Candied Bacon Cornbread

You guys are going to flip for this Candied Bacon Cornbread recipe! Perfectly moist, spicy cornbread topped with sweet candied bacon!

Candied Bacon Cornbread

You guys are going to flip for this Candied Bacon Cornbread recipe. It’s actually Candied Bacon Jalapeño Cornbread but that name was too long.

It’s a perfect combination of sweet and spicy – diced jalapeños all throughout the cornbread and sweet candied bacon on top. It’s pretty rockstar cornbread if I do say so myself.

The wife picked up a cast iron skillet a couple of months back but we hadn’t seasoned it, so there it sat. There’s not really a time in our house when we’re not using our oven for several hours that we can set aside to season a pan. But I got tired of looking at it just sitting there so I finally seasoned it up.

The first thing I wanted to try and make was cornbread. We love cornbread in my house but it’s always the store bought kind. That’s right – the kind from ShopRite and I’m not ashamed to say it.

But this Candied Bacon Cornbread recipe knocks grocery store cornbread out of the park. No more store-bought cornbread for me!

The candied bacon just takes a few minutes to cook up in your oven…

Cooking bacon for Candied Bacon Cornbread

Chop it up after it’s cooled and set aside. (Cooled being the key phrase. Hot sugar on your skin is no fun) Try not to eat it all in the meantime…people will come running…just swat them away. More samples for you that way.

Cook up some onions, garlic, jalapeños in butter then let cool.

Mix together your batter ingredients, add the cooled onion mixture and pour into the cast iron skillet.

Place the skillet in the oven to bake for 15. Take it out and top it with the diced candied bacon, whatever is left that you haven’t eaten.

cornbread batter skillet

See how it starting to bubble up on the sides because the skillet is so hot? That equals crispy, buttery edges. Awesome.

Put it back in the oven to bake about 10-15 minutes more until it’s golden brown on top.

And there you have it  – Candied Bacon Cornbread to go along side almost any dinner you can think of. I’d love it next to some Hard Cider Lamb Chops, or chili of course. But I’d eat this cornbread with just about anything.

Or even as a midnight snack when no one’s looking…

candied Bacon Cornbread feature

And yep, I’m gonna say it – this candied bacon cornbread goes great with an ice cold beer!

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Candied Bacon Cornbread

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x

This sweet & spicy cornbread recipe is going to be a family favorite!

Scale

Ingredients

For the Candied Bacon:

  • 12 slices of bacon
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the Cornbread:

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup cake flour
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 large jalapeños, seeded and diced
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled plus 3 T. more, not melted
  • 1/4 cup honey

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Place the bacon strips on a foil lined baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray.
  3. Combine the brown sugar and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and evenly coat the bacon slices.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes, take out and let cool completely.
  5. When the bacon has cooled, dice into small pieces and set aside.
  6. And try not to eat it all.
  7. Turn the oven up to 400 degrees.
  8. Add 2 T. butter to a hot cast iron skillet.
  9. Add the diced onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring.
  10. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
  11. Transfer to a plate and put the skillet back on the stove.
  12. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and honey.
  13. In another bowl, stir together both flours, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  14. Add the cooled onion mixture to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
  15. Pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and stir until it just comes together.
  16. Turn on the cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 T. butter
  17. Brush the melted butter all over the bottom of the skillet and up the sides.
  18. Pour in the cornbread batter and place the skillet in the oven.
  19. Bake for 15 minutes, then take out and add your diced, candied bacon pieces.
  20. Cook for another 10 minutes until golden brown on top.
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

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6 Responses
  1. Chris @ Shared Appetite

    DUDE!!! Are you freaking kidding me?! This is the most legit sounding cornbread I’ve ever laid eyes upon!! Candied bacon in the cornbread = pure genius. I need this in my life immediately!

  2. Hanah

    Is it just me, or is the cornmeal missing from the instructions. Made this last night and didn’t realize I hadn’t added iqt, and it still turned out awesome haha I’m assuming you add it with the flours

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