Light, fluffy, a little cheese-y and spicy, this Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread recipe is a family favorite! Made gluten-free and with an easy high altitude adjustment for perfectly fluffy cornbread. This bread is best served with a hot bowl of chili or soup, or as a Holiday side dish.
Do you serve cornbread at Thanksgiving?
We don’t… And I think we SHOULD!
We rotate what holidays we spend with our families, so either my Mom or Mother-in-law are hosting Thanksgiving at one of their houses, depending on the year.
Both meals are always delicious and both mom’s always make sure that I have some gluten-free options too, which is great.
When it comes to dessert, I always volunteer to bring a gluten-free dessert to share, so no one else has to attempt gluten-free baking, and to make sure that I have something sweet 😉
Besides dessert though, I usually don’t bring anything else. I just avoid the gluten-filled food, and instead load up on turkey, mashed potatoes, cheese, fruit and veggies.
But this year I’m kinda thinking I should bring some of this Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread too! Start some new traditions. And then while everyone else is enjoying their bread rolls, then I can slather butter on my cornbread too 🙂
Have you ever tried to make cornbread in a high altitude?
Oh my goodness. I could easily figure out how to make muffins in high altitude, but my cornbread never turned out fluffy enough. Our family favorite recipe that I grew up with fell flat.
Over the years I’ve tried several different versions. Finally, a couple years ago I nailed this one. So much so, that I made it at my parents one time and now my Dad calls it his favorite cornbread.
And ya’ll, my Mom has been baking for the last…. 30 years? She makes amazing cake, cinnamon rolls, cookies.. everything from scratch. She has her own small cake business for crying out loud. So, for something I made to be better than hers?! That’s a big deal.
I’ve also heard a couple comments from all of YOU about how great my plain cornbread has turned out for you too! Which makes me incredibly happy. 🙂
So, let’s take classic cornbread and crank it up a notch with shredded cheese and diced jalapenos? Okay? 🙂
This Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread has all of the goodness of my regular cornbread but with the addition of a little cheese-y and spicy flavor. Easily made gluten-free (or not), sweetened naturally with maple syrup (or honey), and this cornbread can be just as easily made into muffins.
So you wanna make cornbread muffins instead? Easy enough! Just add the batter to a muffin pan and bake them for less time (start checking them at 13 minutes). They should take about 13-15 minutes, or till the tops are springy to touch, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
For all you brave high altitude bakers out there, I hope you go out on a limb, try this recipe, and love it as much as we do.
And for the rest of you? Cornbread that’s a little cheese-y, spicy, and sweet? How do you say no to that?! 😉
More High Altitude recipes I’d recommend: gluten-free Funfetti Cupcakes and Banana Bread!
- 1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1)
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup butter (or coconut oil), melted
- 1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1-2 jalapenos, finely diced (with the seeds removed)
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To begin, preheat your oven to 400 and line a 9×9 pan with parchment paper, with two sides sticking out for easy removal.
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In a small mixing bowl, add your flour, cornmeal, salt and baking powder and stir them together.
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In a large mixing bowl, add your butter, maple syrup, milk and eggs and whisk them together.
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Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and whisk them together till well combined.
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Add your cheese and jalapeno to the bowl and gently fold them into your cornbread batter.
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Pour the batter into your pan and bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes, or till the top is set and springy to touch and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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Let cool, then remove the cornbread and cut it into 16 pieces. Devour!
Store your cornbread in a container in your fridge, for up to one week.
We are in Colorado at 9400 feet, and I’ve essentially given up baking due to repeat disasters. I really wanted to make cornbread for Thanksgiving this year, so I gave this recipe a try. Because of one of the reviews from a person at 8500 feet, I added a tablespoon of flour and reduced the 2 teaspoons of baking powder by 1/8 teaspoon. OMG, the PERFECT outcome!!! It was moist, but cooked through and rose beautifully!! The jalapeño and cheddar was delicious in it! Thank you sooooo much! My husband kept talking about how good it was! A definite keeper!!
I have a jar of jalapeño jelly that needs to be used. Could I replace the honey/maple syrup with the jelly?
Thanks!
Hi Traci. I wouldn’t recommend replacing the honey with jelly. I would either top them with the jelly after baking. Or, you can try making them into muffins and “stuffing” them with the jelly in the middle. I’d add a little batter to the bottom (till it’s covered) and then I’d add maybe 1/2-1 teaspoon of jelly in the middle. Then top it with more batter till it’s covered entirely. I’d start checking the muffins after about 12 minutes in the oven. I hope this helps. It sounds delicious together!
Made these. Used banana peppers because I don’t have jalapeños and mozzarella! We’re so good.
Thanks Heidi, sounds fun with banana peppers!
Can these be made as muffins?
Yes! You’ll just need to bake them less, closer to 15-20 minutes.