Everyone needs a fantastic, healthy homemade cornbread recipe.

I am very familiar with cornbread, since it is a staple here in the south. There are two different kinds- sweet or not-sweet. I don’t have anything against sweet cornbread.

But the salty Texas-style cornbread baked in a cast iron skillet, with the buttery, crunchy crust? Can’t beat it.

You need a cast iron skillet

When I first started experimenting with different cornbread recipes the first thing I did was buy a cast iron skillet (is it shameful that I didn’t have one before then? Probably). It’s worth buying a cast iron skillet just for making this healthy homemade cornbread. You just can’t get that perfectly crispy crust without one.

And fried breakfast potatoes are out-of-this-world delicious when cooked in cast iron. I have a 12-inch skillet, but a 10-inch is big enough for most cooking tasks, and this amount of cornbread batter would fit a 10-inch just fine.

What to do if you don’t have a cast iron skillet

If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can bake this recipe in an 8×8 inch baking dish instead (grease it with butter before pouring the batter in).

But really . . . get yourself a cast iron skillet before you try this recipe. It’s worth it, I promise!

Healthy Homemade Cornbread

-Ingredients-

1 C. cornmeal
1/2 C. whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
1 T. baking powder
1 C. kefir or buttermilk
1/2 C. milk
1 egg
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 C.  +2 T. butter

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place 1/4 C. butter in cast iron skillet and set in oven until butter melts.

2. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl mix together kefir, milk, egg and baking soda. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Whisk in melted butter.

4. Place 2 T. butter in skillet and put back in oven. When butter is melted and oven is preheated, pour batter into skillet.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until edges are golden brown and crispy.

6. Slice into wedges and serve with (of course) more butter.

Notes: We eat cornbread, rice and beans on a regular basis. There’s usually not much left, but here are some ideas to use up leftover cornbread!

Yield: I slice mine into 8 big wedges.

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks