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.
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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Nutrition
Video
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.
This was SO GOOD! Very moist and filling. I used an extra egg in the mix instead of the oil, and substituted the baking powder for 1/3 teaspoon bicarbonate soda (or baking soda as you call in the US). The acidity in the sour cream activates the bicarb soda so it acts the same as baking powder.
This sweet potato cornbread sounds so good! I wanted to make it, but I didn’t have sour cream, milk, or 2 eggs, so I ended up making my own recipe: http://foodparsed.com/sweet-potato-cornbread/. I do agree that sweet potato cornbread is lovely served with butter.
I took a look at your recipe, I really like the way you did a breakdown of what all the ingredients do and mentioned a vegan option.
I also love the step-by-step, I’ll be sure to keep an eye on your blog!
Absolutely delicious and perfect for fall! Almost tastes like sweet potato pie :)
I used a glass pie plate because I don’t have a cast iron skillet (yet). It took only 18 minutes to bake and puffed up HUGE! At first I was disappointed in how high calorie this is (roughly 290), but the serving size is very, very generous and you could easily make 12 servings instead for a lower calorie count.
Thank you Beth!
Seriously, this was amazing! I did the same thing you did, with a 10″ glass pie plate and it did puff up very tall. It was a huge hit at my house and I will be making it again.
I think the extra veggies and fiber in the bread contribute to my reduced guilt about the calorie count :) What a great recipe!
This just did not work for me. I followed the directions exactly and I am by no means a novice baker. Even after 45 minutes in the oven this was gummy. The flavor was good but it never firmed up like a cornbread.
Does your oven run a little cool, perhaps? I’m just trying to think of things that may have caused it to not work out for you. I suppose there’s also the possibility that you messed up somewhere in the ingredients… we all make mistakes :)
Hmmm. I’m not sure what might have happened there. With baking it’s tough to troubleshoot without seeing every step because there are so many factors. Sorry it didn’t work out for you!
What can I use instead of sour cream? Also can I just cook the sweet potato in the microwave?
You can cook the sweet potato in the microwave. Instead of sour cream you can use plain yogurt or buttermilk.
I made this last night except I used canned pumpkin (instead of sweet potato), brown sugar (in place of regular) and 1 Tbsp of butter (instead of oil). My 10 year-old son that doesn’t like cornbread, LOVED this. Oh and in addition to butter on top, I drizzled some honey – delicious!
Do you think I could substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Yes, I think that would probably work. Regular yogurt might even work better since it has a bit more moisture, but I guess it depends on the brand and just how strained it is.
Can we poke the sweet potato with a fork a few times and microwave it in lieu of the skinning, chopping, and boiling? They’re pretty easy to scoop out, and quite soft. I think I recall using that method in a previous recipe (chipotle sweet potato burgers maybe?).
I think you probably could. I find them a little easier to mash when boiled and I don’t own a potato masher (why, I do not know!), so I went with the “easiest to mash” route. :)
I have a question….would a box of Jiff work instead of making the cornmeal by hand. (I have a box on hand and want to use it up)
I’m not sure if the ingredients in the mix are in the right proportion to work with the sweet potato thrown in there. :(
Oh my goodness. This was outstanding. I followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out perfect. It was soooo moist and not crumbly at all. Definitely slab a little butter on top!
Oh my gosh, Beth – this might be grandson Jack’s and my next culinary venture. Thanks!
Anybody try to make this dairy free? What could I use instead of sour cream?
Are there any stores near you that carry vegan sour cream, or vegan yogurt? Those are the only thick, “creamy”, non-dairy things I can think of.
I made this tonight and it came out great, although I made a few substitutions. I used white whole wheat flour and substituted the sugar for an equal amount of honey. Also I only had coarse ground cornmeal and I suspect it would be a bit lighter with finer ground cornmeal. Either way, this tasted wonderful. I had made pumpkin cornbread before but never sweet potato, and I love it!
My husband’s family tops their cornbread with butter and maple syrup…..I bet it would be absolutely delicious with your recipe! Thanks for posting.
I had to add more milk toward the end. It was too powdery still. It just came out of the oven and looks amazing. This is my first time using my cast iron skillet. Living in Hungary, it was almost impossible to find. This recipe will get good use out of it.