Cornbread isn’t just a side dish—especially when it’s packed with flavor like this Cheddar Cheese Cornbread. With melty cheddar and sweet corn in every bite, plus red and green peppers baked right in, it’s already a winner. But the real magic happens on top, where jalapeños, red onions, tomatoes, and Cotija cheese bring heat, freshness, and a little salty kick.
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Pouring the cornbread batter into a sizzling, buttered cast-iron skillet creates a golden brown crust with crispy edges and rich, buttery flavor. The heat retention of cast iron ensures a moist, tender inside, making every slice irresistible.
Love the cheesy, savory goodness of this cornbread? Then you’ll want to try these cheddar scones filled with ham, a flaky, buttery alternative. They’re perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack!
Recipe Highlights
Get the essential details of this iron skillet cornbread at a glance:
- Type of recipe: Bread, side dish
- Cooking method: Oven-baked in a skillet
- Skill level: Easy; chop veggies, shred cheese, mix batter
- Flavors & textures: Moist with cheesy with spicy flavor for a savory cornbread
Skillet Cornbread Ingredients
- Yellow cornmeal: The key ingredient for authentic cornbread, it adds classic corn flavor and a subtle crunch. A medium-grind works best for balanced texture. I recommend Bob’s Red Mill yellow cornmeal – it delivers the perfect crunch without feeling overly rustic.
- All-purpose flour: This is essential for structure. It prevents the cornbread from being overly dense while maintaining a tender crumb.
- Buttermilk: Adds tangy flavor and moisture, ensuring a soft texture. If you don’t have any on hand, you can make homemade buttermilk using milk and an acid like lemon juice or vinegar. Whole milk can also be substituted, as the baking soda helps with leavening.
- Corn: Cooked fresh, thawed frozen, or canned corn kernels infuse the bread with bold corn flavor and a satisfying pop of texture.
- Shredded cheddar cheese: Opt for sharp cheddar to bring rich, deep flavor to every bite.
- Red and green peppers: These add vibrant color and a mix of sweet and slightly bitter flavors, enhancing both the taste and visual appeal of the cornbread.
- Jalapeño pepper: A spicy topping that adds just the right amount of heat to complement the cornbread.
- Red onion: Adds a mild sharpness and beautiful color contrast.
- Tomatoes: Juicy and fresh, they bring brightness and balance to the savory toppings.
- Cotija cheese: A salty, tangy finishing touch that intensifies the overall flavor profile. I like to buy a block of Cotija and break it up.
Topping Variations
With this recipe, you can be creative with all kinds of delicious toppings from your garden, the farmer’s market, or even the market’s produce section. Here are some ideas for cornbread with vegetables:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Chives
- Zucchini
- Cubed baked sweet potato
- Roasted garlic
- Okra
- Cilantro
- Feta cheese
- Smoked cheddar cheese
- Pepperjack cheese
- Crumbles bacon
How to Make Cheddar Cornbread
Step 1. Heat your oven to 425°F. Add two tablespoons of butter to a 12-inch skillet, put the skillet in the oven, and heat for about 8 minutes until the butter is melted.
Notes- You can also bake the bread with a 9 x 13 pan.
Step 2. Prep all the peppers by seeding and dicing them into small pieces or slices. Peel and dice the red onion. Cut and seed the tomato and dice.
Step 3. Prepare the cornbread batter in a large bowl. Add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper and whisk to combine.
Step 4. Melt the butter and whisk the eggs into the buttermilk.
Step 5. Whisk all the dry ingredients together, then add the buttermilk and egg mixture and the melted butter. Mix the batter with a spoon until well combined.
Step 6. Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese, red and green peppers, and corn kernels until thoroughly mixed.
Step 7. Pour the batter into the hot iron skillet on top of the melted butter.
Step 8. Add the toppings and bake at 425°F. for 25 to 30 minutes. When done, top with crumbled Cotija cheese.
