Dolly’s Parton's skillet cornbread is the real deal. Serve it Dolly-style, warm and slathered with butter. The keys to the recipe are using self-rising cornmeal, which lends a sweet, full flavor and great texture to the bread, but also makes it a cinch to prepare. Also, pouring the batter into a piping hot skillet with hot fat ensures that the batter's bottom crisps in the hot fat rather than absorbing it, and also provides a tender, moist crumb.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
This skillet cornbread is so simple recipe to make—it only takes 30 minutes from start to finish.
The crumb is moist and tender, with a great corn flavor and a hint of smokiness from the bacon drippings.
It goes with everything, from a side for a chicken dinner or with soup, or on it's own for a great breakfast treat, or midday snack.
Key Ingredients
Cornmeal: Dolly uses Martha White's or White Lily's Self-Rising Cornmeal for the bread. It provides a sweet and full of flavor, and its delectably coarse, uneven texture gives the bread a pleasantly toothsome bite.
Buttermilk: This ingredient makes a tender cornbread. The soured milk ralos reacts with the baking powder and soda to help leaven the bread.
Bacon drippings: Dolly uses bacon drippings in the cornbread, which add a nice smoky flavor, but you can also use butter. Both allow the com flavor to come through loud and clear.
Recipe Tips
- The best cornbread has lots of crust, which you get by melting fat in a hot cast-iron skillet and baking the cornbread in that skillet.
- The pan needs to be hot when you pour the batter in. You should hear a sizzle when the batter hits the pan—it’s this dose of heat that will deliver a crisp, crackly crust.
- Stir the batter just enough to moisten the dry ingredients with the wet: 20 or 30 seconds tops. The leavening begins working the second the acidic buttermilk hits the dry ingredients. Longer beating would stir down the bubbles and-especially for cornbreads with wheat flour-develop the gluten, making the bread tough and flat.
How to store
Store the cornbread in an airtight container or wrapped at cool room temperature for 1 to 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to one week. You can also freeze the cornbread for up to 3 months.
Add-ins
While this classic cornbread is delicious in its own right, these simple additions add a little pizzazz.
- Sauté ⅓ cup diced chorizo until crisp and fold into the batter before baking.
- Add 1 cup of grated extra-sharp Cheddar to the batter.
- Mix in 4 thinly sliced scallions to the batter.
- Add 3 Tbs. minced fresh jalapeño to the batter.
- Add 1 cup fresh corn to the batter.
Comments and ratings
If you’ve tried this Skillet Cornbread or any other recipes on our site, please leave a comment and rating below. We love hearing from you!
Dolly Parton's Skillet Cornbread - Just 3 Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 tsp. bacon drippings or butter
- 2 cups Martha White or White Lily self-rising cornmeal
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 to 1 ½ cups buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat a 9-inch cast-iron skillet with 1 tsp. of the bacon drippings and place it in the oven to get it nice and hot.
- In a large bowl, combine the remaining 2 tsp. of baking drippings, the cornmeal, and salt and mix well. Slowly add the buttermilk, stirring until the batter is stiff, but smooth and blended. Use just enough strokes to combine. Don't beat or whisk.
- Remove the skillet from the oven, and scrape the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly. The batter should sizzle as it goes into the pan. Immediately transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake until light brown around the edges, about 25 minutes.
- Cut in wedges and serve warm with plenty of butter.
Nutrition
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Becky says
Adding a teaspoon of salt to the three ingredients cornbread is too much salt. I make this recipe all the time and believe me extra salt is not necessary!