Mama’s Mexican Cornbread
Most families I know make a version of this deliciously moist and decadent cornbread. Studded with sweet corn, cheddar cheese, and spicy bits of jalapeño peppers, whenever I make this, I can happily eat two pieces of it, hot from the oven, and nothing else (I wonder if I could fit another comma into that sentence?). Even my husband, who really doesn’t care for cornbread unless it’s sweet, comes running whenever I make this. My son’s only complaint is that I don’t cut the pieces bigger so he doesn’t have to keep coming back. Needless to say, when I make this for supper, there usually isn’t any of it left by the time we sit down to the table unless I am really good at hiding it and running folks out of the kitchen!
This is one of those things that sometimes, I just find myself needing. We all have needs, and I count myself blessed that one of mine can be satisfied with cornbread.
Ruh Roh Shaggy! I think Christy is about to get out her soap box again so hang on!
You know what else we need? We need a lot less television that tries to shock folks and lower the bar of dignity and more television that seeks to encourage and lift people up. I have yet to meet someone who would mind being encouraged a little more.
We need more Little House on the Prairie and less flavor du jour in reality tv. We need less gossip and more integrity. We need more hot dogs in the park and less red carpet galas. As much as we as a people worry about ingesting artificial dyes, preservaties, and chemicals, we need to be equally worried about ingesting negativity, hate, judgement, maliciousness, and arrogance.
We need more time spent at the knee of our elders listening to them and absorbing their wisdom. We really need more wisdom. And while I’m at it, I think we need more hen houses so kids can gather eggs in the morning, more time outside feeding our spirit, and more blue jeans and flannel shirts. We need more phone calls with our Mamas, and family road trips, and handwritten letters.
We need the good people among us to stand up, stand out, and speak louder. Because you are a rock for so many around you. You’re holding it together, setting the example, and caring for those around you in a culture that continually tells you to forsake them and put yourself first. We need more of you.
And you, my dear friend, need this cornbread. Because it’s good and I love ya. ~end rant~
Let’s get cookin’!
You’ll need: Cream style corn, vegetable oil, egg, self rising corn meal mix, a little bit of sugar, chopped onion, shredded cheese, diced jalapeno, milk, and salt.
A note about my cheese: Some of you might recognize this brand as being the house brand of Dollar General. If so, give me five shopping buddy! I get a lot of quick trips in to DG when I’m looking for a few things but you could easily shop for full on groceries there most days and hey, look at the package, it’s FANCY! Wow, it just gets better 
In my post for Tex Mex Lasagna, I talked about the virtues of shredding your own cheese and all of that still applies and is good and yadda yadda yadda. But that doesn’t mean I always do it.
P.S. I buy organic milk because it stays good for twice as long as regular milk
To everyone who likes sugar in their cornbread: isn’t this a great recipe? I knew y’all would like it! ~smiles brightly~ Sweet cornbread is AWEsome with a capital “AWE”! GOOO SWEET CORNBREAD!
Now to everyone who wasn’t raised on sweet cornbread: Oh I know this feels so wrong. I know it, I know it, I know it. Cornbread isn’t supposed to be sweet. T’ain’t fittin’ and I know that. Believe me, I know that. I’m married to a man who thinks it is supposed to be sweet. But I overlook these issues with him because goodness knows he’s done his fair share of overlooking issues with me. But, this is my Mama’s recipe and the sugar is just a scant amount and it really works well with the heat of the jalapeños. It won’t end up tasting sweet in this particular recipe so just bite the bullet and do what Mama tells you to do
Check out my new salt crock!
Isn’t this the neatest thing? My friend, Toni, got me this jar for Christmas. It is intended as a honey jar but the little hand carved wooden teaspoon that comes with it. Toni had one that she used for a salt crock on the back of her stove and I just oohed and ahhed over it so she got me one, too! It is handy as can be! I have sea salt in mine right now and it’s just great to keep on hand for recipes and cooking. This came from the Old Mill Pottery store in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
In a large mixing bowl, place all ingredients.
Wait, some are missing from this photo…scroll down.
There we go! now we have an all skate
Did you ever roller skate in the old days? We used to love to do that. Since I’ve gotten older, it’s amazing how “I hope I don’t fall and embarass myself” has turned into “I’d better not fall because if I do I’ll break something…”
Stir all of that up pretty good with a spoon.
Now this is a cast iron skillet that I’ve had heating in the oven while it preheats.
