I don’t make dessert often, and when I do, I tend to make things that are not too-too sweet. Things that could easily double as a breakfast, like this Lemon Blueberry Cornbread Skillet. Using my Homemade Cornbread recipe as a template, I added some lemon zest and frozen blueberries, then increased the sugar just a skosh to make it more like a coffee cake. And I must say, the result is absolutely delicious with coffee!!
This recipe is also a great example of my Budget Byting Principle #2—using expensive ingredients sparingly and pairing them with inexpensive ingredients to keep the overall cost low. Blueberries and lemons are both expensive, but since I didn’t go overboard with either and the rest of the ingredients are super inexpensive pantry staples, this entire cake was still less than 50 cents per serving! That’s how we do it!
Can I Use Fresh Blueberries?
Yes, absolutely. I only used frozen because they are less expensive than fresh at the moment. If using fresh blueberries, they can be folded right into the batter instead of sprinkled on top and pushed down in because they don’t bleed color like frozen blueberries.
What Kind of Skillet Are You Using?
I am using a Lodge 10″ Cast Iron Skillet (affiliate link). If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, this can be baked in a 9″ pie plate, or a 9×9-inch square cake pan.
How Should I Store My Lemon Blueberry Cornbread?
Let the cornbread cool completely, then store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for about four days. Or, once cooled, wrap each piece tightly in plastic and freeze for up to 3 months. The cornbread can be thawed at room temperature, or warmed briefly in the microwave before serving.
Love lemon and blueberry together? Try my Lemon Blueberry Scones, Blueberry Lemon Curd Short Cakes, or Lemon Blueberry Cream Cheese Galette!
Lemon Blueberry Cornbread Skillet
Servings 8Ingredients
- 1 cup cornmeal ($0.24)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.11)
- 1/3 cup sugar ($0.10)
- 4 tsp baking powder ($0.16)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 fresh lemon ($0.43)
- 1 cup milk ($0.32)
- 1 large egg ($0.25)
- 1/3 cup cooking oil ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.18)
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries ($0.40)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF with the cast iron skillet inside, so it can preheat with the oven.
- Zest the lemon (you’ll need about 1 tsp), then squeeze about 1 Tbsp of juice.
- In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and the lemon zest. Use your hands to massage the lemon zest into the dry mixture a bit to help release the flavorful oils.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, egg, and 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Pour the whisked wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir just until the dry mixture is completely moistened. A few lumps are okay.
- Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Add 1 Tbsp butter to the hot skillet and use a brush to spread the melted butter up the sides of the skillet.
- Pour the prepared cornbread batter into the hot skillet. Sprinkle the frozen blueberries over top (no need to thaw), then push them down into the batter with your fingers.
- Carefully return the skillet to the hot oven. Bake the cornbread for 20-25 minutes, or until the top and sides are deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool slightly, then slice into 8 pieces and serve.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Tip: Lemons cost less when you buy a whole bag. Save your leftover lemons in the freezer. Frozen lemons are great for zesting and juicing. Read more about How to Freeze Whole Citrus in my tutorial.
That butter, though. 😍
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Cornbread – Step by Step Photos
Start by zesting one fresh lemon, and squeezing about 1 Tbsp juice. (I cut up the rest of the lemon to add to my water throughout the day). Place a 10″ cast iron skillet in the oven, then begin preheating the oven to 425ºF. Let the skillet preheat with the oven.
In a large bowl combine 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and about 1 tsp of the lemon zest. Stir until everything is very well combined. The zest may ball up, so use your hands to break up the clumps and massage it into the dry ingredients. This will help release the flavorful lemon oil, too.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup milk, 1 large egg, ⅓ cup oil, and 1 Tbsp of the lemon juice. Whisk until smooth.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients.
Stir just until everything is moistened and no dry flour remains on the bottom of the bowl. It’s okay if it’s a little lumpy.
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and add 1 Tbsp of butter to the skillet. Use a brush to spread the melted butter up the sides of the skillet.
Pour the prepared batter into the hot skillet. Sprinkle 1/2 cup frozen blueberries on top, then push them down into the batter with your finger.
Bake the Lemon Blueberry Cornbread for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly, then cut into eight pieces and serve!
While you don’t HAVE to, more melted butter on top is absolutely divine.
Goes great with coffee!!
