Light and fluffy skillet bacon cornbread with or without jalapeños is smoky and savory, with just a touch of sweetness.
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This bacon cornbread with jalapeños is light and fluffy, plus smoky and even a little bit sweet and spicy. I served it alongside an easy buttermilk-marinated grilled chicken and simple garden salad, but it would be completely at home with a hearty bowl of chili. Believe it or not, one of the most searched-for recipes on this old blog (did you know that I first started this blog in May 2009?) is gluten free cornbread.
My recipe for classic gluten free cornbread has long been a favorite in my family—and, I dare say, in some of yours. It's naturally gluten free (no all purpose gluten free flour—just cornmeal), and a version of it even made it into my first cookbook.
This super fluffy cornbread is about half all purpose gluten free flour, half cornmeal, with smoky bacon (and bacon grease!) and sweet and spicy jalapeño jam. But you can make it with any type of jam (call it Bacon Cornbread) and even without the bacon (but why would you want to?!).
Like any cornbread, it's best when baked in a cast iron skillet. But if you don't have one, don't let that stop you! Just bake it in a 9-inch round or square baking dish. My current favorite brands of baking dishes are stainless steel Nordic Ware and Fat Daddio. They're not nonstick, but nothing sticks to them when they're greased, and they bake really evenly. I usually buy them on amazon.com.
But nothing beats the crust you get by baking cornbread in a cast iron skillet. Mine is a 12-inch preseasoned Lodge cast iron skillet, and it gets a workout in my kitchen almost every day (and Lodge cookware is so economical).
Gluten Free Jalapeño Bacon Cornbread
Ingredients
- 6 ounces uncured bacon cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ½ cups (198 g) coarsely-ground gluten free yellow cornmeal
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend (I used Better Batter; please click thru for full info on appropriate blends)
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled (See Recipe Notes)
- 3 tablespoons (60 g) jalapeño jam
- 3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten
- 3 tablespoons (63 g) honey
- 2 ¼ cups (18 fluid ounces) buttermilk at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease well a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or a 9-inch square or round cake pan) and set it aside.
- In a medium-size, heavy bottom saucepan, cook the bacon pieces over medium-high heat until cooked through (about 5 minutes). Transfer the cooked bacon to a small, heat-safe bowl and pour off the bacon grease into a separate, small heat-safe bowl. Set both aside.
- In a large bowl, place the cornmeal, flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter (reduced to account for the optional bacon grease, if using), the optional bacon grease, jalapeño jam, eggs, honey and buttermilk, mixing until just combined after each addition. The batter will be thick. Add the cooked bacon pieces, and mix just until the bacon is evenly distributed throughout the batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared skillet or pan, and smooth into an even layer.
- Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F and continue to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cornbread comes out with, at most, a few moist crumbs attached (another 10 to 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
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Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Susan Harris says
This just came in my email. I am having chili tonight so, I think I will make some of this up! YUM!
Nicole Hunn says
Perfect pairing, Susan!
Mare Masterson says
Oh my, oh my, oh my! I cannot wait to make this! I have 4 cast iron skillets – 1 smaller one, one saute/frying pan type that isn’t deep and 2 deep. They all get used!
Nicole Hunn says
Can’t beat cast iron skillets for versatility, Mare!
Lucy says
The first ever GF conversion I made was our family favorite cornbread muffins, I haven’t baked one in the cast iron pan before. It looks fabulous!
Jennifer S. says
Yea – this looks wonderful. You could even then make cornbread croutons for chili or tomato soup with this baby!!! thanks for another great one!
Lucy says
Yum! cornbread croutons what a novel idea. Thanks :)
Michelle says
Cornbread croutons? You are a genius!
Jennifer S. says
Or just on Pinterest too much! :O
Nicole Hunn says
Ooooh, Jennifer, that sounds amazing. I’ll take mine in tomato soup—a fall favorite!
Michelle says
Bacon and jalapeño and cornbread?? Wowza! Can’t wait for it to cool off here!