Jalapeno Honey Cornbread
This Jalapeno Honey Cornbread is tender, delicious, and has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. Moist and slightly dense cornbread is filled with sweet and floral honey and spicy jalapeno peppers. It comes together easily in just a few minutes and it has crispy edges thanks to a cast iron skillet. Serve it warm with plenty of butter and a drizzle of honey or paired with The Best Chili, this Braised Leg of Lamb, or use it to make my Grandpa’s Southern Turkey Cornbread Dressing.
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Why This Recipe is So Good
- It’s sweet, savory AND spicy! Jalapeno honey cornbread has a nice amount of sweetness thanks to the honey and a subtle kick of heat coming from two jalapeno peppers. It tastes similar to Jiffy Mix but with a little spice.
- It’s SOOO easy to make! Homemade cornbread is made with a few fridge and pantry staples like cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, butter, and milk. This sweet and spicy version includes chopped jalapenos and honey. It really can’t be easier to throw together for an easy weeknight or holiday dinner side dish.
- On top of being totally delicious, this cornbread has the perfect texture. It’s slightly dense and delicious like you want your cornbread to be but it is also very tender, light, and fluffy. It’s perfect to serve with soups, stews, chilis or eaten straight from the pan warm with extra butter and honey!
Recipe Ingredients
- Cornmeal – Regular cornmeal is mixed with flour to give the perfect dense cornbread texture. Use regular cornmeal and regular all-purpose flour. If you have dry polenta on hand you might need to use a little extra milk to keep the same batter consistency.
- Butter – Melted unsalted butter, olive oil, or some other neutral-tasting oil. I like to use butter because it adds additional flavor to the cornbread but olive oil or vegetable oil will work fine as well!
- Milk – Using whole milk ensures that you’ll end up with moist and tender cornbread every time.
- Baking powder – Gives lift to the batter making it light and slightly fluffy.
- Honey – Use whichever honey you like the flavor of. Local honey usually has a better flavor.
- Jalapeno peppers – The size of your peppers and whether you keep the seeds or not will determine how spicy your cornbread will be. I find that 2 medium/large jalapenos give the perfect amount of spice. I like to keep the seeds but feel free to remove them if you want less heat.
How to Make Jalapeno Honey Cornbread
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a stick of butter into a large cast iron skillet then transfer it to the oven to melt. Once melted remove the skillet from the oven then set aside.
- Wearing gloves, chop up jalapeno peppers then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together dry ingredients until combined.
- In a medium bowl whisk together milk, eggs, honey, and melted butter until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients then stir to combine. Fold in chopped jalapeno peppers.
- Pour cornbread batter into the cast iron skillet spreading it out evenly. Top with a few more slices of jalapeno peppers if desired then place in the preheated oven to bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the edges are browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Serve warm with butter and a drizzle of honey.
Frequently Asked Questions —
No, I would say it’s medium spicy. You can always remove the seeds and/or use jalapenos that are on the smaller side if you want your cornbread to have less heat.
Nope! I like how convenient it is to melt the butter and then pour the cornbread batter into an already greased pan plus the cast iron crisps up the bottom and sides of the cornbread nicely. But you can use any baking dish you like instead. An 8×8-inch square baking dish or a 9.5-inch circle pie dish would work perfectly.
You can but I found that it didn’t really make that much of a difference. More than anything tossing the peppers in the flour mixture before adding the wet ingredients caused the peppers to clump together in the batter.
Looking For More Holiday Recipes?
- Cast-Iron Skillet Cornbread
- Rosemary Polenta Cornbread
- Sweet Potato Cornbread
- Cornbread Muffins Recipe
- Grandpa’s Southern Turkey Cornbread Dressing
- Chicken Dressing Recipe
- Dutch Oven Whole Roast Chicken with Potatoes
- Oven-Roasted Whole Duck Recipe
- Braised Leg of Lamb
- Southern Turnip Greens with Turkey Bacon
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Jalapeno Honey Cornbread
Equipment
- Large Cast – iron skillet
- Chef knife
- Cutting board
- Gloves for chopping up the jalapeno peppers
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter unsalted, or 1 stick
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 ¼ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs whisked, room temperature
- 2 jalapenos chopped with or without the seeds
Optional serving ideas
- Salted butter
- Hot honey or regular honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your stick of butter into a large cast iron skillet, then place it into the oven to melt. Once melted remove the skillet from the oven then set aside.
- Using gloves, chop up jalapeno peppers then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl whisk together honey, milk, eggs, and melted butter until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir until combined then fold in the chopped jalapeno peppers.
- Pour cornbread batter evenly into a baking pan. Top with a few more sliced jalapenos if you like.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes or until the edges are nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow jalapeno honey cornbread to cool slightly then serve warm with butter and honey with chili, or your favorite soup.
Notes
How To Store/ Make Ahead
- Slice cornbread into desired slices then wrap in plastic wrap or store a whole pan of cornbread wrapped with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- For the freezer, wrap cornbread slices tightly with plastic wrap and place them inside a freezer-safe bag to freeze for up to 2 months.
- Reheat cornbread in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees or until heated through. From frozen cover the cornbread in parchment paper or aluminum foil. Heat for 15 – 20 minutes or until heated through.
Tips and Tricks
- Jalapenos: Use smaller peppers and/or remove the ribs and seeds if you don’t want your cornbread to be too spicy. Use larger peppers and keep the seeds for more spice.
- Wear gloves when cutting your peppers: The oils from the peppers can be a major irritant to your eyes and mouth if you accidentally rub them with jalapeno pepper hands.
- Cornmeal: Use regular cornmeal. If you want to use dry polenta use an extra ¼ of milk since polenta is coarser than cornmeal and will soak up more of the liquid.
- Cast iron skillet alternatives: Baking cornbread in a cast-iron skillet will give it crisp edges and bottom, use an 8×8-inch square baking dish or a 9.5-inch circle baking dish instead. Make sure to grease the bottom and sides of the pan before pouring in the batter to help prevent sticking.
Nutrition
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.
