This cornbread isn’t loaded with corn, bacon, jalapenos, or anything fancy….but it still will knock your socks off!! My hubby officially told me that this cornbread was the best he has ever had….restaurant’s included!! Woo hoo, right?!?!
A few years ago, I made cornbread for my family and used my go to box of Jiffy. I had never made homemade cornbread because the boxed mix was simple, inexpensive, and a favorite of mine. When my hubby casually mentioned his love for sweet cornbread, I decided to experiment with ingredients and set out to make his favorite version myself. If you look through the blog, you will find lots of recipes, all equally delicious….but this one is the ultimate winner in my family!!
Served with some chili (perfect for those Fall evenings ahead), this was a homerun dinner!!

A tasty, sweet cornbread that is sure to please any crowd!!
- 4 eggs (yolks and whites separated)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup melted butter
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking pan.
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In a medium bowl, combine the eggs yolks, milk, vanilla extract, and melted butter. Stir until combined.
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Add in the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir until just combined.
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In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
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Fold into cornmeal mixture and stir until just combined.
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Pour batter into prepared 9 x 13 baking pan.
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Bake for 26-28 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
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Remove from oven and allow to cool about 5 minutes before slicing and serving!!
Recipe adapted from: High Heels and Grills
This was very good but different than tradition Southern cornbread. I used 1 1/2 cups of cornmeal and 1 1/2 cups of flour to give a more traditional taste.
Great change, I will have to try that next time! Glad you enjoyed it!
Does it all have to be eaten right away? Does it dry out quickly?
Surprisingly it stays moist for several days. My family had this over the course of about 3 days and it never dried out or began to get crumbly. I would say you could stretch to 4 days….but wouldn’t go longer due to it no longer being fresh 🙂
Do you use all-purpose flour or self-rising flour?
I just made this cornbread tonight to go with our chili. My husband and all my boys love it!!! It was nice a moist, the way we like it. We do not like it dry like a lot of cornbread is. It is a little sweet, but that was okay. Thumbs up for this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Yea!! Glad you all enjoyed it!
Do I have to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form or can I just throw the whole egg in without all the fuss? Thanks in advance for a reply.
You need to beat the egg whites unfortunately. I tried omitting that step once and it was flat and not nearly as fluffy/moist.
Going to try this today. Only change I’m going to make is more cornmeal and little less sugar. Everything else will stay the same.
Yea! How did it turn out?? Hope you enjoyed it!
All purpose flour!! Enjoy!
Can you freeze cornbread? .
Yep, it freezes well for about 2-3 months!
Can I use baking soda instead?
Here is the conversion: If you want to create the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of baking powder out of baking soda, mix together ¼ teaspoon baking soda with ½ teaspoon cream of tartar and ¼ teaspoon cornstarch. If you want to use baking powder instead of baking soda, simply use three times as much baking powder as the amount of the soda called for in the recipe.
Sorry but, this is not cornbread. This is corncake! JMO. I am from the South but my mother never put sugar in her cornbread
Very true! I have several versions on my blog! Just go to the search button on the homepage and type in cornbread. Several non-sweetened versions should appear! Enjoy!
Wow! this is hands down the best cornbread my family has tasted. It didn’t last long. It took just a little more time to fix but well worth it.
So glad you all enjoyed it! Definitely a keeper with my family!
How many Calories does it have and hope of it is Saturated and Fat???? Please Reply
Thanks Tonya
Hi! Here is the requested info per serving! 8 servings total in this recipe!
Calories
344.7
Total Fat
8.8 g
Saturated Fat
4.7 g
Polyunsaturated Fat
0.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat
2.7 g
Cholesterol
109.0 mg
Sodium
659.1 mg
Potassium
141.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate
61.4 g
Dietary Fiber
2.1 g
Sugars
26.8 g
Protein
6.7 g
This is the best cornbread ever!
Yea, glad you enjoy it!
Will try this soon…if i want to put cream style corn how much can i put?
I’d say a can would work great! Perhaps start with half a can and check out consistency before adding the remainder! Enjoy!
Ok smells amazing and I’m waiting to dig in but the time required is not cooking it enough. I’m adding my second round of 7 min- the center is still very doughy. Have I done something wrong or could it be my oven needs to be recalibrated.
Hmmm, are you at a high altitude? Every oven is different, so it may not be your oven needing to be recalibrated. How long did it end up taking to be finished??
Can these be made in muffin tins?
I have never tried that, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work! Let me know if you try it!
Made this cornbread to go with chili for my son’s bday party. Wow was it a hit!!!! Making it again tomorrow for a chili cook off at church! I did have to bake it longer than 28 mins but all ovens are different!
Yea!! Glad you enjoyed it!
Kristin here’s a funny story about your cornbread. I work in a dining room at a retirement community. Our kitchen decided to do a chili cook off. I volunteered to bring the cornbread (southern style). Some said we like sweet cornbread. I found your recipe and decided to try it. Our chef was to judge the chili’s and he declared “the cornbread wins”! So thank you. Tomorrow we are doing another chili cook off for the whole facility and I’m taking the cornbread. Hopefully I will win again!
