Meet your new go-to recipe. This tender, moist homemade cornbread is easy to make and tastes like box mix, but 100 times tastier.

Meet your new go-to recipe. Yes, you can make cornbread from a box. But if you want the best cornbread, the kind that’s that’s tender and moist, with just the right sweetness: we’ve got you. This new homemade cornbread recipe is truly stellar, and deceptively easy to make. It reminds me of the Jiffy box mix that I grew up with, but way tastier. Alex and I have already served it with chili, in Caesar salad, with our best lentil soup, and with salmon. In fact, there’s long list of main dishes made more perfect with a square of cornbread! Ready to get started?

Also try: Classic Cornbread Muffins or Skillet Cornbread!

What is “the best” cornbread?

Everyone has their own favorite homemade cornbread. We know, it’s like mom’s best potato salad or mac and cheese. But what is “the best” to us? First off, it’s the perfect thickness, about 2-inches thick, which makes just the right satisfying bite. Ever had a too thin piece of cornbread? It’s super anti-climactic. Even more important, this recipe is moist and tender, not too crumbly. Because no one wants cornbread that falls apart before you can take a bite.

And, it’s just the right sweetness! Most of our recipes on this website have a healthy spin, so we often experiment with lowering sugar. But Alex and I have realized: a good cornbread needs sugar. So we’ve added just enough to get the right flavor, without being overly sugary.

How to make homemade cornbread

There’s no need for a box for cornbread. Seriously! Our recipe uses normal ingredients you’ll likely already have in your pantry and fridge. Here’s all you need to do to make homemade cornbread (see below for the full recipe):

Mix together medium grind cornmeal, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix milk, apple cider vinegar and melted butter.
Pour the wets into the dries and mix them together.
Pour into 9 x 9-inch greased pan and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

How to store leftovers

Cornbread, like many quick breads, keeps very well. If you can keep yourself from eating all of it at once, it stays perfectly moist on a cutting board at room temperature with a towel on top for 3 days. You can also keep it in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Refrigerating cornbread is not recommended, because it gets very dry! If you’d like to keep your cornbread for longer, you can freeze it for a few months. Just make sure to thaw to room temperature before serving.

Ways to serve cornbread

Now that we have our best homemade cornbread recipe, I’ve been recommending it to go with just about EVERYTHING. (And of course, don’t forget to slather it with hot honey or strawberry jam too.) Here are our top favorite types of recipes to serve with a square of cornbread:

Chili: The most popular pairing with chili can’t really be beat. This Vegetarian Chili is our most popular, as are our Healthy 3-Bean Chili and Vegan Quinoa Chili.
Salmon: It’s a great side to serve with salmon. Try it with our Baked Salmon, Broiled Salmon or Cedar Plank Salmon.
Shrimp: It’s perfect to accompany our Sheet Pan Shrimp Boil in Oven.
Soup or Stew: It truly goes with any soup. A few we’d recommend: Best Damn Lentil Soup, Tomato Basil Soup, Creamy Corn Chowder, and Vegetarian Split Pea Soup.
Croutons in Salad: Dry it out to make crunchy croutons for a salad.
Barbecue: Try it with our Jackfruit BBQ Sandwich or your favorite BBQ recipe.
With Hot Honey: The best way to top this cornbread? Our spicy Hot Honey recipe.

This homemade cornbread recipe is…

Vegetarian.