Pour about a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil in it and swirl it around a good bit.
Like this.
Pour in your batter and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until all golden and prettified
Like so.
See? Now if someone can’t see the beauty in that, you need to send them to a restaurant for their supper instead of your house. Either fast food or one of those uppity ones where everything on the menu has a title a paragraph long.
Turn that out onto a large plate.
Stand aside because when the family catches a whiff it might spark a stampede!
Note about baking this in an alternative to Cast Iron: You can make this in an 8 or 9 inch cake pan if you prefer for whatever reason. Of course it’s traditionally made in cast iron but it will turn out just fine if you make it in a cake pan or even an 8×8 square baking dish. Just go with whatever cranks yer tractor
Ingredients
- 1 + 1/2 cups self rising corn meal mix (white or yellow)
- 1+ 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (mild, medium, or sharp)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon diced jalapeño, seeds removed
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup canned cream style corn*
Instructions
- Place a seasoned cast iron skillet (or 8 inch round cake pan) in the oven and preheat to 350.
- In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil into skillet and swirl a bit to cover the bottom (This skillet is hot so hold it with a potholder).
- Pour batter in skillet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Turn out onto a plate, cut, and serve.
Print This Recipe
This cornbread is so good you might want to make a meal of bread alone! However, you can also try serving this with:
How to become a positive person in three easy steps:
1. Think about the next thing you say before you say it.
2. Make it positive.
3. Repeat.~Christy Jordan
Related posts:
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Jan 8 2013. Filed under Breads.
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We love this! We add 1 pound browned ground beef to our recipe, This and a salad is a complete meal
Thanks
Lisa, you are my hero!
ooohh, I’m inspired! Maybe sausage would be good too?
I love this website, Christy and the followers! Ya’ll are so inventive and I love love love it!!
Have a great day
sounds great!
Thank you Traci!
Ok this post made me call my momma <3
Oh Mindy!!!!! If you aren’t the most precious thing, I don’t know what is!! What a blessed Mama you have
nice, but i used bacon grease instead of oil
Brilliant
Hi, ½ cup of veg oil, ok but how much bacon grease would you recomend. ½ cup of bacon grease seems like a lot. Correct me please.
Wil
I think she’s talking about bacon grease to grease the skillet but of course, I could be wrong.
oh, i’m gonna look up that salt crock on the internets. love the “rant”
Thank you Barbara!
http://www.old-mill.com/product/4083/42
HOW AWESOME ARE YOU? Thanks!
I have always been curious about buying food at the Dollar General. Usually only buy cleaning supplies. Can you please tell me if your experience has been good? If you think the cheese is good quality, I would think everything else would be also.
The recipe calls for cornmeal, but the photo shows corn meal MIX. Two different things. Can I use regular cornmeal or does it have to be the cornmeal mix?
Hey! Self Rising Corn Meal isn’t the same as regular corn meal but thank you so much for pointing out the possible confusion! I’ve added the word “mix” in the recipe. I sure do appreciate it!
my Dad ran the shipping dept.at Lodge the whole time I was growing up.EVERYTHING taste better cooked in cast iron!!!!!!!!!Love the recipe.
Honestly, I don’t see the point in making cornbread if you aren’t using a cast iron pan. That stuff that’s baked in a Pyrex dish is not worth eating. I mean, what’s not to love about that thick, crunchy, golden brown goodness (sorry, my sentence doesn’t have that many commas, though I do like lots of them
)?!!
And that picture is making me drool. I want to go make some right now, but can’t because my oven doesn’t work. I’m a baking girl with no oven, aaaaaaagh!
Soon as I get one, though, I’ll be making me summadat!
I’m 73 yrs old now and I grew up in a small town. We had a corner house and a lot of the neighbors would set there in the evening and talk. We had Papa Gale, Ma-Ma and Pa-Pa Rice and they entertained us kids with the best stories. I tell my children they missed out on so much by not having these older people in their lives. They say I get on my soapbox but I truly think a lot of kids today do not know how to treat older people and you can learn so much from them. Okay done my rant.
June, as I see it recipe also says self-rising cornmeal (mix). If you don’t have any you can go online and get recipe for and not have to go to the store. Mix already has what is needed like self-rising flour has to make less ingredients to mix and measure to have to add to recipe for dish to be prepared; as in cocoa mix vs. cocoa, etc. Makes easier and possibly more accurate, less ingredients to buy, have on hand. Enjoy!
Christy, I go to the Pottery Barn in Pigeon Forge every summer. I have several pieces of pottery from there. I have not thought to get a crock like yours for salt. Probably this summer, hehe. Thanks again for all your great recipes.
I really like Mexican Cornbread. I used to make a double recipe and put half the batter in the skillet, then a layer of grated cheese and top with the remaining batter. NO Butter required. I also had a friend whose mother used to add a pound of browned sausage to her batter. That was good too.
Can’t wait to try this. And I agree with everything in your rant. You know what else we need? We need children who spend less time on electronic devices and more time interacting with each other in the fresh air. And I’m not talking organized sports, though there’s nothing wrong with those.
My daughter sends her children out in the backyard with nothing more than their imagination, some outside toys and maybe a dog or two. She calls them “free range children”. I love it.
I add the ground beef too but I season it with taco seasoning first, put it on top of the batter and it bakes up over the meat so it still slices like cornbread. And sweet corn bread is just wrong on so many different levels but if you like it, we can just agree to disagree.
This is so similar to my recipe but I don’t add sugar. Bacon bits add some extra flavor. No matter what, it’s GOOD!!
I just made your other recipe for cornbread and the cornbread salad! It’s all chillin’ in the fridge for supper with some pork chops and cranberry apple pie. Still gray, cloudy and cold so that means stay in the kitchen and cook!
My husband loves sweet cornbread too. I’m going to stop by the store on my home and grab the few ingredients I don’t have to make this tonight!! Sounds delicious. I love your recipes & my family sure reaps the benefits of them too!
I love cornbread in any shape or form and that includes sweet cornbread. I have only one use for sweet cornbread and that is….believe it or not…Strawberry Short Cake. Some warm cornbread then the strawberries and whipped cream on top…oh my. It is very different but also VERY good.
This will be great with the Root Stew I’m making for supper. Thanks Christy.
AND this recipe is every bit as good as regular cornbread in cold milk! I always make extra so I can be sure and have left overs to crumble in a glass of milk. If I’m really lucky, I’ll have some young onions to eat with it. YUM YUM
A wise person once said, “A true Southerner would never put sugar in cornbread”. That’s one man’s opinion though. I don’t put sugar in my cornbread. My mother said that when they were short on flour (back in the depression) they would have sorghum syrup on cornbread for breakfast.
The Mexican Cornbread is great accompaniment for a pot of chili.
Oh goodness, I love love love molasses. I love the bitterness and sweetness together. Sounds like the breakfast of kings
I hate to ask, but do you know how I could approximate the self-rising corn meal if I had regular corn meal/flour/levening? I have some lovely ground corn from a local grist mill I’d love to use, if y’all knew how to fix it up to be self-rising.
Ooooh, the next time I’m home, I’m grabbing one of those honey pot/salt crocks, too!
I’m overdue for a visit to Pigeon Forge, being a Knoxville girl. 
like to add a pound of hot sausage to mine, browned, drained and cooled, instead of hot pepper
sure looks good i want to make some of that .be good with chili.keep sending the good recipes. enjoy them very much.
Ohhh, it would be great with Chili Joyce! Great idea!!
Thank you for that rant girl! I couldn’t have said it better. Just let me add a Amen!
And let me also add I love my cornbread. But please not sweet. And I find it hard to believe that Georgia man of yours likes his cornbread sweet. : )
I know Shelia, but he does. I still haven’t figured it out myself.
Love your recipe for cornbread. Mine is just about the same, except for the sugar. Eve asked how to use her meal that is not a mix. I always add 1 t. of baking powder and 1 t. of salt to 1 c. of meal. Course most of the time I use self-rising, but my Mom told me how to fix the plain meal or flour. I certainly agree with you on the TV programs. Wonder if they think we just don’t have any sense. And if we watched TV very much we wouldn’t. But we can always go in the kitchen and cook.
Thank you so much for sharing your tip on how to turn the cornmeal into self-rising Doris!! And I like your way of thinking, the kitchen sounds like a great place to be!!
Thanks so much, Doris!! I really appreciate it.
I make a white bean and smoked sausage soup and with it I always have corn bread. Sometimes I do the Mexican Corn Bread. When my Sunday School class has a covered dish meal and I take this soup and corn bread it is gone in a hurry. Sometimes I do Pinto beans cooked with a ham hock and do the corn bread. We have a restaurant here in my home town (Simpsonville, SC) that has the best corn bread. It is sweet and usually I don’t go for the sweet. Sometimes my husband and I will go there and order a cup of soup each and they will bring you all the corn bread you want. For dessert we have the corn bread with strawberry preserveswhich are on the table. We aren’t cheapies but this is a meal we enjoy for about $6.00.
