This honey butter cornbread is a sweet cornbread recipe that is light, fluffy, tender, and moist. This simple recipe will quickly become your favorite go-to cornbread recipe.

Honey Butter Cornbread

This honey butter cornbread from scratch is so amazing and delicious! It has the perfect flavor and texture, and it’s so easy to make. The extra drizzle of honey at the end soaks into the baked cornbread and gives it a gorgeous glisten and pop of flavor.

It has the perfect cornmeal to flour ratio, which gives it that gorgeous yellow color, a nice little crunch, and the perfect rise. This best honey butter cornbread is sweetened with a combination of granulated sugar and honey, and it’s full of moisture thanks to the butter and the buttermilk. It’s light, fluffy, moist, and so good that it’s hard to just eat one slice.

It’s perfect for the fall and the cold winter months with a hearty bowl of chili. I also love serving it at Thanksgiving because I know my whole family will gobble up this delicious side dish.

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Ingredients

Yellow Cornmeal: This is the ingredient that gives cornmeal its distinctive color, flavor, and texture.

All-Purpose Flour: This adds structure to the cornbread and makes it lighter than if you were to only use cornmeal.

Granulated Sugar: A little bit of sweetness balances out the savory flavors in this cornbread.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These leaveners make the cornbread fluffy and help it rise. Using a combination of the two creates the optimal rise.

Salt: Salt enhances all of the other flavors in this recipe, and balances out the sweetness of the sugar and the honey.

Unsalted Butter: Butter adds a rich flavor to the cornbread and helps keep it moist. Since butter is solid at room temperature, it also adds structure to the cornbread once it cools. If you really want to amp up the flavor, try browning your butter.

Honey: Honey adds a unique sweet flavor to the cornbread. It adds a bit of acid and caramelized flavor as it bakes. It also adds liquid, which makes the cornbread more moist.

Eggs: Eggs add structure and richness to the cornbread, they also help it rise.

Buttermilk: Using buttermilk results in ultra-tender cornbread that is super moist and soft. It also adds a bit of a tangy flavor to balance out the sweetness and interacts with the baking soda to provide some of the rise.

Alternative Ingredients

For a different flavor profile, try mixing in some cooked and crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar cheese, diced jalapenos, sweet corn kernels, creamed corn, or fresh blueberries.

How To Make Honey Butter Cornbread

Grease the Baking Dish: Start by preheating the oven and greasing an 8×8-inch baking dish with butter. (See the recipe card below for the full printable instructions.)

Mix the Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the yellow cornmeal, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Prepare the Honey-Butter Mixture: In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter and honey together until well combined.

Add Eggs: Beat the eggs into the honey-butter mixture one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next.

Add Buttermilk: Pour in the buttermilk and stir until the mixture is smooth and well blended.

Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.

Pour the Batter: Transfer the batter into your prepared baking dish, spreading it out evenly with a spatula.

Bake: Place the dish in the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Rest: Allow the cornbread to rest in the pan before slicing.

Serve: Enjoy your cornbread warm with a drizzle of honey on top. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.

Pro Tips

• Don’t Overmix: Overmixing causes the cornbread to turn out tough and dense. We’re going for light and tender, which means it’s important that you don’t overmix it. Don’t worry about it if there are a few lumps, they’ll bake out as the cornbread bakes.
• Check for Doneness: You’ll only end up with moist cornbread if it’s not over baked. If you’re not completely confident that you can tell if it’s done by looking at it, start checking it using a toothpick a couple minutes before you think it’s ready.
• Let It Rest: The cornbread needs a little bit of time to set before you slice it so that it doesn’t crumble.

What Does Adding Honey To Cornbread Do?

Honey does a few things in this cornbread recipe. First, it adds a unique sweet flavor. Second, it adds moistness to the cornbread, which helps keep it soft and tender. Third, it helps the cornbread crust and edges brown because it caramelizes faster than granulated sugar does.

Should You Use Butter Or Oil In Cornbread?

Oil and butter both work in cornbread. This recipe calls for butter because I like the rich flavor it adds, and the way it helps the crust and edges brown. Since oil is liquid at room temperature, it creates a more moist cornbread. It really just depends on what you like. Since this recipe already has added extra moisture from the honey, I think butter is the better fit here.

Which Cornmeal Is Best For Cornbread?

I prefer using fine-grind or medium-grind yellow cornmeal. Fine-grind cornmeal creates cornbread with a nice, smooth texture. Medium has a really lovely balance between flavor and texture – the cornbread will have great flavor, but it won’t have a super gritty texture. Stone-ground works, but it will have a much more hearty and rustic texture. If you only have white cornmeal, you can use that, too. Just keep in mind that yellow cornmeal has a stronger corn flavor and is what gives cornbread that beautiful golden color.

What Causes Cornbread To Not Cook In The Middle?

• Oven Temperature: If your oven is too hot, the edges will cook too fast. This will create cornbread with edges that are browning too fast before the center has a chance to cook.
• Using a Pan That’s Too Small: If your pan is too small for the amount of batter you have, your cornbread will be too deep. That can also create cornbread that cooks at the edges before the middle has a chance to set.

Should You Let Cornbread Batter Sit?

No. Since this recipe relies on both baking powder and baking soda, it’s better to get it in the oven right away. These leaveners start reacting as soon as they come into contact with liquid, so if you wait to bake it, the cornbread won’t trap as many of the air bubbles, which is what makes the cornbread light and fluffy. That means you’ll end up with dense cornbread. The only exception would be if you’re using coarse-ground cornmeal, which can benefit from resting for a few minutes to give it a chance to absorb some liquid to soften before baking.

What To Serve With Cornbread

This is such a versatile recipe and it pairs so well with so many things. Some of my favorite things to serve it with are chili con carne, a bowl of slow cooker white chicken chili, some great northern beans, quick and easy chicken tenderloins, any BBQ grilled meats, crispy panko chicken, or fried chicken.

Storing Leftovers

Let the cornbread cool completely, then wrap it twice in aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Place that in a Ziploc bag, squeezing as much of the air out as you can. Store it in a cool dark place at room temperature, like a cupboard, for up to 3 days (depending on the temperature of your house it may be closer to up to 2 days). Alternatively, store it wrapped the same way in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months.

Keep In Touch

I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime

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Side Dish Recipes

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out all of our other cornbread recipes. Some reader favorites are:

• Sweet Potato Cornbread
• How to Make Jiffy Cornbread Better
• Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn
• Mexican Cornbread
• Jiffy Cornbread Dressing
• Mexican Cornbread Casserole

I hope you like this honey butter cornbread as much as I do! It’s the perfect moist, fluffy, and tender cornbread.