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This Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread is the perfect blend of sweet, savory, and spicy! It’s nice and moist, loaded with cheddar, and has a little kick from the jalapeno! Perfect for serving with soup or chili!
What is it about cornbread that just totally completes a meal and makes it feel special?
I happily serve up our sweet cornbread on the regular, but sometimes it’s fun to mix things up with this Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread! A little cheese makes the cornbread extra moist and the jalapeno adds the perfect touch of spice, without being overwhelming. Topping this with bacon butter makes it extra insanely good.
We love the cheesy spice paired with barbecue. Try it with our with our crockpot ribs or our smoked baby back ribs! Of course, it’s phenomenal with a bowl of our taco chili or cabbage roll soup too.
Of course, this also makes a great snack – just warm it up and slather it in salted butter. Heaven!
Cast Iron Skillet Vs. Baking Pan
You’ve got a couple of options when baking this cornbread recipe and you may prefer one over the other. It mostly comes down to how crispy you want the crust to be, and how thick you want the cornbread to be.
Skillet: A cast iron skillet works best if you like a crispy cornbread crust. This is especially true if you preheat the skillet in the oven before adding the cornbread batter. You can also use a skillet larger than 10″ to make a thinner cornbread with a crispier exterior.
Baking Pan: Perfect for making a thicker, fluffier cornbread. You could also preheat the pan in the oven to get a crispier crust. I’m using a 9×9 baking pan, a larger size would result in a thinner cornbread.
You can use whatever method you prefer for preparing this jalapeno cheddar cornbread recipe!
What We Love About This JALAPENO CORNBREAD Recipe:
- Sweet, savory, spicy, and cheesy! All the good things in one bite.
- Simple to make with no special tools needed.
- Adjust the spice to suit your tastes! It’s so versatile.
Ingredient Notes:
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Dry Ingredients – You’ll need some flour, yellow cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Any brand of cornmeal works as long you use a medium or fine grind.
Wet Ingredients – The wet cornbread batter ingredients are egg, buttermilk, and vegetable oil.
Shredded Cheddar – We love the flavor of cheddar in this cornbread but you can use any type of cheese you prefer. Pepperjack adds a little extra heat!
Frozen Corn – Stir some frozen corn right into the batter to add a little texture and pop of sweetness to the cornbread.
Jalapenos – Some minced jalapenos will add a bit of spicy heat to contrast with the sweet and savory cornbread.
Helpful Tip!
Make your Own Buttermilk Substitute!
No need to buy a whole carton of buttermilk when this recipe only calls for 1 cup! Just fill your measuring cup up with 1 cup of 2% or whole milk and add in a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Let the milk sit for 5 minutes, stir, and use as buttermilk!
How To Make Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread:
Prepare: To get started preheat your oven and grease a 9×9 pan or a cast iron skillet!
Dry Ingredients: Add the flour, yellow cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking soda to a mixing bowl and stir together until combined.
Wet Ingredients: In a separate small mixing bowl add the oil, egg, and buttermilk and whisk together until combined.
Combine: You can now pour the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir them together until just combined with a few lumps remaining. Don’t overmix the batter. Fold in the cheddar, corn, and jalapeno.
Helpful Tip!
We don’t like our cornbread very spicy, so we usually just do 1 jalapeno and remove the ribs and seed when mincing it. For extra heat, use extra jalapeno and leave the ribs and seeds in when chopping.
Bake: When the batter is ready you can spread it into the prepared pan or skillet and bake for 20 minutes in the oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the near center comes out clean.
Serve: You’ll want to let the cheddar jalapeno cornbread cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. I’d recommend serving it with some soup or chili! My steak chili would go great with this cornbread recipe!
My Favorite Skillet!
Cast iron skillets are my favorite! They heat so evenly, get piping hot for searing, and nothing is better than bacon fried in a cast iron skillet. You can bake this cornbread in a skillet, if you prefer!
Serving Suggestions:
There are so many things to serve your cornbread with, but soups, stews, chili, and barbecue are our personal favorites! Here is a nice list to get you started:
Swaps & Substitutes:
Jalapeno – Not a fan of spice? Use canned diced green chilis in place of jalapeno.
Cheese – Want a stronger flavor? Use extra sharp cheddar. Want a more mild flavor? Colby jack is a great option. Want it extra spicy? Try pepper jack.
Gluten Free – Use your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. Be sure to use a gluten free cornmeal.
FAQs:
You’ll want to either wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic or store in an airtight container on the counter for 2-3 days or in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Yes, you can freeze this! Wrap it in some plastic and then some foil and freeze for up to a few months.
Our cornbread recipe is not gluten free as it does contain wheat flour. You may use a gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour.
This is a sweet, savory and spicy cornbread recipe so there is some spicy heat but we don’t think it is too much. You can use more or less of the jalapenos to adjust how spicy the cornbread is.
MORE CORNBREAD RECIPES!
- Mexican Cornbread Casserole
- Keto Cornbread
- Corn Dog Nuggets
- Sloppy Joe Cornbread Bake
- Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Bites
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1-2 large fresh jalapenos minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9×9 pan or 10-inch cast iron skillet.
- Add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking soda to a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the oil, egg, and buttermilk to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined with a few lumps remaining.
- Fold in the cheddar, corn, and jalapeno.
- Spread mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
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