Cornbread biscuits are buttermilk biscuits meeting cornbread for a perfect fast and easy side dish. With the great nutty taste of cornmeal, the sweetness of honey, and the tenderness of buttermilk biscuits, serve these cornmeal biscuits with chili, soups, and other comfort foods.
🌽Ingredients
Flour—all-purpose (AP) flour
Cornmeal—yellow or white
Honey
Buttermilk—or make a buttermilk substitute (in the recipe), or you may use milk.
Pantry ingredients—baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Wow! Delicious recipe and one that will hopefully be used for years to come!"
If you're like me, I plan the main dishes but forget the sides or bread dishes, So these easy corn biscuits are perfect for those "oops, I forgot again" moments. Just keep some basic ingredients, and you are covered.
Like any drop biscuits, these cornmeal biscuits are easy to make in a jiffy. But you can take a few more minutes to make cut biscuits instead.
Other recipes you will love our Old Fashioned Cornbread, Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Low-Fat Biscuits, Grilled Biscuits, and Beer Bread
👨🍳How to Make Cornmeal Biscuits—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Combine cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut up or shred ½ stick of cold butter.
2. In a separate bowl, combine honey and buttermilk or buttermilk substitute.
3. Add wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined, but don't over-mix. Add a touch of milk or flour if needed.
4. Make 8 drop biscuits.
5. Bake in a fully preheated oven at 400° convection or 425° conventional until golden brown. 12-14 minutes total.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
✔️Make it your way—options and variations
Cornmeal can be white or yellow. You can choose your favorite, but the taste and texture are essentially the same.
I suggest all-purpose flour. Whole wheat increases the density of biscuits, and when combined with the cornmeal, it will become a texture issue.
Please don't skip the honey. It makes the corn taste pop.
Buttermilk (or a substitute) is recommended, but plain milk may be used, and the results are still very good but with less rise.
Brushing the top with melted butter before or after baking is a nice touch.
Optional ingredients: You can use anything you might add to cornbread, such as cheddar cheese, jalapeno pepper, or chives.
🐄How to make a buttermilk substitute
To make a buttermilk substitute, add about a tablespoon of either white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of fresh milk and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. If you happen to have dried buttermilk, it works great in baking.
🔪How to make cut biscuits
- Form the dough into a 1-inch thick flat disk on a floured surface.
- Cut out biscuits of 2 to 2½ inches, reforming the dough as necessary.
- Cook the same.
🍽️When to serve cornmeal biscuits
Serve with chili, like Texas Style Chili, Crock Pot White Chicken Chili, or Stew Meat Chili (Chili Con Carne).
Also great with comfort foods, like Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew, Old Fashioned Salisbury Steak, and Small Meatloaf for Two. They can also be served with spicy dishes, like Blackened Tilapia in the Oven or Grilled Blackened Tilapia.
Crock Pot Chili
Easy to make and one of the best homemade chilies, this small-batch crock pot chili recipe is versatile—you can make chili for two in a mini crock pot or larger for a crowd. It's a classic recipe with ground beef, a mildly spicy tomato-based sauce, and tender beans.
❄️Storage of leftovers.
Store in an airtight container. They will be good at room temperature for 1-2 days, refrigerated for up to 7 days, and frozen for 2-3 months.
❓FAQs
Several things are already in your favor to prevent this with this recipe, but it can still happen. The baking powder is maxed out, and the baking soda gives you a quick pop at the beginning of cooking. The ratio of cornmeal to flour is good.
1) Oven temperature
It needs to be hot and fully preheated. Your oven may be running a little cool—have you noticed that things take a little longer to cook than the recipes say?
You can increase the temperature by 25°. Even if you are wrong, it will be okay, and the cooking time will be shorter. You can also check it with an oven thermometer.
2) Too moist or too dry dough
Those balls of dough should be a little sticky but not too mushy.
If they are too moist, they will start to fall a little just sitting there. Put them back in the bowl and add a tablespoon or two of flour.
Too dry (not sticky) is also bad; the biscuits won't rise correctly. Return them to the bowl, and a touch of milk will fix it.
3) Bad baking powder
Baking powder that is old or has had excessive air exposure may not work well.
