Homemade Honey Cornbread Recipe in Cast Iron Skillet

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This sweet honey cornbread recipe only requires 11 ingredients and is baked right in a cast iron skillet that can double as a serving dish, saving you on dirty dishes.

This is the best cornbread recipe if you are looking for one that is simple, flavorful and not too dry. This recipe makes a large cornbread making it the perfect, quick bread for the holidays with just the right amount of sweetness.

A nice golden brown, moist cornbread is the perfect delicious side dish for the holidays. I love having a nice slice of cornbread on the side of my Thanksgiving plate or with a bowl of spicy chili.

This is also a great side dish to serve at Christmas dinner or at Easter dinner. This is a large cornbread and is definitely made for a crowd and to share around the dinner table. This will quickly become your favorite cornbread recipe and a crowd pleaser recipe.

This was inspired by my cream cheese and pumpkin bread recipe on this site, and pairs well with this steak chili recipe.

Jump to:

Ingredients
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
Equipment
How to Store Honey Cornbread
Top Tip
FAQ
Related
Pairing
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

Ingredients

This corn bread recipe is made using butter, sugar, eggs, milk, flour, baking soda, baking powder, oil and salt which are all ingredients that are found in most baking recipes. In addition, yellow cornmeal and honey are added to bring in the signature flavors of homemade cornbread. Salted butter and honey can also be mixed together to spread on top of the completed bread for a honey butter cornbread.

butter
sugar
eggs
whole milk
corn meal
all purpose flour
baking soda
baking powder
kosher salt
honey
neutral oil

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, add softened butter and sugar. Whisk together. Add eggs one at a time while mixing in between each addition. Add milk and mix.

Step 2: In a large bowl, add flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt. Whisk together. Add the wet ingredients in and fold into the dry ingredients to create cornbread batter.

Step 3: Add honey and oil. Mix until well combined. Pour batter into a 12 inch cast iron skillet at room temperature.

Step 4: Bake the cornbread for 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven carefully. Let the cornbread rest until warm and serve with butter or honey butter.

Hint: when removing the cast iron skillet from the oven, please be mindful of how hot your skillet will be. You will have a hot skillet for a little while after baking as well because cast iron holds heat very well. Let the cornbread rest in the pan while cooling.

Substitutions

Flour - a one to one gluten free baking flour can replace the all purpose flour in this recipe if you need a gluten free option
Butter - the butter can be replaced with a vegan butter or ghee. Some prefer baking with unsalted butter, this is an option as well
Milk - the milk can be replaced with almond milk for a dairy free option. It also can be replaced with a lower fat milk since this recipe used whole milk
Honey - honey can be replaced with maple syrup. Use the same amount of maple syrup as you would honey if you are swapping

Variations

Spicy - add some sliced or chopped fresh jalapeño to your batter or a little cayenne pepper. This will add a delicious kick of heat that will pair very well with the sweetness from the cornbread
Hot Dog - add chopped hot dogs to the batter. It is basically a corn dog in bread form
Bacon - add chopped cooked bacon to the batter for a delicious variation

Equipment

To make this fluffy cornbread recipe, you will need a cast iron pan. You will also need a mixing bowl and either a whisk or a KitchenAid Mixer to mix your batter. It is also suggested to use a rubber spatula in order to fold the wet ingredients evenly into the dry ingredients.

How to Store Honey Cornbread

Save leftovers in an airtight container. You can also leave the cornbread right in the cast iron and cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Leftovers can either be stored on the counter or in the refrigerator. The leftover cornbread is best when warmed up and served with some butter. Good until stale or about 3-5 days.

These ingredients do stand up well to freezing. The finished cornbread can be stored in the freezer in a freezer friendly bag sealed for up to 2 months.

Top Tip

To check if your honey sweet cornbread is done, use a toothpick and stick it in the center of the finished cornbread. If the toothpick has wet batter on it when pulled out, put your cornbread back in for 3-5 minutes. Continue this until the toothpick comes out completely clean.

FAQ

Is this cornbread dry?

This is not a dry cornbread. Of course, it has a crumbier texture as any cornbread does but the crumb of this cornbread is a very moist crumb. When cornbread is too dry, it can definitely be hard to eat, but this recipe really does not have that problem at all. The cornbread also has an irresistible crispy crust that you only get from this easy skillet cornbread recipe.

What is the best way to serve this cornbread?

This southern cornbread is best served with a drizzle of honey and melted butter on top. I suggest letting the better melt in before digging in, it provides a wonderful and rich flavor to this buttery cornbread.

What if I do not have a cast iron skillet?

If you do not have a cast iron skillet, you can also use a cake pan. If your cake pan is not the same size as a cast iron skillet, you may need to decrease the baking time so it does not over bake and dry out. The type of pan and size of pan all contribute to the baking time so if you are not sure if your rich cornbread is done, check with the toothpick test.

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with honey cornbread recipe:

📖 Recipe