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.
Hello Beth,
I am hoping to make this recipe for thanksgiving (Canadian!), do you (or anyone) know if it’s possible to make this ahead of time (2 days before)? Great recipe!
This bread does hold up quite well as leftovers. :) Obviously it’s best on the first day, so try to make it as close to the big day as possible.
Made this last night, had been craving corn bread and had a good amount of sweet potatoes to use from my weekly farm share. I don’t have a cast iron skillet at the moment, so I used a dark 8×8 baking/cake pan and these turned out well but needed a few more minutes to set.
Delicious and easy, thanks, Beth!
My daughter made this for dinner tonight. Wanted to try something different. I baked my sweet potato {the flavor is deeper, so I avoid boiling veggies whenever possible}. Really moist, too. When it came out of the oven, I poured a stick {yup, a whole stick lol} of melted butter over the top. Really good!
55 mins. Not Bad.
I’ve been loving your recipes for a long time Beth. So many blogs out there but few that I enjoy as much as your recipes, so thank you.
Have you tried (or can you suggest how ) to make this without flour? Corn meal, sweet potatoes and more eggs maybe? I would welcome any suggestions.
I haven’t tried a flour-less cornbread yet, unfortunately. If I was able to get a plain version down, it would probably be a bit easier to figure out the sweet potato version.
I made this last night to go with bean soup. It was a huge hit! My partner isn’t a big fan of cornbread, but he loved this. I reduced the sugar because I prefer less sweet cornbread and nutmeg isn’t available here, but it was still delicious.
This was wonderful! I didn’t have sour cream so I added a bit extra sweet potatoes and milk and it turned out great! Thanks Beth!!!
I’ve made this several times now and each time it is a huge hit. Thank you!
I have this recipe in the oven right now! super excited!
My wife loves cornbread and sweet potatoes. I made this, but changed it quite a bit. She is Chinese and does not really like the nutmeg and cinnamon combination in food, so I left that out. Then I forgot sour cream at the store. So, made without cinnamon, nutmeg or sour cream and it is great, putting in a little extra milk to compensate. Awesome flavor and it had good texture as well.
Do I have to use sour cream and if yes is there a substitute for it?
Yes, it is integral to creating the correct texture and moisture content of the bread. Unfortunately I haven’t tested the recipe with any substitutions for the sour cream.
I’ve used it with greek yogurt and it turned out well!
I wanna try this but, without using the sugar. Personally, I don’t like corn bread cake! I’m wierd like that, i guess.
*weird
This looks heavenly!! I have a couple questions though:
I don’t own a cast iron skillet (I know, I know…..), can I just bake this in a regular 9X9?
Do you think canned pumpkin would work in a pinch instead of the mashed sweet potatoes?
Yes to the canned pumpkin and you can definitely do a rectangular dish. :) 9×9 might make a slightly thinner bread, so you may want to keep an eye on the baking time (it will bake faster if spread out into a larger dish).
I made this a couple weeks ago from my Sweetie, a born and raised Souhern man! He loved it!
I had never made any cornbread before, this was my first and it was AMAZING!
Tonight I am getting the recipe again so I can make it again for him.
Thanks so much!
had this dish first time in my life at the Sweet Potatoes restaurant, in Winston-Salem NC yesterday. it was served in a cast iron small skillet as an appetizer with ginger butter, and it could well have passed for a desert, man O man was it good. My first time ever to this gem of a restaurant and I WILL be going back.