Street Corn Cornbread

It’s getting spicy in the kitchen this week! Our street corn cornbread was born from our love of Mexican cuisine and our southern roots. A classic cornbread recipe infused with tangy, cheesy flavors of street corn. This perfectly soft cornbread has a little bit of heat from the jalapeños and tanginess from the infusion of signature street corn flavors.

A good cornbread isn’t too sweet, has a good soft crumb and buttery flavor. And this street corn cornbread checks all the boxes and more. It packs on the flavor! It’s unexpected yet slightly addicting.

Your friends will be leaving asking for the recipe! We’ll be sharing tips to make perfectly soft cornbread, popular mix-ins and how to store leftovers. So let’s not waist a minute and dig into the details!

Looking for more delicious side dishes? Check out these!

Dad’s Famous Guacamole

Homemade Salted Maple Dinner Rolls

Bruschetta and Garlic Parmesan Crostini

Pretzel Twists with Spicy Beer Cheese Dip

Crispy Baked Tajin Garlic Parmesan Fries

Street Corn: What is it? And What does it taste like?

There is nothing quite like biting into a cob of street corn. You are instantly hit with so many flavors. It’s salty yet sweet, tangy yet smokey and loaded with creamy cotija cheese. It’s delicious. 

Street corn or elote, is a cob of grilled corn topped with a creamy cheese and generously sprinkled with cotija cheese, lime juice, chili powder and often times sprinkled with Tajin seasoning. Tajin is a salty tangy, mildly spicy seasoning. It’s delicious!

How to Make Cornbread

Aside from cornbread being a fairly cheap to make, it is also super duper easy to whip up. Corn bread doesn’t have to rise. The baking method is similar to making muffins, where you combine wet and dry, mix and pour. Here are the detailed steps for making cornbread: 

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. 
• Grease a baking pan or skillet. Using about 1 tbsp butter, grease your pan, coating all bottom, sides and all corners. For easy removal, place a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of your pan, for easy removal after baking. 
• Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda, salt and sugar. Whisk everything to blend. 
• Next whisk together wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together, melted butter, buttermilk, sour cream and egg. Make sure that your butter is not piping hot, as it could curdle the diary products you’re mixing it with. If it does feel hot, let it cool for about 5 minutes before adding it in.
• Add wet ingredients to dry and mix. You will whisk everything until it is combined and there aren’t any clumps. 
• Stir in in chopped jalapeño pieces .
• Pour into your pan and bake. The cornbread will bake for 25-30 minutes. The time could range depending on the type of pan you use and how quickly your oven cooks. To test doneness, poke with a fork. If the fork comes out clean, it is done. The edges of your cornbread should also be golden. 
• Top with cotija cheese and tan seasoning. Let the corn bread cool for 5 minutes before slicing. 
• Slice, serve and enjoy. See serving suggestions below! 

Tips for making perfect cornbread…

No one likes dry cornbread. The cornmeal used in cornbread naturally adds a coarser, dry consistency to cornbread, which is why you have to make sure you have the right ratio of ingredients to make perfect cornbread. Here are some tips: 

1. Add moisture with buttermilk and sour cream! The cornmeal will add a coarser, dry texture to the crumb, and the buttermilk is going to add moisture to make the cornbread super soft and fluffy.
2. Do not overmix the batter. Over mixing the batter can cause result in a tougher crumb. Mix the batter until just combined
3. Grease and line your pan. Greasing and lining a pan may seem a little excessive, but this is the easiest way to cleanly remove the cornbread from the pan without any bits sticking to the side. 

Popular cornbread mix-ins:

• Corn kernels
• Chopped jalapeño pieces
• Cheese (cheddar or feta are good options)
• Rosemary 
• Thyme 
• Blueberries – Check out our Blueberry Cornmeal Cake!

Serving Cornbread

Corn bread is best served warm, fresh out of the oven. We recommend serving with butter or honey if you like extra add-ons for your bread. 

This street corn cornbread will pair well with barbecue or chicken entrees. It will also be delicious as a side with soups, like chili, and cold salads. 

How do you store cornbread?

Cornbread will be good for 3-4 days in an airtight container or ziplock at room temperature.

You can also freeze the muffins. Place the slices in a single layer in a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. 

How do you reheat frozen muffins?

• Thaw at room temperature: Leave cornbread on counter to thaw for 1-2 hours until completely thawed out. Warm the cornbread to your liking in the microwave for 10-15 seconds each. 
• Oven: Preheat oven to a low temperature, 350ºF. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and heat for 10-15 minutes until warm.
• Microwave: Unwrap and preheat for 30-60 seconds until warm.