairy free for the last 20 years for my son with a very severe milk allergy.
Hi, Angela! SO happy to hear you loved the recipe. I’m sure it would be great with dairy free butter, milk and yogurt. Excited for you to make it again!
I just made this delicious cornbread its absolutely soooooo delicious soft moist and tasty. I used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. For a little extra sweetner I used 1 TABLESPOON of sweetened it tasted awesome. I can’t wait to make this cornbread again.
I’m so glad you loved it, Pearl!
This recipe was very disappointing, cornbread was heavy, bland flavor and definetly not moist.
So strange! I’ve made this several times and so have other readers who’ve given it 5 stars. Did you follow the recipe exactly?
I never buy eggs at the store… do you think flax eggs or powdered replacer would work at all? This recipe looks so good!
I think flax eggs will work in here, the cornbread just might not be quite as fluffy!
Love this recipe. I’ve made a lot of cornbread in my day – this one is super straightforward and easy to whip up quickly, which is win-win for me. I’ve also made them into muffins for easy portioning. Recipe is bomb!
I have not yet made this recipe but I plan to do so today. The reviews are so very positive that I am anxious to try it. However I have a question about the butter. Is it 1/4 cup butter, melted—OR—1/4 cup of melted butter. That is two different things and usually the recipe will specify.
Hi, Mary! So excited for you to try it. It’s 1/4 of melted butter (measured after melting) 🙂
Best cornbread recipe on the internet!
😍 THRILLED to hear you loved it! Thanks for the review, Kate!
This cornbread is really great, the whole family loved it. It is not crumbly and it’s not too sweet! It was a little spongier than I expected but will totally make this again.
Haven’t made this yet but wondering if I can bake it in a 9×5 bread pan instead, and if so, what would the bake time be?
I haven’t tried baking it in a loaf pan so I’m not sure about the bake time! I’d start checking it at 30 minutes and take it out when a tester comes out clean but with a few crumbs attached. Let me know how that goes 🙂
Love everything you make. Going to try this today.
Aw thanks so much! Hope you enjoy these 🙂
Added a bit more honey and used sour cream as we were out of plain yogurt love this recipe sweet and moist will try maple syrup next time highly recommended
Nice! So happy that it came out well and that you enjoyed it, Lindsey 🙂
Can I use sour cream instead of yogurt?
Yes, that should work well!
I had high hopes for this recipe but I think the flour in it throws it off… I wasn’t the only one who thought that either. Made it for my entire family as a side to my famous chili and rather than complimenting my cooking as they usually do, they stayed quiet about the cornbread. When I said “Something about this cornbread is off” they all agreed that it’s more like a cake and not like cornbread at all. Not a “nasty” recipe but definitely not a cornbread recipe I would ever make again.
Sorry that you guys didn’t love this one! It’s definitely a lighter and fluffier texture with less grit than some cornbreads.
Yummy!!! Super easy to make, perfectly sweet and has the texture of cake! Family loved it. Perfect with a side of chili.
Woohoo! Happy you guys loved this one.
My family is used to more of a dense & sweet cornbread (that only my momma makes)…but they all loved this recipe! The cornbread was light & fluffy & baked beautifully! Five stars because my husband asks for this every week!
Also, would replacing the maple syrup with
cane sugar affect the overall cake?
Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!
So happy you guys love this one!! As for the sugar, I haven’t tried it without maple but it might work! Just might change the texture a bit.
I love chili and have tried manydifferent recipes for cornbread cleaning to be the best, moist etc. Lies all lies – until now! This is absolutely the best corn bread I’ve ever tried thank you so much for the recipe!
Hahaha YAY I’m so happy you love this one so much!
Wow! The easiest, and truly, fluffiest cornbread I’ve ever made. My husband and kids loved it. Don’t skip the butter and honey on top when you serve warm from the oven. I will be making this again very soon!!
YAY, happy it came out perfect!! And YES to the honey and butter 😍
I used buttermilk instead of yogurt and it worked very well.
Great idea! Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Andrea!
What would be the baking time for an 8×8 pan (the throw-away aluminum pans)? Making this for Thanksgiving. Will be putting two pans in the oven at once. Alternatively, could it be baked in a 9×13 glass pan if I double the recipe? What baking time for the 9×13?
Mistakenly added the melted butter with the rest of the wet ingredients instead of at the end. Texture was not fluffy but was nice anyway. However, it was bland. Used honey, plain greek yogart, and whole milk. What can be added to enhance the flavor – some sugar or vanilla? How much? Also curious that most bakers did not find it bland. Not going to give it a rating b/c I messed up on the timing of the butter addition.
Absolutely amazing and fail proof for a beginner… used 1/2 cup chickpea flour ground using food processor and 1/2 cup white in place of 1 cup white. Just the right sweetness with maple syrup. Only had vanilla Greek yogurt and it worked. Natural and rich tasting, light and fluffy. As a Canadian, it brings me back to Cracker Barrel.
Yay!! I’m so glad you loved it, Mel!
Would like a reply from website re: my question re: amount of sugar or vanilla to add — or something else– to enhance the flavor of the cornbread. Found it bland. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
Sorry for the delay! I find it sweet enough with the honey and haven’t tried adding additional sugar, so I’m not sure! Bet it would be great with about a teaspoon of vanilla, though 🙂 If you use an 8×8 inch pan it may take slightly longer to bake; just be sure to test it with a toothpick or knife and remove from the oven when it comes out clean. I think a doubled recipe in a 9×13 inch pan should work well, and same note about the baking time and testing it with a tester!
