There’s nothing like a thick slice of jalapeño cheddar cornbread as a side to your dinner. It has the perfect blend of cheese and spice.
Get ready to enjoy my favorite jalapeño cheddar cornbread!
As a kid, I used to love eating cornbread. Whenever someone would make it, I could eat a ton of it on my own. I would slather it with a ton of butter and just go to town. The only thing is everyone I knew made it from a box.
I actually thought it was impossible to make cornbread without a box for all of my childhood and most of my young adulthood until I saw Martha Stewart make it from scratch on her show. She added fresh corn and all of these amazing mix-ins.
My mind was blown. Seriously. My cornbread-eating life was changed forever.
So, I went on a quest to make cornbread on my own and see if it was better than the box. A lot of recipes I tried used a mix of flour and cornmeal and while they were good, I wasn’t a fan of the texture.
I wanted something heartier that could hold up to sopping up chili and stew while still retaining all of its texture. I needed something that was all cornmeal.
I started playing around with an all cornmeal cornbread to find the perfect texture and structure that I wanted. I finally found it after a few years of searching and testing out different recipes. This jalapeño cheddar cornbread is my favorite version of that cornbread and the one I make the most often.
It is nice and sturdy and has a ton of flavor thanks to toasting the cornmeal first. The cheddar flavor is prominent, and you get just the right amount of heat from the jalapeño peppers.
Pro tip: make sure when you are handling the jalapeños, use gloves and make sure you dice the jalapeños finely.
If you are looking for a hearty and homey side to dinner tonight, there is seriously nothing better than this jalapeño cheddar cornbread. It’s one of our favorite Southern Thanksgiving dishes!
Pro tip: Check out our recommendations for what to serve with cornbread.
Skillet Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups Finely Ground Cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Plain Yogurt
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 2 large Egg
- 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil or canola oil
- 5 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese divided
- 3 jalapeños Jalapeño sliced and divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Heat a cast iron skillet on medium high and add the cornmeal. Toast for about 5 minutes, then place in a bowl.
- Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together with the cornmeal. Set side.
- In the cast iron skillet, add the oil and butter and heat until the butter is melted.
- While the butter and oil are heating, beat together the yogurt, milk, and eggs together. Finely dice two of the jalapeños and slice the third. Stir the yogurt mixture into the cornmeal. It will be very thick.
- Add most of the oil and melted butter into the cornmeal mixture, leaving just enough to coat the bottom and sides of the cast iron.
- Fold in 1 1/2 cups of the cheese and the finely diced jalapenos into the cornmeal mixture. Pour the mixture into the cast iron skillet.
- Top with the remaining cheese and sliced jalapenos.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.