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Honey Cornbread (Quick and Easy)

This Quick and Easy Honey Cornbread is homemade from scratch and is the best sweet and moist treat or side dish to add to any spread. It’s made in a cast-iron skillet with buttermilk and drizzled in warm butter.

honey drizzled onto a slice of cornbread
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You can enjoy cornbread in both the sweet and savory forms. A lot of Southerners argue that true Southern cornbread is not sweet. I agree, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dabble in a totally separate recipe! And that’s what I’ve done here.

self rising cornmeal, sweetener, and salt in separate bowls on a flat surface
buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and honey on a flat surface

How to Make Honey Cornbread

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Pour half of the melted butter throughout the cast iron skillet pan. Reserve 1/2 of the butter for the cornbread mix.
  3. Add the cornmeal mix, salt, and sweetener to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
  4. Next add in the eggs, remaining butter, buttermilk, and honey. Stir to combine.
  5. Be sure not to over mix the batter.
  6. Pour the mixture into the cast iron skillet, reserving about an inch from the top.
  7. Bake.
self rising cornmeal mix in a glass bowl
honey cornbread batter in a glass bowl

When Do You Add the Honey

The honey gets added when all of the wet ingredients are added. So simple!

honey poured into a glass bowl with cornbread batter

Can You Use Jiffy?

Sure, but then it wouldn’t be homemade cornbread. You can follow the instructions on the package and add honey to it.

Can You Make Them into Muffins

Yes, I love to use these silicone muffin liners. Muffins will need to bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown on 400 degrees. 

To air fry muffins, air fryer on 330 degrees for 11-15 minutes

honey butter cornbread batter in a cast iron skillet

What Kind of Cornmeal to Use

Self-rising cornmeal is used in this recipe because it is already mixed with self-rising all-purpose flour (which produces AMAZING cornbread). I recommend you purchase your own, it’s available here on Amazon.

You can make your own by combining 2 cups of cornmeal, 6 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt. You can read more about How to Make Self Rising Cornmeal here.

honey cornbread in a cast iron skillet with a slice of cornbread on a plate with butter

Do You Have to Use a Cast Iron Skillet?

It depends on what kind of taste you are going for. If you want cornread with a crispy crust, use a cast iron, especially if you plan to bake it. A cast iron will also cook the cornbread more evenly. But you can still use this recipe without a cast iron. You can use an 8×8 baking dish/cake pan.

You can also bake it in the air fryer. See the recipe card for instructions.

honey cornbread in a cast iron skillet

How to Store It

I store leftover cornbread in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Freezer Tips

To freeze the cornbread, wrap it in foil or in plastic wrap for 2-3 months.

honey drizzled onto a slice of cornbread

What to Pair With it

Classic Butter Beans Recipe
Southern Collard Greens
Southern Cabbage
Southern Green Beans
Oven Baked Roasted Corn
Sweet Potato Beef Chili

Classic Butter Beans Recipe

More Cornbread and Biscuit Recipes

Homemade Southern Style Cornbread
Air Fryer Cornbread

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
Keto Low Carb Cornbread
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Sweet Potato Biscuits

Homemade Blueberry Cornbread
Cornbread Muffins
Pumpkin Cornbread
Cornbread Casserole
Sweet Potato Cornbread

honey drizzled onto a slice of cornbread

More Southern Soul Food Recipes

Southern Candied Sweet Potatoes
Southern Soul Food Baked Mac and Cheese
Southern Mustard Greens
Okra and Tomatoes
Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
Southern Baked Ham With Pineapple

Get a full listing of Soul Food Thanksgiving Recipes here.

honey drizzled onto a slice of cornbread
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5 from 5 votes

Quick and Easy Honey Cornbread

This Quick and Easy Honey Cornbread is homemade from scratch and is the best sweet and moist treat or side dish to add to any spread. It's made in a cast-iron skillet with buttermilk and drizzled in warm butter.
Save this recipe here.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, Southern
Keyword honey butter cornbread, honey cornbread, sweet cornbread
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
cooling 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 16 slices
Calories 144kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