This was the easiest cornbread recipe I have ever made and the best cornbread I have EVER eaten. EVER. People went back for seconds and thirds at Thanksgiving this year, it’s that good. I cannot stress enough how delicious this is. Now for recipe notes in case anyone’s curious: I subbed a gluten free flour blend to make sure the gluten sensitive family members could have some and also used ghee and almond milk for the butter and milk because that’s what I had on hand and all three worked perfectly by following the recipe and substitution directions!
Thanks so much for sharing those subs! Happy you loved it, Erin 🙂
This recipe is great GF and DF with these substitutions: Use fine ground GF cornmeal (or whirl med or coarse in food processor with steel blade a few minutes until fine), sifted 1 cup King Arthur All Purpose GF flour+ 1/2 tsp Xanathan gum, unsweetened soy milk & unsweetened (homemade) soy yogurt, plus I replaced the honey with 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp raw sugar.
Overall it’s not too tall, so I also recommend increasing everything by 1/2 to make taller pieces in my 9×9 pan.
I brought this to Thanksgiving and it was a big hit, even with the picky eaters!
Thanks for sharing! So glad to hear you guys all loved it 🙂
Delish. Did with a ground turkey chili dish and these were a hit!
Such a perfect pair! Happy you loved them 🙂
The bread was moist but I found it very bland in taste. Perhaps a courser corn meal and some spice? I don’t know but I won’t use this recipe again.
I love how light and fluffy it is, but to each their own! Sorry you didn’t love it.
It really is the best cornbread ever! Topped with salted butter and hot honey and omg…already excited for leftovers tomorrow.
The cornbread came out fantastic! You’re right, so moist. I was concerned that with equal amounts of flour and cornmeal it would be too cakey, but it wasn’t! Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. It will be a standard in my kitchen!
Hii! I want to do this recipe but one question the melted butter is salted or unsalted?
I personally prefer salted because it’s more flavorful, but either will work!
This is a very weird question, I know. I’m a great cook, but I’m a terrible baker. In this case, I’m taking what I’m already bad at and making it harder on myself….
I took my 3-year-old shopping and challenges him to pick out any 4 items he wanted, and I would use those items to make dinner. I’m all set.with 3.lf.thrm, but for the 4th he picked out strawberry Daniels yogurt. The only savory thing I can think to make with this is cornbread! I am planning on using this as the yogurt, but as it is so sweet, can I leave out the honey or maple syrup? Do those ingredients contribute anything to the recipe other than sweetness? Do I need it for the moisture, etc? I’m not expecting this to turn out great, but I’d like to at least try!
Hi, Jenni! That’s a great question. The maple syrup/honey does add some moisture so it might be ok to just add in some extra milk so that the batter isn’t too dry. I’d recommend watching the video at the top of the post to see what the batter should look like 🙂
Hi could I include cream corn in this recipe?
I haven’t tried adding it so I’m not sure how it would affect the moisture levels & overall texture, sorry! Let me know if you do 🙂
This was the worst cornbread I have ever had, very dry and absolutely no taste. I followed the recipe exactly. Very dissappointing.
So sorry to hear that, Bonnie! I’m not sure what could’ve gone wrong as I’ve made this recipe countless times with success. I would recommend double checking all of your measurements!
The best!! I have never found a corn bread recipe that is a “keeper” until I tried yours! You’re my hero 😂 thanks as always!!
YAY!! I’m so happy you finally found THE ONE 😅 Thanks for the sweet comment, Jenny!
I love your cornbread…I have used many recipes before and I keep going back to yours! I like it because it is healthy ( honey vs sugar and butter vs oil) and the simple list of a few ingredients. Most of all, my husband LOVES it! Thank for this wonderful and tasty recipe!
Aw thank you! SO glad you both love it ❤️
Best cornbread I have ever had!!!!
YAY! Happy to hear you are loving this recipe, Judy ☺️
Did not prefer. Not sweet, which I prefer, but probably less so due to yogurt; Tasted floury and rather dense. Will keep looking.
So sorry to hear you didn’t like this recipe. Did you change anything about this recipe?
Can you use whole wheat flour for this recipe?
Absolutely delicious
Yay! SO glad you are enjoying this recipe 🙂
question, can I use buttermilk instead of regular milk?
I have not made this true to the recipe yet, but with the modifications I have made, the cornbread turned out excellent! I swapped the eggs for flax eggs, butter for olive oil, and yogurt for half & half with about a tbsp of acv to thicken it (wait a few minutes to let it curdle). Followed everything else, except that I baked it a little under 18 minutes because I was afraid of it becoming dry. I ended up with a lightly browned, moist, and “perfectly sweet” cornbread. Super versatile and simple recipe that works up pretty quick. Do give it a try!
Loved the light take of these! We used about half of the honey called for and added in corn and green chiles and they were perfect for a lighter corn muffin!
Five stars! (Don’t know why the fifth star wouldn’t select no matter how I tapped my phone screen.) This is def the mostrar cornbread I’ve made. Just needed a bit more salt even though I used salted butter. With all baked goods, I subbed 1/3 of the flour for whole wheat flour and 1/3 of the sweetener for stevia to make it a bit healthier without compromising taste. Since I only had five corneal which is practically the consistency of flour, I added nearly 1 cup more liquid to get closer to the cake batter consistence seen in the video. Thank you!
Hate going through so many ads to see the recipe!!!!
We’ve made. this recipe a handful of times over the past few months and it’s so good! I used gluten-free all purpose flour and it works perfectly. A new favorite and go-to in our house!
Yay! So glad you are loving this recipe, Kelly!