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This Mexican cornbread is light, fluffy, and filled with cheddar cheese and jalapeño. It has a bit of a nip and a lot of flavor.
While you can’t beat a classic cornbread, it’s sometimes nice to kick up the flavor a notch. This Mexican cornbread is even spicier and cheesier than our Jalapeño Cornbread and pairs perfectly with any of our Mexican soups like White Chicken Chili.
A Perfect Soup Companion
This Mexican cornbread is the perfect side dish for any of your fall soups or chilis—especially with a Mexican soup, like Mexican Chicken Corn Soup or even Taco Soup.
If you’re eating soup, though, it’s pretty much mandatory that you have some delicious bread to go with it (we prefer cornbread).
This Mexican cornbread fits the bill perfectly. It’s loaded with cheesy jalapeño flavor, and takes just a few minutes to mix up. Pop it in the oven while your soup is simmering, and you’ll have dinner on the table in no time!
A One Bowl Recipe!
This Mexican cornbread recipe can be mixed up in one bowl, with no stand mixer required, and uses ingredients that I nearly always have on hand. It’s perfect for a busy night when I just need something easy and delicious!
PREP. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9 or 10-inch cake pan or cast iron skillet, and set aside.
MIX. Whisk together the dry ingredients—cornmeal, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt—in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and add the oil, beaten eggs, and milk.
Stir together until just moistened and no dry spots remain. Fold in the chopped jalapeños and cheddar cheese.
BAKE. Pour the batter into your prepared pan or skillet, and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let stand a few minutes before serving.
Recipe Tips
This Mexican cornbread casserole is so simple! Change it up with any of these ideas.
Additions. Feel free to add some extra ingredients/vegetables for color or flavor! You could include bell peppers (red, green, or orange), green onions, a small can of green chilies, or some frozen corn.
Cheese. We used cheddar cheese for this recipe, but a Mexican blend, Monterey Jack cheese, or pepper jack cheese would work great too!
Spicy. Don’t be put off by this recipe if you’re not a big fan of spicy food! Removing the ribs and seeds from the jalapeños makes them much more tame. If you like things a little spicier, leave the ribs on the jalapeños, or even use two jalapeño peppers.
Crispy crust. If you are using a metal or glass baking pan, cover the pan with butter before adding the batter. The butter will help give a crispier crust. You do not need to add butter when using a cast iron skillet.
STORE. This recipe for Mexican cornbread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for several days.
FREEZE. Wrap this best Mexican cornbread with plastic wrap and again with aluminum foil and freeze it for 1-2 months. Defrost and then reheat in the oven.
Recipe FAQ
I love using my cast iron skillet because it makes it super crisp around the edges. However, a greased 9 or 10-inch cake pan works too, as does a glass baking dish!
Absolutely! Grease the wells of a muffin pan. Pour the batter into greased muffin tins, filling each about two-thirds full. The muffins will bake faster than a full loaf so start checking for doneness around 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
You can use regular yellow cornmeal. It provides a classic and traditional flavor to the cornbread. However, if you prefer a slightly sweeter taste, use white cornmeal instead. Avoid using Jiffy cornbread mix as it already includes ingredients such as flour, sugar, and a leavening agent.
For More Cornbread Recipes, Try:
Mexican Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1¼ cup buttermilk
- 1 jalapeno medium, chopped, seeds removed
- ¾ cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9 or 10-inch cake pan or cast iron skillet, and set aside. Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Make a well in the center and add the oil, beaten eggs, and milk. Whisk together until just moistened and no dry spots remain. Fold in the chopped jalapeños and cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let stand a few minutes before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My family loves the little “kick” this cornbread recipe has. It’s a great mildly spicy twist on the classic cornbread!
Yum! I only added a sprinkle of smoked paprika to the dry ingredients before adding in the wet ones. I made buttermilk with whole milk and a tsp of lemon juice, letting it sit ten minutes. I also cooked it in the air fryer after buttering the nonstick metal pie pan I had to use, however had to toss a tiny bit of the dough for it was a tad too much for my pan to use. I bet it’s fantastic in the cast iron pan! I will keep adding tiny bit of smoked paprika to it, but this is definitely a delicious use of my homegrown jalapeño I will make again and again. Thank you for posting this recipe! FYI: Air fryer doesn’t have 375 F, so used 370 for 20 minutes but it needs to rest in the unplugged air fryer then like 20 minutes.
While this was easy to make, we found it very dry.
SorryK
Add a can of cream corn. It’s delicious
I’ve made this quite a few times but if I had an onion and bell pepper and a little bit crumbled up pan sausage that has been cooked my family loves it
Making for dinner. Using cheddar jack cheese and pinch of habenero pepper. Like it hot.
@lilluna going to make this today will lyk how it turns out. Thnx😁
Hope you love the cornbread!
This looks great- but how do you adapt it for high altitude baking?
I’m sure you could google some high altitude cornbread recipes and compare the differences to see how to adjust the recipe. This is also a good reference for converting recipes for high altitude baking. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
All my favorite flavors packed into cornbread! YUM – this recipe is a keeper!