Oven Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • You can use a cast iron wedge pan or 10 inch cast iron skillet for this recipe. Pour half of the melted butter throughout the cast iron skillet pan. Reserve 1/2 of the butter for the cornbread mix. If you would like cornbread with a really crispy crust, place the skillet on the stove on medium heat while you mix the batter in the steps below. Adding the batter to a hot skillet will produce really crispy cornbread.
  • Add the cornmeal mix, salt, and sweetener to a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
  • Next add in the eggs, remaining butter, buttermilk, and honey. Stir to combine.
  • Be sure not to over mix the batter. Over-mixing will lead to large cracks in the crust and a lot of crumble. Only mix well enough to combine the ingredients.
  • Pour the mixture into the cast iron skillet, reserving about an inch from the top. There is enough batter to prepare 2 batches using the cast iron wedge pan. Don’t over fill, the cornbread will rise. Reserve leftover batter.
  • Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and return clean.
  • I like to cool the cornbread completely prior to slicing and let it cool for at least 20 minutes.

Air Fryer Instructions

  • Follow the instructions above for the batter.
  • Place silicone baking molds in the air fryer. Pour the batter into each of the silicone muffin molds. Fill each mold 3/4ths full. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may have to cook in batches.
  • Cook the cornbread muffins for 11-15 minutes on 330 degrees. Mine were ready at 11 minutes. Test if the cornbread has finished by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin and ensure the toothpick returns clean.

Notes

  • You can make your own buttermilk using 1 1/2 cups of milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon. Read more about How to Make Buttermilk here. 
  • You can make your own self rising cornmeal by combining 2 cups of cornmeal, 6 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt. You can read more about How to Make Self Rising Cornmeal here.
Recipe Tools Used in this RecipeAs an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition (displayed with net carbs)

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g
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Nutrition DataMacros are provided as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. This information is calculated using MyFitnessPal.com. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
5 from 5 votes
Recipe Rating




Malika J.

Tuesday 25th of January 2022

Last night I baked homemade cornbread for the first time! I was raised on Jiffy lol. I was pleasantly surprised how simple this was! I love this recipe, I thought about going with your Keto recipe, but your recipe cards showed this was lower in calories. I subbed the sugar for Lakanto and you still get the hint of sweetness. Next time I may add a tad more to make it a little sweeter, but SO good.

staysnatched

Thursday 27th of January 2022

Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

Danielle

Monday 3rd of January 2022

This is soooo delish! And fast and easy! When I make it I get a lot of compliments. I love how she always adds alternatives.

staysnatched

Monday 3rd of January 2022

I'm glad to hear that!

Kailyn Johnson

Tuesday 8th of June 2021

I used the jiffy mix and added honey for easy cornbread muffins. The tips were extremely helpful and answered all possible questions.

Allison

Tuesday 27th of April 2021

Thank you!!! My first time making cornbread was a success! Yummy and buttery. This recipe was definitely easy to follow!

staysnatched

Thursday 29th of April 2021

I'm so glad to hear it!

Amanda B

Friday 1st of January 2021

After watching the endless insta videos of her pulling out perfect cornbread I decided it was time to try for myself. It was my first time using my brand new lodge cast iron skillet (which I also got since Brandi suggested it) and it did wonders. Giving it 5 stars because the recipe itself was written perfectly, the only thing that I would change (which is my own doing, not Brandi's) is next time I will add a full cup of sugar instead of half a cup. In her original cornbread recipe she lists this as a tip, adjusting sugar based on your sweetness preference. I totally forgot and only added the half cup but with my sweet tooth I'll adjust for next time. The texture was perfect, it came out of the cast iron skillet perfectly, and when you use a self rising mix the way Brandi suggests this recipe is actually so simple to make. Now I just need to make her white chicken chili to go with the cornbread!!

staysnatched

Saturday 2nd of January 2021

Thanks for sharing! That's a great tip. If you want really sweet cornbread you will need to use more than I do. So glad you got the pan!