This copycat Marie Callender’s Cornbread Recipe is the BEST cornbread recipe ever! I’m going to share a little trick for creating the moistest, sweet cornbread, with the best texture! Make it into muffins or traditional cornbread and slather it in honey butter and you are going to be in high heaven! Serve them with soup, salad, breakfast, or main dishes!
Cornbread used to be one of those things I ate but didn’t really love. It’s because the cornmeal was too course, so I guess it’s the texture I didn’t like. Then I learned how to grind my own cornmeal and that changed everything! The cornflour is really fine and sweet too. So stinking good!
When it comes to cornbread are you in the “I like it sweet like cake” camp? Yep! I like sweet cornbread, but not so sweet that it’s like cake. (My mom has a cornbread recipe that is actually made with a yellow cake mix). It’s really delicious, but it’s also like eating dessert with my chili!
I grind popcorn to make my cornmeal and it gives the bread just the right amount of sweet!
You’ll love Marie Callender’s Cornbread Recipe! It’s also really nice because I almost always have all the ingredients in my food storage or pantry to make it! And it’s a great quick bread for those days when I really want bread with my main dish but don’t have time for making yeast bread or homemade dinner rolls!
How to make cornmeal!
Making cornmeal at home is really easy! I use my NutraMill Plus Grain Mill {affiliate link} and it’s always worked great, however, I’ve heard that since popcorn is harder than wheat it could ruin your grinder. It’s never been a problem for me, but I need to throw that disclaimer out there. Maybe make sure your wheat grinder is heavy duty!
You’ll need whole, unpopped popcorn kernels. Make sure it’s not flavored or buttered at all. Just raw popcorn kernels are what you’ll need.
- According to manufacture instructions add popcorn to a wheat grinder.
- Adjust grinder settings to a fairly fine grind. It doesn’t need to be quite as fine as you would use for grinding wheat.
- Cornmeal will be warm as soon as it’s ground. Let it cool then store extra in an airtight container! Cornmeal also stores really well in the freezer.
- Use it exactly as you would store-bought cornmeal.
What goes with cornbread?
Really, cornbread is amazing served with pretty much any meal! We love it with anything we barbecue or cook on the smoker. It reminds me of eating at Famous Daves! It’s also a great side dish for chili or any other soup recipe! These cornbread muffins are also really tasty served with main dish salads! Here are a few of the meals we like to serve with cornbread!
- Slow Cooker Creamy Taco Soup – it’s everything you love about taco soup plus it has cream cheese
- Cowboy Pulled Pork Chili – this chili is packed with flavor
- Pizza Chili – kids favorite chili
- Crockpot Beef Stew – packed with lots of meat and veggies
- Barbecue Pork Chops – made in the slow cooker
- BBQ Meatballs – stuffed with cheese
- Slow Cooker Drumsticks with Raspberry Glaze – easy and yummy
- Beef Burrito Skillet – with rice, beans, and Mexican meat
- Pizza Salad – such a fun main dish salad
- Mexican Mac and Cheese – uses pantry ingredients
- Mexican Meatballs – topped with cheese
Cornbread with honey butter
My mom used to serve cornbread for breakfast. We buttered it, then drizzled maple syrup all over it! The cornbread soaked the maple syrup up and it was so good! I really should make it for my kids one of these days!
We always serve cornbread with honey butter. It just goes hand in hand. Here are a few of our favorite flavored honey butter recipes you’ll love!
- Cranberry Honey Butter – uses a can of cranberry relish
- Whipped Cinnamon Butter- just like Texas Roadhouse Honey Butter copycat, maybe better
- Whipped Butter- I always whip my butter before making honey butter
Marie Callender’s Cornbread Recipe
I have a feeling you’re going to love this homemade cornbread recipe as much as I do! It’s a great recipe for busy days!
Marie Callender’s Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Soda
- 1 cup oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix eggs, sugar, and buttermilk together. Add oil and mix.
- Mix flour, cornmeal, salt, and soda in a separate bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to egg mixture. Stir just until combined.
- Bake in 25 well greased muffin tins for 10-12 minutes. Or bake in a greased 9” x 13” pan for 15-18 minutes.
Nutrition
Such great tips! I need to get a grinder.
I use mine all the time! It makes the best cornmeal and I love grinding my own whole wheat flower!
Could I use my Vitamix or do I need a special grinder what would the brand name be ??
I’m trying to remember if I have ever used my Vitamix to grind popcorn. If I remember right I did use it once and it did work although I don’t think I let it mix long enough to get a super fine meal. I usually use my electric wheat grinder. It’s worth trying in the Vitamix though! Let me know how it goes!
You totally had me at cornbread.
Cornbread with chili and soup is one of my favorites! It’s so much quicker to make than yeast bread!
I love the texture of these mini cornbreads!
The texture is so perfect! No dry cornbread with this one!
These look perfect! Love that you added how to make your own cornmeal!
There’s nothing like the using fresh, soft, warm cornmeal! It’s makes such a huge difference!
My family is going to eat these up! So perfect for dinner!
My family loves them! And they are so easy!
These cornbread muffins look scrumptious! Perfect with a big bowl of chili!
Chili always needs cornbread on the side!
Popcorn kernels?? Wow! What a fun fact for these lovely-looking cornbread muffins! Thanks for sharing — That “friend” of yours sounds like a doozy!
It seriously makes the best cornmeal! I’m never buying store bought again! And yes, everyone has at least one friend like that right? Gotta love them!
I have been wanting to make cornbread for forever. This looks so good!!
I can’t wait for you to try this recipe! It’s so moist, and tender, and just so delicious!
This recipe turned out great! Definitely a repeat! Thank you for sharing it.
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it! We had Japapeno Popper Chicken Chili the other day and I served this cornbread with it! It’s always a hit!
Loved this cornbread! Turned out perfect!!!
Yay! We love it with about any meal! Glad you enjoyed it!
Good Morning,
I want to try this recipe, but wanted to clarify if the ingredients for “soda” is baking soda and not like soda pop.
Thank you so much!
Hi Valerie! Yes, it’s baking soda! My kids would have loved it if it had soda pop in it though! Enjoy!
Should be called “corn cake” not cornbread. Super rich and delicious, but if you’re not careful, you’ll eat half of a cake’s worth of sugar and oil!
My mom used to make cornbread by adding cornmeal to a yellow cake mix. Now that was really sweet cornbread! This recipe is still scrumptious without being quite that much like dessert! I think most quickbreads closely resemble dessert!
I love this cornbread! It is so easy and everyone eats it as if it were cake. Every time I make it and take it somewhere, I am asked for the recipe!!!
Yay! I’m glad you love this cornbread as much as we do! Anything that tastes like cake is going to be a hit! Right?
Loved this cornbread recipe. I grilled an ear of corn and cut it off the Cobb and added it to the batter. It was a great addition. I won first place at our community chili and cornbread cook off so it was a hit. Might cut back slightly on the oil next time.
Adding an ear of grilled corn sounds delish! Thanks for sharing! And I’m so excited you won the cook-off! How fun!
It says soda, like club soda?
Hi Jackie! You’ll need to use baking soda. You can find it in the baking aisle. It’s in a box!
I own a child care/Preschool. We served it and all the kids loved it!
If kids will eat it you know it’s a winner! I’m glad you all enjoyed it!