Made with just 4 pantry ingredients, my hot water cornbread recipe comes together easily and quickly. I mix my cornmeal batter together, shape and fry them until golden. Serve them up with collard greens or pinto beans like my fam used to do.
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Hot Water Cornbread Ingredients
- Cornmeal: I prefer yellow cornmeal especially from Martha White. It was my big mama’s fave brand. You can also swap in white cornmeal. You will get a slightly different flavor and color.
- Sugar: Leave it out if you want straight up savory cornbread.
- Salt: for flavor. I use kosher. If you use table salt, lessen the amount.
- Boiling Water: This binds everything and tenderizes the cornmeal making it softer.
- Oil: You can use any neutral-flavored oil you like here like vegetable or canola. Just don’t use strong-flavored oils like olive oil. If you wanna get real Southern, replace the oil with bacon grease.
How to Make Hot Water Cornbread
Step 1: Combine the cornmeal, sugar, salt, and boiling water in a medium-sized bowl.
Step 2: Whisk everything together until it’s combined.
Step 3: Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high until the temperature reaches 375 F. Drop two tablespoons of batter into the oil.
Step 4: Fry on both sides until they’re golden brown and then drain.
Hot Water Cornbread Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt can go up more if you want more for taste
- 1 ⅔ – 2 cups boiling water
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Add cornmeal, sugar, salt and boiling water to a medium sized bowl and whisk until combined.
- Add oil to 10 inch cast iron skillet and heat over medium high heat until temperature reaches 375. About a 1/2 inch up should do it.
- Either scoop up about 2 tbsp with your cookie scoop or drop 2 tablespoons of batter into oil and fry on both sides until golden brown then drain on paper towels or wire racks before serving up.
Notes
How to Store & Reheat Hot Water Cornbread
Cool leftovers down to room temp then add to an airtight container. They can either be left at room temp or put in the fridge for longer keeping. To reheat, add cornbread to a skillet over medium heat until it’s warmed through and the exterior is crispy again, or pop it in the oven at 350°F for about 5-10 minutes. An air fryer is also a great option that will keep leftovers crispy.How long will hot water cornbread last?
They should last for up to two days at room temp or up to 5 days in the fridge.Can I freeze hot water cornbread?
Absolutely boos! To freeze hot water cornbread, let them cool to room temp then space them out on a baking sheet and add to the freezer. After an hour, add them to a freezer bag and label. They should last for 2-3 months. Thaw before reheating using instructions above.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Adjust as Needed: You can add or remove water based on the batter consistency you like. Start with about 1 1/2 cups and then add more if you want to thin it out.
- Batter Size: I prefer using around 2 tablespoons of batter per cornbread patty but you can make them any size you prefer.
- Hot Grease: Make sure the oil is heated to 375° F before frying so it fries up nice and crisp.
- Draining: Drain the cooked cornbread on paper towels to remove any excess oil.
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What to Serve with Hot Water Cornbread
- Greens: Serve this up with collard greens, mustard greens or turnip greens! It’s perfect for sopping up that pot likker.
- Beans: Serve these up with butter beans, red beans and rice or even black-eyed peas.
- Soups and Stews: I love some hot water cornbread with beef stew, southern chili, seafood gumbo or even taco soup.
- Classic Southern Style: Traditional recipes like fried chicken, neck bones, smothered pork chops, chitterlings, salmon croquettes and chicken bog.
Recipe Help
Hot water cornbread will fall apart if the batter is too dry. Add more water to the mix to make sure a dough is created.
Your oil should be around 375 F before frying. This temperature will keep the cornbread from absorbing oil and getting soggy. Also make sure you don’t over-crowd the pan so the temperature of oil doesn’t drop too low.
Absolutely boos. Any heavy skillet will work, but a cast iron is preferred for even heating.
More Cornbread and Corn Recipes
- Corn Fritters
- Jiffy Cornbread
- Honey Cornbread
- Pumpkin Cornbread
- Hoe Cakes
- Corn Pone
- Corn Spoonbread
- Fried Cornbread
*Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating and leave comments below!* Post a photo of how your version of the recipe came out on Instagram (using #grandbabycakes)!!
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I love hot water cornbread with greens but my favorite is butter and honey. I could eat them all day.
My daily cornbread the best ❤️
Perfect. I had to make more for family since I ate the whole batch.
My mom used to make these all the time and they were a family favorite. I haven’t had them in years and have forgot how to make them and my mom can’t always remember. I’m going to make these this week! As strange as it may sound, we would split them and spread mayonnaise on them.
This is basically how my mother made fried cornbread but she used white cornmeal and she shaped the patties by hand. She would also drop the raw patties into a pot of boiling greens to make what we called corn dodgers – sort of like a dumpling.
Oh yes fantastic!!
Plain meal or self rising
You can actually use either depending on the texture you would prefer. If you want them to have a little left, self rising is the way to go!
Finally an authentic old school recipe for hot water cornbread.
This is how I was taught to make it . I see so many who confuse this with a hoe cake or add an egg to it…no, no, no !
The secret is the water must be boiling hot for it to come together as a patty.
My kids loved this better than regular cornbread and so do I.
We eat it with fried cabbage greens of course and red beans and rice!
Good Eats!
Finally an authentic old school recipe for hot water cornbread.
This is how I was taught to make it . I see so make who confuse this with a hoe cake or add an egg to it…no, no, no !
The secret is the water must be boiling hot for it to come together as a patty.
My kids loved this better than regular cornbread and so do I.
We eat it with fried cabbage greens of course and red beans and rice!
Good Eats!
I actually add a bit of oil to cornmeal, salt &water. Then I spoon the cornbread patties into a pan and bake them at 400 degrees. Sometimes I turn them over half way through cooking. Other times I don’t . They crisp up well and taste just like my mom’s but with much less oil. The baking time depends on how many I’m cooking. I check them after 10 minutes. They get crisp even without being turned during baking.Josie
Oh that’s a wonderful tip!!
how much oil do you add? I have fear of frying but I <3 corn bread
About 1 cup to start and add a bit more if you need it. Don’t be intimidated. You don’t need to deep fry it but just have enough to coat the bottom surface.
This recipe is Awesome, I’m a Southern Belle and grew up in North Carolina where we cornbread or biscuits at every meal and my Mom also , made cornmeal dumplings and dropped them in when she made Mustard Greens, Delicious.
Keep Up the Great Work, God Bless You