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Grab your cast iron skillet and get ready for the most delicious cornbread you ever tasted. Not only is this sweet skillet cornbread recipe a fantastic side dish for homemade chili but it’s also a tasty snack in its own right. With tasty ingredients like honey, butter, cornmeal, and eggs, it’s a sweet honey cornbread you can really savor and enjoy. It’s sweet but not overly so and the texture is soft with a little graininess. The buttery, crisp edges are perhaps the best part of all!
Sweetened with honey and perfectly crisp at the edges and soft in the center, the appeal of this side dish means you’ll want to make it again and again. 5 stars for sure!
Pair this warm and delicious cornbread with a great beef chili recipe or bean-free chili and your favorite chili toppings!
Why You’ll Love It
Easy: There isn’t much more to this recipe than making up cornbread mix, so skip the boxed mix next time and make this wonderfully sweet skillet cornbread instead.
Delicious: Striking the perfect balance of being sweet but not too sweet, and crisp at the edges while soft in the center, this cornbread truly deserves being called “delicious”!
Versatile: Cornbread is a popular accompaniment to homemade chili, or you can offer it alongside any kind of soup or stew, enjoy it for brunch or use it to make stuffing or breadcrumbs.
Ingredients for Sweet Honey Cornbread
To make this tasty cornbread recipe you need eggs, milk, oil, honey, butter, flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, cornstarch, salt, and butter.
How to Make Sweet Honey Cornbread
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Start the batter: Mix together the egg, milk, oil, honey, and melted butter in a bowl.
Add the dry ingredients: Sift in the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt into the egg mixture.
Melt butter: Heat the oven with your cast iron pan in there, then take it out of the oven and melt the butter in the hot skillet.
Bake the skillet cornbread: Add the batter to the melted butter in the pan and bake for about half an hour or until set in the middle. Serve warm and fresh from the oven with butter and honey!
Substitutions and Variations
Various additions can go into your homemade cornbread, such as jalapeno slices, shredded cheddar cheese or even bacon crumbles.
If you want the cornbread recipe less sweet you can adjust the amount of sugar and/or honey. You can also use your preferred sweetener in place of the honey.
How to Serve Sweet Honey Skillet Cornbread
This sweet cornbread recipe in cast iron skillet recipe pairs beautifully with chili or even something like sweet chili chicken leg quarters. Warm southern cornbread is a popular addition to your brunch table.
Cut it into small cubes and add to your favorite soup or stew. You can also use homemade cornbread in a stuffing or to make breadcrumbs or croutons.
How to Store Honey Butter Cornbread
Store: Leftovers kept at room temperature will keep for a couple of days. If you wrap it in cling wrap and refrigerate it, it should stay fresh for up to a week.
Freeze: Freeze cornbread in portions and keep frozen in freezer-safe Ziploc bags or containers for up to 6 months. Freezing cornbread is handy so you will have some ready when you want to make cornbread stuffing for the holidays.
Skillet Honey Cornbread Recipe FAQs
A 9 inch cast iron skillet works well, or you can use a 10 inch cast iron skillet. If you don’t have either, use muffin tins or a 9 inch square baking dish. Personally I love cooking everything from this turkey and sweet potato skillet recipe to French toast in mine, and this set of 3 cast iron skillets (here) is a great investment for all those yummy skillet recipes!
Yes, just swap the all-purpose flour for your favorite gluten free flour, and then everyone can enjoy delicious corn bread whether they consume gluten or not. Baking powder and cornstarch are naturally gluten free, so you don’t need to replace those.
Honey Skillet Cornbread Recipe
Sweet Skillet Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- ¾ Cup milk
- ¼ Cup canola oil, or vegetable oil
- ¼ Cup honey
- 3 Tablespoons butter, salted, melted
- 1 ¼ Cup all purpose flour
- 1 Cup cornmeal
- ⅓ Cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 2 Teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl combine the egg, milk, oil, honey and melted butter. Mix well.
- Sift the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt into the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined, and set aside.
- Place your cast iron pan into the preheated oven for about 3 minutes. Then take it out and put 1 tablespoon of butter in the center of the pan, as it melts carefully move the pan around so that the butter coats the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the cornbread batter into the buttered pan and place in the oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the center is set.
- Remove from the oven. Serve either warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
The perfect balance of sweet and savory, this skillet cornbread is a must-make the next time you’re having chili. You’ll agree this is one of the best cornbread recipes ever and should get 5 stars. It’s also sensational as part of a brunch spread, served with melted butter and honey or maple syrup, or you might just want to nibble on some as a snack. Homemade cornbread served fresh and warm from the oven is one of the best side dishes ever!
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
I’ve made this recipe a few times. It tastes amazing. I had to lower my cook time in my oven to 23 mins.
I made it this time into jumbo muffins. I buttered the muffin tin and then modified the cooking time on my small ninja oven convection bake for 20 mins. This is hands down my favorite cornbread recipe.
Yes, I find different ovens can vary quite a bit! So glad your cornbread muffins came out delicious.
It is a family favorite. And this recipe reminds me of the meal we used to share together as a family.
Delicious and easy to make!
What size cast iron skillet? I have an 8 inch, will that work?
A 9 inch cast iron skillet works well, or you can use a 10 inch one. If you don’t have either, use muffin tins or a 9 inch square baking dish. Your 8 inch one is probably too small unless it has very high sides.
I’m not sure how it’ll taste; but I’m not going to add sugar to this recipe. I am a proud Texan. we prefer to NOT add any kind of sweetner to cornbread. Wish me luck.
Your cornbread, your choice! Enjoy!
Just like my mom used to make. So good!