What is spoon bread? This old fashioned recipe is incredibly popular in the southern states, and it's deliciously quick and easy to cook up in your kitchen!

Spoon bread isn't really a type of bread (despite its name), but it's not exactly a cake either. This southern-style dish is more like a soft, savory souffle, and all you need are a few cupboard staples, a cast iron skillet, and plenty of cornmeal to cook up this scrumptious side dish. 

Here's our southern-style old fashioned spoon bread recipe!

Spoon Bread: A Southern Classic

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Servings

6

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Ingredients

• 3/4 of a cup of cornmeal
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of boiling water
• 3 tbsps of melted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tbsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of salt

Directions

1. Begin the corn spoon bread recipe by preheating your oven to 350°F.
2. Prepare your cast iron skillet by thoroughly greasing your pan with butter. (We suggest a 10-inch skillet for this cast iron recipe.)
3. Pour your cornmeal into a large mixing bowl and add in a teaspoon of salt.
4. Slowly pour in 1 cup of boiling water into the cornmeal, whisking the mixture as you go.
5. Keep whisking until the cornmeal is smooth and free of any lumps.
6. Add in your melted butter and allow the mixture to cool down before continuing.
7. When it's cool enough, pour in the milk and whisk it into the mixture.
8. Crack your two large eggs into a separate bowl, and whisk them.
9. Once whisked, whisk the eggs again into the cornmeal mixture and add the baking powder.
10. Pour your batter into the cast iron skillet, then place it in the center of the preheated oven for 35 min.
11. Remove the spoon bread when it's a golden brown color and serve hot!

Spoon bread recipe FAQ

Southern-style spoon bread is quick and easy to prepare, and it doesn't take too long to bake either!

But just in case you had any lingering questions, we put together this quick FAQ to answer the most common questions we receive about our spoon bread recipe. Keep reading to find out more!

How can I make the crust crispier?

If you're looking for a crispy crust on the outside of your spoon bread, then you need to make sure that you preheat your cast iron skillet before you pour in the batter.

To do this, you can place your skillet in the oven at the same as you are preheating it. Once you've mixed up your spoon bread batter, pour it straight into the hot skillet so that it sizzles nicely.

You can help to add even more crispiness by using more butter in the mixture and greasing up the skillet before baking.

Do I have to use a skillet?

Using a cast iron skillet for baking spoon bread really helps if you're looking for a crispy outside and soft inside. You can heat the skillet up to a great heat in the oven, and keep the shape of the spoon bread when you're baking in bulk.

But of course, you can also use any other suitably sized baking dishes, or even a casserole dish, to cook your spoon bread.

Can I add anything else to the recipe?

You can make some great additions to the spoon bread recipe that we've outlined above, to give it a little extra kick, or to vary up the menu every now and then!

One classic addition to the traditional spoon bread recipe is corn kernels. Simply mix them in with the batter and let them bake to produce a delicious sweet corn spoonbread in the oven.

You could also chop a few green onions, to add a little bit of flavor to the mixture, or if you are looking for a spicy kick, then some chopped chile peppers really won't go amiss!

There's a lot more you can add, too, so don't be afraid to get creative.

Can you make spoon bread ahead of time?

Spoon bread is best served fresh from the oven, but you can make the mixture ahead of time and leave it in the refrigerator.

When you're ready to bake, simply preheat your oven, heat up your pan, and then pour in the batter. You shouldn't keep your spoon bread batter in the refrigerator for more than 24 hours. The fresher it is, the better your spoon bread is going to taste.

Can you freeze spoon bread?

Unfortunately, spoon bread isn't a suitable dish for freezing. Because the mixture is more like a cake than an actual bread, you really need to be serving it up fresh and hot to enjoy it the best way it can be.

Freezing, then thawing spoon bread will ensure that the dish loses its shape and taste, so we really don't recommend trying it.

Why is spoon bread called spoon bread?

Now that you've worked your way through our southern-style spoon bread recipe, you're probably wondering why spoon bread is actually called spoon bread.

We know, it's a slightly unusual name for a cornmeal based dish. Spoon bread doesn't exactly look like your standard loaves of bread, and why the connection to spoons?

Spoon bread is an unusual dish! It's not bread, it's not really a cake, and the closest thing we can liken it to is a soft souffle. And that's where the term spoon bread comes into play. The dish is soft and light enough to be readily eaten with a spoon, but looks like a bread type dish after it has been cooked!

Where does spoon bread come from?

Spoonbread is a dish that's ubiquitous to the southern United States, but its exact origins are obscured in myth and local legend.

The dish could have originated amongst indigenous Native Americans, or it could have simply become popular because it's so cheap, affordable, and easy to bake. The first references to spoon bread have been traced back as far as the 1850s, which means that it's certainly a historic dish!

Spoon Bread Takeaways

Spoonbread is a fantastic, traditional dish that will add that delicious old school southern element to your meal. The entire dish will take you under an hour to prepare and to bake, but we guarantee it will be eaten in no time at all!

Why not bookmark our southern-style spoon bread recipe, and cook up a big batch for later?

If you enjoyed this recipe, check out our article on more cast iron skillet recipes, like this skillet cornbread recipe!