Shoot Ann, I think that meal sounds divine and I LOVE the price!! Can’t get any better than that!
Love your post today and the recipe! I agree 100% with your ‘needs list!’ Negatives can really poison our whole system. Everyone needs to try to get the point across that we don’t need and will not patronize all that.
Thank you Brenda! AMEN!
Amen! Preach on, Sister!
Thank you Jamie!!
Looks delicious! We don’t have self rising cornmeal in California. What tricks do you have up your sleeve to turn regular cornmeal into self rising cornmeal??
Thanks for a great website….
Another reader, Doris, was kind enough to share how to make plain meal into self-rising: I always add 1 t. of baking powder and 1 t. of salt to 1 c. of meal.
THANK you for your rant! I agree down to my socks with it…and it has often been my rant, too. I just keep a prayin’ and a prayin’ that some decency comes back again. I miss the 50′s!
Me and you both Traci!
Thank you for speaking out about negative TV “entertainment”. We can choose what we watch or allow our families to be exposed to. Let’s all make a stand for goodness and decency!
I do hope that more people realize that it is our choice!
lol. you are just like me when writing. I too have “comma splice- itis.” It’s a disease I made up when I returned to college and took a freshman English course. I nearly drove my Prof. mad until I wrote a paper on the disease. We both had a good laugh out of it. Writing in Word Perfect helps. Microsoft Word doesn’t have the grammar check feature. I say what the heck and do what ever floats your boat if you aren’t gettin’ graded!! love ya.
.
Oh my goodness, I just LOVE you Barbara!! You have named my disease, LOL.
A big “AMEN” to the rant sista!!! Love the recipe too!
I just came across your website, and I LOVE it!! Sweet cornbread is the only kind of cornbread we eat in my part of the world. Born and raised in Kentucky.
Welcome to Southern Plate Donna!!!! I hope you enjoyed your visit and look forward to seeing you again soon!
I made this for dinner last night, although I modified it a little (didn’t have cream style corn, so I used regular corn; only had cornbread – not cornmeal – mix). I made a double batch and served it with white chicken chili. It was DEVOURED!! Finding a recipe that my husband and all four of our children love is quite a feat! Thanks, Christy (and your mama!
)!
Christy, this is a wonderful recipe. It’s definately a keeper.
This is almost the same cornbread recipe I have from my late Mother-in-love. She would substitute a little of the cornmeal mix for flour, for a lighter texture, and half the oil for sour cream, yuuuummy!
Christy…..having this tonight with barbecued pork chops done in the crockpot and doing some deviled eggs cause my family adores them! Your cornbread will be the star of the meal….thank you for reminding me of this glorious dish.
I hope you enjoy Carol!!!
Christy, what do you mean cornbread isnt susposed to be sweet! Is there any other way!?! As far as this recipe I have to make a double batch so ther will be left overs because I could eat the whole thing by myself. LOVE LOVE LOVEIT! iM FROM mISSISSIPPI AND WE GREW UP ON CORNBREAD. I love the other Kathys comment about her ” free range grandchildren” It breaks my heart to see my grand son to sit in front of a computer or game system all the time. I really enjoy your stories and recipes Christy. HUGS
Very yummy !!!! I’m in love
I am so glad you liked it Liz!!
Christy, I live in California, and I have never seen “self-rising corn meal mix”. Of course, I have never looked for it either! What do I need to add to my cornmeal to make this recipe?
Love your recipes! Thank you!
Renee
oops! nevermind… found the answer in the other comments! Thanks anyway!
Hi! coming to you from East Tennessee, home of soup beans, cornbread, and good people! Just wondering, it looks like you’re using an 8 or 10 inch iron pan. Do you know which one it is? Thanks!
Hey Christy,
Made chili in the crock pot yesterday, and made an extra trip to the store for the creamed corn for the mexican cornbread…so glad I did. Made it while ago when I got home from church and it was wonderful! Thanks again for your site, and by the way, I SO enjoyed the article about your pyrex. Your collection is beautiful, and makes mine look small:)!
Oh my goodness, I am so glad you made that extra trip as well! Mexican Cornbread is one of my all-time favorites!!
Right on to our needs!