The Best Cornbread on the Planet {and Fluffy Honey Butter}
This really is the best cornbread on the planet. It’s been my go-to tried-and-true recipe for over a decade. Fluffy, moist, PERFECT!
Sometimes a recipe comes along that changes your life forever.
Dramatic? Not at all. Especially when it comes to this cornbread. It is honestly, truly the best cornbread on the planet.
I am guilty of claiming to have found “the best” recipe and then inevitably find myself still trying other versions. Chocolate chip cookies, I’m looking at you.
But when it comes to this cornbread, it has been my go-to recipe for over a decade.
Once I tried it, I knew it was the one. And I have never had a desire to make or try another cornbread recipe again.
If you’ve made it, you know what I mean.
It is fluffy, moist, and super easy.
Now, I know when it comes to cornbread, there are southern cornbread fans (sweet and cake-like) and northern cornbread fans (not sweet and crumbly). I like my cornbread fluffy, thick and sweet.
Cornbread batter
This is a one-bowl cornbread batter. It comes really fast.
The batter is simple:
- cornmeal (I use yellow cornmeal)
- flour (all-purpose or a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat)
- sugar (the amount in the recipe can easily be halved for a less sweet, but still delicious, cornbread)
- baking powder
- salt
- wet ingredients: oil, melted butter, eggs, and milk
The batter is runny. And it’s ok if there are a few lumps here and there.
It bakes up super fluffy and soft.
Fluffy Honey Butter
Now, let’s talk about this honey butter for a sec. Is it mandatory for this best-ever cornbread.
Nope. I make the cornbread all the time without making the honey butter. But when I do make the honey butter, it is a combo that can’t be beat.
There’s nothing quite like it.
The honey butter is three simple ingredients: butter, honey, and marshmallow fluff. You can add a bit of vanilla, too, if you like.
Sure, you can omit the marshmallow fluff and just go with honey and butter, but the marshmallow adds a light and fluffy texture that can’t be beat.
Delicious served with everything from chili to tacos, here are a few other comments from people who have fallen in love with this cornbread:
Samantha says: I’ve been meaning to write a review for this recipe for awhile now. It is fantastic! Everything I’ve ever wanted cornbread to be!
Maggie says: Fantastic. Over the past few years I’ve tried every cornbread recipe I could get my hands on had given up making it from scratch. It’s my new fav recipe.
Devanie writes: I loved this recipe. It came out perfectly moist and the texture was great. And so delicious. This is the only recipe I will use going forward. Thanks for sharing!
There are hundred more comments and reviews below (including readers who have made this recipe dairy and gluten-free).
So go ahead. Make the cornbread. Make the honey butter. Or JUST make the cornbread.
Either way, this cornbread is life changing. It has become a staple and a tried-and-true favorite.
While I may play around with a million other recipes for a million other things, this is the only cornbread I’ll ever need. It’s the best of the best of the best.
FAQs for The Best Cornbread and Fluffy Honey Butter
You can make these into muffins by using the same temperature and check at around 17-18 minutes.
Yes, I sub buttermilk all the time and it works great! I usually add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda as well.
Yes, I’ve frozen this cornbread before and it warms up really well.
The Best Cornbread
Ingredients
Cornbread:
- ½ cup (85 g) cornmeal
- 1 ½ cups (213 g) flour (see note)
- ⅔ cup (141 g) granulated sugar (see note)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup oil
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 ¼ cups milk
Honey Butter:
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened
- ½ cup (170 g) honey
- ½ cup marshmallow fluff
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8X8- or 9X9-inch baking pan (I always use metal; glass pans will bake differently).
- For the cornbread, in a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil, butter, eggs, and milk and stir with a whisk or rubber spatula until just combined. The batter will be runny.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- For the honey butter, whip all the ingredients together with an electric mixer. Best served at room temperature so it is soft and spreadable.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: My brother Nate and his wife, Kylie (love you forever!)
Recipe originally published August 2009; updated April 2020 with new photos, commentary and recipe notes
This cornbread is seriously amazing. It was like a cake and I could not stop eating it! I shared it on my most recent meal plan, thank you!
