My generational fried cornbread recipe is made with simple ingredients: cornmeal, self-rising flour, salt, an egg to bind it all, a few other staples, and, of course, buttermilk! Like Southern hoe cakes, I shallow pan-fry to get a crispy, crusty outside and tender inside. Serve a pile with a pot of pinto beans and get your whole life.
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Fried Cornbread Ingredient Notes
- Fine Cornmeal: It isn’t as gritty and has a better mouthfeel.
- Self-Rising Flour: None around? Add 3/4 tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt to a 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour to make your own.
- Baking Powder: Check the expiration date so these rise well.
- Kosher Salt: If you only have table salt, you want to reduce the salt in this recipe to about 1 teaspoon. If you’re planning to eat the fried cornbread plain, you could even bump it to 1¼ teaspoons table salt if you’re a salt-forward type. But I’d start with 1 teaspoon and taste after your first batch. You can always sprinkle a little flaky salt on top if it needs a boost.
- Buttermilk: Make your own DIY version by mixing 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for about 5 minutes until it thickens slightly before using.
- Vegetable Oil: You can use any neutral oil you like here. It should have a high smoke point since we are pan frying.
How To Make Fried Cornbread
Make the Batter
Step 1: Add the cornmeal, self-rising flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to a large bowl.
Step 2: Mix the ingredients evenly with a fork, creating a dry mixture.
Step 3: Add the buttermilk and egg to a measuring cup.
Step 4: Whisk together the ingredients, combining them to create a wet mixture.
Step 5: Pour the wet mixture into the bowl of the dry ingredients.
Step 6: Mix until there are no more visible dry ingredients. This will look like a dough more than a batter.
Fry the Cornbread
Step 7: Add vegetable oil to a skillet and heat over medium heat. Portion a heaping tablespoon of dough into the oil, cooking three or four at a time in each batch.
Step 8: Cook until golden brown, then flip carefully and cook an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side.
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Fried Cornbread Recipe
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup cornmeal
- ½ cup self-rising flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup vegetable oil divided
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, self-rising flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar and mix evenly with a fork.
- In a measuring cup, add buttermilk and egg and mix to combine. Pour wet mixture into bowl of the dry ingredients and mix until there are no more visible dry ingredients. This will look like a dough more than a batter.
- Add first ¼ cup vegetable oil to 10-inch skillet and heat over medium heat. Portion a heaping tablespoon of dough into the oil, cooking three or four at a time in each batch. Cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes, then flip carefully and cook an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side.
- Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate, while cooking remaining cornbread. About halfway through the batches, you will need to add the remaining ¼ cup to the skillet to continue cooking.
- Once all cooked, serve immediately as an appetizer or side.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Skillet Temp is Key: To get your fried cornbread extra crispy, you want the skillet hot enough to sizzle as the batter hits the pan, but not so hot that it smokes or burns the batter. Test it with a small drop of batter first so you don’t end up ruining a batch.
- Keep them Small: When spooning your batter into the skillet, think silver dollar pancakes – that’s about the size you’re aiming for so they cook evenly without breaking when you flip.
- Let the Batter Rest: A 10 minute rest allows the cornmeal to soak up liquids puffing them up a little so you get a moisture, tender inside.
- Don’t Overcrowd the Skillet: Overcrowding won’t give you the crispy outside you want. Instead it kind of steams the cornbread.
- Let Rest after Frying: Place it on a paper towel-lined plate. This will get rid of extra oil and helps the crispy edges and top stay crispy instead of oil soaked. A wire rack also works.
Serving Ideas
- Classic Southern Meal: Pair it with fried pork chops, collard greens, classic baked beans and some velveeta mac and cheese!
- For Brunch: Serve them up with bacon quiche, candied bacon, and some cheese grits.
- Southern Chili: A big bowl of meaty chili with a side of fried cornbread is comfort food heaven.
- Soups: These cornbread cakes are great for dipping into chicken and dumplings, beef stew, or a spicy gumbo.
Recipe help
Absolutely! You can make the batter a day ahead and store it in the fridge, tightly covered. Just give it a good stir before you start frying, as some separation might occur.
Look for the edges to become golden brown and crispy, and for bubbles to form on the top surface. This is usually a good sign that it’s time to flip.
Yep you can boos! You can make these gluten-free by swapping out the self-rising flour with your favorite gluten-free flour blend. Just remember to add a gluten-free baking powder to keep that rise.
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Can I use butter in the batter and to fry them ?
Sure! Let me know how they turn out.
Can’t wait to try your recipe for Thanksgiving. The recipe calls for plain cornmeal. Did you use white or yellow plain cornmeal in your recipe?
You can actually use either. I used yellow in the photos.
It was a cool recipe but a bit too salty for me. Next time, I will try the 1/2 tsp-it could have been my fault as i did not have kosher salt on hand. adding another star for that reason. i will try it with kosher salt and see if that makes a difference, if it does, I will add the fifth star as it was perfect texture and everything else.it reminded me of the fried cornbread my grandmother used to make. solid recipe and tips 🙂
You can for sure adjust the salt level to your tastes!
I’m going to try these tonight
Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think when you make them!
I fried them in low sodium bacon grease and added some cheese to the batter. Next time I’ll omit the salt as it was a bit salty for me. Overall it was a simple and easy recipe to make.
These were so good! My husband remembers having these as a kid so they were a big hit with him.
Yay!! Happy to hear that it helped spark the memories!
Yessssssssss
I hope you loved it.
I grew up with fried cornbread made with Aunt Jemima’s cornmeal mix, (which means it already has the flour and other ingredients to make it rise,)and milk. I was out of cornmeal mix, but had yellow cornmeal and tried your recipe and they were awesome, maybe even better than my grandma‘s.
Awe!! Thanks, doll!
It is called hot water cornbread, four simple ingredients, cornmeal, garlic powder, sugar and water. That’s it that’s all.
Hi Kelly, I actually have a hot water cornbread recipe, this recipe is for fried cornbread.
Good recipe. Thanks
You’re so welcome, Stephanie!
Can u use milk if no buttermilk
Yep! Or you can make your own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of whole milk and letting it sit for about 10 mins.
Yu can use milk but add a tsp of white vinegar to milk til thick
Can u us÷ self rising cornmeal
Hi Suzette!! I have not made this recipe using self rising cornmeal so I am not sure.