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.
How big is the pan that you use? I’m going to try this. Looks so good.
This is a 10″ Lodge cast iron skillet. :)
I’m going to revamp this into a paleo almond flour bread. I’ll use coconut milk and sugar instead. Yum
My husband loves cornbread. I need to pick up sweet potatoes and nutmeg today to make this great recipe.
This sounds heavenly. I can hardly wait to try it. To the lady asking about cooking it something other than cast iron. You can cook it in any oven proof pan but us Southern cooks think cornbread should be cooked in cast iron because it has a nice crisp crust in it then. 🙃
You answered my question about the cast iron as well, thank you! I’m not living in the states currently and don’t have access to cast iron. I look forward to trying this in cast iron, but it will have to wait!
Can you used canned sweet potato?
Yes, as long as it’s drained and mashed, and doesn’t contain any other sugars or seasonings.
micro wave them ! easier,quicker ?
I want to reduce the amount of sugar by half – I know it would be less sweet, but would the proportions be thrown off for baking purposes? Thank you!!
I think it would still work pretty well. I haven’t tried it, but this cornbread already has a lot of moisture, so I don’t think reducing the sugar would cause it to dry out.
Is there a way to make this without the cast iron skillet?
Yes, you can bake it in a casserole dish, if needed. :)
Same time & temp if using a casserole dish?
It really depends on the size and shape, but the difference shouldn’t be dramatic. Just keep an eye on it starting at around 15 minutes and it is done when the top is golden brown and cracked around the edges.
You can use an oven proof fry pan. I use my all stainless steel.
This stupid good. Beth, how do you do it? Your recipes are amazing. I was nervous about the seasonings (nutmeg? in cornbread?), but I should have trusted that you know what you’re doing. Another winner,
I have a butternut on the counter. Would that work in lieu of the potato?
I think that would work! I haven’t tested it, but I would think that butternut squash or even pumpkin would work very similarly.
I can see corn bread in my future along with a bone in pork chop and some pinto beans. Thanks for your great recipes.sal
So I got here via Buzzfeed. I’m gonna have to try this recipe! I really wanted to comment on the quality of your blog though. It’s so clean and easy to follow without annoying ads. Also, I love that you keep the condensed recipe near the top of the page so your readers don’t have to scroll through the long version to get to the simplified one. Thank you!
Thank you for noticing! :D I hope you enjoy the cornbread!
I 2nd what she said!
I 2nd what she said! Would butternut work in lieu of the potato?
Love this idea! Do you feel that substituting flax eggs, vegan sour cream and cashew milk would produce a similar product in the cast iron? I’d love to make this but it needs to be vegan.
Thank you!
Honestly I’ve never cooked with any of those ingredients, so it’s hard to say. :) If you give it a shot, let me know how it works out, though!
I made this cornbread tonight with dinner and it was absolutely delicious!! Even the very picky 7 year old loved it and wanted seconds! Thank you for such a great recipe! It’s definitely going into the dinner rotation
I made this for a potluck and it got rave reviews! I will definitely be making it again in the future!