Sweet Potato Cornbread – Moist and tender, loaded with warm spices and sweet potato deliciousness, this is the best sweet potato cornbread you will ever try! Serve it up with all your favorite Southern dishes, especially if there’s any sauce or gravy involved that needs mopping up with something tasty. 😉
Y’all know breads are kind of my thing – especially Southern delicacies like hot water cornbread and homemade biscuits. That’s why this recipe is so close to my heart. Not only does it fall into the bread category, but it stars my all-time favorite root vegetable: sweet potatoes! 🍠
This recipe for sweet potato cornbread is super moist on the inside with the perfect crispy crust on the outside, and the flavor is so lush. You will come back for seconds…that is if you can beat your family to it! 😜 Obvs, I’m obsessed and ultra-excited to share this recipe with y’all.
How to Puree Sweet Potatoes for Cornbread
For this recipe, you’ll need a cup of pureed sweet potato. Can you use the canned kind? Absolutely! I did because the flavor payout was just as good with canned sweet potato as fresh.
That said, don’t let me stop you from whipping up some homemade sweet potato puree. Just give it a quick blitz in a food processor to get your sweet potatoes into that silky-smooth puree mode. 😅
Recipe Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients – Flour and cornmeal are essential ingredients for cornbread. I may use canned puree, but my cornbread is always from scratch! A little baking soda gives the base its fluffiness.
- Sweet Potatoes – One cup of canned (or homemade) puree will do the trick for amazingly moist cornbread.
- Spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and a touch of sugar are part of the reason this sweet potato cornbread brings tears of joy to my eyes. 🥲
- Dairy – Buttermilk, sour cream, and plenty of butter add richness and moisture to this recipe.
- Eggs – Two to be precise give this cornbread its classic texture and hold it together.
How to Make Sweet Potato Cornbread
- Prep Your Pan – Spray a 10-inch oven-safe skillet pan or baking pan.
- Dry Ingredients – Combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a medium bowl. (Photo 1)
- Wet Ingredients – In another bowl, whisk in buttermilk, sour cream, mashed sweet potato, eggs, and melted butter until fully combined. (Photo 2)
- Mix Dry and Wet Ingredients – Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat just until thoroughly combined.
- Heat Your Skillet – If you’re using cast iron, heat up the skillet until it’s hot, then remove it from the heat and carefully pour in the batter. If you’re not using a skillet, then pour the batter into a greased, room-temperature 9- or 10-inch baking pan.
- Bake the cornbread for about 20 minutes or until golden or deeply brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool – Let the cornbread cool for 10 minutes or more before slicing.
- Serve – Offer up sliced cornbread with butter and honey, if desired.
Recipe Variations
- Make Muffins! Pour the batter into a muffin tin instead of a skillet and reduce the baking time. Cornbread muffins are amazing!
- Prefer Savory Cornbread? Cut out the sugar and add half a teaspoon of salt. 🧂
Tips and Tricks
- For that extra crispy crust, pour the batter into a hot skillet. This step is vital to a crisp outside and moist inside texture.
- For optimal flavor, make sure all your ingredients, from your flour to your spices and everything in between, are fresh and not old, out-of-date, or stale.
- If you make homemade puree, cool it to room temperature before you mix it with eggs and dairy.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Feel free to make this cornbread a day or two before serving it. You can even freeze it in an airtight container for up to three months. Just thaw it out the night before you plan to serve it.
Serving and Storage Instructions
I love serving this cornbread right after it’s cooled. It will still be warm enough inside to melt a good-sized pad of butter. 🤤
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you want that just-baked warmth the next day, heat up a slice in the microwave for a few seconds.
FAQs
First, don’t overcook it because overcooked cornbread gets dry quickly. Secondly, don’t skip the buttermilk or replace it with regular milk. The buttermilk really does make a difference when it comes to moisture. And the butter and sour cream add fat for guaranteed moist cornbread.
It depends on what kind of soup you have in mind. 😂 Cornbread batter should be thick but still pourable. It’s thinner than cookie dough by a long stretch but a little thicker than cake batter.
Yes! Give it at least 10 minutes to avoid mashing the freshly cooked bread and get neater slices. 👌
What Goes With Sweet Potato Cornbread
All the best Southern fixins y’all! Serve this beautiful bread alongside fried chicken and collard greens. I also give it five stars alongside Southern baked mac and cheese. 😋
Oh, and one more thing, don’t forget the sweet iced tea and the pecan pie for dessert.
More Mouthwatering Recipes for Sweet Potato Fiends
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Sweet Potato Muffins
- Sweet Potato Soup
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Conclusion
Thanks for sticking around for my take on a classic Southern side, upgraded. If you weren’t a fan of sweet potato cornbread before this, you will be now. For more top-notch Southern recipes and plenty of other soul food from around the world, follow me on Instagram. See you there! ✌️
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”4SLzxEy1″ upload-date=”2023-04-03T15:06:31.000Z” name=”SWEET POTATO CORNBREAD.mp4″ description=”Sweet Potato Cornbread is moist, tender, and loaded with warm spices and sweet potato deliciousness.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]
Sweet Potato Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cups (200g) coarsely ground cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon (14g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (3g) cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (1g) nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon (1g) allspice
- 2-3 tablespoons (25-38g) brown sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons (28-40g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon (7g) salt
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk
- ½ cup (120ml) sour cream
- 1 cup (240ml) pureed sweet potatoes
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2-4 tablespoons (30-60g) butter, sliced into small squares
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/177℃. Spray a 10-inch oven-safe skillet or baking pan. For a crispy edge, use cast iron for baking it.
- Combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a medium bowl.
- In another bowl, whisk in buttermilk, sour cream, mashed sweet potatoes, eggs, and melted butter until fully combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the sweet potato mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined.
- If using cast iron, heat it up until hot, remove it from the heat, and carefully pour in the batter. The cast-iron skillet gives it a crispy bottom and side crust. But you can also use a 9- or 10-inch baking pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cornbread cool for 10 minutes or more before slicing.
- Serve with more butter and honey, if desired.
Tips & Notes:
- For that extra crispy crust, pour the batter into a hot cast iron skillet. This step is vital to a crisp outside and moist inside texture.
- For optimal flavor, make sure all your ingredients, from your flour to your spices and everything in between, are fresh and not old, out-of-date, or stale.
- If you make homemade puree, cool it to room temperature before you mix it with eggs and dairy.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Leave a Review