OMG, y’all. Stop everything. This is important. I knew I loved cornbread, but I didn’t know I could love it this much. I decided to add some sweet potato mash to my Everyday Cornbread, plus a couple of spices and sour cream for richness and… WHOA. It took everything in me not to eat the entire pan of this Sweet Potato Cornbread.
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This recipe is a hybrid between my Everyday Cornbread and these amazing Sweet Potato Corn Bread Muffins from the New York Times. The NYT’s addition of cinnamon and nutmeg was absolutely spot on and gave the cornbread an amazing aroma. Since I had already bought some sour cream to top my chili, I decided to incorporate that into the batter, like this recipe from Leite’s Culinaria. Neither of those recipes used nearly enough sweet potato for me, though, so I upped mine to 1.5 cups. I didn’t want to waste that lovely sweet potato!
What Does Sweet Potato Cornbread Taste Like?
This cornbread is definitely on the sweeter side as far as cornbread goes, but it also has a good amount of warm, aromatic spices to keep it from being too dessert-like. It pairs well with both sweet and savory flavors. The texture is rich and thick, so one piece will definitely add a lot to your meal!
What to Serve with Sweet Potato Cornbread
The subtle sweetness of this sweet potato cornbread pairs absolutely perfectly with the warm spices of a bowl of chili, pumpkin soup, chorizo stuffed bell peppers, or anything BBQ, like this BBQ Cheddar Baked Chicken, but I also have to say, it’s awesome with coffee. I’ve also been eating it for breakfast with a thick pat of butter and with a fried egg on the side.
How to Store the Leftovers
Make sure you allow the cornbread to cool completely to room temperature before placing the leftover pieces in a resealable container and storing in the refrigerator. This cornbread also freezes quite well! I suggest wrapping each piece in plastic or waxed paper, then storing all of them in an air-tight freezer bag or freezer-safe container. You can thaw them at room temperature or with a quick zap in the microwave.
Sweet Potato Cornbread
Servings 8Ingredients
- 1 lb. sweet potato ($1.56)
- 1.5 cups yellow cornmeal ($0.36)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.13)
- 1/2 cup sugar ($0.40)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder ($0.12)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg ($0.05)
- 2 large eggs ($0.52)
- 1/2 cup sour cream ($0.47)
- 3/4 cup milk ($0.23)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/2 Tbsp cooking oil for the skillet ($0.02)
Instructions
- Peel the sweet potato and cut it into one-inch cubes. Place the cubes in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil the potatoes until they’re tender and fall apart with pierced with a fork (about ten minutes). Drain the potatoes and set aside.
- Coat the inside of a 10" cast iron skillet with cooking oil. Place the skillet in the oven and begin to preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well mixed.
- Mash the drained sweet potatoes until fairly smooth. Transfer 1.5 cups of the mashed potatoes to a large bowl. Add the sour cream, milk, and 2 Tbsp oil, and whisk until combined. Add the eggs and whisk until combined again.
- Pour the sweet potato mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir the two together just until combined and no dry mix remains on the bottom of the bowl. It’s okay if the mixture is a little lumpy, just be sure not to over mix.
- Carefully take the hot skillet out of the preheated oven and scoop the batter into the skillet. Smooth out the top of the batter until it's even, then return it to the oven. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the center is puffed, the top is golden brown, and it's slightly cracked around the edges. Remove the cornbread from the oven, cut into eight pieces, and serve (preferably with butter).
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Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
- Liquid Measuring Cup
Nutrition
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How to Make Sweet Potato Cornbread – Step by Step Photos
Peel a 1 lb. sweet potato and cut it into one-inch cubes. Place the cubes in a pot, cover them with water, and bring the pot up to a boil over high heat. Let the sweet potatoes boil until they’re soft and fall apart when pierced with a fork (about 10 minutes). Drain the sweet potatoes and set them aside.
Once the sweet potatoes are done boiling, get the skillet ready and begin to preheat the oven. Rub about 1/2 Tbsp of oil inside a 10″ cast iron skillet, place it in the oven, then set it to preheat to 425ºF.
