This sweet potato cornbread recipe is a heartier, richer version of classic cornbread. Tender, mashed sweet potatoes are mixed with a few simple ingredients and then baked in a hot skillet until it forms a beautiful golden crust. Serve it warm with a slab of butter for an insanely good side dish!
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The Best Sweet Potato Cornbread
If you've never had sweet potato cornbread, prepare to be amazed.
Who knew that adding sweet potatoes to cornbread could make it SO much better? We're not just talking about the flavor - corn and sweet potatoes are a match made in heaven, but the texture of this cornbread is next level.
The sweet potato mash makes this cornbread richer without weighing it down. The natural sugars and starch in sweet potatoes create a tender crumb that stays moist for days. Topped with butter or maple syrup to finish it off, and you have perfection. Seriously, it's so good!
Also, because we're using less flour, and more yellow cornmeal, and baking it in a hot cast iron skillet, this cornbread has an unbelievably crunchy crust.
Now, of course, this sweet potato pie cornbread is amazing on its own - with melted butter soaking into every nook and cranny. But, it tastes even better paired with savory dishes, like these breaded Italian chicken cutlets or this ground turkey casserole.
By the way, this dish makes an awesome Thanksgiving side dish - we make it every year for the big day. In our house, we always pair it with this pioneer woman stuffing and these cheesy mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
Aside from the sweet potato, this is basically a classic cornbread recipe.
So, if you've made a batch before, the steps and ingredients are going to look familiar.
Here's everything you need to make this sweet potato cornbread:
- 2 big sweet potatoes
- 1 ½ cup of yellow cornmeal
- ¾ cup of all purpose flour
- ¼ cup of sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup of sour cream
- ½ cup milk
- Vegetable oil (for greasing the cast iron skillet)
- Salted butter, to serve
Pretty straightforward, right?
I actually use almost all of these to make this Martha White cornbread recipe. So if you want to give a classic Southern cornbread a try, that's a great recipe to make.
By the way, to switch things up, you can also add some pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon into this sweet potato cornbread. The warm spices make this sweet potato cornbread taste like fall!
Oh, and if you have to go to the store, I highly recommend grabbing some extra sweet potatoes. You can use them to make some of my other sweet potato recipes, like this sweet potato pound cake, sweet potato cobbler, sweet potato hash browns, and old fashioned sweet potato pie.
How to Make Sweet Potato Cornbread
This sweet potato cornbread recipe is beginner-friendly. It's all a matter of mashing, mixing, and then letting your oven do the rest!
So, even if you've never made cornbread before, you're going to nail this recipe!
Now, let's get into how to make the best sweet potato cornbread.
Step 1: Boil the sweet potatoes
First things first, preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Then, grease your skillet with oil and set it aside.
So, cornbread is traditionally made in a cast-iron skillet, but you can use any 9" round or square baking dish if you don't have one. Also, a glass - or ceramic baking dish - will work just fine - your cornbread will be a little less crispy on the outside, but it'll still taste fantastic.
Next, peel your sweet potatoes and cut them into cubes. The smaller the cubes, the faster they'll cook, and the easier it will be to mash the sweet potatoes. I like to cut mine into about 1" pieces.
Now, add the potatoes to a pot of boiling water and let them cook until fork-tender. This usually takes about 20 minutes, but start checking them at 15 minutes just in case.
Once they're cooked, drain them in a colander and then transfer them to a large bowl.
Step 2: Make the sweet potato mash
Next, mash the sweet potatoes in a large bowl just until they're broken up.
If you don't have a potato masher, you can use a fork or an immersion blender. I find that mashing by hand gives the cornbread a more rustic texture, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
Step 3: Finish the sweet potato cornbread batter
Into the bowl with the sweet potato puree, add the dry and wet ingredients. Start with sour cream, milk, and eggs, then add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Next, combine the sweet potato mixture together with a rubber spatula until the ingredients thoroughly incorporate into one another.
Step 4: Bake the sweet potato cornbread
Next, pour the sweet potato cornbread batter into your prepared skillet. Then, bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Also, if your cornbread starts to brown too quickly, tent it with a piece of aluminum foil. This will prevent the top of the sweet potato mixture from getting too dark while the center finishes cooking.
Step 5: Slice and serve
Once your cornbread is cooked through, remove the cast iron skillet from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before slicing into it.
Serve the tasty cornbread with butter or melted butter, honey, or maple syrup on top, and enjoy!
How to Store Sweet Potato Cornbread
This sweet potato cornbread recipe will make about 8 delicious pieces, depending on how you slice it.
With that said, when I serve this as a side dish cuisine at Thanksgiving or really any time, I rarely have any leftover cornbread.
But, if you happen to save some, you can store the slices in an airtight container at room temperature for about 5 days.
How to Reheat Sweet Potato Cornbread
Another thing I love about this sweet potato cornbread is how well it reheats! Simply microwave the slices on high for 15-30 seconds or until warmed through. Then again, top with butter, maple syrup, or honey.
You can also reheat sweet potato cornbread in your air fryer or oven. Slice the cornbread into pieces, then place on a baking sheet and warm in a 350°F oven for 5-7 minutes - or until heated through.
Alternatively, place slices in your air fryer basket and cook at 350°F for 3-5 minutes.
Wrapping It Up
Well, that's how to make sweet potato cornbread!
This absolutely delicious sweet potato recipe is sure to be a hit with the whole fam. As far as cornbread recipes go, this one is undoubtedly one of the best. It's moist, flavorful, and the perfect side for just about anything. And, it couldn't be easier to make!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this recipe - let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
And for more recipes, check out our Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube. We post new ones on them daily.
More Recipes
Want to make some more delicious recipes? If you do, you're in the right place!
Give one of these a try next:
- Sweet potato biscuits
- Sweet potato bread
- Sweet potato patties
- Outback mac and cheese
- Sweet corn cake
- Million dollar bacon
- Cheesy ramen
Sweet Potato Cornbread Recipe Prepped In Just 20 Minutes
This sweet potato cornbread recipe is a heartier, richer version of classic cornbread. Tender, mashed sweet potatoes are mixed with a few simple ingredients and then baked in a hot skillet until it forms a beautiful golden crust. Serve it warm with a slab of butter for an insanely good side dish!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Side
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients
2 big sweet potatoes
1 ½ cup yellow cornmeal
¾ cup of all purpose flour
¼ cup of sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
½ cup of sour cream
½ cup milk
Salted butter, to serve
Instructions
- Place sweet potatoes in a pot and cover with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes or until fork tender. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180ºC).
- In a bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork and add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, sour cream, and milk.
- Grease a cast iron skillet with oil and transfer the mixture.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until it puffs and it's golden brown.
- Serve with butter.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 223
- Fat: 5
- Carbohydrates: 39
- Protein: 5
Keywords: sweet potato cornbread, sweet potato cornbread recipe, sweet potato corn bread, how to make sweet potato cornbread, easy sweet potato cornbread recipe, best sweet potato cornbread recipe,
Terry Lidio
We made this for dinner and had it with grilled chicken, so good!!
★★★★★
Megan
The texture of this is just so good. I am absolutely going to make it again!
★★★★★
Trent
Never making reg corn bread again!! This is the tits.
★★★★★