Jalapeno Cornbread
Lyuba’s Recipe Overview
Cornbread is a great traditional southern bread. It’s warm, comforting, and has a soft, crumbly texture. I love that it’s SO easy to make! All you have to do is whisk it all together in a bowl and pop it in the oven. So fast and easy and it’s very versatile. Of course, it pairs perfectly with a bowl of soup or chili, but the uses for it don’t stop there!
It is delicious for breakfast with a cup of tea and some honey drizzled on top (imagine little biter from jalapeno with sweetness of honey, so good!) It’s a great side dish for lunch and dinner. You can also chop it up, dry it out, and then use it to make cornbread dressing.
Types of Cornbread
Recipes for cornbread often have different ingredients and ways of making it, based on regional preferences. Northern and Southern regions have strong beliefs about what should be included in cornbread and not:
- For example, in southern parts of the U.S., you will usually find recipes where corn itself is the most prominent ingredients. Modern southern recipes would include flour and even sugar but that wasn’t always the case.
- Southern recipes also prefer buttermilk while northern ones prefer milk. Northern cornbread recipes were also the ones to start sweetening it with sugar or syrup.
- Southern cooks prefer a cast iron skillet while northern prefer a baking dish.
- My cornbread recipes, including buttermilk cornbread recipe is actually a pleasant mix of southern and northern recipes.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
eggs – it’s best to use eggs that are at room temperature before you start making this recipe. Not only are cold eggs more difficult to incorporate into batter, but they also increase the baking time.
buttermilk – If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, it’s easy to make your own buttermilk substitute. Simply mix 1 tablespoons of white vinegar with enough milk to add up to 1 cup together. Then, let it rest for 5-10 minutes, until the milk thickens.
cornmeal – There are different varieties of cornmeal, ranging in texture from coarse to corn flour. For the best tasting jalapeno cornbread, use finely ground cornmeal.
sharp cheddar cheese – It is always best to buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself. Bagged shreds contain cellulose, a chemical that prevents cheese from clumping. Unfortunately, it also prevents the cheese from melting properly and affects the taste.
jalapeno peppers – Jalapenos aren’t very spicy at all, but if you have a problem with spicy foods, you can either remove the seeds, or make sure to get young peppers. Young peppers have smooth, firm skin. Older peppers are spicier and have visible veins on the skin.
To see all ingredients, including amounts, refer to the recipe card.
How To Make Jalapeno Cornbread: Step-by-Step
1. Add dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Use a whisk to combine everything. This ensures that there are no clumps of flour in the mixture.
2. Add wet ingredients to the dry mixture. Whisk wet ingredients together before adding the mixture to the bowl to make sure everything is mixed evenly but the batter is not overmixed.
3. Fold in cheese and jalapenos into the cornbread batter. Be careful not to over mix the batter, as you’ll end up with dry jalapeno cornbread. Just use a mixing spatula or large spoon to gently fold the ingredients into the batter.
4. Spread mixture evenly into a greased baking dish.
5. Bake, cool in the pan, then slice and serve!
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Jalapeno Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp white granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese block
- 2-3 large jalapeno peppers
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter to rub the pan
Instructions
Before Baking:
- Grate the block of cheese of a box grater and dice jalapeno peppers. (Discard seeds and membrane of the peppers if you want it less spicy. If you want more spicy, keep the seeds.)Expert tip: wear disposable gloves when working with chili peppers and discard them after you're done. This will protect your hands from capsaicin, since it can stay on skin for a long time even after washing.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375°F and rub a 9×9 baking dish with butter all over the bottom and up the sides. Make sure to get the corners and folds well.
Making Cornbread:
- Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and whisk them well.
- Combine wet ingredients in another bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredient, stirring as you add and whisking after until just combined.
- Fold in shredded cheese and diced jalapenos until it's evenly spread throughout.
- Let the batter sit for about 10 minutes and spread it evenly in the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes.Expert tip: If the top is browning too fast, you may need to loosely tent the baking dish with aluminum foil for the last few minutes of baking.
Make it in a skillet:
- If you wish to use a cast iron skillet to cook cornbread, you can absolutely do it. I recommend using 10-inch skillet and check for doneness after 20-22 minutes.
Notes
- *Gluten Free: to make this cornbread gluten free, simply use 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour instead of regular one and double check that your cornmeal is labeled gluten free!
- When is cornbread done? If you’re not sure when your cornbread is done, use an instant read digital thermometer to check the internal temperature. Cornbread is nice and moist and done at 195°F.
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
Cheesy cornbread is delicious with any type of chili. Make a batch of classic beef chili, turkey chili, or for a meatless meal, serve it with vegetarian chili.
Any cornbread is great with a little spread of butter and even some honey. Honey is great to balance out salty and spicy.
If you have leftovers, it’s great to use to make a side of cornbread dressing.
Storing Suggestion
Storing at Room Temperature: since there is some fresh jalapenos, I recommend storing for only about 1 day at room temperature. If you want to leave it on the counter, then you should cover it air-tight with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. You can also transfer it into a food storage container with a lid.
Storing in the Refrigerator: this cornbread will stay good for up to a week in the refrigerator but make sure to keep it air-tight. Make sure to cool the cornbread first and then transfer it into a food storage container with a lid or cover the baking dish air-tight.
Freezing: to extend its life even longer, your best bet is the freezer. In the freezer, it will last up to 3 months. Wrap each cooled piece in plastic wrap and then place them into a large freezer zip-top bag. Get the air out, seal, and place in the freezer.
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All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I love this corn bread with cheese an Jalapeño without the seeds!
This is my forth one I’ve done as our neighbor really likes it too!
Thanks for taking the time to let me know, I am so glad you love it!
I love, love, love this recipe. I make it all the time. Thank you.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you love the recipe and make it often—it means a lot to hear that! 😊
Probably the best cornbread I have ever made.(must have been the cheese).
Will leaving the cheese out change the texture or moisture?
Very good recipe. I thought it would be too dense because the batter was so thick from of so much cheese but it wasn’t. Bake time was just about right as well. I cut way back on the jalapeno because my family dislikes anything too spicy, so I didn’t taste too much of that. Next time I’ll try a touch more. Cornbread does need to be eaten while hot. It’s never as good once it’s cooled down.
I am so glad you liked the recipe!
Delicious… I will definitely be making this one again thank you !!
I’m glad you liked it, Diana!
Would this work in muffin tins?
Yes, I make them as muffins sometimes too! You will need to decrease the cooking time I would say to 17-19 minutes. I do the toothpick test where I stick one in the middle and see if it comes out clean.
I love this recipe!
can I use almond flour instead of all purpose flour to make GF?
You could try it but it would be a very different texture.
Hi, I planned to try this recipe as written but I’ll try it with almond flour and coconut flower. When combined correctly they make similar texture as flour. Just need to increase the wet ingredients and remember that your coconut flour ratio is coconut flour 1:3 or 1/3 cup to 1 cup. May have to bake lower and slower to ensure center centre is baked and not too wet. If it is you can leave it in longer, or use the microwave at 1 minute intervals until the center is the right texture and moisture. That’s all I know from my experiences. Some YAYS 🤗 and some NAYS! 🥴 Lol
Oops! I see a couple of glitches in my comment! Center should be written once. I didn’t stutter. Also to clarify I meant to say1/3 cup in 1 cup. So 1/3 coconut flour and 2/3 almond flour. Sometimes I like the texture with just 1/4 coconut flour. And always add a 1/2 tsp of xanthum gum to help keep it all together. Yum!
Hi Anne,
Let me know how it turns out!