Buttermilk Cornbread & Other Whole Grain Recipes (2024)

Published: Sep 24, 2017 · Modified: Dec 17, 2022 by Jessica Fisher

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This Buttermilk Cornbread is so easy to make, super delicious — and it even passes muster with my Southern friends— even if it’s sweet cornbread.

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I love cornbread. It’s a perfect accompaniment to chili or soup. It’s a great breakfast when you want something warm and filling. It pinch hits at snacktime, with a dab of butter. And for some wild reason, I really like to serve it with Lasagna or Asian Chicken Salad.

I like to make my cornbreadwith whole wheat pastry flour and whole grain cornmeal. Makes it a little bit more substantial and toothsome. Using buttermilk instead of milk or water gives it a nice tang.

A few years ago, I was making dinner to take to my friend Suzanne and mixed up a batch of this cornbread for the bread basket. It didn’t occur to me later that that might not have been the best meal plan.

Suzanne’s from Mississippi and her parents (also from Mississippi) were visiting. California girls aren’t supposed to make cornbread for true Southerners! Neither Suzanne nor her mama had ever had cornbread made with buttermilk and brown sugar.

What was I thinking?!

Well, it’s really good. And they agreed! Or they were just being polite. You’ll have to make it yourself and let me know what you think!

And yes, I know it’s not true cornbread if it’s sweet. Humor me. 😉

How to make this good and cheap:

Here are some of the strategies you canuse to make this recipe more economical:

Bake it yourself from scratch – Don’t buy cornbread mixes. You can make your own better and cheaper at home!
Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale.When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currentlyusing a price book to track pricesand that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of flour, cornmeal, and buttermilk can help keep the price down.
Buying in bulk – It’s rare that I would buy one bag of flour. I usually stock up when there are good baking sales. I also have gotten into the habit of buying cases of flour from Bob’s Red Mill.The same goes for butter and other baking staples.

How Imake this recipe easy:

This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.

Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:

stainless steel mixing bowl– I’m not sure you have too many of these.
wire whisk– Be sure to get one with a closed barrel so dishwater doesn’t get stuck in its innardsand drip into your food. Ask me how I know.
rubber spatula– I have two of these; I love them so much.
square baking pan – I love the USA pans. No greasing needed and no burning!

Buttermilk Cornbread

This Buttermilk Cornbread is so easy to make, super delicious — and it even passes muster with my Southern friends— even if it’s sweet cornbread.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 223kcal

Author: Jessica Fisher

Cost: $3

Ingredients

½ cup neutral oil or melted butter
2 egg
1 ¼ cup buttermilk
¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour
¾ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal
½ cup brown sugar packed
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large mixing bowl combine the oil, eggs, and buttermilk. Whisk to blend.
Add the flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and a tester inserted comes out with a few crumbs attached.

Notes

To make as a mix:Take a large ziptop bag or container and label it with the wet ingredients and the baking instructions. Measure out the dry ingredients into the bag. Seal and store until ready to use. Freeze for longest shelf life.