While the potatoes are boiling (or after they’ve drained), combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, stir together 1.5 cups yellow cornmeal, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Stir them together until they are very well combined.
Mash the sweet potatoes until they’re fairly smooth. Transfer 1.5 cups of the sweet potato mash to a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup sour cream, 3/4 cup milk, 2 large eggs, and 2 Tbsp cooking oil.
Whisk the ingredients together until fairly smooth. You may still have a few small chunks of sweet potato, but that’s okay.
Pour the sweet potato mixture into the bowl with the mixed dry ingredients and stir them together just until mixed. It’s okay if it’s a bit lumpy, just don’t over mix it. The sweet potato cornbread batter will be fairly thick.
Carefully take the preheated skillet out of the oven, scoop the batter into it, then spread it around until it’s smooth on top. Return it to the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes.
Or until it’s puffed in the center, golden brown on top, and cracked around the edges. Cut the sweet potato cornbread into eight pieces and enjoy!
A little melted butter takes sweet potato cornbread to the next level.
Yes. Just yes.
Am I a colossal weirdo for adding blueberries to this? I really like roasted blueberries so these days I am adding them to anything I can get away with?
I think that would be delightful! I guess it depends on what you’re serving it with, but if you’re just enjoying it on its own it sounds good to me!
I fix it a week ago in the iron pan, it turned out great,l put the left over in the fridge l ate off it the whole week,it takes better over time, my husband enjoy it as well,
Look yummy never made cornbread with sweet potato but I will bake it thank you for recipe
Good morning…How bout using Corn Bread mix and just adding the extras?Has anyone tried?If so I would love to know the outcome.Blessings
I used 2 boxes of Jiffy brand cornbread (since each box called for 1 egg and the recipe called for 2 eggs) and it turned out perfectly!!
Love this recipe! I usually use a can of pumpkin puree instead of going through the fuss with the sweet potatoes. I like to stock up for that when pumpkin puree is on sale, since it lasts forever. I make them into muffins and they’re a big hit!
Yum! Tried to use ingredients on hand so substituted puréed butternut squash for sweet potato, whole wheat flour for regular flour, reduced sugar to 1/8 cup, and used 1 cup buttermilk/1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream & milk. Baked at 425 in square pan (and made a few muffins too), and it is moist and tastes wonderful! The cinnamon/ nutmeg definitely works well.
can i use self rising corn meal and self rising flour instead
HI, Javelin! Since we haven’t tested the recipe using self-rising products, I can’t promise you will have equally successful results. In theory, they should work just fine — and you can also omit the baking powder. ~Marion :)
Thanks for the suggest my mother who’s a retired baker states that using the self-rising would work perfect as well. We are trying to make corn muffin with your recipe. Will let you know how it goes.
I made this last year for Thanksgiving and it was delicious! Making again this year. Only change I made was cut sugar to 1/4 cup.
Easy to follow instructions. Turned out so yummy. I served it with a bit of maple syrup. Oh, wow. Next time, and there will definitely be a next time, I will substitute the sugar for maple syrup. Can’t wait to see how that goes. Thank you for the post, the work involved, the budgeting, and the pictures!
Really tasty cornbread! love the addition of the sweet potatoes and the subtle fall spices. Texture was light and moist. I have made it many times already and it works in a regular pan too- just add the oil to your pan and heat it in the oven. When you add the batter, it will sizzle and make a nice crusty bottom! I also made one version dairy free by subbing in almond milk for the cow’s milk and for the sour cream. No difference in flavor or texture!
Is the bread supposed to be crumbly or not
If the bread is dry and crumbles, it was overcooked. It might be the oven temperature. Use an oven thermometer when baking, as most ovens are not calibrated. XOXO -Monti
I needed a recipe to use up some sweet potatoes. This was easy and delicious, and used ingredients I had on hand. It was a hit with the family. I will definitely be making it again.