Jiffy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Jiffy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread is a savory/sweet cornbread using my favorite cornbread mix.  In the cornbread mix challenge of 2023, I tested 9 cornbread on the market.  For as long as I can remember, there’s always been a box of Jiffy in the cupboard {or now pantry}.   We still love the Jiffy brand, but that challenge highlighted a couple of new contenders. For this recipe we are enhancing the cornbread mix by swapping out a couple of ingredients and adding a couple of extras to give the cornbread a little more lift and a lot more moisture.  

Back to the Jiffy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread.  The  shredded sharp cheddar cheese adds a savory component while the jalapenos add a little heat to the cornbread.  Baking this all together in a cast iron skillet adds a crispy crust on the edges that is legendary.  The best part about making jiffy jalapeno cheddar cornbread takes very little time to make! 

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• Ingredients
• Kitchen Equipment
• How to Make Jiffy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
• Substitutions/ Variations
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• Recipe

 

Ingredients

• Jiffy Cornbread Mix 
• Eggs
• Buttermilk
• Diced Jalapenos
• Cheddar Cheese
• Melted Butter

Kitchen Equipment

• 10 inch cast iron skillet 
• Mixing Bowl
• Measuring Cup
• Cheese Grater
• Cutting Board
• Knife 
• Spatula/Spoon
• Oven Mitts
• Spatula/Spoon
• Oven Mitts

How to Make Jiffy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Prep Your Cast Iron Skillet

As I said before, this is a pretty quick and easy recipe, but you do need some basic kitchen skills.  Y’all will need to use a cheese grater and finely dice a jalapeno pepper.  Before we get started prepping the ingredients, we need to get our cast iron skillet together.   Put the cast iron skillet in a cold oven and then preheat the oven to 400ºF.  Heating the entire cast iron skillet in the oven guarantees that the entire pan is the same temperature. When you heat a cast iron skillet on the stove the cornbread can develop a center ring “crust’ where the pan sat on the burner. 

Prep the Cheddar and Jalapenos: 

As I said before, this is a pretty quick and easy recipe, but you do need some basic kitchen skills.  Y’all will need to shred the cheddar cheese with the large side of a cheese grater.   For the jalapeno, the size of the jalapeno pepper is up to you.  I chose to remove the seeds and  finely dice  jalapeno pepper, so that the heat would be minimal.   If you love jalapeno peppers, add as many as you like.   Don’t forget to wash your hands immediately after handling the jalapenos.  If you wear contacts, either use a glove while you’re dicing or just wear your glasses.  There is nothing worse than getting jalapeno in your eyes. 

Whisk the Batter: 

Grab a medium bowl and whisk together the cornbread mix, eggs, buttermilk and melted butter.   The batter should be slightly lumpy.  Then fold in the shredded cheddar cheese and jalapeno peppers. 

Bake the Cornbread

• Remove the hot cast iron skillet from the oven and place it on a heat proof surface, like a cooktop or trivet.  Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and let it melt. 
• Pour the cornbread batter into the pan.  Be careful not to burn yourself. 
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Substitutions/ Variations

1. The Cast Iron Skillet. Y’all don’t have to make this in a cast iron skillet. This cornbread could be made in a 9 inch round cake pan or in a 12 cup muffin tin.  The bake time for muffins will be 13-15 minutes. 
2. The Buttermilk.  If y’all don’t have buttermilk, just replace it with equal parts milk. 
3. The Cheese.  You can use any variety of cheddar cheese you’d like.  Other cheeses to try: colby jack, monterrey jack, smoked gouda or cheddar jack cheeses. 
4. The eggs.   The extra egg in the batter gives the cornbread a lot of lift, and makes the texture slightly more soft and cake like. If you don’t like a very fluffy cornbread, reduce the number of eggs to 2 eggs. 

Related

Want to try out some other cornbread recipes?   Here are some to get you started.

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