Southern fried cornbread, better known as hoe cakes, are the very definition of comfort food. Made with simple pantry staples like cornmeal and buttermilk, these pancake-sized cornbread rounds are fried in a cast-iron skillet with bacon grease to get those crispy edges and fluffy insides. Perfect alongside a warm bowl of chili or stew, y'all, they're begging to be slathered with butter and honey!
Being from the South, we are known from time to time to throw some things in the fryer and serve them up - I mean, my home state is known for fried chicken, soooooo, we come by it honestly. 🤷♀️
So why not take some tender cornbread and skillet fry it? Sounds like a great idea to me!
What I love about these is that they are bite-sized pieces of pure comfort. They have the same tender crumb as traditional cornbread on the inside, but the thin, crispy edges just get me. I personally love slathering them up with lots of butter and a healthy drizzle of local honey...but dunking them into white chicken chili.... so yum! You just can't go wrong!
⭐️PRO TIP⭐️ if you're like me and go to open the fridge and realize you have no buttermilk on hand - don't worry! After YEARS of having this happen to me (you would think I would learn but whatevs), I came up with a quick and easy solution to make your own buttermilk at home in just 5 minutes. It works perfectly in this recipe.
Recipe
Skillet Fried Southern Cornbread (Hoe Cakes)
- Total Time: 49 minutes
- Yield: 10-15 cakes 1x
Description
Skillet-fried Southern cornbread, better known as hoe cakes, are the very definition of comfort food. Made with simple pantry staples like cornmeal and buttermilk, these pancake-sized cornbread rounds are fried in a cast-iron skillet with bacon grease to get those crispy edges and fluffy insides. Perfect alongside a warm bowl of chili or stew, y'all, they're begging to be slathered with butter and honey!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Cornmeal
- 1 Cup Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- 1 ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
- ¼ Cup Butter - melted
- 2 Eggs
- Bacon Grease - for frying
- Butter and Honey - for serving
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter until smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined. The batter should be thick yet pourable, similar to pancake batter.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add about 1-2 tablespoons of bacon grease.
- Once the skillet is hot, drop about ¼ cup of batter into the skillet for each hoe cake, gently spreading it into a small circle.
- Cook until golden brown around the edges and set in the middle, about 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook the other side until golden brown and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes more.
- Remove and place on a platter. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more bacon grease as needed. (If the skillet becomes too hot, turn the heat to medium low).
- Serve warm with butter, honey, or alongside your favorite soup, chili, stew, or Southern meal.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Frying
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake
- Calories: 113
- Sugar: 1.7 g
- Sodium: 225.1 mg
- Fat: 4.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.7 g
- Fiber: 0.8 g
- Protein: 2.9 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
