Southern-Style Unsweetened Cornbread Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

High-quality stone-ground cornmeal is all you need for excellent Southern-style unsweetened cornbread.
If you can't get high-quality cornmeal, a small amount of sugar helps to balance the flavor.
Preheating the skillet produces a cornbread with crisp edges.

One hundred and fifty-eight years ago, Abraham Lincoln famously prophesied that the United States would have to make a nationwide decision on the issue of slavery. "A house divided against itself cannot stand," he said, and he was right—more than half a million men died to settle the matter. Thankfully, the decidedly less pressing question of sweetened versus unsweetened cornbread, which continues to split the North and the South, isn't quite contentious enough to drag us back into a civil war.*

*For weak scientific evidence of the dead-even divide, seethe results of our recent Twitter poll.

A born-and-bred Yankee myself, I'd never even tasted the South's unsweetened cornbread until relatively recently. The only kind I knew as a kid was that yellow, cake-like confection from above the Mason-Dixon, and I always loved it, for the same reason that all kids love eating dessert alongside their dinner. I still have a soft spot for it, which I am totally unapologetic about, but I've since been won over by the Southern version, made with stone-ground cornmeal and not a trace of sugar or wheat flour.

If you're curious about why the two versions exist in the first place, you need to readRobert Moss's piece"The Real Reason Sugar Has No Place in Cornbread."In a nutshell, though, the key points are that the corn milled for cornbread used to be left to ripen longer in the field, leading to a higher natural sugar content, and was stone-ground to produce cornmeal with a texture that varied from powdery flour to larger grits. With the advent of industrial milling techniques, the corn was picked when it was less ripe and ground with rollers, creating a consistently coarser grind that didn't work as well with leavenings. Sugar was therefore added to offset the significantly less sweet corn, while fine wheat flour was added to correct the grind issue.

Southern-Style Unsweetened Cornbread Recipe (1)

With the resurgence of small-scale milling, though, the original type of cornmeal is increasingly available. I ordered a handful of bags of white and yellow cornmeal fromAnson Millsto test my recipe here, and I highly recommend you also seek out the best stone-ground cornmeal you can, whether by ordering online or seeking out a local mill. That's because, based on my rounds of testing, the cornmeal itself has the single biggest impact on the final cornbread. The difference is staggering—the good stone-ground stuff produces a bread that's light and fluffy, interspersed with pleasantly crackly bits of corn grit, and loaded with a rich corn flavor.

What does cornbread taste like when it's made with a lower-quality cornmeal and no sugar? Strangely, it tastes like a black hole has formed within the crumb and all the sugar molecules have been sucked into it, never to be tasted again. The flavor doesn't register merely as a zero on the sweetness scale, but dips down into the negative numbers. It's not unlike drinking totally pure distilled water—the absence of minerals is completely bewildering. Cornbread needn't be overtly sweet, but itdoesneed just enough sweetness to avoid tasting like the fabric of the universe has been torn asunder and you're hopelessly trying to lick the rift.

Southern-Style Unsweetened Cornbread Recipe (2)

Now, if you can't get your hands on the good cornmeal, the solution is to get a bag of mass-market stone-ground cornmeal and add just a wee bit of sugar to it. I find that about three teaspoons of granulated sugar per three cups (15 ounces) of cornmeal is just about right. You won't end up with a sweet Northern cornbread with that amount of sugar, but you will end up with something that tastes complete.

Beyond that, the rest is very simple: Start by preheating a well-seasoned cast iron skillet in the oven. While it's in there, mix the cornmeal with baking soda, baking powder, salt, and—only if needed—a tiny bit of sugar. Mix that with buttermilk, eggs, and fat. (I use melted butter here, but lard or bacon fat is also great, if you have it.)

Southern-Style Unsweetened Cornbread Recipe (3)

Even if you've lived your whole life on the sweet side of the cornbread debate, I challenge you to try making it with a worthy cornmeal. You may just be converted. And if not...well, just drizzle some honey or sorghum syrup on top and keep your opinion to yourself, because, even today, there are other, more important things to fight about.

November 2015

Recipe Details

Southern-Style Unsweetened Cornbread

Active20 mins

Total60 mins

Serves12 servings

Makes2 1/2 pounds

Ingredients

15 ounces (3 cups) stone-ground cornmeal (see notes)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons sugar(optional; see notes)
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted, divided

Directions

Place a well-seasoned 12-inch cast iron skillet on the center rack of the oven and preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk cornmeal with salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar (if using).
In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk with eggs until hom*ogenous. Whisking constantly, drizzle in all but 1 tablespoon melted butter.
Whisk liquid ingredients into dry ingredients just until thoroughly mixed; avoid over-mixing.
Pour remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter into preheated skillet and carefully swirl to coat bottom and sides. Scrape batter into prepared skillet, smoothing the top gently with a rubber spatula. Bake until cornbread is lightly browned on top and a skewer inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Let cool for about 15 minutes in skillet, then serve warm. (Cornbread does not keep well and will lose its texture as it cools, so it's best to eat it while it's still fresh.)

