Hot Water Cornbread is a recipe as old as the Tennessee Hills. This is a recipe that can be gussied up any number of ways. I’m gonna go plain and straightforward with you today so you have the basic recipe and can work from there. 
Simple Version of Hot Water Cornbread
I wanted to show you the basic version to let you know that you don’t HAVE To gussy it up, it will still be delicious, while at the same time encouraging you to really have fun with it. The simpler versions are what were most often made in the old days when ingredients were scarce and we had to make do in order to put food in our bellies.
Where did hot water cornbread come from?
I think a lot of people forget that, when looking at simple recipes like this Hot Water Cornbread one, that they were invented out of necessity in order to survive and based on what folks had on hand or could easily acquire. For me, that inspires a reverence for them, and a respect for the wisdom of the old ways. It also makes me want to make them just like they did, if only to feel a little closer to their wisdom.
So…lets get started.
For the simple version of this recipe you’ll need these ingredients:
*Self rising corn meal and hot water. Yep that’s it.
*You can use your favorite self rising cornmeal mix. Martha White has all sorts of different ones and I like the white best but that is because it’s what my great grandmother used.
How to Make Hot Water Cornbread Recipe Step by Step
The recipe calls for boiling water so to get it hot you can use your coffee maker, boil it on the stove top, heat it up in your tea kettle or heat it up any way you like.
Add self rising cornmeal to a medium size mixing bowl.
Add hot water.
Stir that together until there are no lumps left and it’s formed a good old batter. If you need to add a tablespoon or so of water you can. If you need to add a little more corn meal, you can do that too.
Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Once that is hot, carefully drop your batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil and lightly press it flat with the back of a spoon.
Cook until browned on that side.
Then flip it and cook it until it is browned on the other.
Remove to paper towel lined plate, basket, or bowl. Serve warm 🙂
It’s that easy!
These little beauties with their crispy exterior are great on their own or with butter, maple syrup, molasses, etc.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Self Rising Cornmeal
- 1 Cup HOT Water
Instructions
- Stir together cornmeal and water until completely smooth. Heat 1/4 inch vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When oil is hot, carefully drop batter from a spoon into the oil and lightly press flat with back of spoon.
- Cook until browned on the bottom, then flip and cook until browned on the other side. Remove to paper towel lined plate. Serve hot.
Makes about 15.
Video
Notes
Stir them in after the corn meal and water have been stirred together:
Chopped onions, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 cup drained corn kernels, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, finely diced jalapeños, 1 tsp parsley or basil, etc.
Nutrition
You may also like these cornbread recipes:
Mexican Cornbread Recipe by Mama
*From Scratch* Cornbread Topped Chicken Pot Pie
my friends mother would cook small cornbread she called dog bread leave on table we would go by all during the day and eat these never did ask what they were made of or how would like to know if any one is familiar with these p
Just made these – yum! I did replace 1/4 of the water with buttermilk, but followed the rest as written. Thanks for the recipe!
We live in the county seat here in Mississippi and this weekend was our county fair. There was a little girl there for 4-H ( a lot of 4-H’ers there)
and she was making fried rolls. They were as delicious as your cornbread looks. Do you have a recipe for fried rolls? That little girl wasn’t sharing her Blue Ribbon recipe, LOL. Thanks for the great cornbread recipe and the memories it brought back.
My mother (She died April at the age of 92.) sometimes added chopped onion–almost like hush puppies but better!
Oh my goodness, I bet that is good. I am going to have to try it. Thank you so much for sharing!!
A tip for flattening the patties out. If you brown one side and don’t flatten until you turn them, it is easier to smash with your spatula. This is because the sticky dough will be down in the skillet and the oily fried side up. It won’t stick to your turner now. My mother made these every week for us for supper. These or cornbread in an iron skillet. or made from scratch biscuits.
Can I use butter instead of shortening for this recipe?
Yum…I’ll have to try this. Thank you.
Hi, I got the corn meal in the pic, the Martha White….why does the batter in the pics look yellow? I saw someone else do this recipe without a recipe and their batter looked yellow too.
The reason I’m asking is I made this recipe and it taste like hush puppies and the batter was white. I’ve had many different types of southern cornbread and I’m on the hunt for a cornbread that tastes a particular way. Did I get the wrong cornmeal mix? I’m kind of looking for a cornbread similar to lace cornbread or lace hoecakes.
I love all your recipes btw…I’m just trying to figure out if I did this recipe wrong or if I’m looking for a different type of southern cornbread.