An easy savoury cornbread is a fantastic homemade cornbread made with yellow cornmeal or polenta, flour, eggs, buttermilk and raising agents, and no added sugar whatsoever. It has a wonderful golden colour, a tender but sturdy crumb, and it's perfect for serving alongside soups, stews, chillis or roast dinners.
Unlike sweeter American cornbread recipes, which tend to have quite a lot of sugar, honey or maple syrup added, this savoury cornbread lets the flavour of the cornmeal really shine, through.
It's a particularly useful homemade cornbread to use in Southern-style cornbread stuffing or dressing recipes, as no sugar means that we can truly enjoy it as a side dish for savoury dishes.
Don't get me wrong, I do love cornbread recipes with sugar added too, I have quite a few recipes myself, with pumpkin cornbread, jalapeno cheddar cornbread muffins, honey cornbread with Greek yogurt and buttermilk cornbread muffins being absolute favourites with us.
But if you are looking for a purely savory cornbread recipe with no sugar added, this recipe is for you. It's still moist and delicious, and a wonderful side dish for your Thanksgiving dinner menu.
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Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview
- cornmeal - in the UK is also sold under the name polenta. Do not confuse it with cornflour, in the UK this is a white fine powder generally used as a thickener (cornstarch in the US)
- flour - I used white plain flour or everyday flour
- bicarb of soda & baking powder - make the sponge light and give it a nice lift. Do not omit them, otherwise the cornbread will be tough and flat
- buttermilk- add moisture and together with the bicarb of soda gives the cornbread height and structure
- eggs - I used 2 large eggs, they bind the ingredients together and help with the moist texture
- butter - melted butter adds richness and flavour, I used salted butter, but unsalted works too, but you'd have to add a pinch of salt
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit)
- in a large mixing bowl add the cornmeal, flour, bicarb of soda and baking powder, and mix well to combine
- in a jug, beat the eggs well with a fork, then add the buttermilk and melted butter
- mix well
- combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients
- grease a rectangle baking tray (my tray is 27 x 22 x 5 cm or 10.5 x 8.5 x 2 inches), transfer the mixture and spread it evenly
- bake for 20 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in middle comes out clean
- serve warm or cold
Expert tips
This is deliberately a savoury cornbread, especially if you plan to use it as a Thanksgiving stuffing. It still have a lovely flavour even if it doesn't contain any sugar. However, if you'd rather add some, I would go for 3 tablespoons of granulated or caster sugar, which will give it a sweeter touch, but still keep it relatively savoury.
Don't overmix the batter, the ingredients should be mixed just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Overmixing can make the cornbread dense and stodgy.
Store freshly-baked cornbread in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the fridge. To freeze, wrap the cooled cornbread well.
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Savoury Cornbread Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 225 g cornmeal (polenta or yellow cornmeal in the UK, 1 ½ cups)
- 110 g plain flour (¾ cup)
- 2 large eggs
- 250 ml buttermilk (1 cup)
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 60 ml melted butter (¼ cup)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit).
- In a large mixing bowl add the cornmeal, flour, bicarb of soda and baking powder, and mix well to combine.
- In a jug, beat the eggs well with a fork, then add the buttermilk and melted butter and mix well.
- Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients using a silicone spatula.
- Grease a rectangle baking tray with butter, (my tray is 27 x 22 x 5 cm or 10.5 x 8.5 x 2 inches), transfer the mixture and spread it evenly.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in middle comes out clean.
- Serve warm or cold.
Notes
- If you'd rather add some sugar, I would go for 3 tablespoons of granulated or caster sugar, which will give it a sweeter touch, but still keep it relatively savoury.
- Don't overmix the batter, the ingredients should be mixed just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Overmixing can make the cornbread dense and stodgy.
- Store freshly-baked cornbread in an airtight container either at room temperature or in the fridge. To freeze, wrap the cooled cornbread well.
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