This jalapeño cornbread is easy to make, crispy on the bottom but moist and fluffy on the inside, and teeming with awesome savory flavor from jalapeños, creamed corn, cheddar cheese, and green onions.
The Perfect Cornbread for Soups and Chilis
I may not be from the South, but boy do I love cornbread. It’s the perfect companion to a hearty bowl of chili, juicy pork chops, or your favorite bbq mains like baby back ribs.
When I’m craving the classic, I opt for the unadulterated version. But sometimes I want a little spicy-sweet flavor in my life, and when I do, I make my mother-in-law’s jalapeño cornbread recipe, which she adapted from the always dependable Ina Garten.
The cornbread batter has all of the usual suspects and is basically the classic recipe from the side of the box of cornmeal. The mix-ins and the way it’s baked take this cornbread to the next level. It’s crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and studded with cheddar cheese and bits of jalapeño for a little heat.
After the basic cornbread has been doctored up, the real magic of this recipe happens when it’s baked in sizzling bacon drippings. Game on.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Use a cast iron skillet for even cooking. Cast iron conducts heat incredibly well and will cook the cheesy jalapeño cornbread quicker and more evenly than a glass baking dish will. (Plus, you’ll get those golden edges.)
Preheat your cast iron skillet for a crispier crust. I always pop my skillet into the oven as it’s preheating so it’s screaming hot by the time the batter is poured in. This creates the crispiest, golden brown edges without making the cornbread dry out.
Bacon grease is the ultimate flavor builder. If you don’t keep bacon grease on hand (you really should!), swap it out with canola oil or butter. Just make sure to use some kind of fat otherwise the cornbread will stick to the skillet.
What’s in This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Yellow cornmeal — It’s crucial that you buy cornmeal and not a similar corn product, like grits or polenta. Cornmeal is a completely different product, and there’s no substitute for it.
- All-purpose flour — This recipe has the ideal ratio of cornmeal to flour, for a moist, fluffy cornbread that still has plenty of texture.
- Baking powder — Helps the cornbread rise and gives it a nice lift.
- Kosher salt — Always, for flavor.
- Milk — I recommend using whole milk here (buttermilk would also work).
- Butter — I prefer butter to oil because of the flavor it imparts on this cornbread.
- Egg — Serves as a binder in this recipe, but also lends moisture, texture, and lift.
- Canned creamed corn — For added moisture, sweetness, and texture.
- Green onions — For color and flavor (it’s so yummy with the cheddar!).
- Jalapeño — We seeded ours, but if you like more heat, feel free to leave some of the seeds in. You can swap in pickled jalapeños, too.
- Cheddar cheese — We used a medium cheddar but a Colby would be tasty too.
- Bacon drippings — Or you could use vegetable or canola oil.
How to Make Spicy-Sweet Jalapeño Cornbread
- Make your batter. To make this sweet jalapeño cheddar cornbread, mix the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry in another. Combine the two, then stir in the creamed corn, diced jalapeño, green onions, and shredded cheddar.
- Sizzle the cornbread in bacon drippings. Preheat a cast-iron pan with the bacon drippings and enough cornmeal to cover the bottom of the pan and bake until the cornmeal turns a light brown. Then, add the batter to the hot pan. Don’t forget your oven mitt!
- Bake and serve. Bake the cornbread until it’s slightly browned on top and the edges are pulling away from the sides of the skillet.
Heidi’s Tip: You can also use the cornbread batter for topping this Tex-Mex tamale pie!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Cheesy Jalapeño Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup + plus 1-2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal , divided
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- 1 large egg , beaten
- ⅓ cup canned creamed corn
- 2 green onions , chopped
- 1 jalapeño , seeded and chopped
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1-2 tablespoons bacon drippings or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to preheat.
- In a medium bowl, mix the 1 cup cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl whisk the milk, butter, and egg together. Add to the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the creamed corn, green onions, jalapeño, and cheddar cheese.
- Remove the hot skillet from the oven (use hot pads!) and add 1-2 tablespoons bacon drippings to the pan to melt. Sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons corn meal or just until the bottom of the pan is covered. Place back in the oven (use hot pads!) and bake just until the cornmeal begins to brown, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the batter to the skillet and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and the edges are pulling away from the side of the skillet. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
What to Serve With Jalapeño Cornbread
Storage Tips
I recommend refrigerating this jalapeño cheese cornbread (it’s crazy-moist, so sometimes storing it at room temperature can encourage mold). It’ll just stay fresher longer if stored in the fridge wrapped tightly with plastic wrap.
It also freezes incredibly well; let it cool to room temperature, then slice and seal it in a freezer bag. You can reheat the cornbread in the microwave, or set it on the counter to thaw.
