Homemade Southern Gal Cornbread, a traditional family recipe with no box mixes and choose for sweetened or not! Cooked in a skillet with bacon drippings.

Homemade Southern Gal Cornbread is a lovely traditional recipe.
For those around the world who aren't familiar with cornbread, it originates from the United States and mainly associated with the South and South West.
Cornbread is a type of quick bread that doesn't use yeast as a raising agent, but instead, uses self-raising flour or baking powder as its leavening agent.
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Table of Contents 📋 hide
1) What do you serve with Cornbread?
2) Other ways to use cornbread
3) Can you add any other ingredients to cornbread?
4) What's the best way to cook cornbread?
5) Prep Time
6) Cook Time
7) Yield
8) Ingredients
9) Instructions
10) Recipe Card
11) Homemade Southern Gal Cornbread
12) Delicious Sides for Thanksgiving and Christmas
What do you serve with Cornbread?
It can be used in many forms, such as crumbled in a cold glass of milk or buttermilk, eaten alongside a dinner, such as chili con carne, or served at a BBQ or alongside pinto beans.
Other ways to use cornbread
Cornbread crumbs can also be used for stuffings, usually around Thanksgiving time when you serve the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, such as this Traditional Southern Cornbread Dressing from The Kitchen Is My Playground.
Cornbread varies from region to region, with some being sweeter than others.
Can you add any other ingredients to cornbread?
Every one will likely have their own family recipe, some adding bacon grease, jalapeno peppers, topped with shredded cheese, butter, honey…. The list is certainly very varied!
There's also crackling bread which consists of pork crackling in the cornbread mixture which gives the cornbread another flavor and texture dimension.
We've even made a sweet cornbread recipe, Caramel Cornbread Pear Mini Muffins which are filled with a pear filling. They're delicious!
What's the best way to cook cornbread?
When the cornbread is cooked in a skillet or cast iron pan, this is very traditional to the South in particular. The skillet should be preheated in the oven with some bacon or lard drippings before the cornbread batter is added and then baked.
During baking, the cornbread rises and forms a crunchy crust, with a dense, moist cake-like structure. It's delicious!
This recipe for Southern Gal Cornbread has been generously shared by Vikki Spencer. Here's what Vikki has to say about her recipe;
"Us southern gals don't use a recipe for cornbread. I just make it the way I do mine! Every southern cook has their own way of doing cornbread, but I can tell you how I make mine. It's delicious and all my friends love it!"
Recipe by Vikki Spencer
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
30 - 40 minutes
Yield
4 - 6 persons
Ingredients
2 cups or 245 g of yellow or white cornmeal (self-rising)
1 cup or 125 g of flour(self-rising)
¼ to a ⅓ cup or 50 g to 65 g sugar (or to taste, if you don't like sweet, omit)
2 eggs
⅓ cup or 80 ml oil or melted shortening
2 cups or 475 ml of buttermilk
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (For gas), 400 F (for electric)
2. Mix dry ingredients, add eggs and oil and mix well, I use a whisk.
3. Then add buttermilk and mix well. If the batter is a little dry, add a little bit of buttermilk, milk or even water to thin it.
4. I melt a little shortening or oil to my 10-inch skillet and heat it in the oven or the stovetop and pour in the batter and bake at 375 (for gas) or 400 (for electric) for about 30 to 40 minutes!
Depending on your stove, I have gas, and my oven gets really hot...If I'm using a glass pan, I spray it with pam or some other non-stick spray...everybody likes my cornbread.
You can take a look at the best way to season and protect your cast iron skillet in our post here
We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other ingredients? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!
Recipe Card

Homemade Southern Gal Cornbread
Yield: 4 - 6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Homemade Southern Gal Cornbread, a traditional family recipe with no box mixes and choose for sweetened or not! Cooked in a skillet with bacon drippings.
Ingredients
- 2 cups / 245 g of yellow or white cornmeal, self-rising
- 1 cup / 125 g of flour, self-rising
- ¼ cup to a ⅓ or 50 g to 65 g sugar (or to taste, if you don't like sweet, omit)
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup / 80 ml oil or melted shortening
- 2 cups / 475 ml of buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees (For gas), 400 (for electric)
- Mix dry ingredients, add eggs and oil and mix well, I use a whisk.
- Then add buttermilk and mix well. If the batter is a little dry, add a little bit of buttermilk, milk or even water to thin it.
- I melt a little shortening or oil to my 10-inch skillet and heat it in the oven or the stovetop and pour in the batter and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6Serving Size: 4 - 6
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 439Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 937mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 3gSugar: 15gProtein: 10g
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