Simple Cornbread Recipe with Corn & Honey (Low-Fat)
By Maddie Ruud
Corn bread is one of those universal American comfort foods. Whether you grew up eating southern cornbread alongside your fried chicken, or Mexican cornbread with your chili, chances are it's got a soft spot in your heart (or rather, stomach). This is the recipe I ate as a child, and having tasted quite a few other versions in my life, I've come to believe it is simply the best. It has everything you could want in it--corn, honey, cheese, onions--and is fully adaptable to suit the flavor profile of the rest of your meal, whatever it may be. Look below the recipe for my suggestions on delicious variations.
And so, without further ado, I give you...
The Best Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 onion, finely minced
- 1 cup unbleached white flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup non-fat (skim) milk
- 1 egg
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or thawed frozen
- 1/2 cup grated low-fat cheddar cheese
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375°F. In a cast iron skillet (or oven-safe frying pan), heat your olive oil and add minced onions. Saute for 5 to 8 minutes over medium heat, or until the onions are just translucent, then set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, sift or whisk together your flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together milk, egg, and honey until combined. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until thoroughly blended. Add cooked onions, cheese, and corn kernels and mix to combine. Check that your cast iron skillet has been thoroughly greased by the oil from the onions. If not, be sure to do so. Pour the batter back into the skillet and bake 25-30 minutes, until firm and golden on top.
Notes and Variations
It doesn't get much simpler than that, does it? But the great thing about this easy cornbread recipe is that you can change it up to suit any palate. Here are some of my favorite variations:
- Roasted Corn Bread - I like to roast my corn before adding it to the batter, to bring out the sweetness. This is really easy to do, if you plan ahead. Just throw a corn cobs (with husk still on) in the oven for 30 minutes while it's heating up. Wait for the corn to cool, then strip the husks and cut the corn off the cob.
- Mexican Cornbread - Instead of cheddar cheese, use pepper jack. Consider sauteing some bell pepper or even a little finely-chopped jalapeño with your onions, adjusting the heat to your own personal preferences. You can also add some dry oregano and/or a little chipotle powder for extra flavor.
- Cheese Cornbread - If the cheese quotient just ain't cutting it for you, play with the types and amounts you add. I like to mix extra sharp cheddar and pepper jack, and depending on the rest of the meal, I'll use up to 1.5 cups of cheese total.
- Sweet Cornbread - Lots of people like their cornbread sweet... I mean, really sweet. If that's you, you want to avoid the onions and cheese, and mix the oil into the wet ingredients, adding 1-2 Tbsp additional honey or brown sugar, to taste. You might also want to roast your corn before adding it to the batter (see note #1).
And what if you don't have a cast iron skillet? Well, first of all, you should definitely think about getting one. But in the meantime, you can always spread your batter into an 8 x 8 square pan, and bake as instructed.
How do you like your cornbread?
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Comments
This sounds yummy enough by itself but the fact that it's also low-fat makes it a keeper. Voting this Up and Useful.
Marcy, I agree. I don't like the sweet cakey kind that you sometimes get at soul food restaurants. I want my cornbread to taste like CORN!
Dardarji, I'm so glad it came out well! I, too, have fond memories of the scent of cornbread baking from my childhood.
OK - MMMMMMMMM and Yummmmm! My husband and I made this recipe last night and just had the leftovers with coffee for breakfast! When it was baking it in the oven the aroma took me back to great memories when I was a kid!
I love your list of variations! And the honey version doesn't sound too sweet (I grew up eating cornbread without sugar in it, so I don't like the recipes that taste like cake). Very good ideas - thanks for sharing! Voted up and useful.
seanorjohn:
Thanks for stopping by. Your brown sugar must be sweeter than honey! I don't like my cornbread too sweet either. I really recommend you try honey, but I'm glad you found a measurement of sugar that works for you in the meantime. :)
I thought I would try the sweet cornbread recipe. It sure was sweet whhen I added 2 Tbsp of brown sugar. My daughters absolutely adored it but I found it a little too overwhelming. I then tried 1Tbsp and it seemed perfect for all the family.
This is a great recipe. Tonight I am making soda bread. A recipe of my Irish Grandmother.
Sounds delicious. I am going to try this recipe tomorrow.
This seems like a delicious appetite my whole family will like. I might make this over the weekend or early next week. Thanks for sharing. You deserve a round of applause and an up up for interesting article plus.
I have never eaten corn bread but looking at this recipe I am tempted to cook it and give it a try
Sounds yummy... if only I could find some non-GM corn!
I love cornbread, and miss fixing and eating it since Monsanto has taken over the corn products in this country with their frankenfood corn.
I started making my cornbread from scratch, but I use the cornmeal and not actual corn. However, I really like the idea of using roasted corn. This would be great to do on the grill and bake the cornbread on the grill.
Nice...comfort food and low fat !!
Yuuuuuum!
I am an "all of the abover". This recipe with onion and cheese sounds really really good. Thanks for sharing it.
I love corn too Have to try the spicy one. great hub. Have a geat day
I love the different kinds of cornbread! Will bookmark this hub and try all of them, except maybe the sweet one. I like it a little sweet, but Jiffy brand is good for that. Thanks for the recipes. Lots of votes here!
Corn bread with honey??? TOTAL WIN!
I need to learn to make my own corn bread...I presume to be a pretty decent cook, so it rightly behooves me to give corn bread a go.
I can not wait to try the roasted corn in cornbread recipe! I have, in the past, roasted corn for salsa and other dishes, but the idea of adding the concentrated sweet corn flavor to cornbread never crossed my mind! This is simply awesome Maddie. A sharing I will go!!
HubHugs~
K9
Weee momma mia that looks sweeeettt! Another bookmarked recipe. HP has it going on in the kitchen. Maddie when you having me over for din-din..lol :) Thank you for this recipe.
This sounds delicious! Actually, it sounds a lot like what we call Spoon bread, because we can eat it with a spoon as it is very moist. One of our favorite morning snacks is cornbread warmed up with a drizzle of maple syrup.....or adding ice cream to make it dessert. Yummy! Great hub - thanks!
Thanks for a low fat recipe for cornbread. We will be having more of it as the weather cools down.
I love a great corn bread recipe. Thanks for giving me yours. It looks delicious.
Sounds great and simple to make. I never had one.
d.william, that sounds fantastic! I love tweaking old recipes with new ingredients and seasonings!
Sounds delicious. will give it a try. thanks for sharing.
I made some basic corn muffins the other day, and added some finely chopped green peppers from my pepper plant. They were out of this world.
Cornbread in a cast iron skillet is too classic. This is great hub, voted up and useful.
Simone, it adds a nice textural contrast, along with the corn kernels. Sauteing first brings out the sweetness in the onions, so the flavor isn't harsh. When I was a kid, I didn't even know they were there!
I've never made cornbread with onion in it before! This sounds amazing. I should give this a try... though I need to get a nicely seasoned skillet, first!
I'll take the honey cornbread and whilr it is still warm, slap some in a glass and pour some milk over it and EAT IT, YUMMY
Thanks for the good recipe
Victoria Lynn 2 months ago
Maddie, this looks great. I like how you laid out the hub--very easy to read. And I love the variations. I want to try the original as well as the Mexican variation. I usually just use Jiffy because it's easy (and I like its sweetness). I bet yours is so much better. Bookmarking!