Notes

A lot of industrial cornmeal is made from underripe corn and then ground using modern methods for a very consistent grind. That kind of cornmeal does not make a good Southern-style unsweetened cornbread. For best results here, use a high-quality, fresh stone-ground cornmeal, such as from Anson Mills, Old Mill of Guilford, or Nora Mill; these cornmeals do not need additional sugar. If you use a more mass-market source, consider adding the optional sugar to help balance the flavor.

Special Equipment

12-inch cast iron skillet

The Real Reason Sugar Has No Place in Cornbread

Southern-Style Unsweetened Cornbread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do southerners not put sugar in cornbread? ›

The most common theory is a change in cornmeal itself. Until early in the 20th century, Southern cornmeal was made with sweeter white corn and it was water-ground. When industrial milling came along, that changed. The steel-roller mills used yellow corn that was harvested before it was ripe, so it had less sugar.

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What makes southern cornbread different? ›

Northern cornbreads tend to be more cake-like, on the sweet side, with a finer crumb due to more flour in the mixture. Southern cornbread is flavored with bacon grease, and cooked in a cast iron skillet, a perfect side for barbecues, or chili. It also tends to be rather crumbly.

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Can you omit sugar from cornbread? ›

Classic Buttermilk Cornbread. Buttermilk cornbread has a few simple ingredients and is done in less than 30 minutes. Classic southern style - no sugar! And, you can't beat a warm square of this covered in melted butter with honey dripping down the sides!

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Is cornbread better for diabetics? ›

Cornbread is delicious and a great accompaniment to any meal. However, it is not a good idea if you are a diabetic. The high starch and cornmeal contents are carbohydrates which are broken down into sugar in the body. Sugar is extremely dangerous for people with diabetes, so it is best to avoid it.

What is the difference between New York cornbread and southern cornbread? ›

A typical contemporary northern U.S. cornbread recipe contains half wheat flour, half cornmeal, milk or buttermilk, eggs, leavening agent, salt, and usually sugar, resulting in a bread that is somewhat lighter and sweeter than the traditional southern version.

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What is the difference between yankee cornbread and southern cornbread? ›

There are some basic differences between Southern corn-bread and what many people call "Yankee" cornbread. Southern cornbread, besides being made from white corn meal, has very little sugar in it - between a teaspoon and a tablespoon. And it is made with buttermilk.

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Should Southern cornbread be sweet? ›

In 1892, a Times correspondent, after enumerating the many types of corn-based breads eaten in Virginia, noted, "It will be observed that in none of them is sugar used. There are cornmeal puddings served with sweet sauces, but no Southern cook would risk the spoiling of her cornbreads by sweetening them."

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Does southern cornbread have sugar in it? ›

If a Southerner didn't put sugar in their cornbread, then there's no sugar in Southern cornbread. A lot of people are emotionally invested in this question. Asking it is a quick way to start a fight in our Facebook food group. Ask that question, and kitchen knives will be drawn.

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Is real southern cornbread sweet? ›

Real, traditional, Southern-style cornbread is savory, not sweet, and always has been.

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Does Jiffy cornbread have added sugar? ›

Ingredients. WHEAT FLOUR, DEGERMED YELLOW CORN MEAL, SUGAR, LARD (HYDROGENATED LARD, BHT AND CITRIC ACID PRESERVATIVES), CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: BAKING SODA, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SALT, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID, WHEAT STARCH.

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Is there a cornbread mix that isn't sweet? ›

For a cornbread mix that is cakey but isn't too sweet and tastes like it was made right in a southern state, we recommend the Krusteaz Southern Cornbread and Muffin Mix.

Tell Me More ›

How do you take the sweetness out of cornbread? ›

Most cornbread mixes are far too sweet for my taste, but the first ingredient should always be either white or yellow cornmeal, not suger. You might try substituting half the mix with cornmeal, and adding half a teaspoon of baking powder to make up for what's lost.

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Will cornbread raise blood sugar? ›

Yes, corn will raise your blood sugar because it contains carbohydrates.

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Can diabetics eat pinto beans? ›

While pinto beans contain carbohydrates, they do not raise blood sugar quickly because they are slowly digested and absorbed. This is largely thanks to their high fiber and protein content. For this reason, beans are considered a low-glycemic food and a healthy choice for people with diabetes.

Can diabetics eat grits? ›

Grits are a creamy Southern dish made from ground corn. While they're high in carbs and can increase blood sugar, you can eat them in moderation if you have diabetes. Just be sure to pair this savory porridge with healthy, low-carb ingredients and choose less processed, stone-ground varieties when possible.

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Is cornbread sweet in the South? ›

A quick Google search will tell you that Southern cornbread is oftentimes devoid of any sugar, while its Northern counterpart is light, sweet, buttery and cakelike.

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Did cornbread originally have sugar? ›

Early cornbread consisted of cornmeal, water, and salt and was baked over a fire or in a hearth. Without milk, eggs, or sugar, early versions of the bread were quite different than what we eat today, but they offered a vital source of energy.