Aunt Lucille’s Mexican Cornbread
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My Aunt Lucille’s Mexican Cornbread recipe is ultra-moist and cheesy with bits of corn, onion, sweet bell pepper, and spicy jalapeño pepper in every delicious bite.
I often serve Mexican Cornbread with homemade ground beef chili ladled on top or as an accompaniment to spicy taco soup. It’s especially yummy along side a big pot of beef stew.
Truthfully, there’s nothing better than a slice of fresh-baked Mexican cornbread with melted butter hot from the oven — I could make a meal out of that alone!
As a true Southern cook, I’d normally be telling you to bake cornbread in a cast iron skillet. This Mexican Cornbread recipe, however, makes enough batter to fill up a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish, so I reserve my cast iron skillet for Honey Cornbread instead.
Aunt Lucille’s Mexican Cornbread recipe
This Mexican cornbread recipe has been in our family for over 50 years — ever since my Aunt Lucille first baked a big pan for our annual family reunion. I’d say that makes this a tried-and-true recipe for sure!
Everyone loved it so much that could only mean one thing — Aunt Lucille was expected to bring her tasty cornbread to the family reunion every year from that time forth!
I can still remember as a little girl watching the women in my family chatting it up as they spread out the food under a picnic shelter at the county park. Every one proudly set out their “specialty” from homemade cream pies to chicken and dumplings.
As they “oh-ed” and “ah-ed” over each other’s dish, they’d scramble to jot down recipes for their favorites. I just happened across Aunt Lucille’s “jotted down” recipe a few weeks ago when I was visiting with my Mom.
Scratched out on a piece of paper (probably found in the depths of my Mom’s purse), the recipe included all the ingredients and amounts, but was missing detailed instructions.
That didn’t matter, of course, since the cooks in our family had been making cornbread every week since the beginning of time. Surely they knew what to do!
Never fear, I’ve filled in the gaps in the Mexican cornbread recipe at the bottom of this post and will walk you through step-by-step — it’s a super easy recipe and one that I think will become a family favorite of yours as well!
Ingredients
- Cornmeal — not the same as cornmeal mix
- All-purpose flour — if you do use cornmeal mix, omit the flour
- Kosher salt
- Onion — I like to use a sweet onion, like Vidalia, but white onion is fine, too.
- Sweet bell pepper — green or red, or a mix of the two for a more colorful cornbread
- Jalapeño pepper — seeded with the ribs removed. If you’re looking for hot and spicy cornbread, leave in the seeds or add another jalapeño pepper!
- Sharp cheddar cheese — you may substitute pepper Jack cheese
- Eggs — holds the batter together and adds moisture and flavor to the cornbread
- Canola oil — or other vegetable oil
- Canned cream-style corn — don’t use whole kernel corn as you need the extra moisture from the cream-style
- Sour cream — you may substitute buttermilk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper. Add the shredded cheese and gently stir to combine.
- In a smaller bowl, lightly whisk the eggs with the oil and cream-style corn together. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Add the sour cream and stir with a spatula to mix well.
- Pour the batter into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 375 degrees, until lightly golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Frequently asked questions
Actually, yes. Cornmeal mix, more commonly self-rising cornmeal, is a blend of cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Cornmeal, on the other hand, is a coarse ground u0022flouru0022 made from yellow or white corn.
If you don’t have the proper ratio of cornmeal and flour, cornbread may be extra crumbly. That’s not normally a problem with Mexican cornbread, though, because of the added moisture from the cream-style corn and cheese.
Regular cornbread batter is quite thin, but Mexican cornbread batter will be thick because of the added cheese, cream style corn, onions, and peppers. Just be sure the batter is good and moist before you add to the baking dish.
Store Mexican cornbread wrapped in aluminum foil or plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to a week. Be sure you wait until the cornbread has cooled to room temperature before wrapping and storing to avoid excess moisture on the top crust.
I prefer to reheat Mexican cornbread wrapped in aluminum foil in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until warm. You can also wrap a slice of cornbread in a damp paper towel and reheat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
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Aunt Lucille’s Mexican Cornbread
Ingredients
- 3 cups self-rising cornmeal mix
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 medium onion chopped
- ½ sweet bell pepper chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced
- 8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 4 eggs slightly beaten
- ¾ cup canola oil
- 1 15-oz. can cream-style corn
- 1 cup sour cream
- Non-stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper, Stir in the shredded cheese.
- In a smaller bowl, lightly whisk the eggs with the oil and cream-style corn. Pour into the dry ingredients. Add the sour cream and stir with a spatula until all the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, until lightly golden brown and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for a few minutes before cutting into squares.
Video
Notes
- Store Mexican cornbread wrapped in aluminum foil or plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to a week. Be sure you wait until the cornbread has cooled to room temperature before wrapping and storing to avoid excess moisture on the top crust.
- Reheat Mexican cornbread wrapped in aluminum foil in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until warm. You can also wrap a slice of cornbread in a damp paper towel and reheat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
Nutrition
Life Love and Good Food does not claim to be a registered dietician or nutritionist. Nutritional information shared on this site is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
About Sheila Thigpen
Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer
Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.
