Cornbread Recipe without Buttermilk – Easy 30 Minute Side Dish
This classic cornbread recipe without buttermilk has been a family favorite for generations — moist, simple, and ready in under 30 minutes. Perfect alongside soup, chili, or even served for breakfast like Mom used to make!
What you’ll love about this recipe:
Ingredients for Cornmeal Cornbread
Check your pantry & fridge for the following items:
Simple Baked Cornbread Recipe without Buttermilk
This classic cornbread recipe has been a family favorite for generations. Made without buttermilk and baked to perfection in an 8×8 inch pan, it can be ready in under 30 minutes. It’s a quick-fix side dish you’ll keep coming back to!
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)
- 4 tablespoons oil – I use canola oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cornmeal. Set this aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients – the milk, egg, and oil.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Stir together with a large spoon until the batter is well mixed and smooth, but do not overbeat.
- Pour the cornbread batter into a lightly greased 8 x 8 inch square pan and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
- You will know the cornbread is done when it pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 203Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 366mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 5g
Watch the video of making this Cornbread Recipe
Step by Step Instructions for this Simple Cornbread Recipe
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, then stir together your dry ingredients — flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cornmeal — in a large bowl and set it aside. In a separate bowl, whisk your milk, egg, and oil together until combined.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture right in, stirring just until everything comes together smooth — a few lumps are fine, and overbeating will toughen it up. Pour the batter into a lightly greased 8×8 pan and bake for 20 minutes, until it pulls away from the sides and a toothpick comes out clean.
Growing up, my mom called this recipe “Johnny Cake” and served it for breakfast with butter and homemade pancake syrup — still my favorite way to eat it!
You will know the cornbread is done when it pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.
What toppings do you put on cornbread?
Cornbread is a wonderful sidedish that can be served alongside chili and stews, and is a popular sidedish in the South for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. It is best served warm, and often spread with butter, honey, or jam. As I mentioned earlier, our family grew up putting butter and homemade pancake syrup on ours. It’s still my favorite topping!;)
How to store leftover cornbread
To store leftover cornbread, make sure it has cooled completely. Then place it in an airtight container with a lid or a ziploc bag. It will last 3 days at room temperature covered this way. If you store it in the freezer, it can last up to 3 months.
Other Yummy Sidedishes for Soups & Stews
- This Old Fashioned Drop Dumpling Recipe is delicious with soup and stew!
- Buttery bread machine rolls are soft and tender and just melt in your mouth!
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I really appreciate that this recipe skips buttermilk and still aims for a moist texture using regular milk and oil. The 8×8 pan and 20-minute bake time make it feel genuinely weeknight-friendly, and the detail about serving it as “Johnny Cake” with butter and pancake syrup adds a nice personal touch. I’ll definitely try this alongside chili soon.
This recipe proves you don’t need fussy ingredients to make something comforting and reliable.
Looks delicious. I suggest trying it with real maple syrup, or maple butter.
We also had Johnny Cake when I was a child. I would put it in a bowl and add milk and of course, imitation maple syrup. We couldn’t afford the real maple syrup unless my brother or someone else made it and offered it to us. Fun to remember those childhood memories!