This sweet and spicy jalapeño cornbread recipe is a perfect side dish for soup or chili. Tip: slather your slice with honey butter to take it over the top!
This jalapeño cornbread recipe is a spiced-up riff on my regular homemade cornbread. I always love cornbread, but lately, I’ve been especially smitten with this jalapeño version. It’s tender, moist, and a little crumbly in the way that good cornbread should be. In addition to adding jalapeños, I mix in scallions and shredded cheddar cheese, making this jalapeño cornbread spicy, sweet, and savory all at once. Even Jack, who doesn’t typically like cornbread, goes nuts over this recipe. Heads up: you’ll want to save room for a second piece.
Jalapeño Cornbread Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this jalapeño cornbread recipe:
- Cornmeal and all-purpose flour – They make up the base of the batter and give the bread its perfect crumbly texture.
- Baking powder, baking soda, and eggs – They help the cornbread puff up as it bakes.
- Almond milk – Feel free to swap in whatever plain, unsweetened milk you keep on hand. Oat, soy, and cow’s milk would all work nicely here.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – For richness. If you prefer, you can use a neutral oil like avocado oil in its place.
- Maple syrup – It adds a touch of sweetness to this recipe.
- Jalapeños and scallions – For spicy, savory flavor.
- Sharp cheddar cheese – It gives the cornbread extra richness and tangy flavor.
- Butter – For greasing the pan.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Jalapeño Cornbread
This jalapeño cornbread recipe is super simple to put together. Here’s how it goes:
Start by preheating the oven to 350°F. Stick a 10-inch cast-iron skillet inside it as it warms up.
Meanwhile, prepare the batter. Combine the wet ingredients in a medium bowl and the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Dice the scallions and jalapeños.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients…
…and fold until just combined.
Then, stir in the scallions, jalapeños, and cheese. Remember to reserve some of the scallions and jalapeños for sprinkling on top!
When the batter is ready, remove the skillet from the oven. Careful, the handle will be hot!
Add the butter to the hot skillet and tilt the pan so that it coats the bottom. Pour the batter into the skillet and sprinkle with the reserved scallions and jalapeños.
Finally, bake! Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the top springs back to the touch. Let the baked cornbread cool for 20 minutes before you slice and serve it.
Jalapeño Cornbread Serving Suggestions
This jalapeño cheddar cornbread is a delicious, versatile side dish. Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve it:
- With chili! Find my Easy Vegetarian Chili Recipe here.
- With soup. I especially like it with smoky or spicy soups like my Creamy Potato or Black Bean Soup.
- With a salad. Pair it with my Sweet Potato Salad for a perfect fall lunch.
- With a pot of beans. Make a pot of pinto beans into a meal by serving them with the cornbread, cilantro lime rice, and tomatillo salsa.
- Or all on its own. Slather slices with and enjoy them for breakfast or as a snack.
More Favorite Baking Recipes
If you love this jalapeño cornbread recipe, try one of these baking recipes next:
- Homemade Dinner Rolls
- Rosemary Focaccia Bread
- No-Knead Bread
- Homemade Soft Pretzels
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Healthy Banana Muffins
- Or any of these 25 Super Fun Baking Recipes!
Jalapeño Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil or any neutral oil
- 4 scallions, chopped, reserve some for topping
- ¾ cup seeded and diced jalapeño peppers, 2 to 3 peppers, reserve some for topping
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the pan
- Honey Butter, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F with a 10-inch cast-iron pan inside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond milk, egg, maple syrup, and oil.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the scallions, jalapeños, and cheese.
- Remove the preheated skillet from the oven using an oven mitt (be careful because the handle will be hot!) and grease it with the butter.
- Pour the batter into the pan, sprinkle with the remaining scallions and jalapeños, and bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until the center springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
- Serve with honey butter.
I just had this for a cookout and it was a huge hit! I’m actually making a second batch tonight because everyone was commenting that it was sad there was so much leftover meat and no cornbread to go with it.
I did 1.5 TB honey instead of the maple syrup.
Hi Danielle, I’m glad it was such a hit!