Ever since this cornbread recipe came into my life years ago, my cornbread life has been forever changed. My husband is totally a cornbread snob and only likes mine now.. well yours. 🙂 Which to be honest most cornbread is super dry, has a weird after taste or tastes like way to much corn meal.. what is with that?! anyway…after making this or doubling it a gagillion times I needed to say thanks. 🙂 best. corn. bread. ever! Dont get me started on my ode to the honey butter… 🙂 Delish.
This cornbread is amazing!! SO so good! We had it tonight with homemade beef stew. Delightful!
Now, I need to buy some marshmallow fluff and try out that honey butter. You never disappoint, Mel! Every time I am looking for a recipe, my husband says “Have you checked to see if Mel has made that?” Haha!
As a Canadian in love with corn bread, I have been on the hunt for the perfect recipe & I FINALLY FOUND IT! The bread is amazing. I doubled the recipe & needed to cook for an extra 15 minutes (Im assuming its because of our climate, humidy, & altitude.).
And the honey butter – i have never even heard of it before but I am officially addicted. It will be my new pot luck dish!
Hi, Mel – This is really my one of my second or third attempts at bread-making, so I haven’t yet tried subbing in almond milk in anything before. I tried to do some research online but I didn’t find much about it. Ah well, I’m sure it’ll be a fun experiment…if it doesn’t taste great, well, then, that’s what the dog is for! He’ll eat anything, haha.
Stephanie – I’ve never tried a milk substitute for this so you’ll probably have to experiment. Are you able to sub almond milk for other quick-bread type recipes like this? If so, it should probably sub in just fine. Good luck if you try it!
This is the first time I’ve ever made cornbread and it’s wonderful! I don’t think I’ll need to do anymore recipe-hunting, which is awesome. It’s dense but not dry, sweet but not too sweet, reheats fantastically and is super simple to make. Even my fiance liked it, and he has sworn off cornbread for years because his grandma used to always make the driest cornbread ever and force him to eat it.
I’ve got a slight milk allergy, so I usually have almond milk on hand instead of regular cow milk. Do you think it would work as a replacement? I tried it with regular milk this time to make sure I knew exactly how it ‘should’ taste before I experimented.
I had to work really hard to convince my husband to “let” me make your recipe for corn bread. He was loathe to give up our tried and true recipe. Well, let me tell you…he became a convert with his first bite! Made it, loved it, posted it!
This cornbread is amazing! Ive made it too many times to count and everyone always requests that i make them a batch. Funny story.. The last time I made it somehow I forgot to put the baking powder in. After the 35 minute baking time I couldn’t figure out why it still looked so undercooked. I took it out and it was a cornbread brick! Haha Needless to say, everyone at the BBQ that I was supposed to bring it to were very disappointed that I showed up without a pan of cornbread. Thanks for all the yummy recipes!
This recipe went great topped with spiced peaches alongside chicken pot pie! Thanks for sharing it!
I am trying this in a cast iron pan tonight. I hope it turns out as delicious. Ever since I got my cast iron pan I have had a craving for corn bread.
For all the people out there avoiding dairy, I just thought I’d mention that I tried this recipe with margarine and almond milk and it still turned out fabulous! Thanks, Mel, for your blog!
To.die.for. This will be the only cornbread I ever make again. And that honey butter. My hips will never be the same again. Served this with that divine split pea and ham soup from your site. You’re my hero.
AMAZING!!!!!
Lorie – this cornbread is delicious with or without the honey butter. I usually only make the honey butter 50% of the time. Otherwise we serve it with butter or Smart Balance and it is still delish.
Hi Melanie, how much am I missing out w/o the honey butter? Unless I can omit the fluff, hate to buy it just for this (only since I think its expensive).
I just found this and it makes me so absolutely happy! I’ve been looking for a good cornbread recipe without all those issues you described, made this today, and am in love. Thank you!
I made these for a Superbowl party yesterday and EVERYONE raved about it. I even saw one guy eating equal ratios of honey butter to cornbread (he had to use a spoon.) Haha! LOVED IT! Thanks Mel!
Was looking for a perfect tasting cornbread when I found your website. This was amazing! Followed the recipe as written. I will definitely be making this again! It was very easy, so easy my 5 year old helped me whip up the butter! Very delicious!!!
