Cornbread seems to be an afterthought. Rarely is it eaten by itself; it’s always paired with a stew, soup, or salad. I get it; most times, cornbread is a bit boring. I can’t eat ham and beans without it. But it does not have to be this way, and once you try this made-from-scratch Cheddar Iron Skillet Cornbread with Veggies you may rethink eating a big slice.
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This is not your traditional cornbread; this recipe is known as Farmstand Cornbread and is loaded with corn kernels, cheddar cheese, and lots of spicy and delicious toppings. This bread has red and green peppers baked inside, and it's topped with jalapeno, red onions, tomatoes, and Cotija cheese. This moist cornbread recipe has some savory flavors.
This cornbread is good enough to stand on its own but try pairing it with this Easy Green Bean And Ham recipe, or this tasty Over The Top Chili. These spicy recipes go with the spicy cornbread, too, try these meatballs stuffed with cheddar cheese cubes or with this easy Mexican Corn and Bean Soup.
Jump to:
- Why bake cornbread in cast-iron skillet?
- Topping variations
- Cornbread Ingredients
- Ingredients for a great cornbread recipe
- Let's bake
- Cornbread Tip
- What if I don't have a cast-iron skillet?
- What else can I bake in an iron skillet?
- Cornbread FAQ's
- More recipes to make
- Recipe
- What else can I bake in an iron skillet?
Why bake cornbread in cast-iron skillet?
- Baking in a cast-iron skillet develops great flavor.
- Pouring the batter into a sizzling, buttered iron skillet will give you a delicious golden brown, crunchy, buttery crust with crispy edges, for some seriously delicious flavor.
- Because cast-iron retains heat better than a baking dish, the cornbread bakes more evenly and will be moist and tender inside.
- Serve your just-baked bread directly from the skillet, and your bread with stay warm.
- Ok, I will be honest; baking in an iron skillet is fun, plus I get to use my grandma's skillet.
Make sure to keep your iron skillet ready for use. This guide on How To Season A Cast Iron Skillet will walk you through the easy steps to keep your cast iron in perfect condition.
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. You can change the veggies and cheese to what you like with this recipe. This cornbread recipe is very adaptable to your tastes.
Topping variations
You can get creative here; try adding these ingredients
- Cherry tomatoes
- Chives
- Zucchini
- Cubed baked sweet potato
- Roasted garlic
- Okra
- Cilantro
- Feta cheese
- Smoked cheddar cheese
- Pepperjack cheese
- Crumbles bacon
Cornbread Ingredients
No matter what, cornbread is cornbread, and it should be simple to make with simple ingredients.
Ingredients for a great cornbread recipe
- Butter - the buttery flavor is always delicious.
- Yellow cornmeal - cornbread needs cornmeal which gives the bread flavor and a bit of a crunch. I prefer a medium-grind cornmeal.
- All-purpose flour - you need flour to keep the cornbread from being too dense.
- Baking powder - helps the cornbread to rise.
- Baking soda - works with baking powder.
- Salt and Pepper - salt always enhances the flavor.
- Buttermilk - gives a tangy flavor and adds moisture.
- Eggs - make the cornbread light and fluffy.
- Fresh or thawed frozen corn - adding corn kernels gives this cornbread a big corn flavor and adds great texture.
- Shredded cheddar cheese -try adding a sharp cheddar for its deep flavor.
- Red pepper - adds color and a sweet, mild pepper flavor.
- Green pepper - adds color and a hint of bitter pepper flavor.
- Jalapeno pepper - added as a topping, this pepper will have a bit of heat.
- Red onion - use red onion for color and flavor.
- Tomatoes - juicy tomatoes add flavor and freshness.
- Cotija cheese - adds some strong cheese flavor that has a bit of saltiness.
Let's bake
If you haven't made homemade cornbread, this recipe is quick and easy and bakes in 30 minutes. Just chop the veggies, shred the cheese and mix the batter.
Step 1. Heat your oven to 425 degrees F. Add two tablespoons of butter to the skillet, put the skillet in the oven, and heat for about 8 minutes until the butter is melted. Melting the butter in the skillet will make the crust crispy and adds flavor.
Cornbread Tip
Instead of melting butter in the skillet, melt bacon drippings in the skillet instead. My grandma did this since she always saved the drippings, which adds great flavor.
~One Hot Oven~
Step 2. Prep all the peppers by seeding and dicing them into small pieces or slices. Peel and slice or dice the red onion. Cut and seed the tomato and dice.
Step 3. Prepare the cornbread batter using a large bowl and 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. Did you hear it sizzling? That means your butter and skillet were hot.
