Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread

Given that a lot of the meals we make on our camping trips are in the soup / stew variety, I end up making a lot of campfire breads, as well.

Not that *I* get to enjoy them, mind you - gluten issues AND generally having to watch my carbs means a lot as FOMO as Porter enjoys all that bready goodness.

Usually, I end up making some pretty basic Traditional Bannock, but sometimes - like when making Campfire Chili - I get really fancy and make him some Jalapeno Cheddar Bannock.

A while back, I decided to play around with my basic homemade cornbread recipe, and dress it up into a cheddar jalapeño cornbread.

Rather than baking it in a cake pan like I do at home, this one is made in a cast-iron skillet, and cooked over a fire. (No worries, there are regular baking instructions as well!).

Obviously I went a bit “extra” with it - as I tend to do when developing recipes for Porter.

Like many cornbread recipes, this one cooks up a good cornbread with a relatively moist crumb and crispy edges. It’s got the perfect amount of sweetness, with just a bit of honey rounding out the jalapeno burn.

Pretty standard stuff, right?

Well, this jalapeno cheddar cornbread recipe is different from any other cast iron skillet cornbread recipe I’ve ever seen, in how the butter and jalapenos are dealt with.

I simmer the chopped jalapenos in the butter, in part to soften them... but also to infuse that butter with jalapeno flavour.

Most of that jalapeno butter is mixed into the batter - resulting in a VERY flavorful cornbread - while a small amount of it is swirled around the pan.

This ensures that those golden brown edges of the buttery crust have a little kick! It quickly became his favorite cornbread recipe.

It’s the perfect side dish for that chili, or many of the hearty soup recipes you can make over a campfire.

Also: you can make the dry mixture up ahead of time, as a homemade cornbread mix!

Anyway, let’s talk ingredients...

As a note: We got distracted by a loon right behind our campsite (Fairbank Provincial Park!), and ended up leaving this batch on the flame a little long. If you ACTUALLY follow the directions - do as I say, not as I do - yours won't burn like this!

Ingredients

This jalapeño cornbread recipe uses really simple ingredients, that should be easy to find in most grocery stores.

As always, I have a few notes for you.

Yellow Cornmeal

You’re looking for regular Yellow Corn Meal , NOT anything that’s sold as corn flour (Masa Harina).

You could probably use white corn meal, but it wouldn’t LOOK right!

Shredded Cheese

I like to use a basic - and orange - sharp cheddar cheese for this (“Old cheddar”, here in Canada!).

In general, I prefer the flavour of extra old / extra sharp cheddar ... but that’s usually white, and I’m pretty particular about the colours in my cheddar jalapeno cornbread, LOL!

Milk

You can really use any kind of milk you want in this cheesy jalapeno cornbread recipe - go with what works well for your situation.

Whole milk or regular milk are great, if that’s what you have on hand for drinking.

Buttermilk is a popular option, but I can’t imagine packing it on a camping trip. If you want the flavour of buttermilk without the extra grocery item, measure a tablespoon of white vinegar into your measuring cup, then top up with the milk of your choice.

Generally speaking, we end up using Unsweetened Almond Milk, as that’s what we tend to have on hand.

Fresh Jalapeños

I definitely recommend using fresh jalapeño peppers, rather than any form of canned or pickled green chilies.

You can adjust your heat level in a few ways:

1. Leaving the seeds and white pithy “rib” material in will give you more heat.

2. Using more - or larger - peppers will GENERALLY give you more heat.

3. Look at your peppers for clues as to how spicy they may be, and act accordingly. A smooth, shiny pepper will generally be more mild than an “older” looking pepper. A pepper with little white lines on it than a pepper without it.

Butter

While this jalapeño cheddar cornbread recipe has fat IN the bread - as most do - the butter actually serves 2 other purposes here:

1. It’s cooked in the pan with the peppers, infusing the pepper flavour into the fat that goes into the cornbread. This distributes the pepper flavour throughout whole thing, nicely!

2. Some of that infused fat is left in the pan, both to prevent sticking and to help it form a crunchy crust as it cooks.

So, you want to use something with a relatively high smoke point.

I’ll usually use unsalted butter, but will sometimes substitute vegetable oil. A good quality olive oil COULD work, but it’s definitely not preferable to butter or vegetable oil, in this case.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

All Purpose Flour
Honey
Large Eggs
Baking Powder
Salt

... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go. Pretty basic!

How to Make Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:

To Make The Homemade Cornbread Mixes:

Open as many medium sandwich bags as you’ll need for making mixes. The recipe is for 1 bag, each bag serves 2 people.

One ingredient at a time, measure each of the dry ingredients into each of the bags. I’ll do the cornmeal first, in each bag, then the flour, etc - assembly line style!

Once all of the ingredients are measured into the bags, push all of the excess air out of a bag and seal it. Repeat with remaining bags.

Store mix in a cool, dry, dark place until use.

Note: These mixes should be used by the earliest expiry date of all the ingredients you use. I find it helpful to label that date on the bag(s).

Get a low-medium fire going.

In a large bowl, dump out one dry cornbread mix. (Or combine cornmeal, flour, cheese, baking powder, and salt - if not using a mix.) Set aside.

Melt the butter in a 9" cast iron pan or Dutch oven. Add the chopped jalapenos, cook until jalapenos are soft.

Remove pan from heat.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the jalapenos from the pan, add to the bowl of dry ingredients, along with 2 tablespoon of the melted butter from the pan., the milk, honey, and eggs. (If you prefer, you can mix these in a separate bowl, or shake these together in a medium mason jar).

Add these wet ingredients to the bowl of dry mixture, stir until the cornbread batter is just combined.

Swirl the butter to coat the pan, then spoon batter in the hot cast iron skillet.

Tightly cover the skillet with aluminum foil - or a well fitting lid - and return to the grill.

Cook for about 10 minutes (15 if your fire is really low), then remove from heat.

WITHOUT removing the foil or lid, allow the cornbread to continue cooking in the pan for another 5 minutes. (This lets it cook through, without burning!).

Uncover the cornbread, slice and serve with plenty of butter - or a drizzle of honey... or honey butter - whatever floats your boat!

Leftover Cornbread

Once cooled to room temperature, wrap cornbread with plastic wrap (either as a large chunk, or individually wrapped slices), or store in an airtight container.

Will keep for several days in the fridge, best served reheated.

More Camping Recipes

Looking for great ideas to cook on a campfire, or in an RV? Here's a few simple recipes to start with!

Apple Fritter Bread Pudding
Apple Fritter French Toast
Banana Protein Pancakes
Beef and Root Vegetable Stew
Cabbage Roll Soup Mix [Just Add Meat and Water!]
Campfire Chili
Camping Breakfast Skillet
Camping Tacos, 2 Ways
Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken
Grilled Tuna Tacos
Campfire Haystack Cookies
Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Hobo Eggs
Jalapeno Cheddar Bannock
Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs
Hearty Campfire Beef Stew
Rosemary Maple Sweet Potatoes
The Ultimate S'Mores Board
Traditional Bannock

... But wait, there's more! See our main Camping Recipes page for ALL of our camping recipes - snacks, desserts, mixes to make ahead of time, and more!

Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!