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This sweet cornbread recipe is one of my favorite sides to serve with chilis, soups, and stews. It has a thin, slightly crunchy top and a tender interior. So good!
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like a bowl of chili or stew pretty much NEEDS a bready something-something on the side. I like to crumble cornbread into chilis in particular, or use that last bite of bread to wipe my bowl clean and get every bit of goodness.
You don’t need anything fancy to make this cornbread, which is sweeter than my old-fashioned cheddar cheese cornbread, zucchini cornbread, and my cornbread muffins. The batter takes about 5 minutes to make, then you bake it all up in an 8×8 pan for 35 minutes. Simple and so tasty.
Adjust the Sweetness to Taste
Should cornbread be sweet? That’s something of a hot debate for folks who take their cornbread seriously. I’m of the opinion that the answer is sometimes. It depends on my mood and what I want to serve with the cornbread!
That being said, you can adjust the sweetness of this cornbread by using up to 1/2 cup of sugar and as little as 1/3 cup of sugar. Bear in mind, that the end result will still be a sweet cornbread! If you are looking for a more savory option, try one of my other cornbread recipes mentioned above.
What Goes with Buttermilk Cornbread?
There are many ways to enjoy this sweet cornbread recipe. You can eat it by itself plain, with some melty butter on top, or even with a drizzle of honey. I also love serving it with these soups, stews, and chilis:
- Venison Chili – Hearty and flavorful, I like to crumble cornbread on top of this chili and get both the chili + bread in one bite.
- Homemade Tomato Soup – Simple, cozy and classic. This soup is especially good with late summer tomatoes.
- Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chili – Everyone who has tried this chili asks for the recipe!
- Butternut Squash Stew – This rustic stew cooks low and slow on the stovetop.
- Three Bean Sweet Potato Chili – With three kinds of beans, hearty blended sweet potatoes, and Southwest flavors this chili goes nicely with pretty much any kind of cornbread.
- Whole Rabbit White Bean Chili – This hearty white bean chili is made with a whole rabbit!
- Instant Pot Venison Stew – Tender chunks of deer meat cooked with red wine, potatoes, and carrots, then served over homemade mashed potatoes.
How to Store and Reheat Extras
- Counter: Cover with saran wrap or transfer to an airtight container and store on the counter for up to 2 days.
- Fridge: Let the cornbread cool, then store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you are storing it in your baking dish, cover it tightly with saran wrap. Otherwise, slice the cornbread and transfer the pieces to an airtight container.
- Freezer: Slice the cooled cornbread, then wrap each slice in saran wrap before transferring to an airtight, freezer-safe container. The bread will keep for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or on the counter for a couple of hours when ready to eat a slice.
Sweet Cornbread
Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil
- ⅓ – ½ cup white sugar*
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Prep your tools. Preheat your oven to 375F and line an 8×8 baking dish with foil. (Adding the foil makes it easy to lift your cornbread out of the pan when it’s done baking.) Lightly spray the foil with PAM or other cooking spray.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar, maple, eggs, and buttermilk. Mix well to combine.
- Mix and add dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. Mix well, then add to the wet ingredients and mix until no dry bits of batter are visible.
- Bake. Place your baking pan in the oven and bake for 35 min – 40 min. The cornbread is done when light golden in color and when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean (no wet batter on it). You can also tell if the bread is done by carefully & gently pressing the center with your fingertip. If the bread springs back, it has finished baking.