Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread

This recipe for jalapeño cheddar cornbread completely levels up your southern comfort food. This is perfect for serving with soup or homemade chili, and tastes divine with a little butter and honey.

My husband loves cornbread more than I think the typical human does, so over the years, I’ve gotten, not just pretty good at making it, but also pretty creative and changing it up, and keeping it interesting. This is one of our favorites, combining the savory sharpness of cheddar cheese and the spicy pepperiness of jalapeños with the sweet deliciousness of cornbread.

Tips for making good jalapeño cheddar cornbread

• Preheat your oiled skillet. A universal truth for making good cornbread – any kind of cornbread, is to preheat your skillet. Place your lard or oil in the skillet, and heat on the stove top until the oil sizzles. This will cause the crust of your cornbread to begin cooking immediately, rather than absorbing the oil.
• Use a heavy bottomed pan or skillet. I prefer to use the traditional cast iron, but regardless of whether you use an actual skillet, or a baking pan, heavy stone or iron provides even heating, and a crust that’s to die for, yielding your best results.
• Use buttermilk, or sour milk. The acidity of the milk will react with the alkalinity of the baking powder, and cause a better rise.
• Use pickled jalapeños. The salt and vinegar flavor of jalapeños add a depth and complexity to your cornbread, in addition to the peppery flavor that is naturally in jalapeños.
• Use sharp cheddar. You get more “bang for your buck” with sharp cheddar. Since it will be mellowed down by the other ingredients in the cornbread, using a sharp cheddar makes your cheesy flavor more powerful.

Ingredients for Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

• Yellow cornmeal
• All purpose flour
• Granulated sugar or honey
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Eggs
• Buttermilk
• Lard or butter
• Pickled or candied jalapeños
• Cheddar cheese, shredded, or small chunks

What about food allergies?

You can easily make this recipe gluten-free by replacing the all purpose flour with cornmeal, and adding 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum. If you crave a lighter cornbread that still uses gluten-free flour rather than all cornmeal, you could also simply use this gluten-free cornbread recipe, and add the cheese and jalapeños to it.

To make this recipe dairy-free, use lard or light olive oil in place of the butter, and cashew milk in place of the buttermilk.

I have not tested egg-free cornbread, but you can look into using flax egg, or another egg substitute.

How to make cheddar jalapeño cornbread

1. Start by chopping your jalapeños, and shredding, or chopping your cheese if needed.
2. Preheat oven to 350º
3. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl.
4. Make a well in the center, and drop in egg.
   
   
5. Use a fork or whisk to break egg up.
6. Add melted lard and buttermilk, and stir in wet ingredients to just combine.
   
   
7. Fold in jalapeños and grated cheese.
   
   
8. Heat a skillet on your stove top, and add a tablespoon of lard.
9. Let heat until lard is hot enough to sizzle.
   
10. Pour cornbread batter into hot skillet, and spread evenly.
    
    
11. Place in center of preheated oven, and bake for 30  minutes, until cornbread has begun to golden brown around the edges, and cornbread is set in the middle.
12. Remove from oven and let cool ten minutes before removing from skillet and serving.

Note: Letting the cornbread cool slightly lets it settle and set up, while removing it while still hot minimizes the chances of the cornbread sticking to the pan.

How to store cornbread

If you happen to have leftovers, I prefer to store this one in the refrigerator since it contains cheese, and more moisture than typical cornbread. Simply put it in an airtight container or ziplock bag in the fridge for up to five days.

Recipes to serve with your cornbread:

• 15 bean ham soup
• Home-canned chili
• Simple and delicious ravioli soup
• Simple Sweet potato chili
• Oxtail soup recipe

Other breads to make:

• Same day sourdough bread
• Garlic rosemary bread
• Gluten-free zucchini cheese bread
• Coconut flour bread
• Flourless oatmeal banana bread

 

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