The best old fashioned cast iron skillet cornbread recipe in a 12″ pan. Homemade, from scratch this moist, made without buttermilk, classic vintage recipe will become the family favorite.
If old fashioned beef stew or homemade vegetable soup, is on the weekly rotation here at home during the fall and winter season, this cast iron cornbread is another dish that is also a regular here in our home.
Cornbread complements perfectly with almost all of our favorite winter soups and stews, and especially ham and beans. Can you just smell the scent of freshly baked iron skillet cornbread wafting through the air?
I seen my sweet momma the other day at my youngest sons football game and asked her about her cornbread recipe. It’s been a few years since I have made a good skillet pan of cornbread and I was craving the one just like momma made.
A day later, she showed up at our home with her recipe in hand and she says it her all time favorite recipe. I would agree that it must be, as the page was torn in half and stained with food splatters. She gently pieced it back together so I could continue sharing the recipe with my family.
My momma is the queen of well seasoned, well loved cast iron skillets and the meals that she can serve up in one are the best. From one homemaker to the next, here is the recipe that has graced many of tables in my life.
Why Make Cornbread in a Cast Iron Skillet
Making cornbread in a cast iron skillet is what makes it the best. Add a little butter or bacon grease drippings to the skillet, preheat it in the oven and then add the batter. The hot skillet and the melted butter or bacon grease creates a delicious crust on the bottom. Yet, the middle of the cornbread is moist.
Kitchen Essentials You May Need
Old Fashioned Iron Skillet Cornbread Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
- 1 Cup Flour
- 1/3 Cup Sugar – optional as I prefer to drizzle my cornbread slice with honey to sweeten it after it has cooked.
- 3 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 3/4 Teaspoons Celtic Salt
- 1 and 1/4 Cup Milk
- 4 Tablespoons Butter, melted
Instructions for Old Fashioned Iron Skillet Cornbread
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the bacon grease or butter in a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Put the skillet in the oven while it heats.
- In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar (optional), baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
- Quickly add the milk, and butter. Stir just to mix.
- Once the skillet is hot, carefully remove it from the oven. Pour in the batter. Bake until the cornbread is deeply browned, about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove skillet from oven, run a knife around the edge and cut into wedges. Serve hot with butter and honey.
Old Fashioned Iron Skillet Cornbread Printable Recipe
Old Fashioned Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread
The best old fashioned iron skillet cornbread recipe in a 12″ pan. Homemade, from scratch this moist, made without buttermilk, classic vintage recipe will become the family favorite.
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Yellow Cornmeal
- 1 Cup Flour
- 1/3 Cup Sugar – optional as I prefer to drizzle my cornbread slice with honey
- 3 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 3/4 Teaspoons Celtic Salt
- 1 and 1/4 Cup Milk
- 4 Tablespoons Butter, melted
Instructions
Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the bacon grease or butter in a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Put the skillet in the oven while it heats.
In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar (optional), baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
Quickly add the milk, and butter. Stir just to mix.
Once the skillet is hot, carefully remove it from the oven. Pour in the batter. Bake until the cornbread is deeply browned, about 15-20 minutes.
Remove skillet from oven, run a knife around the edge and cut into wedges. Serve hot with butter and honey.
How many eggs do you use? I’ve reread this post twice as well as the recipe, and only see eggs mentioned in the instructions.
I am so sorry! There are no eggs in this recipe. I just corrected the mistake. I must have been thinking about eggs. 🙂
Thanks ever so much!
Have a safe & pleasant weekend and Fall!
That said, I took a guess (as I am wont to do) and put in two eggs… All seems ok. 🙂 So, eggs in, eggs out, no problem. BTW, this cornbread looks and tastes wonderful (with eggs, ooops)
I’m always looking for cornbread like my dear mother made. I tried this recipe tonight, decreased the sugar and used buttermilk. It was delicious!! It’s just my hubby and me – we could have eaten every bite (but we didn’t). Thank you for sharing
I am so glad you loved it!
Cornbread is one of my husband’s favorites. Of course I didn’t make it like his mother. To my defense :), I grew up in Nebraska, and he in Mississippi. Well my cornbread and southern cornbread are world’s apart. Only took me 25 years to come up with “the best” cornbread. Anyway, that is what he now calls it. So it is only about 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick. No sugar. Baked in hot cast iron. So when you take it out of the oven, you flip the skillet, putting the bottom up and then it’s nice and crusty for the top. It is moist on the inside and has a buttery taste. I have grown quite found of it and enjoy it as much as he does. I am going to try your recipe. I do use buttermilk. It will be great to have a recipe that uses milk for when the buttermilk jug is empty. Thanks so much for sharing.
I made this and it came out great, it had a crispy bottom and it tastes like southern cornbread and not like cake. I used a 12 1/2″ skillet so increased the ingredients by 25% I could have easily doubled it, but it is still a fantastic recipe, thanks.
Thank you so much for the wonderful review!