Awww, I absolutely LOVED that story and am so glad you won round one! Fingers crossed round two wins again! Be sure to keep me posted and again, thanks for the awesome story, I am so glad everyone enjoyed it!!
How many people does your recipe serve? I’m needing to serve 4 families and 3/4 kids each?
This makes quite a bit. Typically I say about 12, but honestly, based on how you cut the pieces, it could serve 20+ people! Enjoy!
Can you make it in a smaller pan? Does the baking time change?
Like cutting the recipe in half or making it in a smaller pan so its thicker?
I hate that it has so much sugar. Could this amount be cut down or a substitute used.
No problem at all! You can cut it by up to 3/4 cup sugar and still have it taste good!! It just wont be AS sweet, but still tasty!
I made this recipe into muffins instaednof a 9×13 and they are super moist and delicious!! Will be making again…. I even used Splenda and they are divine ?
Yea! Glad you enjoyed!!
I made this cornbread about two nights ago. It was the best cornbread I have ever had!! 🙂
It was even better than my grandmothers, sorry grandma, I love you!
I did change the amount of sugar used. I like sweet corn bread, but I like it like I like my tea., half and half.
extremely moist.
Definitely worth the effort!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Yea! So glad you enjoyed it! I’ve cut the sugar down before too and its still great, so glad you agree!!
Hi! The recipe is amazing! I just wanted to post for those wondering I made this gluten free & it turned out perfect! I used cup for cup gluten free flour & followed the recipe & measurements exactly. Also, I used muffin tins (for someone who asked above) & it made 24 muffins. I cooked them for 20 minutes. Hope this helps! Enjoy this amazing recipe & thank you for posting it.
Yea! So glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for the tip on gluten free!!
I use the jiffy mix, but also mix up a box of jiffy yellow cake mix, then stir the two batters together, bake in a 9×9 pan following direction for baking the cake, comes out very similar.
What a great idea! I will have to try that! Thanks!
I have been searching for the perfect cornbread recipe for years and with a couple changes this was it.
I used buttermilk, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, no vanilla.
4 stars because I didn’t follow the recipe exactly
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Today is my 2nd time making this cornbread. Oh.Mah.Gah! Love the moistness and how easy it is to make.
Now will check out your other recipes while this bakes. 🙂
Yea!!! Love hearing that! Its a favorite in my house!! Enjoy!
don’t mean this in a negative way, but an easy way to do this is mix one box of Jiffy Mix cornbread with one box of of Jiffy Yellow Cake. : ) every one raves over it.
Oh yes, I have tried that too and its AMAZING!! So many varieties of cornbread, I love it!
I made this recipe for a pot luck, it was a hit. Thank you for sharing good recipe.
Yummy…..
Yea!! Glad it was a hit!!
Even the raw batter tastes good! I only like sweet cornbread. This is a keeper.
Yea! Glad you enjoy this! And yes, even the batter is good, very yellow cake like, hehe!
Wow, this is awesome , thx so much for the recipe , loved it
Yea! So glad you enjoyed it! Its a favorite in our family!!
Getting ready to make this and need to know is there anything different you have to do to the recipe for it to bake correctly in high altitude? I live in Colorado
My daughter and I truly enjoyed this cornbread. After reading the reviews about it being too sweet I decided to add only 1/3 c of sugar (I cut the recipe in half that’s why the sugar amount is much less). Will recommend this recipe to family members. Thank you for sharing.
Also, I didn’t have to do anything special to the recipe being in a high elevation.
I don’t believe there are any changes that need to be made in this due to elevation! Hope you enjoy!
Yea!! Glad to hear it was a hit!!
You never answered the question about the flour, which kind of flour to use? Please reply 🙋
Oops, sorry about that! I use all purpose flour! Enjoy!
Can I use buttermilk instead of regular milk?
Absolutely! That would work great! Enjoy!
Hi Kristin, This recipe is absolutely a winner! My husband’s response was also the best he’s had. I made the recipe as written except I substituted buttermilk for the milk. This was so moist and sweet. It made enough corn bread for three meals in our house. I plan to freeze the leftovers for later use. Thanks for sharing your recipe and preserving my rep as the best baker in the family!
Yea!! Love hearing that! I am so glad it was a hit and you are still the best baker in the family, haha!!
Fabulous recipe! Thank you so much Kristin! 💖
Yea! So glad you enjoyed! Perfect with some chili, right?!!!
I made this and cut sugar to 1 cup. I have lived in several states in the USA and the further south you go the less sweet.
Love this cornbread, but I did have to bake it an additional 10-12 minutes. We live in the Midwest.
Great idea on cutting the sugar down. I do that depending on what I am serving with it and its always just as tasty!
Great to know about the cook time! I will add to the original recipe! Glad it was enjoyed!