Deep South Buttermilk Cornbread
You may think this is a bold statement, but this Deep South Buttermilk Cornbread is the best cornbread recipe you’ll ever try. If you want the moistest, classic Southern cornbread, you need this recipe.
I got an email from a reader, Terri (who is originally from Georgia, go Dawgs!) telling me she made world-famous cornbread. I was intrigued. Then she told me that her husband said she made better cornbread than his Mama. I was stunned. Then she told me that her cornbread recipe included two cups of buttermilk. My jaw was hanging open.
Clearly, my life would not be complete without trying this buttermilk cornbread recipe. Fortunately, she graciously shared the recipe with me. Let me tell you my personal experience with this cornbread: everyone in my family gobbled it down.
That might not seem like a big deal until I tell you that before I made this, cornbread had not ever passed the lips of either of my children (they are weird). My husband (who has extremely strange aversions to staple Southern dishes despite being born and raised outside of Atlanta) even ate a rather large piece and came back for seconds.
I have never had cornbread so moist in all of my born days. I am flabbergasted and feel certain that no small amount of my existence has been wasted up until tasting this. Soft and unbelievably moist on the inside with that classic crunchy cornbread crust, I can’t wait for you to try and fall in love with this buttermilk cornbread recipe too.
So without further fuss, here is Terri’s buttermilk cornbread recipe!
What You’ll Need to Make Deep South Buttermilk Cornbread:
Ingredients:
- White cornmeal
- Buttermilk (or put a tablespoon of lemon juice in whole milk)
- Egg
- Baking soda
- Flour
- Salt
- Bacon grease (or melted butter)
- Shortening
How to Make Deep South Buttermilk Conrbread:
Preheat the oven to 450. Slather a cast-iron skillet with vegetable shortening (Crisco). If you really want to make this and don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you can use a cake pan. Do the same thing with it.
Stick the skillet (or pan) in the oven while it preheats so it will be good and hot.
Whisk your cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Add melted bacon grease (or melted butter).
Add your egg…
And buttermilk.
Like so. Now we’re going to stir it all up until it looks like this.
Now get your hot skillet from the oven (carefully) and pour in the batter. It should be hot enough that the batter sizzles when it comes into contact.
Place the delicious in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until you can’t stand the waiting any more!
Remove your Deep South Buttermilk Cornbread from the oven and turn it out onto a plate. Eat it hot with butter or honey.
Take a bite and see if you don’t yell out “Go Dawgs!”
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 1 week. Reheat it quickly in the microwave, oven, or air fryer.
- You can also freeze cornbread portions for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating as above.
Recipe Notes
- Remember to not overmix the batter. You just want to mix the ingredients together until the dry ingredients are just moistened and there are no big lumps (about 1 minute of whisking will do it). Overmixing cornbread batter can lead it to be tough.
- The key to Deep South Buttermilk Cornbread is preheating the skillet or baking pan, as that’s what gives the cornbread its crunchy crust.
- For sweet cornbread, you can add 1/4 cup of white sugar, brown sugar, or honey to the batter.
Recipe FAQs
What do you serve with Deep South Buttermilk Cornbread?
Skillet cornbread is such a deliciously versatile recipe!
- Serve it with butter and honey for breakfast.
- Substitue boring bread for sensational and serve it with your favorite chili, stew, or soup.
- Enjoy it the Southern way alongside your favorite BBQ meat, like Southern-style air fryer wings, crockpot pulled pork, tender beef ribs, or slow-roasted beef brisket.
- Make another Southern staple: red beans and cornbread.
- Use it to make other recipes, like crockpot cornbread dressing or cornbread salad.
- Serve it alongside other classic Southern side dishes, like collard greens, fried okra, mac and cheese, and green bean casserole.
Can I make Deep South Buttermilk Cornbread in advance?
Yes, you can definitely make cornbread up to 2 days ahead of time and store it, covered, at room temperature. I recommend serving it warm though, so quickly reheat it in the microwave, oven, or air fryer.
Check out these other scrumptious cornbread recipes:
Cornbread Chicken Pot Pie Made From Scratch
Jiffy Cornbread Casserole With Ham and Cheese
Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins with Cream Cheese
Homestyle Broccoli Cheese Cornbread
How To Make Hot Water Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups cornmeal enriched white
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons melted butter or bacon grease
- 1 tablespoon solid vegetable shortening
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450.
- In a 10-inch cast-iron skillet, add a tablespoon of shortening and preheat.1 tablespoon solid vegetable shortening
- Sift together the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients (buttermilk, egg, and bacon grease/melted butter). Mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened.1.5 cups cornmeal, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 cups buttermilk, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons melted butter
- Pour the cornbread batter into the now-hot prepared pan or skillet. Bake in the preheated hot oven at 450 for 20-25 minutes.
- Serve warm with butter.
In the oven now to have with your crockpot black eyed peas and ham tomorrow. Happy New Year and God Bless America!
Happy New Year and blessings to you Laura!!!
I am curious about the name of the cookbook you were perusing when you got the cornbread recipe email. Wondering if it is part of my collection. By the way, my daddy taught me to make cornbread years ago and it is delicious , too. I am going to try this one though, because I am intrigued the 2 cups of buttermilk!
I was surprised at the 2 cups as well! However, it works perfectly!
That Dixie cornbread is Dee-lish!! But, I just have to use yellow cornmeal ! Can’t have anemic looking cornbread!!
LOL, glad you liked it Joyce!!!
I find that by baking this recipe for 25 minutes on 450 the cornbread browns wonderfully! No anemic nor albino cornbread using white cornmeal!
Linda, my grandmother always cooked okra on top of black eyed peas. Sometimes when the peas were almost done she would cut corn off the cob into them and then lay the okra on top to steam. We always had fried hot water corn bread with this. Blessings!!
Christy
I love your corn bread recipe. I am from Georgia. My Gram and my Mama made corn bread this way, I do also. Gram taught me to cook my butter beans, purple hull or crowder peas with a few whole slices of okra on top of the peas. It gives the peas a richness that the peas would not have other wise. My husband wouldn’t eat boiled okra but now he loves it with the peas. You can also remove the okra before serving the people that doesn’t eat okra. I hope you will give this a try and also love it.
I will have to give that a try, thanks for sharing!!!!
Well shut my mouth! A true southern cornbread, no sugar, no honey! Praise the Lord! I have no idea what cookbook you got your recipe from but I got the very same one from mama (my grandmother)when I was about 9 or10, and I’m 79 now! Best recipe ever and you never use butter or shortening, only bacon drippings! Never get rid of bacon drippings!
When I moved up north in my late 30’s my neighbor nearly had a conniption fit, “You save bacon drippings?!!??… Bacon drippings aren’t healthy for you”…I asked “do you eat bacon?” “oh we love bacon!” I told her “how can the bacon be good for you and the drippings bad? I told her that those drippings are seasoning for lots of dishes, that it goes into my cornbread, that a true
southerner never gets rid of bacon drippings!
Amen!!!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I’ve had sweet corn bread (I believe it was called Jonny cakes on here) and unsweetened corn bread and love them both. Guess it depends on how I’m feeling that day as to how I make it. My mother aways made it sweet. Thank you for sharing!
I hope you get the chance to try it soon!!