Yes, but with some qualifications.
Flour is needed to maintain the structure of drop biscuits, so the ratio of flour to cornmeal becomes important. A ratio of 3 to 1 or 2 to 1 works well for drop biscuits and cut biscuits. They still have an excellent cornbread taste and a tender biscuit texture.
However, a one-to-one ratio almost requires a cut biscuit and will not be as fluffy.
Yes, they are both acceptable spellings.
🌽About Cornmeal
Not all cornmeal is the same, but does it matter? Not much; they may usually be used interchangeably.
Cornmeal comes in yellow and white, and if you look hard enough, you can also find blue. Yellow cornmeal is slightly sweeter and has a slightly more flavorful taste.
The color of cornmeal seems to be a regional/cultural issue. In the South, white cornmeal appears to be the norm, but in the North and Midwest, yellow is more common.
There is also a difference in the grind/texture of some cornmeal. This is generally not something you will worry about if you buy small home amounts at most supermarkets, which are medium grind. But a finer grind will provide more of a cake-like texture to your cornbread. Course grinds are used more for hot cereal but can add more texture to your cornbread.
👨🍳Recipe
Cornbread Biscuits
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ½ cup cornmeal - yellow or white
- 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter - cold
- ¾ cup buttermilk - or substitute
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar or lemon juice - if using regular milk
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.
- Combine 1 ½ cups flour, ½ cup cornmeal, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt. Cut up or shred ½ stick (4 tablespoons) cold butter. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a fork or pastry blender.
- In a separate bowl, add 2 tablespoons of honey to ¾ cup of buttermilk. Mix well. The honey will dissolve better if warm. If you don't have buttermilk handy, add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to the milk 10 minutes before dissolving the honey,
- Add wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined, but don't over-mix. Just get to the point that all the dry components are incorporated.
- Prep a smaller baking sheet with a good coating of PAM cooking spray or parchment paper. Make 8 drop biscuits. That will be balls of about 1 ¼ inch each.
- Bake until golden brown. 12-14 minutes total.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- You may use either yellow or white cornmeal.
- You need a little sugar to make the corn flavor "pop." That is usually honey, but other sugars may be used.
- The dough needs to be a little sticky and not dry. You may need to add a bit more flour or milk to get it right.
- Use aluminum-free baking powder, or you may have an aftertaste.
- See the troubleshooting discussion in the post if you have flat biscuits.
- The endpoint of cooking is the browning of the biscuits.
- To store, wrap in plastic wrap or foil. They will be good at room temperature for 1-2 days, refrigerated for up to 7 days, and frozen for 2-3 months.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Inspired by Cooks Country (membership site).
Editor's Note: Originally Published January 21, 2018. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Mary Whittier says
I have buttermilk cornbread mix… can I use that and omit the baking powder?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Mary,
Welcome to the blog.
I doubt if just omitting the baking powder is correct. Most mixes are "complete" and only need a liquid of some type—usually milk and occasionally an egg depending on the mix. There may be instructions for cornbread muffins on the package.
Dan
Laura says
These were easy to make and turned out great. We make cornbread regularly and this was a nice change.
Michelle says
I just have to applaud your listing the amount of the ingredient in the directions!!! I don't understand why more people don't do this. I like to measure and add at the same time. It just made my day that you did that! Also, I have a question. If I only have corn muffin mix, not cornmeal, how much should I use of it?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Michelle,
Welcome to the blog.
I like the measurements there, so they are they. I dislike pop-ups and video-don't have them. The list goes on. But the ads stay or the blog would die ;)
About cornmeal vs corn muffin mix. Not the same, don't use it for this. It will probably have all the ingredients it needs to make muffins by itself-like flour, baking soda, etc.
Dan
ANon says
Wow! Delicious recipe and one that will hopefully be used for years to come!
Nikki says
Love it its my 2 go now and its easy to add different things like cheese green onions one of my favorites or a little Italian spice and garlic parmesan cheese
Lori says
This is the recipe I never knew I wanted but now I’ll use it often! Quick drop biscuits and cornbread, what’s not to love? Thanks!
DrDan says
Hi Lori,
Thanks for the note. It is an interesting change of pace.
Dan