This Southern style pimento cheese cornbread starts with a Krusteaz mix, gets huge flavor from pimento cheese, and develops a buttery crust from a cast iron skillet.
This divine pimento cheese cornbread is literally a hit every time I serve it. Grown men ask for the recipe, and there is never (and I mean never) a crumb left in the skillet. I got this pimento cheese cornbread recipe from my friend Carolyn, who is a Southern hostess and the best cook ever. Since discovering this recipe, I’ve had zero desire to make cornbread any other way. This recipe is simply divine. It marries two Southern favorites~cornbread and pimento cheese~with the convenience of a cornbread mix.
Which Pimento Cheese is Best?
I am a pimento cheese fanatic. In this blog post, I share my fave homemade pimento cheese recipe (and how to use it to make a redneck charcuterie board LOL). Nothing beats homemade pimento cheese, and it is super easy to make. For this cornbread, I often defer to my fave store bought pimento cheese~Palmetto Farms. I buy the jalapeno version in a large tub at Costco and keep on hand for pimento cheese cravings. It works beautifully in this recipe.
What goes great with cornbread?
This cornbread goes with everything, but is exceptionally yummy with soup, stew, chili, and greens. Here are some of my fave cornbread friendly recipes.
- Southern Style Instant Pot Turnip (or Collard) Greens
- Best Brunswick Stew (Slow Cooker Style)
- Spicy Hamburger Vegetable Soup
Which cornbread mix do you use for this recipe?
The base for this recipe is Krusteaz Honey Cornbread Mix, available at most grocery stores. To get the honey version, I sometimes have to go several places. I’ve made this in my 10″ skillet, 12″ skillet, and in a pyrex 11 x 13 dish. The cast iron wins~hand down. If you don’t have a good cast iron skillet, my faves are below.
A Cast Iron Skillet Makes the Best Cornbread
There are no bones about it; cast iron makes the best cornbread. But to achieve the “cast iron” effect, there are a few tips to follow. Read them below.
- Use the right size. I use this 12″ Lodge cast iron for a thinner cornbread. If you prefer thicker, use a 10.25″ cast iron.
- Grease and heat the skillet during preheat. Preheating the skillet until the oil is sizzling hot BEFORE adding the batter is key to the wonderful cornbread texture.The hot skillet and sizzling oil basically “fry” the crust, while the inside remains soft and crumbly.
This cornbread is really too yummy to describe in a blog post, so give it a try!!! Please let me hear back in the comments of the post when you make it; I want your feedback!
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Pimento Cheese Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 box Krusteaz Honey Cornbread Mix
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/2 -1 cup pimento cheese (I use Palmetto Cheese with jalapeño)
Instructions
- Place butter or oil in skillet.
- Preheat skillet in oven at 400 F.
- Mix cornbread mix, egg & milk until well blended. Set aside.
- Remove skillet when oven reaches 400.
- Pour melted butter or oil from skillet into cornbread mixture. Stir well.
- Stir in pimento cheese.
- Immediately pour batter into hot skillet.
- Return skillet to oven.
- Bake until golden on top, roughly 25 minutes.
- Remove from skillet when done to stop bottom from overcooking.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 149Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 103mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 3g
Thanks for sharing your version, Teresa! I love that you use 1 cup of palmetto cheese; I think that is the sweet spot for truly cheesy flavor. So happy everyone loved it!!!! XoXo
This cornbread is delicious! I used 1/3 cup butter instead of the vegetable oil and 1 cup of the Palmetto Jalapeno Pimento Cheese. Since we like a thicker cornbread, I used a 10.5 inch iron skillet. My husband and guests loved it!
Hi Sarah! I am so sorry that I was not more concise in the directions. I didn’t list an “amount” for the skillet oil. I just throw a couple pats (2 TB) of butter or a couple TB of oil to the skillet. I place the skillet in the oven during preheat so that it is hot and sizzling when the oven is heated. That way, a crust will form when batter is spread into the pan. I hope this helps! Please let me know how your cornbread turns out!!!
Can you clarify how much oil you place in the skillet? At first I thought it was the 1/3 of a cup in the listed recipe ingredients and then realized that was for the batter. I was a bit confused as Patty was about how to mix this up but your comment was helpful! Thank you!
I am so glad you liked it, Patty! I use a full cup of palmetto cheese also. Let me know how the Southern mix version turns out! Thanks for sharing!!!
I made it and it is delicious. I used butter and a full cup of the Palmetto Jalapeno Cheese. Since I typically like a less sweet cornbread, I am eager to try this recipe using the Krusteaz Southern Cornbread mix. Thank you for sharing this recipe, Jamie.
Great! Let me hear how it turns out!!
Thanks, Jamie. I am going to try it! :)
Hi Patty! Yes, you add the ingredients per the box and mix per box. After mixing, add pimento cheese and mix until incorporated. It is all incorporated…….hope this helps! You will love this; it is so yum!!!! Blessings!
This sounds really great, but I need to clarify a couple of things. The directions say to mix according to package directions, so I assume that the 1 egg and 2/3 cup milk are exactly what the package calls for? But at what point do I add the pimento cheese? Do I mix it into the batter or do I just spread it on top of the batter after it is in the pan (as the Palmetto website says to do)? I have been searching for a recipe that incorporates the pimento cheese into the batter rather than on top.