Brown Butter Sage Cornbread - baked in a cast iron skillet - has a perfectly tender crumb and a savory flavor. It's a beautiful twist on a standard cornbread recipe, that is a showstopper appetizer for any table!
As a true Mississippi woman, cornbread is one of my favorite types of bread to serve for dinner!
This version is made with a sage-infused browned butter for a savory, nutty taste and aroma. Whether it's a fall dinner or Thanksgiving meal; this cornbread pairs so well with my Southern-Style Mustard Greens for the ultimate soul food delight.
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.37
- Total Cost (8 slices): $2.94
- Those Other Guys: $3.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Fresh Sage Leaves - You can usually find this in the produce aisle. Sage has such a great flavor that will be infused into the brown butter!
- Butter - This is a process where we cook butter until the milk solids caramelize. The flavor intensifies, and you get a nutty, deep flavor and aroma. This combined with the sage is simply delectable.
- Yellow Cornmeal - Of course, we need cornmeal for cornbread. Cornmeal is simply ground field corn. I suggest the fine-textured cornmeal to make sure we have a light, beautiful crumb on the bread.
- Flour - Helps give the cornbread structure and lends to a lighter bread.
- Sour Cream - Browning butter takes out a lot of moisture from the butter. To alleviate this issue, we replenish the batter with sour cream. I usually swap for plain Greek yogurt.
- Maple Syrup - A hint of sweetness helps to balance the flavor profiles.. Not to worry though; this is a savory cornbread instead of the sweet kind!
- Eggs - These provide structure to the cornbread and help it rise beautifully.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda - A combination of both gives our cornbread the perfect amount of rise. It also helps with the crumb and texture.
- Salt - Just a pinch of salt enhances the flavor of our dish.
Variations and Substitutions
Jalapeño Skillet Cornbread: Moist, buttery, with a hint of spice that's so tasty!
Hot Honey Jalapeño Cornbread: Love the spice? Make a batch of hot honey sauce and brush on top while warm. My recipe for Hot Honey Chicken has the steps for it in the recipe card.
Jalapeño Cornbread with Corn Kernels: To double the corniness (I couldn't resist that pun!), add ½ cup of frozen corn kernels to the batter before baking.
How to Make Browned Butter Sage Cornbread
Step 1: To begin, brown your butter while cooking the sage leaves inside of the cast iron skillet to infuse the butter.
Step 2: After about 10 minutes of continuous stirring, remove the leaves and pour the butter into a large mixing bowl.
Don't wipe out the remaining butter from the skillet!
Step 3: Create the batter in the mixing bowl.
Be sure that the butter is cooled before adding in your eggs so they don't cook.
Step 4: Add the batter back into the buttered cast iron skillet.
Bake at 375℉ for about 22 minutes, until it's golden brown and cooked all the way through. It's that easy!
Recipe Pro Tips
- Keep stirring. Continually stir the butter while it's browning to avoid burning.
- Cool down the butter. You don't want your butter to be super hot before mixing in gentle items like eggs and sour cream! I've found that whisking in the buttermilk first cools down the browned butter to room temperature.
- Don't skip the yogurt (or sour cream). This helps keep our cornbread moist since browning butter evaporates a lot of moisture.
- Gently mix! Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything just comes together. If you overmix your batter, your cornbread will bake up dense and hard.
- Get dairy, if you can. Even the substitute buttermilk trick listed in the recipe card should be fine, as long as it's whole milk. The non-dairy versions don't give you a final product that is as moist as using dairy.
Recipe FAQs
Technically, you don't need a castiron... but it makes ALL of the difference in the world. Especially for this recipe! Using a buttered cast iron skillet will give us a beautiful golden-brown crust with a moist and tender inside.
If you run out of prepared buttermilk, you can make your own by adding 1 tbsp. of lemon juice to a 1-cup measuring cup. Then, fill the cup up with regular milk. Let it sit for a few minutes until it's slightly curdled.
Yes - I also put the instructions in the recipe notes below.
If you're freezing after baking, If you're freezing after baking, let the cornbread cool completely. Wrap with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil. Add this to a heavy duty freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 2.5 months.
If you want to freeze the cornbread batter, pour it into a heavy duty freezer-safe bag and press to remove any extra air. Seal and freeze for up to 2.5 months.
For fully baked, frozen cornbread - let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. You can then serve at room temperature, or reheat using the microwave or oven until just warmed through.
For the raw, frozen batter - let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight then bake as directed. You may need to add a few minutes to the final cooking time.
More Soul Food Recipes You'll Love!
If you tried this Brown Butter Sage Cornbread Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Brown Butter Sage Cornbread
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Silicone Spoon
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons salted butter
- 3 - 4 count sage leaves
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup buttermilk see substitutions in recipe notes
- 2 count eggs
- ⅓ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal
- ⅔ cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
Sage-Infused Brown Butter
- Over medium heat, add the salted butter and sage leaves to a cast iron skillet.8 tablespoons salted butter, 3 - 4 count sage leaves
- The butter will bubble and foam at the top, and will turn a golden brown color with a nutty aroma.Stir continuously to avoid burning.
- After about 10 minutes, remove the sage leaves and pour the brown butter into a large pan. Do not wipe out the cast iron skillet.
- Preheat your oven to 375℉.
Cornbread Instructions
- Whisk the maple syrup and buttermilk into the bowl of butter until smooth.¼ cup maple syrup, 1 cup buttermilk
- The mixture should now be cool to the touch; if not, let cool before whisking in the eggs and sour cream/yogurt.2 count eggs, ⅓ cup sour cream
- Next, whisk in the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal, ⅔ cup all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
- Use a pastry brush to brush the extra butter that was left in the skillet onto the sides. Then pour the batter into the skillet.
- Finally, bake for 22-24 minutes until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Let the cornbread cool in the skillet for a few minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Jerika Vincent says
Adored this flavor combination. Sage is a very underrated herb. I have a large plant in my windowsill and am always looking for ways to use it in new recipes.
Shani W. says
I just started my backyard garden and need to try sage! Thank you for leaving a review Jerika!