Whole Wheat Cornbread

Your search for the perfect homemade cornbread ends here. After five years of perfecting this recipe in my own kitchen, this whole wheat cornbread has become my absolute favorite, and is the one that finally convinced me to ditch the box mixes for good. Once you taste the tender crumb and rich, slightly sweet flavor of this from-scratch version, there’s simply no going back.

What makes this cornbread special isn’t just its incredible taste, but how it brings together the best of both worlds: the hearty nutrition of whole wheat flour with the classic comfort we all crave. I’ve served this at countless family dinners, brought it to game day parties to serve alongside chili, and have enjoyed it for weeknight meals with the fam, and it never fails to disappear from the table. The combination of buttermilk tang, brown sugar sweetness, and that perfect cornmeal texture creates something truly memorable.

This isn’t just another cornbread recipe. It’s the one that will become your new go-to, whether you’re serving it alongside chili on a cold evening or enjoying a warm slice with honey for breakfast.

Not sure what else to do with that bag of cornmeal? Give our cornmeal crusted fish tacos a try!

Whole Wheat Cornbread Ingredients

• Salted butter. Butter not only adds richness and flavor, it contributes to a tender texture and helps create a lovely crust and edges.
• Large eggs. Eggs contribute to the cornbread’s structure, helps keep it moist, and adds a nice richness.
• Buttermilk. Buttermilk is the perfect choice for cornbread because it’s acidity reacts with the baking powder to help the cornbread rise to create a light and fluffy texture. It also adds an enjoyable, subtle tang.
• Brown sugar. Used to enhance the natural sweetness of the cornmeal, create a more tender and moist loaf, and add a subtle hint of molasses. Dark brown sugar will have a stronger molasses flavor than light, use whichever you prefer or have on hand.
• Baking powder. Used as a leavening agent to help our cornbread rise and get a nice, fluffy texture.
• Salt. Used to enhance the flavor.
• Cornmeal. Cornmeal is the key ingredient for any cornbread recipe, giving the dish it’s characteristic taste and texture. Yellow cornmeal is preferred here as it has a stronger flavor. You can use a cornmeal with a fine to medium grind for a cornbread with a smoother, more consistent texture. Or use a cornmeal with a coarser grind (like stone-ground) for a more rustic texture.
• All-purpose flour. Using a little all-purpose flour helps lighten the texture of our whole wheat cornbread and because of the different protein levels, it also contributes to the rise of our cornbread.
• Whole wheat flour. We’re using mostly whole wheat flour to add more fiber and nutrients to our cornbread.

Ingredient measurements and full recipe directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

How to Make Homemade Cornbread

Add the melted butter, eggs, and buttermilk to a large bowl.

Whisk to combine.

Add the brown sugar into the wet ingredients.

Whisk to begin dissolving the sugar and incorporate into the other ingredients.

Slowly add the baking powder, salt, flours, and cornmeal.

Stir until JUST combined (no dry streaks, but a few lumps are ok!). Rest the batter for 10-minutes.

While the batter rests, preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×9 square baking pan.

Transfer the batter into the greased 9×9 pan.

Spread it into an even layer.

Bake for 28-32 minutes or until the top and edges are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are ok).

Let the cornbread sit for at least 10-minutes being slicing. Serve and enjoy!

Easy Cornbread Recipe Variations

Use a neutral oil in place of the butter. If you’re in the mood for this and you don’t happen to have butter on hand (this has happened to me), you can replace the butter 1-for-1 with canola or vegetable oil!

Make your own “buttermilk”. You can make a buttermilk substitute with a combination of regular dairy milk + either white vinegar or lemon juice! In general, for 1 Cup of dairy milk you use 1 Tablespoon of your acid. So, for our recipe, you’d replace the 1 + ¼ Cup of buttermilk with 1 + ¼ Cup of dairy milk and 1 Tablespoon + a shy 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Give the mixture a stir, let it sit for 10-15 minutes, then stir again before using.

What to Eat with Whole Wheat Cornbread

Depending on where you live, you may pair cornbread with different things (or even eat it in a completely different way – go read the ‘What to do with Leftover Cornbread’ section below).

‘Up north’ in the Midwest, we most often pair cornbread with chili and soup recipes, and may also enjoy it alongside fried chicken and BBQ. We also may simply slather it with a generous portion of butter and a drizzle of honey.

In the south, cornbread is enjoyed frequently with a much wider variety of dishes, being commonly paired with collard greens, beans (such as black-eyed peas, pinto beans, baked beans, or black beans), BBQ, stews, soups, gravies, fried chicken, pulled pork, and much more.

Cornbread can also be enjoyed for breakfast with a smear of jam, or a drizzle of honey, maple syrup, or molasses (another Southern thing). You can also serve it alongside bacon and eggs.

How to Store Cornbread with Whole Wheat Flour

Store fully-cooled cornbread covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Does Cornbread Need to be Refrigerated?

No, but you can refrigerate it to prolong it’s freshness!

Can you Freeze Cornbread?

Yes, you can freeze fully-cooled cornbread for up to 3 months. To do so, first decide if you want to wrap individual squares or the full pan before cutting. Then, wrap the cooled cornbread (either individual squares or the whole loaf) in aluminum foil and place it into a labeled zip-top bag.

Be sure your cornbread is cooled down to room temperature before freezing! Even if it’s a little warm, this can lead to freezer burn.

When ready to enjoy, thaw the frozen cornbread at room temperature on the counter or in the fridge overnight.

How to Reheat Cornbread

The best way to reheat cornbread to help prevent it from becoming dry and crumbly is by wrapping it in tinfoil and baking it for 10-15 minutes in an oven heated to 350°F.

If desired, you can also heat individual pieces in the microwave in 30-second increments until heated to your desired temperature.

What to do with Leftover Cornbread

There are a lot of creative ways to use leftover cornbread. My go-to is making homemade cornbread croutons, but you can also try cutting it into small squares and using it in a breakfast casserole, turn it into cornbread French toast, make a cornbread pudding (there are a lot of recipes for this), use it for a cowboy casserole, and more!

Or you can try a beloved Southern Appalachian Mountains use for leftover cornbread and try Cornbread and Milk. I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve not tried this, but you can learn more about it in this article from Southern Living.

Whole Wheat Cornbread Recipe FAQs

Can cornbread be made with whole wheat flour? Yes! We’re doing it!

What’s the difference between cornbread and southern cornbread? Both styles of cornbread use similar base ingredients like cornmeal, flour, eggs, and baking powder. However, Northern-style cornbread tends to be sweeter, moist, and more cake-like due to a higher level of flour in the batter. Southern-style cornbread tends to be more savory, and is often heavier on the cornmeal.

What ingredient keeps cornbread from crumbling? Eggs help prevent cornbread from being overly crumbly. Some folks even add an extra egg or egg yolk to their batter to help with this!

Should you let cornbread batter sit before baking? For a more tender and flavorful cornbread, it’s often recommended to let the batter ‘rest’ for 10-15 minutes before baking. This gives it time to begin rehydrating the cornmeal and let’s the leavening agent begin to react.