Family LOVED this tonight- we have never had cornbread before (or honey butter!)- so was a fab hit all round- kids raved about ‘cake for dinner’! Made with white bean chicken chili which was also FAB and husband thinks I am now Julia Child- whahoo!!
Made this last night. Nice and sweet. Had a little bit of difficulty getting it cooked thoroughly in the middle.
I tried this recipe and by far the best cornbread I’ve ever made….usually my cornbread is dry and crumbly but not this one. I tried the honey butter and it was outta this world but will only make for special occasions due to jeans being too expensive to be buying bigger sizes..lol. Thanks so much for sharing. Going to make some more tonight for dinner…can’t wait.
This is the best corn bread ever!! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
Best cornbread on the planet. Everyone went bonkers over this. It’s the bomb. I wanted to make it just for the honey butter. Oh my, this honey butter is my fave. I added a bit of cinnamon the second time I made it and it’s good that way too. Your classic chili and this cornbread is going to be in my favorite meals list….then again, lots of your recipes are. My taste buds have become very picky thanks to you!
I am totally enjoying the recipes on your website!! I wanna make the cornbread, but I don’t/have any butter. So is it possible that I can replace the butter with margarine? Thanx
Gina – I never use margarine so I don’t know how it would affect the taste but I’m sure it would work ok if that is all you have.
Just made it tonite and it was yummy!!! Had been lookin for a recipe that was the perfect sweet and moist and this was it. Hubby declared it the best recipe we hav had. It’s a keeper!!
ok- sooooo – um – i fiddled with your sweet butter recipe.
And you should totally try this!!
I have been making spreadable butter (1 stick + 1/3 c oil with frzn bowl and whisk, whip till smooth and store in reused butter containers) and that got me thinking how about a spreadable sweet butter?!
I ended up using 3 sticks of butter, 2/3 c oil, 4 oz fluff and a big glob of honey (next time I am using more honey and a little less fluff and salted butter- the hubs prefers unsalted – it is an ongoing issue for us 😉 ). It filled almost 3 butter containers and I tested it this morning- totally spreadable right outta the fridge.
Niiiiice!
I’ve made these now a handful of times and they come out great everytime. They have the perfect amount of sweetness. And the honey butter is awesome with it too! Thanks for the amazing recipes. Everything I’ve tried from your blog has been so good. Your blog is my all time favorite food blog!
I made this last night and it was the best cornbread and honeybutter I’ve ever had! Thanks for the recipe!
We had this with supper tonight (just before the incredible GIANT cookie). Cornbread melted in my mouth. Honey butter melted in my mouth. Both were so delicious!
And the cookie? WOW!!
Thanks for the recipe. I made the corn bread and it was delicious! Very easy and came out moist. I didn’t make the honey butter, but I wish I had. Perhaps next time.
I just found this recipe http://whatscookingamerica.net/Candy/MarshmallowFluff.htm for homemade fluff! Guess what I will be trying this weekend?? Just thought i would mention it to ya- in case folks want to make this awesome butter but do not have fluff in the house (is it TMI to say that it is a standard pantry item in our house?).
All I can say is WOW!!! That was outstanding!!! Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe.
Reporting back – froze it for 2 days. thawed on the counter for a bit. worked like a charm! No taste difference to what had been in the fridge for the same 2 days.
Just made the honey butter – to go with a giant banana bread loaf and OMG! (did anyone see me licking the beater?) Yum! I put it in a small container and there was too much so I put that in another butter container in the freezer. I wondered if if freezes ok. Do you happen to know?
I recently started making my own spreadable butter (butter + canola oil + recycled container = happy dance on the cheap cheap!) and am keeping it in the freezer.
Deanna – great idea on the homemade spreadable butter! I’ve never frozen the honey butter so you’ll have to let me know if it worked out ok.
This is the best cornbread recipe ever! I’ve been making it for years. It comes from the Albers Corn Meal box. So moist and delicious.!