More Southern Side Dishes to Master
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David L Palenshus
Native born TEXAN here.. very similar to my GodMother’s recipe, called Caliente Cornbread.. cept she used some cottage cheese and creamed corn in her recipe… and layered either the green chilies or diced jalapeno’s after half the batter was poured into the hot skillet; then topped with the rest of the batter, and another 1/3 cup of cheese on the top before the cook in the oven. As a Pitmaster, I have kinda coupled all the above, but put it (after the oven indoors cooked it 90% done) in my BBQ smoker (a David Klose (Houston) custom offset stick burner smoker), so it developed a smokey crust on the top, similar to my smoked Mac-n-Cheese I use when catering events.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
That sounds absolutely incredible!
Lorana Hudson
My Mom would place enough cheddar cheese on the top of the cornbread after placing it in the skillet to cook which makes it nice also. She would also chop regular onion (I/2 cup) or so instead of the green onions.
Ashley @ Foodie Crush
That sounds delish!! Thanks for sharing
Terri
We love this recipe in our house. It’s the only cornbread recipe I use. I substitute smoked Cheddar and pickled jalapeños and don’t use green onions. I’m sure it’s perfectly delicious as written, too.
BBQlover54
Best cornbread I’ve ever made. Moist and good!
Mary Irish
I was looking for a cornbread recipe to use for a fun cornbread and chili cook off at a friend’s home. This sounds so good. I will let you know how I fare later. ☺
Jim
My mother and grandmother would have called this cake. Too much flour and an egg. They used 90% coarse cornmeal to 10% flour. Buttermilk, but no egg. Fat in the skillet in a very hot oven until it begins to smoke. Then add the batter and spread the fat over the batter. Back into the oven until dark brown. This produces a very thick crust and moist, but grainy middle. Unbelievably delicious….though some will find it too coarse.
192.168.1.1
nice! thank you so much! Thank you for sharing. Your blog posts are more interesting and impressive. I think there are many people like and visit it regularly, including me.
Aileen
At which step does the creamed corn factor in?
Lou
This is really good but I am more of a spicy taste maybe 3 large jalapeños and more cheese
I like the way you think Lou :)
El Naismith
Lou – if you like it spicier, then you might want to try using pickled jalapenos. I make my own pickled peppers, and use about 1/3 cup, chopped up. Gives the cornbread quite a zing!
Angelina veronica
Very good recipe . Thanks for sharing this to the public.
Evi
Awesome! I made a few small changes and it was perfect and suited my needs. I used 2 jalepaneons instead of 1, left out the green onion and the creamed corn, and replace the 1 cup milk with 1 cup of light coconut milk soured with the juice of 1 lime.
Glad that you made it your own Evi!
Sue Able
This is pretty much the way I make my cornbread but I use Martha White self-rising corn meal mix (Hot Rize) INSTEAD of the cornmeal, flour, salt and baking powder.
If you do this you may need to adjust amount of milk as I don’t measure the milk just add to right consistency. Easy…
Neil
The recipe leaves out when to add the creamed corn. Presumably its with the wet ingredients but in any event the recipe is deficient.
Liz @ Floating Kitchen
This cornbread looks incredible. I have always had trouble getting a nice crust, but I think it’s because I’ve been leaving out the bacon drippings. How shameful! Gotta fix that little oversight on my part! Cheers!
I’m telling you now…you’ll never go back :)
Melissa Lemire
They are great. Thanks for the recipe!
Lisa @ Healthy Nibbles & Bits
This looks absolutely delicious. I’ve never made cornbread in a skillet before, but I’m definitely trying this soon. Thanks for the recipe!
Susan Byars
How much creamed corn is “a splash”? It seems to have been left out of the ingredients list…
Hi Susan, it’s 1/3 cup. Sorry about that, fixed now!
Stefanie
This corn bread looks delish, I’d like to make it for dinner tonight!!! But It doesn’t say when to add the creamed corn in the directions? -does it get added to the wet ingredients before mixing with the dry?
Jill Hull
The creamed corn isn’t in the directions although it isn’t rocket science to figure out when to mix it in
Dianna N.
Your reply is unhelpful and demeaning. Perhaps the person asking the question is new to baking and just wants to confirm about the directions. It’s a legitimate question that doesn’t deserve a sarcastic answer. Courtesy, please.
Gaby Dalkin
there is a seriously huge place in my heart for cast iron skillet cornbread!
Mary @ The Kitchen Paper
TASTY! I’m attached enough to my cast iron skillet that the idea of a cast iron skillet bed didn’t throw me at all… That might be a problem. They’re the best! Thanks for the recipe, Heidi! xo
I can only imagine what you whip up in your skillet Mary! You’re so good!
Erika
Those bacon drippings are important. :) I’m a lover of cornbread as I ate it almost everyday growing up. I love this recipe with the cheddar and jalapeño fixins. :)
Katrina
Your mother in law is one smart cookie! Sticking to a tried and true recipe can be so hard as a food blogger but my Nan keeps reminding me that “great recipes always stay great recipes”! I can’t wait to try this one! Cornbread is the best.
Tell your Nan she’s a smart cookie. In fact, you probably better make her some cookies :)
Lou
Very good