This jalapeño cheddar cornbread is the BEST. It’s the perfect complement to chili or barbecue, or great for snacking on by itself! You can make classic skillet cornbread or make it into cornbread muffins!

I love to make this cornbread with my Creamy Chicken Chili that I cook in the crockpot. So to make my life easier, I prep everything the night before. Then when I get home from work, I just have to mix it all together and bake it! For this reason, I broke up the instructions into what to do the night before/next day, but you can just as easily do it all at once.

Recipe Notes

The secret to this cornbread is lightly sautéing the onion, jalapeño, garlic, and corn. You can skip this step if you’re feeling lazy but I promise that those few extra minutes will add extra depth and flavor to the finished product!

I always use blocks of cheese and shred it myself! Pre-shredded cheese in the bad has additives that keep it from clumping together. So not only do I not want unnecessary additives in my cheese, but those keep it from melting smoothly!

You can make this cornbread in a large cast iron skillet*, or a lined muffin tin!

If you make this jalapeno cheddar cornbread, please leave us a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Author: Kyleigh Sage
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 8 slices 1x

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

¼ cup unsalted butter, divided
1 onion, diced
2 jalapenos, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pressed
2-3 green onions, chopped
1 15 oz can corn, drained
2 cups corn meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons honey (optional)
1 cup buttermilk
1 8 oz block white cheddar cheese, shredded

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium skillet, sauté the onions and jalapenos in 1 tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the garlic, corn, and green onions and sauté for about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, mix together the corn meal, baking powder, salt, and cayenne.
Add in the egg, honey, and buttermilk and mix until fully combined.
Stir in the sautéed corn and peppers and half of the white cheddar cheese.
Pour into a seasoned cast iron skillet or a lined muffin tin. Top with the remaining cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes (18-22 minutes for muffins) or until golden brown and fluffy. An inserted toothpick should come out mostly clean (may be crumby but not wet).

Category: Snack, Side Dish
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American