Name: Mexican Cornbread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 1 + 1/2 cups self rising corn meal mix (white or yellow); 1 + 1/2 tablespoons sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (mild, medium, or sharp); 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1/2 cup chopped onion; 1 tablespoon diced jalapeño (seeds removed); 3/4 cup milk; 1 egg; 1/2 cup canned cream style corn*

Most families I know make a version of this deliciously moist and decadent cornbread known to us as Mama’s Mexican Cornbread recipe. Studded with sweet corn, cheddar cheese, and spicy bits of jalapeño peppers it’s sure to be a favorite.

Whenever I make Mexican Cornbread, I can happily eat two pieces of it, hot from the oven, and nothing else . Even my husband, who really doesn’t care for cornbread unless it’s sweet, comes running whenever I make this. My son’s only complaint is that I don’t cut the pieces bigger so he doesn’t have to keep coming back. Needless to say, when I make this Mexican Cornbread recipe by Mama for supper, usually, there isn’t any left.

Recipe Ingredients:

Cream style corn
Vegetable oil
Egg
Self rising cornmeal flour
Sugar
Chopped onion
Shredded cheese
Diced jalapeno
Milk (I buy organic milk because it stays good for twice as long as regular milk 🙂
Salt

To everyone who wasn’t raised on sweet cornbread:

Oh I know putting sugar in there feels so wrong. Cornbread isn’t supposed to be sweet. T’ain’t fittin’ and I know that. But, this is my Mama’s Mexican Cornbread recipe and the sugar is just a scant amount and it really works well with the heat of the jalapeños. It won’t end up tasting sweet in this particular recipe so just bite the bullet and do what Mama tells you to do 🙂

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients.

Stir all of that up pretty good with a spoon or whisk.

Now this is a cast iron skillet that I’ve had heating in the oven while it preheats. Preheat the oven as well.
Pour about a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil in it and swirl it around a good bit.

pour batter in cast iron skillet, bake at 350 for 35-40 mins

Pour in your batter in the prepared pan and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until all golden and prettified 🙂

Mexican Cornbread baked until golden brown on top

Turning cornbread over onto a large plate

Turn that cornbread over onto a large plate.

Variations To Recipe

diced green onions
chopped green bell peppers
green chilis
pepper jack cheese in replace of other cheese

Here is another one with some variations

Recipe FAQsHow do I make my cornbread crust crispy?

Get your pan nice and hot, this is going to be key, then pour the batter into the hot pan. This will help to create that crispy crust you are looking for.

What does adding an extra egg to cornbread do?

The extra yolk in the egg helps to make it more moist. If you want to add another egg, I recommend doing yolk only for the second cornbread.

Why does my Jiffy cornbread fall apart?

Overcooking cornbread can cause it to fall apart. Every oven cooks different, so keep an eye on it if you made it before and it fell apart. To tell if it’s done you it should be crispy brown on top and when you insert a toothpick it comes out clean.

Note about baking Mexican Cornbread in an alternative to Cast Iron:

You can make this in an 8 or 9 inch cake pan if you prefer. It’s traditionally made in cast iron but it will turn out just fine if you make it in a cake pan or even an 8×8 square baking dish. Just go with whatever cranks yer tractor 🙂