The title of this cornbread intrigued me because my daughter and I have fallen in love with the lemon blueberry cornmeal pancakes at a little Rhode Island restaurant and this sounds like it would be similar! In fact, I’m wondering if adding just a touch more liquid would allow me to make this as pancakes! Either way, sounds yummy and I cannot wait until my daughter gets home from her semester abroad to try these!
First recipe of yours that I’ve tried (having very recently discovered your page), and it was a major success! So easy and so delicious. My husband and I had it with coffee this morning and I’m going to let my 16-month-old try it tonight (she’ll love it).
I usually make a recipe by the book the first time, but necessity required a few substitutions on this one, and they worked just fine: had to use blue corn meal instead of yellow, replaced half the AP flour with cake flour, I only had meyer lemons in the house so I zested two and also added a 1/2 tsp lemon extract, used buttermilk for 3/4 cup and 1/4 heavy cream since I was out of milk, substituted coconut oil for vegetable, added 1+1/2 cups frozen blueberries into the batter and pressed the last handful of fresh ones into the top.
Gonna mince up some sweet basil and make a compound honey-butter while it’s cooling… thanks for the inspiration!! Fabulous way to start a Monday!
This is amazing. I just grab a piece to bring to class and it stops me from buying muffins at the cafe! My mom gave me a cornbread muffin mix, do you think I could just make it and throw in some lemon, extra oil and sugar and blueberries and it would be pretty similiar?
Yes, definitely. :D
This turned out great. My lemon was dryish… so I dropped two-three drops of lemon essential oil (its okay to put it in food according to all the gurus…)
And this came out… wow. Just wonderful.
Kids didn’t like it (3yo and 6yo + friends’ kids) but my friends and I did..
Do you have any suggestions on how to adjust the recipe if I only have a 12″ cast iron skillet?
You’ll probably need to bake it for less time, since it will be in a thinner layer.
corn bread has always been a favourite in my household in Trinidad where we lived from when I was 5 years of age,,,,we has a wonderful cook from the island of Dominica …..and she was a master (mistress0 of making corn-bread…no measurements at all…she added things like grated coconut ,,,whatever took her fancy,,she blew her top if we didn’t eat every bit from our plates………..she was the tops,,,,regards Querino
Hi Beth, I just found you’re website on Pinterest and I must say it was love at first sight! Thanks to you, I now know what I’m going to eat tonight and all the nights of the week!
I have on question though. I live in France and we don’t use skillets. Do you think a glass plate would do the trick? You know what I mean? Like a casserole dish.
Thanks a lot :-)
Sarah
Yes, I think you could bake it in a glass or ceramic casserole dish, although the cooking time may change a bit. It might cook faster.
Hi I made this yesterday but failing to find any cornmeal here in Australia I ended up using polenta and while it tasted great it was a little too gritty so today I found some maize flour at my local Indian grocer, do you think that would be closer to the cornmeal you used? It’s quite finely ground.
I’m also a hopeless sweet nut so I added a little more sugar and 1tsp of vanilla extract and I used a flax egg instead.
Thanks for a great site!…Looking forward to trying more recipes from your Vegan/Veg section :)
I think maize flour might be even more finely ground than cornmeal… if I understand correctly, cornmeal is half way between polenta and corn/maize flour. :) So, it will probably yield different results, as did the polenta.
I really want to make this but I only have a Jiffy cornmuffin mix. Would that work? Just wondering how to make it more cake like for a dessert. I really enjoy your recipes so I am sure this one will also be a hit, Thanks.
I think if you add a little more oil than the box calls for, it will be more moist and cake-like. Add the lemon zest to the dry ingredients and press the blueberries in after it’s in the baking dish. :)
Has anyone made this with Gluten Free flour? If so how did you do it and how was it? Thanks
I actually made it today with an all-purpose gluten free blend and it turned out great.
Hi! I´m from Uruguay, South America. We dont have this white cornmeal here, would polenta work? It´s still corn flour…Thanks for the recipes, everything looks so great!
I think polenta is a little more coarse of a grind, so if you can grind it a little more fine it should work great. :)
This was perfect for breakfast this morning. You have yet to disappoint me, Beth. Keep up the good cooking! :)
I’ve just found your site..congratulations for your recipes, are great, so delicious!!!
I follow you from Italy!!
Sara
Love this!!! This looks like it good be a favorite breakfast for my family – lemons and blueberries are two of our favorites.