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 made it with baked sweet potatoes and butter because my kids used the sour cream. I also switched the cornmeal and flour amounts. It was yummy! Everyone at church loved it.
I have made this twice and it wonderful. Nice change from normal cornbread. I did use one small can, drained and rinsed the liquid off instead of fresh sweet potato.
Can this be made with bread flour instead of all purpose?
Yes, bread flour is just ground finer.
I think you could “bake” the sweet potato in the microwave. When done, scrape cooked potato into the large bowl and mash. This would eliminate peeling the sweet potato, cutting into cubes and cooking in a pan. What can I say?–always looking for less dishes to wash. ;-)
What a great idea! I make this cornbread at least once a month during the fall/winter season, can’t believe I never thought to use the microwave.
I made mine gluten free by substituting the exact same amount of GF flour (my own mix). I did add 1/2 teaspoon more baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. I didn’t have sour cream so I used Greek plain yogurt. I used a 12 inch cast iron skillet ( what I had) and baked it 20 minutes. I followed the rest of the recipe. This came out awesome. My son, who was very skeptical about this, went back for seconds! Served it with honey butter with a touch of cinnamon. Yummy!
What about using canned sweet potatoes? Just wondering. The recipe sounds delicious!! Gotta try it!
You can do that, just make sure they don’t have any added sugar and if there is any liquid in the can make sure to drain off as much as that as possible.
I would like to make this gluten free. Please advise and send the advice to samymom2002@gmail.com as checking back is impossible at this time.
Does it really need the sugar (sweet potatoes are already so sweet), and can whole wheat flour be used? Or chickpea flour?
This bread is quite sweet, so I think you could safely reduce the sugar by half, or maybe more if you prefer savory cornbread. I don’t think this would be very good with whole wheat or chickpea flour, though. It would change the texture and density too much.
its easier to bake the sweet potato and use Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix………. I bet it turns out just as good.
I was thinking the same thing.
So in case anyone had the same questions as me:
I used #400 corn meal and it turned out with an acceptable texture
I do not have a cast iron skillet so I used my 8×8 aluminum one at the same temp for 30 minutes and it baked through with no problems.
I switched coconut oil for the vegetable oil.
Does it have to be baked in a skillet? I don’t have one. How about a glass or metal baking dish, Corning ware? Temp and time the same?
You can bake this in a glass, ceramic, or metal baking dish, but I don’t have exact cooking times because it will depend on many factors. Just keep an eye on it starting at around 20 minutes and look for the top of the bread to be golden brown and cracked around the edges.
Will it mess with the recipe to omit the sour cream? Is there something else non dairy that could be used?How about just using coconut milk?
Yes, the sour cream is very critical to the texture and moisture level of the bread, so it definitely can’t just be left out. Unfortunately I haven’t tested the recipe with a non-dairy substitute, so I’m not sure how they would affect this.
My lady wife has lactose intolerance rather badly. She was able to eat this on both occasions I fixed it using both buttermilk and 1% milk. The first time I did not use sour cream, but instead made my “normal” cornbread and carefully mixed in the hand mashed microwaved sweet potatoes. At first no one at church seemed to pick any up, then word got around and it disappeared.
Im going to make this. I can eat everything but the sugar. So ill use a sugar substitute. It sounds so good.
What sugar sub & how much
Wonder how I could make this Gluten free omitting the flour somehow?
Me too Linda…I was wondering if you could use gluten free cornbread mix and omit the flower, cornmeal, etc above…let me know what you think…or anyone else. (Probably have to play with it and bit)
I guess no one received a reply to the gluten free question. I’m going to give it a go sometime this week with all purpose gluten flour and increase to one more egg. My hubby has celiac disease and seeing all these wonderful recipes is sometimes frustrating because im not sure how they’ll turn out without the wheat flour….pray for me!
Couldn’t you substitute gluten-free flour for the regular flour? Our local grocery store carries a GF “all purpose” flour that is a great substitute.
do you think I can substitute 2 1/2 c self rising cornmeal for flour/cornmeal/baking powder/salt ?
thanks for sharing some great recipies
Unfortunately I’ve never worked with self rising cornmeal, so I’m not sure.
I just did this by accident! Realized after the sweet potatoes were already boiling that all I had was self-rising cornmeal. After frantic googling to try to figure out the flour-to-cornmeal ratio in Washington self-rising cornmeal, I threw my hands in the air, said a prayer to the kitchen deities, and gave it a shot. It turned out fine! Granted, it was my first time trying this recipe and I don’t have a reference point, but it’s totally edible.
I did 2 1/2 c self-rising cornmeal and added 1/2 c flour because the batter looked a little thin. I omitted the salt, but I did add almost the full amount of baking powder since my cornmeal was on the older side (then again, so was my baking powder — but whatever, it all turned out fine!).