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.
I had Sweet Potato muffins at a soul food restaurant I went to and their sweet potato muffins are to die for lol!
FYI…Sweet potatoes can be hard to cut & peel sometimes…so to save you some time throw the sweet potatoes in water & boil. When they are done the skin peels off SUPER EASY!
Wow, I never knew that!
Oh, I forgot to mention that I used vanilla almond milk instead of regular dairy milk and it turned out fine regarding texture and flavor. I like a sweeter, cakey cornbread anyway so the extra bit of sweetness from the milk was a bonus.
This was SO very good. Only thing, I felt that some of the cornmeal grains were pretty hard but maybe that’s a function of the brand of cornmeal I used? I wonder if there’s any way to soften it a bit more so my teeth aren’t grinding on little grains. That’s a minor complaint though. The RECIPE was great and I will be committing it to memory to make forever!
Yikes, yeah, you shouldn’t feel like your teeth are grinding. :) The brand you have may have been a coarser grind than what I used. If the grind is more coarse, they take longer to soften, so that’s probably why they were still hard.
Can I leave out the sour cream for a dairy-free version? Or substitute soy milk?
I think soy milk would be too runny to do an even swap here and you’ll be missing that creamy/tangy flavor. So, I’d try for a dairy-free sour cream first, although I’ve never baked with them so I’m not sure if they react the same.
Loved this recipe! Made these as cornbread muffins today with turkey white bean pumpkin chili and it went together great. Definitely made a nice fall meal!
I made this today to go with the Northern Bean Soup I also made. I tried a piece and was very pleased. I didn’t use milk as I don’t drink Milk. I use Almond Milk as a replacement. I have issues with my hands and have learned shortcuts for cooking . I cleaned the Sweet Potatoes and cut in slices about 1/2 inch thick with skins on and boiled. The skins peel right off. Other than that followed the recipe and will make again.
My husband and I liked it ok, but would have preferred no nutmeg or cinnamon (and I even reduced them some!).
Maybe we’ll try again without those spices…
When you tried making the bread as muffins did you cook them at the same temp? And how long did you bake them for? TIA!
Yep, same temperature and they took about the same time to bake. Just keep an eye on them from about five minutes earlier than normal and take them out of the oven when they’re golden on top.
Had to try it and I’m in love! I decided to bake the potatoes in foil with the skin on and refrigerate a couple of days to retain the nutrients and flavor. Like Lays chips, you just can’t eat one slice! Thanks for sharing your passion for food.
Hey! I was going to try this, but I don’t have a cast iron skillet! Do you think this will still work in a casserole dish? And how should I adjust the time/temp so it comes out ok? Thanks :)
You can skip preheating the casserole dish and you might need to add five minutes or so to the cooking time. Just keep an eye on it and take it out when it’s cracked a little on top and golden brown around the edges. :)
I baked mine in a glass Pyrex dish and it turned out great. You can place it in the oven beforehand just like the skillet.
Will this freeze well?
Yep, this one should freeze really well.
Has anyone tried to increase the recipe for a 9×13 pan? Wondering if just doubling it would do the trick. I made it per the recipe above a few weeks ago – delicious! – but need a batch for a larger crowd.
Really really enjoyed this! I’ve made cornbread only 2 times before and this time I had a finer grit corn meal and I think it worked very well. I prefer my cornbread on the sweeter side so this was perfect. I’m just a little wary of how many calories are hiding in this one as I’m on a better eating trend and am trying to count them. Oh and I didn’t have any sour cream or yogurt so I just used more milk, seemed to be an ok substitute. Will for sure make this again!
Hi there!
I don’t like sour cream and absolutely never have it on hand. Is there something I can substitute for it so that I don’t have to buy a tub that will go to waste? Thanks!
You can try greek yogurt, but I’m not sure if that will change the flavor.
Very tasty and seasonal! My family prefers less sweet cornbread so the second time I made it, I cut the sugar to about half the recipe. Still turned out great but a little more balanced in terms of pairing with a savory soup.