This is the BEST Easy Mexican Cornbread Recipe on the web! So moist and delicious, filled with cornmeal, corn kernels, spice, a hint of sweet and so much flavor!
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The Perks and Highlights of the Best Mexican Cornbread
Cuisine Inspiration: Mexican
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Vegetarian-friendly (but always check your specific ingredients!)
Key Flavor: Savory with a spicy kick
Skill Level: Pretty easy
Sweet Highlights:
- Spice is Nice: The combination of jalapeños and cheddar brings a spicy and savory kick that’s just irresistible.
- Corn Galore: We’re not skimping on the corn here. It’s in the name, and it’s in the game, bringing that sweet, earthy flavor to every bite.
- Cheesy Bliss: The melted cheese in every slice is like a surprise hug for your taste buds.
- Crispy Edges: Thanks to our trusty oven, every piece has those perfectly golden and crispy edges.
- Versatile Vibes: Serve it up as a side or enjoy it as a snack.
What is Mexican Cornbread?
Traditional Mexican cornbread has a mixture of cheese, chiles for spice and actual corn. It adds texture, gooeyness and spice which adds a wealth of flavors galore. You can of course adapt this recipe the way you see fit but I personally love it as is.
Ingredients
I like to add an abundance of flavors. These are the most important elements:
- Cornmeal
- Cheese
- Corn
- Buttermilk
- Chile peppers
Scratch cornbread always starts with cornmeal. I like to use a mix of yellow cornmeal and all purpose flour to balance the grit and flavor. For the cheeses, I use two types here: sharp cheddar for that more intense flavor and pepper jack for an additional kick.
Creamed canned corn is perfect or if you want to use some of my mama’s fried corn recipe.
Buttermilk is my major liquid. It adds a wonderful tang but so much moistness to this cornbread. We want to avoid making a dry cornbread recipe.
Finally the chile peppers are what truly makes this Mexican cornbread. If you can’t handle spice, the pepper jack cheese should be enough to give you a tiny kick. If you can do both, add them and it is delicious!
How to Make Mexican Cornbread
You can easily throw all of the ingredients into one bowl to make this recipe. It could not get easier. You don’t need to dirty up a ton of dishes that you will be washing all night. The ease of this recipe is what is so key.
Regarding the cheeses, I think the mix of cheddar AND pepper jack lends a unique blend of goodness. I love both cheeses equally and especially when paired together (try them in your quesadillas!).
The creamed corn really moves this past your wildest dreams. Each bite of this Mexican cornbread gives you a nice creamy bite of corn that really creates this perfect texture. And if you love a little bit more spice, definitely add in the peppers.
My husband can’t take things too spicy so I usually just rely on the pepper jack cheese for a mild kick. But if you are like me and love spicy foods, add the peppers.
How to Serve
This recipe is so fantastic to enjoy with soups and stews like this Chicken Pozole and Taco Soup or even a delish casserole like this Frito pie.
A nice Mexican rice and also pinto beans are also great sides that would be fantastic for this recipe.
How to Store
To store, simply wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil to keep it fresh, and place it at room temperature for up to two days. If you’re looking to keep it around for a bit longer, you can pop it in the fridge, and it’ll stay good for about a week. Just make sure it’s in an airtight container to maintain its moisture and flavor. When you’re ready to dive back in, you can enjoy it cold, bring it back to room temperature, or give it a quick warm-up in the oven or microwave.
Other Cornbread Recipes to Try
If you love this cornbread, definitely try these as well:
- Southern Cornbread
- Hot Water Cornbread
- Fried Cornbread (Hoe Cakes)
- Sweet Potato Cornbread
- Pumpkin Cornbread
- Honey Butter Cornbread
Easy Mexican Cornbread Recipe (How to Make Mexican Cornbread)
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Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup corn meal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese plus more to sprinkle on top
- 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese plus more to sprinkle on top
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 8 ounces cream-style corn 1 can
- 1/2 stick salted butter melted
Optional:
- 4 ounces diced green chiles 1 can
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, corn meal, baking powder, sugar, cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese until well mixed.
- In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, cream-style corn, diced green chiles if using, and melted butter.
- Slowly add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix together until well combined.
- Coat cast iron skillet or baking pan with shortening or spray with non-stick baking spray until fully covered. Add cornbread mixture to skillet. Optional: Sprinkle additional shredded cheeses on top of cornbread batter.
- Place in oven for 23-26 minutes until cornbread is done. Remove from oven and serve.
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Made this to accompany chili for a superbowl party yesterday. Was a huge hit. I basically doubled for baking in a 9×13 pan. I cut back a little on the sweetner (used Splenda instead) and used 1 1/2 cans of corn.
Sounds awesome Dave! So glad you and your company enjoyed the cornbread!!! I bet it was delicious with the chili!
Hi Jocelyn, if you still read these comments, I just found your page and could use your help! I am new to cooking (in general) and this will be my first attempt at cornbread from scratch.
One issue I’ve always had with packages (like Jiffy), and with the cornbread my mom has always made, is this “sweet” taste that I don’t like. My grandmother’s was never like that and I couldn’t figure out why. Just from googling, I see it’s the substitution of salt for sugar, and something to do with the flour possibly. For this recipe, is the 1/2 cup sugar necessary or can you use some salt instead? If so, how much? Or does this cornbread not actually have any sweet taste to it? Any advice you can give would be very helpful because I definitely want to try your recipe.
Thanks!!
Hi A.K. sorry for the delay. If you aren’t a fan of sweet cornbread, I would just decrease the sugar in the recipe but don’t increase the salt as it would be too too salty. I hope I caught you in time. I have been doing a lot of traveling. Let me know how it turns out for you!
Thanks so much for responding! I went ahead and tried it anyway, and it was super moist and turned out great, but I thought I’d like it even better if it were slightly less sweet. I had already decided to try it again because I want to add the peppers this time (love spicy food, just was scared to do it the first time around) and I’m not yet confident enough to cook for others without a test-run first, anyway. So, this time I’m going to decrease the sugar a bit and add the peppers. Can’t wait! Thanks again!
Hands down the BEST cornbread that I have ever made! Thank you!
Hooray I am so glad you enjoyed it Rachel!!
made a batch of this today. only thing I did different was to omit the green chillis and add 3 big TBS of chow chow. 🙂 can’t wait to taste it. thanks for sharing the recipe.
I made this last night it’s yummy all the way
Great Bethy! I’m so glad to hear this! I love it too.
For a different feel, sometimes I half the corms meal with flour and instead of cheddar, we use feta, family enjoys having it slightly different with something other than chili
Oh that sounds amazing dear!
Just made this cornbread with my taco casserole, but I didn’t have pepper jack so I used havarti! Hands down one of the best cornbreads I’ve ever had! Thanks for the amazing recipe, will definitely be making this again!
Becca, I am so happy to hear that! This is one of my fave cornbread recipes and I am called a cornbread expert in my fam. So happy you enjoyed it as much as I do!