I just want to thank you for this recipe. It made my evening. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, I have been wanting to make cornbread for a LONG time and was quite ready to move beyond the crumbly, starchy box versions. A friend of mine told me about your site and I’ve tried several of your wonderful recipes, so I thought you would be a good resource for cornbread. What a joy! It was so simple to make and the results were wonderful. All I wanted to talk about with my husband during dinner was how great this cornbread is; such moist, sweet, wonderful goodness! Really. I was quite excited. So, thank you thank you thank you.
I was also wondering if I could post the picture and a link to this on my private blog to let my sisters and mom know about it. Would that be okay? Thanks again!!
hi melanie i love your website…soo glad i found it! anyways, i was just wondering if you have ever made this corn bread with buttermilk instead of regular milk?
thanks!
Hi Elise, I have never subbed in buttermilk for the milk but am guessing it could be done with delicious results! You would probably want to add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the recipe if using buttermilk.
I made this tonight and had to laugh when my 8-year-old said, “Can I have more bread with that frosting on it?”
Needless to say, it was a huge hit. 🙂
I’m ba-ack! 🙂 I just wanted to let you know I shared a link to this beneath a facebook pic of my own cornbread (it’s lighter–you know me and this pesky diet I’m on) to let people know to come here for the BEST cornbread recipe. One of my friends made your version and wanted me to tell you she’s in love! Another believer! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=8220716&l=ae1850cb5f&id=541706479
AMAZING!!! I doubled the cornbread and halved the butter. When you double the recipe, do you still cook for 35 minutes? I had to cook a little longer. Should it be a little more doughier than totally done? I just want to make sure it’s perfect for someone else even though I prefer it a little more doughier! Thanks so much!
Stephanie – so glad you loved this! I always cook mine for about 35 minutes, doubled or not – I like it a little moist. But a 1-2 extra minutes wouldn’t hurt it either.
Best. Cornbread. Ever. Hands down…the best.. ever. I get compliments on it whenever I make it.. I have been finding excuses just too make it! Cornbread is healthy right? Corn=Vegetable=Healthy?
Megan – in my world, yes, cornbread is healthy. 🙂
This cornbread recipe is The One. It was delicious! (So many of your recipes have been hits. I’m hooked. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!)
Thanks, Misty!
I made this tonight! It was SO good! Very moist! I never like cornbread that isn’t sweet enough or dry! This was great! I didn’t have any marshmellow fluff so i just did butter and honey and it was great! Thanks for this great recipe!
Thanks, Brittney!
I wanted to come back and tell you that this was a huge hit at the chili/soup fundraiser! I cut it into a bunch of small pieces (probably at least 24) and sold them for 50 cents each. It went fast! I work at a place where we don’t interact with each other, don’t know each others names, b/c we have to be completely silent while we’re keying on the workroom floor and we never get to know each other very well. However, people actually hunted me down to ask me for the recipe! I have never had so many recipe requests. I just sent them to your blog!
Thanks, Veronica – sounds like this was a hit and for 50 cents a pop, I hope you made big bucks for your fundraiser.
We just had this cornbread tonight with a big bowl of pinto beans…perfection!! It was soooo good, and sooo moist! I can’t wait to try it with the honey butter next time! I will never try another cornbread recipe, I have found “the one!” Thank you!!
Whitney – we had this cornbread the same night as you! I’m glad that you loved it so much.
It only took an hour to make and demolish this. We didn’t even sit down – just stood in the kitchen with cups of tea, saying, ok, just one more piece… that’s my kinda bread 😉
bdubz – thanks for the chuckle! Glad this was such a hit…enough so that you didn’t even sit down to eat it!
I refer EVERYONE to your website, always!!!
I LOVE this cornbread! I send this recipe to everyone! I just wanted to share this twist on it.
http://www.pauladeen.com/index.php/recipes/view2/sweet_blueberry_cornbread/
Same cornbread recipe except with 1 cup blueberries and 1 more tablespoon of butter. Yum. I’m trying it next. 🙂
Jenny – looks like a delicious variation!
I’ve tried and tried other cornbread recipes and had pretty much given up but thought to give yours a try since everything I’ve made from here has been amazing and this was no different. I didn’t have the fluff on hand but the cornbread was delicious! Thank you so much! I’ll never need another cornbread recipe again =]
Thanks, Tanya – I’m so glad this cornbread impressed you after you had tried so many other recipes!