Nutrition

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Post updated March 25, 2017.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Carla
January 31, 2013 at 2:05 pm
Just made this! Never made cornbread from scratch before. I’ve wanted to make some, but HAD to have a sweet cornbread. Oh, sooo good. If my guys are lucky there will still be some in the pan when they get home! Not just for dinner, this one. My teen will appreciate it with our white chicken chili tonight as corn chips are problematic for braces. 😉 Now to see if they leave any in the pan by the time “I” get back.
Reply
- Jessica Fisher
  February 04, 2013 at 5:54 pm
  It is really yummy. Might need to make that for dinner tonight.
  Reply
Stacy
April 23, 2012 at 10:39 am
I love cornbread too. I make one with corn meal, white whole wheat flour and white flour. I didn’t even realize there was such a thing as whole grain corn meal–I thought corn meal was always whole grain. I’ll check that out. I love to make partly whole wheat tortillas. Here’s the recipe: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Pipin_-Hot-Bakery-Whole-Wheat-Tortillas-Recipezaar
Reply
Shelly
December 11, 2011 at 4:13 pm
Thanks for this recipe! I used coconut oil and ground my own ww flour and whole corn. My family absolutely loved eating this with chili tonight~God bless you and have a Merry Christmas!
Reply
Rachel
January 20, 2011 at 8:08 pm
yum – I just made this – it’s so good! Thanks for an awesome recipe! I didn’t have whole wheat flour on hand, so I just used white all-purpose and splashed a little extra in.
Reply
Lawanna
January 18, 2011 at 4:24 pm
I’m gonna have to try your cornbread. It sounds good. I like to grind my own wheat and use it in breads. Recipe linked.
Reply
Katherine
January 08, 2011 at 10:07 pm
I made the cornbread last night. So yummy! My family loved it and my hubby said it was restaurant quality! This will definitely become a regular recipe in our house. Thanks!
Reply
Nicole aka Gidget
January 08, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Our family loves cornbread and this sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
Reply
Jillian
January 06, 2011 at 4:31 pm
I linked up our favorite whole-grain, date-filled cookie recipe! Yum!!
Your cornbread looks wonderful. It might have to make it into this weekend’s breakfast menu… 😉
Reply
Lisa
January 06, 2011 at 11:15 am
What a beautiful golden cornbread.
Reply
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy
January 06, 2011 at 10:19 am
I’m not much for cornbread, but that recipe looks awesome! I’m definitely going to have to try it.
Reply
Carla
January 06, 2011 at 8:17 am
I love whole grains. I just linked to my microwave popcorn recipe but just realized I only put in my first name and not the recipe name! Oops!
Reply
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef
January 06, 2011 at 7:37 am
i linked up another cornbread recipe that i made w/ whole wheat flour recently!
Reply
Michelle
January 06, 2011 at 7:36 am
Love looking through these recipes! Thanks for the great ideas.
Reply
Susie's Homemade
January 06, 2011 at 7:26 am
That looks awesome:-)
Reply
Carrie
January 06, 2011 at 6:30 am
My cornbread recipe came from my mom (and, I believe, from HER mom) – nice mid-westerners from Oklahoma. It has a cup and a half of WHOLE CREAM in it. We now live in Tennessee and I use half-and-half and people still think it tastes like cake, but they usually gobble it all up. 🙂 And for the record, toothsome is a delightful word!
Reply
- Carrie
  January 06, 2011 at 6:32 am
  @Carrie, I knew that didn’t look right – I blame it on the fact that I’ve been medicated for the last three days trying to get over some sort of nasty cold/flu thing. The recipe uses WHIPPING CREAM (whole cream? Is that even anything? My sneezing, DayQuil-ed self doesn’t know anymore).
  Reply
  - Jessica Fisher
    January 06, 2011 at 6:45 am
    @Carrie, cream is the same thing as whipping cream in my book. 🙂
Miz Helen
January 06, 2011 at 3:42 am
Your Buttermilk Cornbread looks so good, I am going to give it a try. I brought my Pear Pie Pocket for everyone to try. Thank you for hosting us today and you have a great week!
Reply
Kimberly
January 05, 2011 at 9:51 pm
I don’t have one to share yet… but i am looking forward to trying all this recipes out!
Thanks!
8)
Reply
Wendy (The Local Cook)
January 05, 2011 at 9:47 pm
I substituted quinoa for the couscous in the recipe I posted, although quinoa is a seed not a grain I think it still counts 😉
Reply
Angela Shrader
January 05, 2011 at 8:18 pm
You had me until….brown sugar? lol….but I’ll definitely try it! A southerner who hadn’t put buttermilk in thier cornbread?!?!?! That’s even harder to understand!
Reply
- Jessica Fisher
  January 05, 2011 at 9:04 pm
  Well, I could be remembering wrong. I know very little about southern cooking. But, I sure thought those were the two ingredients that surprised her.
  Reply
Georgia
January 05, 2011 at 8:14 pm
sounds amazing!! having to cut dairy out of my diet and because of that things that have dairy in the recipe sound even better! can’t wait to make this!!!
Reply