Bake the BEST Savory Cornbread Pudding with Honey Cornbread combined with Jalapeno, White Cheddar and Buttermilk. Slightly spicy and oh so delicious, this comforting dish is the perfect unlikely addition to your holiday menu.
Continuing on with more Thanksgiving side dish recipes, I bring you Savory Cornbread Pudding with Jalapeno and White Cheddar. This savory cornbread pudding is a little bit spicy, a little bit sweet and another great addition to your holiday table.
What is Savory Cornbread Pudding?
When you think of bread pudding, your mind probably goes right to the dessert. Usually, it contains some sort of sweet bread mixed with chocolate or cinnamon and then soaked in a custard mixture. The result of this delicious concoction is a richly flavored dessert that is both sweet and creamy. Savory bread pudding is not sweet and this recipe is quite the opposite. It uses a slightly sweetened honey cornbread with real corn kernels baked into it. Then, aged white cheddar cheese and sauteed jalapenos are mixed in and it is all baked with a custard mixture.
Savory Bread Pudding for Thanksgiving
I have never served a savory bread pudding for Thanksgiving, but I think I’m going to have to start. This dish is still reminiscent of the Thanksgiving staple, cornbread, but with a little twist that makes for a unique alternative. This bread pudding is vegetarian, but you could add in crumbled sausage or bacon if you wanted to spruce it up even more!
Homemade Cornbread vs. Store Bought Cornbread
Whether you make your cornbread homemade or you buy it store-bought, this dish will still come out delicious. One of my favorite cornbread recipes that I adapted here for this recipe is from Sally’s Baking Addiction for her Honey Skillet Cornbread. This recipe is simple, flavored with honey and has real corn in it, which is my absolute favorite. If you are in a time crunch or just not feeling up to it, you can use a cornbread mix or you can buy it pre-made. Whichever option you use, you’ll need cornbread for about 8 servings.
Savory Cornbread Pudding with Jalapeno and White Cheddar
Ingredients
Honey Cornbread
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 large whole egg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all purposed flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 15 oz can corn kernels, drained
Bread Pudding
- 1 medium jalapeno, seeded and diced
- ½ medium white onion, diced
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 large whole eggs
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Honey Cornbread
- Preheat oven to 400° and grease a 9×13" baking dish with butter or baking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, honey, egg and melted butter. Whisk together and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then whisk to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture is just combined. Add the corn, then fold into the batter to incorporate.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle.
- Remove cornbread from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Place cornbread in the refrigerator to finish cooling.
Savory Cornbread Pudding
- While the cornbread is cooling, grease a large casserole dish or 9×13" baking pan with butter or baking spray and set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 375°.
- Dice the jalapeno and onions and then heat the vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute your jalapeno and onion in the pan with the vegetable oil for 5-7 minutes until softened. Set aside.
- Once the cornbread is cooled to the point that you can handle it by hand, remove it from the pan and crumble it into large pieces in a large bowl.
- Add shredded cheddar cheese, sauteed jalapeno, and sauteed onion to the cornbread and gently stir to combine. Place cornbread mixture in the prepared baking dish and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, heavy cream, eggs, and salt. Whisk to break up the eggs and combine all the ingredients.
- Pour the buttermilk egg mixture over the top of the cornbread mixture and gently press down on the cornbread to make sure it absorbs the liquid and all of the cornbread is moistened.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and no longer jiggly in the middle.
- Let the bread pudding cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
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Thanks for checking out this latest recipe and be sure to stay tuned next week for a couple more Thanksgiving side dish recipes. Happy Cooking!
