Savory Cornbread with Cheddar & Thyme
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This Northern-style cornbread is cakier than its Southern cousin. It’s the perfect side to any Southwestern or BBQ dish.
When it comes to cornbread, there are two devout camps: the Southerners and the Northerners, and both are passionate about their cornbread. I’ve lived most of my life in the DC area – right smack in the middle – so I could really go either way. There’s nothing quite like a crispy, thin wedge of authentic Southern cornbread from a cast iron skillet, but this Northern-style cornbread is just as special. It has a high flour-to-cornmeal ratio, which makes it cakier than its Southern cousin, and it’s made in a cake pan as opposed to a skillet. It’s moist, not too crumbly, and has wonderful – albeit subtle – flavor from the addition of corn, Cheddar cheese, and fresh thyme. I think you’ll enjoy it, no matter which camp you’re in.
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Savory Cornbread with Cheddar & Thyme
This Northern-style cornbread is cakier than its Southern cousin. It’s the perfect side to any Southwestern or BBQ dish.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 2½ tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
- ¾ cup frozen corn kernels (no need to thaw; just be sure they are not stuck together)
- 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1¼ cups milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 9-inch square glass or metal baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar and thyme until well combined. Stir in the corn and cheese.
- In a small bowl, break up the eggs with a wire whisk, then add the milk and whisk to combine. Add the wet mixture and melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon or spatula. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until puffed and lightly golden. Cool slightly in the pan on a wire rack, then cut into pieces and serve warm. Cornbread tastes best when served right out of the oven but leftovers can be wrapped in foil and reheated in a 350-degree oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cornbread can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, just wrap in foil and warm it in a 350°F oven until hot.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 servings)
- Calories: 199
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Sugar: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 167 mg
- Cholesterol: 49 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. 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.
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30 minutes at 400 was too long. I should’ve checked at around 20 -25 minutes as it was way too dry. I followed the recipe exactly.
Hey Jenn- Thank you for your great recipes. They are exceptional. So I just wanted to clarify some things on the cornbread debate. True southern cornbread is not sweet. It is on the salty side. It is used for cornbread dressing, corncakes or just on its own slathered in butter served with or without honey. The sweet version(yankee cornbread) hails from the north. Both are good.
Can the batter be made several hours ahead if you are taking it to a party and then baked just before serving? Love all your recipes!
Hi Sally, Unfortunately, it won’t work to make the batter several hours ahead as the cornbread won’t rise well when you go to bake it. If you’d like, you can mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another and then combine them and proceed with the recipe when you’re ready to bake it.
Best cornbread I have EVER had! Amazing! Thank you!
Hope you can help Jenn. This is a general question, but this recipe is a good example:
The recipe calls for 1 cup grated cheddar cheese. So does this mean 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese BY VOLUME or 1 cup of cheddar cheese grated BY WEIGHT? I have often searched for the correct interpretation of this, but there seem to be many differing opinions. Obviously 1 cup cheddar cheese (by weight) grated will yield considerably more than 1 cup cheddar cheese grated by volume.
Hi John, It is 1 cup cheese by volume. If you prefer to use weight measurements, there’s a little button in the top right corner of most of my recipes that allows you to convert from cup to metric measurements.
Gotcha. Thanks Jenn.
Holy cow, best cornbread I’ve ever had! This was also my first time making cornbread and it came out way better than I expected (I am not the best at baking I must admit) I made it in my cast iron pan in the oven, and wow the crust was just perfect! Thank you for sharing your recipes, they always come out great <3
Instead of milk, would it be okay to use buttermilk instead?
Hi Ann, I’d stick with regular milk for the best results. Hope you enjoy!
Very good! Such a nice texture. The addition of the sweetener enhances the other flavors.