These irresistible Bacon and Cheese Cornbreads are buttery and fully loaded. It’s packed full of delicious sweet corn, bacon and cheese!
Cornbread with a twist
Whipping up a batch of cornbread because it’s as quick and easy as making muffins! But it’s more versatile than muffins because you can have cornbread as a snack or as a side dish. These Bacon and Cheese Cornbread are still simple and quick to make, however, they probably weigh twice as much as they’re fully loaded.
Traditional southern style cornbread has very few ingredients, mainly comprising cornmeal, flour, butter, and buttermilk. This version doesn’t contain much more, but it brings the cornbread to a whole new level. Come on, big on cheese and bacon. Do I need to say more because it doesn’t get better than this?!
These Cornbreads have corn kernels, bacon and cheese added to the batter. It’s buttery, cheesy, with loads of savoury goodness, but it’s also a little sweet as well.
This recipe makes 12 convenient size cornbread muffins. They’re perfect for picnics or serve them as side dishes with your favourite saucy dish, at a BBQ, or simply have them as a snack with butter slathered on.
These Bacon and Cheese Cornbreads are very filling as they’re fully loaded and filled with loads of textures from the cornmeal and the corn kernels. These are best when served warm to enjoy the melted cheese.
We’re going on a road trip!
Tomasi and I just had our second jab, which means we have our FREEDOM! Fully vaccinated people are free from lockdown.
This is perfect timing as our little baby boy, Kai, is turning 2! We would love to book a holiday overseas, but we don’t really have that option right now. It’s probably a good thing we don’t go overseas with a temperamental 2-year-old, anyway. We would most probably get death stares from people on the plane next to us when he screams like a banshee randomly. So it’s back to basics for us and off on the road we go! It’s a road trip, ya’ll!
Well hey, at least we get to skip customs and oh, those awful plane rides. As much as I love travelling, I hated flying on planes. Tiny cramped spaces, turbulence and atrocious food; do I need to say more?
There’s just something wonderful about throwing a suitcase into the car and driving to our destination. Less preparation means less stress!
We’ve done a few road trips with Kai when he was 12-months-old. We’ve taken him up the coast and to the Blue Mountains. During this time, he only learned how to walk independently, so he loved exploring and touching everything. I loved travelling with him and seeing him so happy, but the nights weren’t fun.
Kai refused to sleep in the hotel’s dingy portable cots and cried until we moved him onto our bed. My husband, Tomasi, went from sleeping in a plush bed to a hard, cold couch. Kai and I shared the bed, but I could never sleep. I was afraid that he would fall off the bed or he would wake up in the night and get up to no good. A hotel setting is not exactly child friendly, especially when it had a fireplace with a poker.
It’ll be a two-hour drive for us to get to the Central Coast from where we are. We hired a cute little motel right by the lagoon. Yay, I’m praying for warm weather and Kai to be in a good mood every day!
What is cornbread?!
This is a little embarrassing to admit, but I had never heard of cornbread. Well, that was until I watched The Green Mile. John Coffey was crazy over cornbread that Paul Edgecomb’s wife made him.
Forgive me, as cornbread is not widely available here!
Tomasi and I first tried cornbread in 2015 during our trip to the US for our honeymoon. We were having lunch in this Texas-themed restaurant in LA. Our humongous steaks came with humongous cornbread and a humongous serving of mac and cheese.
To be honest, I was a little conflicted when I had the first few bites of the cornbread. I wasn’t instantly a fan. The coarse texture surprised me and it also confused me as I was unsure if cornbread was a savoury or sweet bread. Hubby and I agreed it was okay, nothing offensive, but nothing special either.
BUT WAIT because cornbread certainly grew on us! Many diners in the US served cornbread as a side dish, and the more we ate it, the more we liked it. It’s one of those foods where you have to just get accustomed to the taste and texture to appreciate it.
After our trip, I learned how to bake cornbread and haven’t stopped since. I love how incredibly easy and cheap it is to make. A quick and delicious bread to serve with many dishes!
Ingredients for Bacon and Cheese Cornbread
Rindless bacon – My favourite bacon is streaky, as I like the ratio of fat and meat. However, all kinds of rindless bacon will work. If you’re using a lean or shortcut bacon, you may need an extra teaspoon of oil for frying.
Corn Kernels – Canned, fresh or frozen corn will work. If using frozen, there’s no need to defrost them before mixing them with the batter.
Shredded cheese – I used tasty cheddar cheese, however, any variety of melting cheese would work. Swiss, Monterey Jack, mozzarella and all cheddars are great choices.
Plain flour (all-purpose flour) does not contain any leavening agents.
Polenta (yellow cornmeal) – Supermarkets stock polenta or yellow cornmeal near the flour or health section. Polenta has a coarse texture made from grounded dried corn.
How to make Bacon and Cheese Cornbread
Step-by-step guide with photos
Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Grease a standard 12 hole muffin tin with butter.
In a frying pan, cook the bacon over medium to high heat stirring regularly for 5 minutes or until the fat has rendered. Place the bacon on paper towels to remove any excess fat. Set the bacon aside.
For the dry ingredients – Place flour, polenta, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and whisk well to combine. For the wet ingredients – In a separate bowl, pour in milk, eggs and melted butter, and whisk well to combine.
Bake the bacon and cheese cornbread
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix by folding in the mixture a few times. Add bacon, cheese, and corn to the mixture and continue to fold just until combined. Don’t over mix the batter.
Fill each muffin hole with batter, fill it almost to the top as the cornbread won’t rise too much. Place the tin in the middle of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. It’s baked when the skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cornbread. Leave cornbreads in the tin for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.
You’re here because you love cheese and bacon, right? That’s great because I do too, so here are a few more recipes to try out this Easy Overnight Breakfast Strata. Or get very naughty with this ultimate Bacon and Sausage Sandwich
Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.
A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.
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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre
Bacon and Cheese Cornbread
Ingredients
- 250 gm bacon (rind removed and diced thinly) (NOTE 1)
- 1½ cup plain flour (all purpose flour) (NOTE 2)
- ⅔ cup polenta (yellow cornmeal) (NOTE 3)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 120 gm unsalted butter (melted)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk (full or whole fat)
- 420 gm tinned corn kernels (1⅓ cup drained) (NOTE 4)
- 1½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (NOTE 5)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F) or 180°C (360°F) for fan-forced ovens. Grease a standard 12 hole muffin tin with butter.
- In a frying pan, cook the bacon over medium to high heat stirring regularly for 5 minutes or until the fat has rendered. Place the bacon on paper towels to remove any excess fat. Set the bacon aside.
- For the dry ingredients – Place flour, polenta, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and whisk well to combine. For the wet ingredients – In a separate bowl, pour in milk, eggs and melted butter, and whisk well to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix by folding in the mixture a few times. Add bacon, cheese, and corn to the mixture and continue to fold just until combined. Don't over mix the batter.
- Fill each muffin hole with batter, fill it almost to the top as the cornbread won't rise too much. Place the tin in the middle of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. It's baked when the skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cornbread. Leave cornbreads in the tin for 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.
