The Ultimate Comfort Food: Fully Loaded Cornbread Recipe

By Hamza Malik Last updated Sep 7, 2023

Fully loaded cornbread fried in a skillet with bacon, green onion, cheese, and savory seasonings. It’s an excellent complement to homestyle dishes like chili, soup, or a simple bowl of pinto beans to finish the meal.

LOADED CORNBREAD

Cornbread has several personalities. Traditionally, classic Southern cornbread is cooked with entirely yellow cornmeal and no sugar, however, this is not always the case. Depending on who makes it, a small quantity of sugar may be added, as seen in this Southern Living recipe for basic cornbread.

My mother usually baked cornbread in a cast iron skillet greased with melted shortening or bacon drippings. It’s the kind of cornbread my father liked crumbled in a glass of cool buttermilk. The flavor is typically savory, with a grainy yet excellent texture.

WHERE CAN I FIND THE BEST FULLY-LOADED CORNBREAD RECIPE?

Stone Ground Cornmeal vs. Supermarket Brands. What exactly are stone ground grits? I use stone-ground cornmeal in this loaded cornbread recipe. If you’re not familiar with the term, stone-ground indicates it was ground between two stones while retaining some of the germ and shell.

In short, this changes the coarse texture of the cornmeal and gives it a more unique flavor. Color intensity can also be increased. Rest assured that your favorite brand of simple yellow cornmeal from the grocery store will work perfectly, and both can be used interchangeably in recipes.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups cornmeal, self-rising
1 cup of flour
2 eggs
2 to 3 cups (roughly) buttermilk
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup chopped cooked bacon
1 (4-oz) can undrained green chiles
1 can cream corn (14.75 oz)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

Turn the oven on to 400°F/200°C. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch/23-cm cast iron pan or a 10-inch/25-cm cast iron pan lightly.
Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat, until the diced red pepper and jalapeno (or other hot pepper) soften. (If using the same pan for the cornbread, as I did, lightly butter the pan again after removing the peppers to ensure all surfaces are lubricated.)
Combine the peppers and the remaining dry and vegetable components, including the dry elements from the mix, with the exception of the saved cheddar cheese for topping. Gently fold in.
Add the liquids (in my instance, the egg, oil, and milk stated in the mix recipe) and stir to blend. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the saved cheese. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. In the pan, cool to just warm. Cut in the pan or remove it. Tightly packaged, it freezes well.

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