Southern Cornbread Recipe (Made with Martha White)

As a Fifth- generation Floridian now living in Montana, I will say it plainly, Southerners make the best cornbread. This Southern cornbread recipe is the one I have made for years, and it starts with one non-negotiable ingredient: Martha White Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix. Good cornmeal matters. Buttermilk matters. A generous amount of butter matters. Sugar does not belong anywhere near this recipe- this is not dessert.

I based this recipe on the legendary cornbread served family-style at the Dillard House in North Georgia, where Southern cooking is taken as seriously as it should be.

Use a very hot oven, a well buttered muffin tin or cast iron skillet, and do not over-mix the batter. That is truly all there is to it.

Ingredients in Southern Cornbread:

1. Martha White Buttermilk Self- rising corn meal mix
2. OR Self rising corn meal
3. eggs
4. buttermilk
5. baking powder
6. unsalted butter or bacon grease

Equipment to make Southern cornbread muffins:

• Non stick muffin tin or a cast iron skillet
• mixing bowl

How to Make Southern Cornbread Muffins:

• Mix corn meal mix, egg, 1/4 melted butter and buttermilk until just combined- do NOT over mix.
• Grease muffins tins with butter generously. Or heat your cast iron pan in a 425 degree oven.
• Gently spoon corn meal batter into muffin tins until 3/4 cup full.
• Dot remaining butter over top of batter.
• Bake for 15 minutes until tops are deep yellow and bottoms are golden brown.

Variations to this cornbread recipe:

• Fold in 1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack or pepper jack cheese
• Stir in a can of diced green chilies
• Add in diced jalapeños for bit of spice
• Add in seasonings like cayenne pepper, cumin or cinnamon
• Pour into a pan, bake, cool, cut into squares, toss in melted butter and bake for 5-7 minutes on a sheet pan for the yummiest crouton you’ve ever tasted. Perfect for tomato soup or chili

Substitutions and tips:

1. If you cannot find Martha White corn meal mix, use 2 cups of any self rising cornmeal. Stone ground is prefered. OR 1 cup corn meal, 1 cup bread flour, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp baking powder.
2. If you do not have buttermilk- use milk and lemon juice or milk and white vinegar
3. Make sure your oven is hot!
4. Butter is best for greasing your an. Non-stick spray tend to “pool” in the bottom of your tin causing the batter to burn.
5. Avoid muffin liners- you will not get that crisp muffin bottom that is desired in southern cornbread recipes.

Recipes to serve with Southern Cornbread muffins:

• The “Good Stuff” Award winning turkey chili
• Southern Shrimp ‘n Grits
• Pulled BBQ Pork with sauce
• Chicken & Sausage Country Gumbo
• Creole Red Beans & Rice
• Meggen’s Shrimp & Cod Seafood Chowder

Southern Cornbread Recipe

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Course: Breads

Cuisine: Southern

Keyword: Muffins

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Author: Meggen

Ingredients

• 2 cups Martha White Corn bread mix
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ cup melted salted butter
• 2 TBSP salted butter softened
• 1 unit large egg
• extra butter for greasing pan

Instructions

• Pre heat oven to 425 degrees
• Grease muffins tins with extra butter well.
• Mix corn meal mix, baking powder, egg, 1/4 melted butter and buttermilk until just combined- do NOT over mix.
• Gently spoon corn meal batter into muffin tins until 3/4 cup full.
• Dot remaining 2 TBSP of butter over top of batter.
• Bake for 15 minutes until tops are deep yellow and bottoms are golden brown.

We eat a lot of corn bread at my house. Pans of it. I whip up muffins to go with my chili, corn chowder, shrimp and grits or chicken & rice. It is the base of my family stuffing recipe. I almost always have a bag of Martha White corn meal mix in my pantry and a small jug of buttermilk in the fridge.

This recipe is about as simple as it gets: eggs, butter, corn meal mix and buttermilk. You just need a hot oven and a well greased pan. When I was first married, I used to buy those little boxes of Jiffy cornbread, but over years, I have found it to be too sweet and too dry. I based this recipe off of the incredible buttery Dillard House cornbread recipe. If you have never been to the Dillard House in North Georgia- add it to your list. They prepare southern food at its best- okra, squash casserole, ham, fried chicken and serve it family style.