Last updated on December 15th, 2018
If you’ve never tried Spoon Bread, please take note: It’s delicious! It’s also easy to make, and it goes with just about everything. I love it as a side dish, served hot from the oven, and simply topped with butter. I also love it for breakfast or dessert, topped with butter and maple syrup. Unlike ordinary cornbread, which is firm enough to slice with a knife, spoon bread is silky soft and pudding-like. That’s why we dish it up with a spoon. Watch me make, bake and yes — eat! — this 19th-century Southern goodness:
Note: There are a million different recipes for spoonbread. The recipe I use is fairly traditional, and definitely simple. Yet the end result is absolutely divine. (If I do say so myself!)
And here’s the printable:
Spoonbread is a soft and delicious cornmeal "pudding." Serve it as a side dish for dinner, or top it with butter and maple syrup for breakfast or dessert.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups stone-ground yellow or white cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter (plus more for greasing the baking dish)
- 5 eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh baking powder
Instructions
- Center the oven rack, and heat the oven the 350°F (177°C). Tip the water and buttermilk into a large, heavy saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring the liquids just to a simmer over medium (don't let the liquids boil!), and the cut off the heat. Immediately whisk in the cornmeal. Whisk constantly until the cornmeal softens and thickens -- 1 to 3 minutes. (If the cornmeal refuses to thicken, whisk the solution over medium heat for a few minutes.) Then beat in the salt, sugar, and butter. Keep beating or whisking until the butter melts.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until they turn pale and thick -- about 1 minute. Then add the baking powder, and whisk constantly until the eggs turn foamy -- about 30 seconds.
- While whisking constantly, beat the eggs into into the cornmeal mixture. Then pour the batter in a well-greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake until the spoonbread puffs and colors slightly -- about 45 minutes. Serve immediately.
NOTE: Leftover spoonbread can be covered and refrigerated for a day or two. Cold spoonbread can be warmed in a microwave oven.
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Mary says
hi Kevin, look forward to reading your Sunday newsletter and recipes.
I am wondering if you could do some bake and freeze 1 pot meals.. my husband and I try to cook a couple of these types of meals on the weekend, to have on busy week days.
thanks so much!
mary m
St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
HI Mary – Freezer meals: great idea for future videos!
Danella on the Canadian west coast says
Mmmmm…this looks yummy. Really enjoy all your posts. They make me smile and make me hungry too!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Danella – So glad you like my recipes. Thanks for watching the video!
David A says
Read his this morning and had to make it! Simply awesome. Was very eggy but light so not a bad thing. Although nothing was wrong I am curios to try it a little differently. Separate the eggs and whip up the whites to soft peaks, separately whisk the yolk then fold them into the whites. If my guess is right it should bake up really fluffy.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi David A – Glad you tried and liked the spoon bread! If you beat the egg whites and then fold them into the batter, you’ll end up with a delicious Spoon Bread Souffle!
John says
Hi Kevin,
I made your English muffins this morning, or I would have tried the spoon bread. (Sounds delish with maple syrup)!
FYI: I made the English muffins without the muffin tins, because I didn’t have them. My muffins were a bit misshapen, but nevertheless tasty.
Heather says
Excited to make this for Thanksgiving! Thank you!