FAQ’s
The key here is to get the skillet hot before adding the batter.
You can for this recipe since it already uses baking soda. In other recipes, if you make the substitution and baking soda is not in the recipe, always add ½ teaspoon per cup of buttermilk.
You can! I would mix two boxes as directed and then add the ingredients to the batter and on top, as shown in the directions.
Yes, drain the corn before adding it to the batter.
If you are using fresh corn, it needs to be cooked first before adding it to the batter.
What to Pair with Cornbread
- This cornbread is good enough to stand on its own, but it’s even better alongside a hearty meal. Try it with a savory side dish of smoky ham and tender green beans, or serve it with Over the Top Chili made with smoked beef.
- These spicy recipes pair well with the heat from the cornbread, too. Try Mexican meatballs stuffed with cheddar cheese, or serve them with a creamy Mexican Soup with sweet corn and beans.
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Cheddar Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread with Veggies
Ingredients
Cornbread Batter
- 2 tablespoon butter for melting in skillet
- 3 cups yellow cornmeal medium grind
- 11/2 cups AP flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups buttermilk
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ⅔ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels thaw the frozen corn
- 1 cup sharp shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup green bell pepper seeded and diced
- ¼ cup red bell pepper seeded and diced
Cornbread Topping
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced or sliced
- 1 medium-sized tomato seeded and diced or sliced
- ½ cup red onion peeled and diced or sliced
- ½ cup Cotija Cheese crumbled
Instructions
Making the cornbread batter
- Heat the oven to 425° F. and add 2 tablespoons of butter to a 10" cast iron skillet and put in the oven to melt the butter and get the skillet hot.
- On a large cutting board, prep all the peppers and the tomato by seeding and dicing. Peel the onion and dice.
- In a large mixing bowl add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper and whisk to combine.
- Measure the buttermilk and beat in the three eggs. Pour this mixture into the dry inredients mixture along with the melted butter and lightly mix.
- Add the corn, shredded cheddar cheese, and the green and red bell peppers. Mix together thoroughly.
- Carefully remove the cast iron from the oven, it will be very hot. Pour the cornbread batter into the skillet. It will probably sizzle.
- Add toppings, except the Cotija cheese. Bake the cornbread for 25-30 minutes at 425° F. until the bread is baked through and golden brown.
- When the bread is done, remove from the oven and sprinkle with the crumbled Cojita cheese.
- Serve warm. Store the leftover cornbread in a sealed container on the counter for two days.
Notes
- I put the skillet in the hot oven to melt the butter, but the butter can also be melted on the stovetop.
- You want the skillet to be really hot when you add the batter. It should sizzle, and this is what makes a golden-brown crust on the cornbread.
- You can also bake this bread in a 9 x 13″ baking pan.
- This recipe is very adaptable in terms of the batter, fillings, and toppings. Feel free to add veggies you like.
- Slicing the bread into servings: I used the standard serving size of 8 slices for this recipe, but you can slice it into small slices or even squares.
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Nutrition
First published: March 8, 2020, Last updated: Sept. 12, 2022, for better readability.
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About Jere’ Cassidy
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place. I am glad to be sharing sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.
Taste was great! however, be mindful of amounts. My usual recipe for skillet cornbread calls for about half the amounts used in this recipe and bakes in a 9-10inch pan (base is 9 inches, outside edge is 10 inches, and the sides slope). This recipe made at least double the batter I use for that pan, so I baked it in an 11 inch skillet (straight sides) and it was perfect- I think it would have either overflowed when baking, or not cooked properly (for the time given) in a 10 inch skillet as the recipe calls for. Also, I am not from the south and not even American, so if we cut this into 8 slices I think that would have been a meal on its own 🙂 So I have to assume that the portions are for folks who eat a lot more cornbread with a meal than we do!!
Thanks for your input. I have baked this cornbread in two different 10-inch skillets and it comes out perfect. This slices can be made what you like, I have even cut them into squares.