UPDATED 5/28/2026: I ran out of whole milk the other day and only had buttermilk in the refrigerator. So I said why not? Let’s make this with buttermilk! and WOW. The buttermilk makes this so much more fluffy and moist. I’ve edited the recipe to use all buttermilk as I don’t think I could go back to using whole. Happy Cooking! – Jeff
There are about 10,000 cornbread recipes out there. But, I swear, this one is the best! It has everything you want. It’s nice and moist and never dry. It’s light and fluffy and never dense. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. It’s nice and soft but also nice and firm. It has a bit of corn crunch but not too much. And best of all it’s super easy to make this sweet and fluffy cornbread.
I crafted this recipe over the course of about a year. I started out by trying a bunch of existing recipes until if found one that I liked. I didn’t love it. I liked it. Then I started messing with it, replacing and adding ingredients, trying out different baking times and temperatures and scratching my head a lot. But I couldn’t quite get what I was looking for. I had the flavor perfect, but the texture was still a bit too dense.
The final aaaahaa! moment came when I picked up some corn flour while I was out shopping. I wasn’t sure why I threw it in the shopping cart, but I did, and a few days later it would change the cornbread game for me. So that fateful night I was grabbing all of my ingredients to whip up some cornbread and there was the corn flour staring back at me out of the cabinet. Hmmmm, I thought, what if I substituted some of that for the corn meal I usually use? Let’s give it a shot. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Cornbread Essentials
There are a few things I think are essential for a good cornbread, starting with the foundation, and that is good quality ingredients. I use Bob’s Red Mill products to make my sweet and fluffy cornbread because they are high quality, well sourced ingredients. Here is exactly what I use, click on the pictures to link straight to the Bob’s Red Mill site:
OK, Let’s get Cooking!
A Few Helpful Hints to Help you make our Sweet and Fluffy Cornbread!
- Use high quality ingredients! Not just for the cornmeal and corn flour but the all purpose flour as well. I like Gold brand. Make sure you the bleached version.
- Don’t over mix the batter. I always, and I mean always mix this by hand with a whisk (sorry kitchen-aid lovers) as it’s too easy to overmix it. The less you mix, the fluffier it will be. Mix it only until everything is combined and the lumps are no bigger than a small pea.
- Let the batter sit for a minimum of fifteen minutes. Thirty is better but fifteen minutes is the bare minimum.
- Grease your pan with either butter or crisco. Make sure you get every nook and cranny.
✅ Quick Tips: Read the recipe in its entirety before you start cooking. This will help you understand the ingredients, steps, and timing involved, and allow you to prepare any necessary equipment or ingredients beforehand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I make my own?
Because it’s super easy and once you have all of the ingredients you can make it any time you want. Plus, this tastes better than anything that comes in a box, I promise.
Can I make this the night before?
Absolutely! Let it cool completely and then wrap it up tightly in some plastic wrap to preserve freshness. It will be good for 2-3 days after baking.
What do you recommend serving this with?
This is a great side to serve with our Best Arroz con Pollo Recipe, but you can serve it with just about anything! It’s also a great dish to bring to a pot luck or over to a guests house for dinner! Who doesn’t love a good cornbread?
Sweet and Fluffy Buttermilk Cornbread
Description
The perfect sweet and fluffy cornbread to serve with any meal!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
Instructions
Prep Time!
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Dry Ingredients
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisk together thoroughly then set it aside.
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Wet Ingredients
Whisk the egg and egg yolk together in a medium bowl then add the buttermilk, vanilla, and oil and whisk together. Melt the butter either in a pan or in the microwave. Add the honey to the hot butter and mix together then add this to the milk, egg and oil mixture. Whisk together thoroughly. The oil doesn't really stay combined so don't worry about it, just give it a good whisk immediately before the next step.
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Combine the Wet and Dry
Slowly pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients while gently whisking the dry. Whisk together gently until everything is combined and you have lumps no bigger than a small pea. DON'T OVERMIX IT! I can't stress this enough. Less is more. The less you mix the fluffier it will be!
Baking Time!
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Bake the Cornbread
This recipe is enough to fill an 8x8 or 9x9 pan. You could also use a 9" pie dish if you don't have a square pan. Grease the pan well with either butter or crisco making sure you coat every nook and cranny. Pour the mixture into the pan and place in the oven. Bake for ~ 30 minutes. I usually check mine with a toothpick at the 25 minute mark. To do this stick a toothpick into the center of the pan all the way to the bottom and then pull it out. The toothpick should come out clean. If it doesn't bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Servings 8
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 637.59kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 30.99g48%
- Saturated Fat 11.55g58%
- Cholesterol 127.37mg43%
- Sodium 963.71mg41%
- Potassium 252.18mg8%
- Total Carbohydrate 81.72g28%
- Dietary Fiber 2.99g12%
- Sugars 38.07g
- Protein 10.01g21%
- Vitamin A 578.52 IU
- Calcium 258.77 mg
- Iron 2.79 mg
- Vitamin D 1.12 mcg
- Vitamin E 1.79 mg
- Vitamin K 26.42 mcg
- Thiamin 0.36 mg
- Riboflavin 0.35 mg
- Niacin 2.5 mg
- Vitamin B6 0.24 mg
- Folate 78.03 mcg
- Vitamin B12 0.54 mcg
- Pantothenic Acid 0.82 mg
- Phosphorus 247.09 mg
- Magnesium 44.64 mg
- Zinc 1.42 mg
- Selenium 20.57 mcg
- Copper 0.13 mg
- Manganese 0.39 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
