This crazy good Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread gets its rock star status from two classic mix-ins: ooey gooey cheddar cheese and fiery jalapeño. The result is a kiss of heat blanketed by cheesy cornbread goodness.
I almost kind of miss the days that I could get by on boxed cornbread mix. Mainly because homemade cornbread is DANGEROUS, yo!
It’s hot, fluffy, and delightfully buttery… I can’t resist diving in for a second slice.
Or third.
Or forth.
Or… just hand me the pan and no one get’s hurt!
I’ve been measuring out my own dry mix and storing it in mason jars in the pantry and it’s so gosh darn easy to whip up a pan of fluffy + fragrant cornbread that no bowl of chili in this house shall ever go without it’s cornbread counterpart.
If you’re team cuckoo-for-cornbread you totally get my obsession right? I love it so!
Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
Recently I decided to give my classic cornbread recipe the gold star treatment and jazz it up with fresh jalapeños and melty cheddar cheese.
I mean, technically this is also a classic in it’s own right?
It’s a fantastic combo that has been around for ages and for good reason too! The pairing is a total delight.
Did I mention that it’s freezer-friendly too? Oh yes! Enjoy a few squares now and stock the freezer with the rest for your next chili night!
cheesy jalapeno cornbread ingredients
- all purpose flour
- yellow cornmeal
- greek yogurt (or sour cream)
- milk
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- minced fresh jalapeno
- grated cheddar cheese
- green onion (scallions)
- baking soda
- salt
- garlic powder
For a fluffy (but totally flavorless!) boost I also like to add a tablespoon of vinegar to my milk. After it sits for a few minutes it turns regular milk into a speedy faux buttermilk that’s great for cornbread and gives a little extra rise to this fluffy cornbread. Give it a try!
The combination of jalapeño, cheddar cheese, and scallions is totally irresistible and I’m so excited for you to try this recipe!
Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
Ingredients
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup milk
- 1 TBSP vinegar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup grated cheddar cheese (plus extra for topping)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh jalapeños (approx. 2 medium jalapeños)
- 2 TBSP chopped green onion
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Prep an 8×8 inch square pan by rubbing with butter or coconut oil.
- Combine yogurt, milk, and vinegar. Mix and set aside.
- Combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda, garlic powder, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
- In a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat, melt your butter.
- Once melted, remove from heat and stir in sugar. Whisk until well blended.
- Next, quickly add your eggs and beat until well incorporated.
- Add in milk mixture and stir.
- Add jalapeños, green onion, and cheddar cheese and stir.
- Next add your cornmeal mixture and beat until very few lumps remain.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center to test for doneness. If it comes out clean the cornbread is ready! When it’s at the 25 minute mark I like to sprinkle a little extra cheddar on top to get all hot and melty. Optional but delicious!
- Place on a wire cooling rack and allow to cool before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
There are a few cornbread recipes on this little blog of mine if you’re looking for some variety. You can snag my bakery inspired Jiffy-style cornbread muffins or try your hand at a sweet dessert-y blueberry cornbread skillet HERE.
Next up I want to start testing a Gluten-Free variety because everyone needs a good wheat-free cornbread in their arsenal! If you have one you love, totally let me know!
crazy for chili? try one of these!
- Instant Pot Vegetarian Quinoa Chili
- Smoky Chipotle Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili (Instant Pot + Stove Top)
- Vegan Lentil Chili
- Classic Chili via Spend with Pennies
- Healthy Vegetarian Chili
If you get a chance to try this Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread, let me know!
You can leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) or tag @PEASandCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creations! I can’t wait to see what you whip up!
I can use buttermilk and plain yogurt instead?
Hi Mia! You can! I’ve been using sour cream in place of the Greek yogurt lately (and will use buttermilk when I have it handy) and LOVE IT!
Omg this was so delicious! I used sour cream instead of yogurt! Such a great cornbread recipe!
Instead what will use egg
Pls say replacement
Hi Amita! I’ve only ever used egg for cornbread. You could try a replacement like flax eggs but I would have to test it out myself first to know how it works/behaves.
This is the best cornbread recipe I’ve ever discovered! I’m not a fan of dry cornbread, and this came out just perfect. Thank you for posting.
Thanks Jenn, this turned out great! Definitely will make again. And will de-seed and de-vein my Serrano peppers again next time! Yowza, picante…my corn bread had some zippy fun attitude 😉 Yum.
Haha gotta love it when your cornbread has some serious attitude! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Jennie. Thanks!
This will be the ONLY cornbread recipe you will ever need! One pan mixing a stroke of GENIUS
This looks very good and I’m going to try making it this weekend for my family. But just have a question if I may. Can I double this recipe and if so do I need to increase the cooking time and bake temperature. Thanking you in advance for your response and assistance.
Hi John! I haven’t had a chance to experiment with doubling this recipe so I can’t advise on cook time, but it will for sure change if using a 9×13 baking dish (and also if it’s glass vs metal). The bread has a lot of rise so I’d have to test it to ensure there’s no overflow. Oven temp will remain the same. When I’ve doubled similar recipes I will typically use two of the exact same baking dish (two metal 8×8 baking pans, for example) to preserve the rise/bake on the recipe. Hope this helps!
Do you know off hand how many muffins 1 recipe will make? Thanks in advance.
Hi Marwan! I believe it will make 10-12 regular-sized muffins.
This may be a dumb question, but is everything stirred together in the “large pan or skillet”? Can I ask why?
