Ok, let’s talk cornbread, because we all need a go-to cornbread recipe to go with chili, or a good bean dish too. Picnics? I’ve got you covered! It’s really a year-round kind of food, isn’t it?
Cornbread can be somewhat divisive, I’ve found – sweet or salty seem to be the two camps most people fall into. I’m firmly in the sweet camp.
This is my no-fail recipe for cornbread that has even converted non-cornbread lovers. It’s super easy to make, and I like to mix up everything in one pot so that there are less dishes to do in the end – it’s a win all around!
Finn loves this cornbread recipe too – he always asks for more by pointing to his plate and saying, “co-bed, co-bed” — it’s kind of the cutest thing ever, and I just love his little two-year old voice asking for more.
Here are the details – melt your butter, mix in the sugar, buttermilk and baking soda (which I recommend adding together first while the butter melts so that it starts to activate), then add in your whole wheat flour, cornmeal, and salt.
Once you add in the flour and cornmeal, give it one or two stirs, then it aside for a few minutes. Use this time to prep your baking dish, catch up on emails, or scroll through Instagram for a moment. This gives the ingredients time to moisten up (ugh that word) without over stirring the batter. Over stirring gives you tunnels (giant holes) in your baked goods which is not what you want, and also is a potential question on the RD exam, so file that away in your brains for the future.
After the batter has sat for a few minutes, go ahead and stir a few more times until everything is gently mixed — there may be some lumps still in the batter and this is ok! Pour it into your prepared dish and set it in your heated oven and bake for about 30 minutes.
I do a toothpick test on it, and then once it comes out clean, you’re set to take it out of the oven. Let it cool a bit before cutting.
The edges get this nice crispyness to them, and the inside of the cornbread is lovely and soft – kind of cake-like and not dry or too crumbly at all. It’s divine!
We pair the cornbread with a variety of dishes – chili, bean soups, bean salads for lunches, roasted chicken and vegetables. I’ve even been known to have a slice as a morning snack when I’m craving something baked, but don’t want anything too sweet…and bonus that it’s whole grain!
You can swap in soured milk or yogurt thinned with milk if you don’t have buttermilk on hand – I have instructions on both of these swaps in the recipe notes.
The cornbread freezes really well, too! I wrap each slice individually then store in a freezer bag – this makes it easy to pop a slice or two into the microwave for about 30 seconds for a quick sub when we don’t have any other grain prepped for dinner.
I hope you love this as much as I do! Enjoy!
Whole Wheat Cornbread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: baking, breads, cornbread
- Method: baked
Description
My go-to cornbread recipe made with whole grains and bakes up to be light and fluffy. The perfect pair with chili, beans, or as a picnic take along dish!
Ingredients
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (see notes)
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup white whole-wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Sprinkle baking soda into buttermilk, stir and set aside. This will start to expand, so be sure you have additional room in your measuring cup!
- In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Once butter is melted, remove pan from burner, and stir in sugar, followed by the eggs.
- Slowly stir in buttermilk and baking soda mixture.
- Add in cornmeal and whole-wheat flour and salt. Stir once or twice to start moistening the dry ingredients, then set aside for a few minutes.
- Prepare baking dish by spraying with nonstick cooking spray or baking spray.
- Finish stirring the batter very gently being careful to not overmix – just a few stirs until the dry ingredients are only just mixed in. There may be some lumps in the batter and this is ok!
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
- Bake in oven at 375F for 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cornbread comes out clean.
- Allow to cool slightly before cutting. You can cool it all the way before cutting too, but if so, you have more restraint than I do! It’s so good warm from the oven!
Notes
Buttermilk is ideal, but if you don’t have any on hand, you have a couple of options…
option 1 – you can use soured milk – to make this, add 1 Tbsp lemon juice to a cup of milk (lowfat or whole, it doesn’t matter).
option 2 – you can use some plain yogurt thinned with a little milk to make 1 cup (if using greek yogurt, you’ll need a little more milk than if using plain regular style yogurt)
Keywords: cornbread, whole wheat, sides
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