Step 8. Add the toppings and bake at 425 degrees F. for 25 to 30 minutes. When done, top with crumbled Cotija cheese.
Step 9. Slice, eat and enjoy!
I hear you saying -
What if I don't have a cast-iron skillet?
Well, you could buy a skillet, but there are options. Heat the butter in a 10-inch baking dish or pie plate, giving you a bit of a crispy crust.
What else can I bake in an iron skillet?
Use your skillet to make cakes; here are two of my favorites.
Easy vanilla cake in a skillet - this is my go-to quick dessert recipe that everyone loves. The cake is tender and filled with lots of vanilla bean seeds. It is simply delicious.
Maple apple skillet cake - a moist yellow cake topped with sweet juicy apples that caramelize from maple syrup and brown sugar.
Cornbread FAQ's
The key here is to get the skillet hot before adding the batter.
For this recipe, you can since it is already using baking soda. In other recipes, if you make the substitution and no baking soda is 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.
As for cornmeal, there are many varieties to choose from. For this recipe, I prefer Bob's Red Mills yellow cornmeal, which gives this cornbread a nice cornmeal crunch without being too rustic. And I use this 10" Lodge Iron Skillet.
More recipes to make
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Recipe
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
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 cups buttermilk
- 3 eggs, large
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ⅔ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels thaw the frozen corn
- 1 cup 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 tomato, medium-sized 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
What else can I bake in an iron skillet?
Use your skillet to make cakes, here are two of my favorites. Easy vanilla cake in a skillet - this is my go-to quick dessert recipe that everyone loves. It is simple and delicious. Maple apple skillet cake - has a moist yellow cake topped with sweet juicy apples that caramelize from the maple syrup and brown sugar.As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
First published: March 8, 2020, Last updated: Sept. 12, 2022, for better readability.
Pin for later when you are craving this savory cornbread.
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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.
Amy Liu Dong
Your cornbread recipe makes me so hungry and despite of a lock down I still loved making easy but delicious recipe for the family. YUM!
Jere Cassidy
Luckily, I can still find cornmeal and all the veggies are available.
Abigail Raines
I've always made mine plain and it was good but this totally elevates the cornbread to a higher plane! So good!
Jere Cassidy
It's hard to go back to just plain cornbread after eating this jazzed up version.
Stine Mari
You're so right, baking in a cast-iron skillet is much more fun. This cornbread looks perfectly cheesy and tons of flavor from the veggies, love it.
Marta
This cornbread looks absolutely divine. I love how cheesy and colorful it is! It reminds me of me, LOL!!
Jere Cassidy
Oh, how funny. I happen to like colorful food.
Lesli Schwartz
I make cornbread all the time but never considered putting cheese on top. Why not? I simply love cheese! Will be using your recipe next time!
Jere Cassidy
I am a big cornbread fan and I like this cornbread with a big salad and that is it, a perfect dinner.
Lathiya
wow, that cornbread looks fabulous. I have never baked in a skillet. Time to get one I think.
April
Oh wow this cornbread looks so moist and yummy and the veggies puts it over the top! What a great and unique recipe!
Jere Cassidy
This recipe has become a family favorite. This cornbread has so much flavor.
Jacque Hastert
Now, I am craving cornbread! I love the use of fresh veggies in this.
Jere Cassidy
I crave it too when I look at the pictures. It is delicious.
Alexis
Oh my goodness, this dish is so delicious. I love making this on a quick weeknight when I have leftover veggies and such that won't make a full meal.
Jere Cassidy
Great idea to use those leftover veggies.
Jacqui DeBono
I have a skillet, but I haven't used it for something like this. We all love cornbread though, so I will give it a go!
Ramona
I’m really keen to try this. I love the idea, the sound and looks of it. I actually will make this as soon as tomorrow- have all the ingredients. Thanks for sharing this recipe
Jere Cassidy
We are making it this weekend too. I need to use up some extra peppers. Enjoy!
Stine Mari
Honestly, you had me at 'delicious golden brown crunchy crust'. This cornbread looks fantastic and great to eat on its own!
Lesli Schwartz
Oh, wow! I am so happy to see this unique cast iron cornbread recipe! I make the same old recipe all the time. Need to switch it up with this one!
Jere Cassidy
I did too for the longest time, but this recipe is a favorite and goes with so many meals.
Marta
I love baking my cornbread in a skillet. It gives it the best crust.
Jere Cassidy
My cast-iron skillet never gets put away. Actually I have three that sit on my stove all the time.
Colleen
I always use my cast iron skillet for cornbread, but I have never tried topping it with veggies and cheese. What a delicious idea, that I am so excited to try. Thank you!
Jere Cassidy
I hope you try all the toppings, they add lots of great flavors to the cornbread.