Hi Heidi! I do this so there is less washing up to do with the dishes. Since I’m already melting the butter in a pot/pan on the stove I go ahead and keep tossing all my ingredients in with the melted butter instead of transferring to another bowl. If you melt your butter via microwave you can of course skip this step and just use a big mixing bowl if you’d like. I’ve been making it via this method for so long it’s my favorite! xo
I made this for my family and it was Delicious!😃
Made this last night and it was SOOOOOOO good! This is a keeper recipe!!!
Yay! So excited you loved the recipe!
I made this for my family tonight and it was fantastic!
Super moist and delicious! I had not used this method to make cornbread but it works!!! Will make again.
I have mild chilies that I want to try with this recipe and chives fresh from my garden. Will it work to just use buttermilk instead of the milk with vinegar? Do you have any suggestions on adapting this to use honey instead of white sugar? That looks delicious!
Also, the last time I tried to make cornbread it was horribly dry. Is this is dry or moist cornbread? Have you ever tried adding cottage cheese to your recipe? I’ve heard that helps it to be moist! Thanks for any suggestions as I am a terrible baker but a good veggie cook..but baking when I try to ‘go spontaneous’ it always turns out badly! Ha ha!
Hi Melissa! Buttermilk will work great (the milk/vinegar hack is just for when I don’t have any handy) and the recipe should be glorious with your garden chives and chiles!
The Greek yogurt in this recipe helps keep the cornbread moist. I have swapped sour cream and had the same awesome results but I am not sure about cottage cheese as I haven’t tried it yet. Maybe save testing that out for the next time since you mentioned the spontaneous swaps can be a miss for you at times. I’d honestly make the recipe as written for the first time around (but using the buttermilk in place of the milk/vinegar as that is the same) and then see if you want to tinker around the second time you make it. So maybe the second time try cottage cheese and honey as your swaps to tinker with, but this way you have a “base” cornbread to compare it to. Hope this helps! xo
WOW! I just made this tonight and it is incredible. My dad loves soul food and said this is the best cornbread he’s ever had!
Made this and loved it! Wondering if it’s possible to cook in muffin tins instead of a pan?
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Tess! I’ve muffinized the base cornbread recipe before and it works great! You’ll just want to adjust the time depending on size and darkness/lightness of muffin tin and you’re good to go! I usually adjust the temp to 350 degrees F for muffins and start to check them with a toothpick at around 12-15 min for mini muffins and 18-20 for standard muffins.
Can’t wait to make this along with stuffed peppers! This may be a silly question, but what kind of vinegar do you use for this recipe?
So stoked for you to make it Kim! I use regular white vinegar to make a faux “buttermilk” for the cornbread. I feel like it adds a little extra fluff-factor!
I changed a lot of ingredients to make this gluten free & dairy free but it turned out absolutely delicious! Will never use another cornbread recipe again 🙂
So glad it was the perfect base for a GF + DF cornbread for ya Emily! I’d love to know the swaps so I can pass them along to friends that need them! xoxo
Is it OK to double the recipe? Would I change any amounts?
Thanks!
Mary
Hi Mary! You should be able to double the recipe and bake it in two 8×8 pans with great results. If the batter was mixed into one larger pan I’m not sure how bake time would be influenced though based on thickness/dimensions, so you’d need to experiment there if you were changing the pan size.
I made a double batch and put it in a 9×13 pan. I baked it on 375 for about 45 minutes. It turned out great! Several friends told me they dont typically like cornbread because it is too sweet or too dry, but this was perfect! Thanks for the recipe!
When you say cornmeal, is it fine, medium, course or cornflour? I have flour and polenta, can I use either or a combination?
Hi Cheryl! You’ll want to use fine cornmeal for the ultimate fluff factor. I haven’t tried it with polenta so I can’t advise from experience. The brands I have tried it with are Bob’s Red Mill, Arrowhead Mills, and House Autry Yellow Plain Cornmeal, if that helps at all! I keep buying a new kind each time I run out so I can keep testing it.
My mom used to make a version of this recipe. I totally forgot about it until I saw your recipe. Can’t wait to make this.
Thanks Sandi! We seriously can’t stop making it!
I don’t think I’ll ever go back to my old cornbread recipe again. I loved the jalapeno and cheddar addition! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad you’re loving the recipe Joanie – thanks so much!
Hi Jenn. Do you seed the jalapeños or use the whole thing, chopped up?
Hey Sheri! How spicy is too spicy for you? Hehe you can seed it for a more mild flavor, sprinkle a few seeds in for a bit of a kick, or go full blown fire and let all the seeds in on the fun. I like to seed mine and then sprinkle a few back in.
Best cornbread I have had. It is replacing my grandmother’s recipe! Must try.
So super glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!
This cornbread was so amazing that I had to write my first fan girl comment – ever! I already love the broccoli cheese soup and decided to try another recipe from your blog….wow! Fluffy and light, just the right amount of cheese and jalapeño. Not the jalapeño cornbread of my childhood – better!
Shannon, you’ve totally made my day! I’m so glad you’re loving the soup and the cornbread recipes!! 🙂 Happy Holidays!
This Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread looks so delicious! Most cornbread is a little on the dry side, but yours looks so soft and fluffy! I’ve never made homemade cornbread before, but I’m going to make yours! Thanks for the recipe, Jenn!
Thank you Deb, I hope you get a chance to try it! Since realizing just how easy it is to whip it up from scratch I’m basically smitten with all things cornbread! 🙂