Hatch peppers reign supreme in the chile world, so make the most of them with this tender, moist Hatch Chile Cornbread – it’s an irresistible combination of sweet and heat!
Hatch chile cornbread is cornbread like you’ve never had it before!
It’s hard to call this Hatch green chile cornbread a side dish because it’s going to hog center stage no matter what you serve it with. It’s got a wonderful crumb, a hint of sweetness from brown sugar, and a subtle smokey heat from those roasted Hatch chiles. A pat of butter and a drizzle of local honey takes the whole thing and pitches it right over the top.
what you’ll need for super moist chile cornbread
- Hatch chiles (read all about them below)
- yellow cornmeal
- all purpose flour
- eggs
- buttermilk
- butter
- brown sugar ~ just a touch!
- baking powder, baking soda, salt
what are Hatch chiles?
These slender green chiles are as famous for their robust flavor, but they are generally mild to moderate in heat, so most of us can enjoy them.
Hatch is a variety of chile that only grows in the valley around Hatch, New Mexico, and they have a super short season from August through part of September. They happen to have fabulous flavor, too, so they’ve got something of a cult following. You can buy Hatch chiles fresh (many grocery stores carry them in season, which is late summer/fall.) Or you can get ready-roasted and skinned peppers frozen, or canned. Mine are from The Hatch Chile Store, and they’re available year round, which is great if you develop a taste for them and decide you can’t live without a regular Hatch pepper fix.
how to roast chiles
If you’ve got your hands on wonderful fresh chiles, you’ll need to roast them for best flavor. That’s a super easy (and fun!) process, and can be accomplished in several ways.
how to roast chiles under the broiler
- Put the chiles in a single layer on a baking sheet or broiler safe pan. Place the pan in the upper rack and broil on high until the peppers are charred.
how to roast chiles over the flame on your gas stove top
- Use tongs and oven mitts to protect your hands and hold the chile over the open flame, turning constantly until it blisters and blackens.
how to roast chiles on the grill
- Put the chilies directly on the hot grill and, using tongs, turn them until they’re blackened on all sides.
how to peel roasted peppers
Whichever method you choose for roasting your peppers you will wrap them immediately in plastic and let them steam for about 15 minutes. The skins will peel off easily using your fingers or by scraping a knife along the skin. I like to leave a little of the blackened bits on for flavor, but you don’t have to. Then you can slice them open to remove the seeds. Your roasted peppers are ready to use!
green chile cornbread is a quick fix
Cornbread is your best buddy when you need to put something wholesome and comforting on the table in no time, and it’s so accommodating when it comes to variations. Some of my best recipes are cornbreads that I’ve ‘jazzed’ up in one way or another. I love pumpkin cornbread (I’ve made pumpkin cornbread muffins, too,) it goes so well with chili. But then again my Vidalia onion cornbread was fabulous, so was the kale version…and maple cornbread was a winner, too 🙂
Hatch chile cornbread faqs
Yes, just about any chile can be used, either roasted, or not. I make a great Honey Jalapeño Cornbread with un-roasted jalapeños, I just pop them in raw. You can substitute any pepper you’d like in this recipe. Anaheim, poblano, or cubanelle peppers are good substitutes.
Generally they have a very moderate heat, but there are specifically hot and mild varieties as well. Read packages and labels as they will generally be marked.
It’s a little bit different every year, depending on growing conditions, but it’s generally from August through September. For Hatch aficianados, it’s a pretty big deal, there’s even an official Hatch chile festival!
I think it goes great with chilis of any kind. I like it with most soups and chowders as well. Serve it alongside grilled chicken , and definitely make it a part of your next barbecue!
more cozy fall recipes starring peppers
- Sweet Corn, Hatch Chile, and Bacon Salsa
- Cheesy Hatch Green Chile Dip
- Slow Cooked Hatch Pepper Chili
- Three Sisters Soup
- Easy Meat Lovers Chili
- Molly Baz’ Blistered Cheesy Peppers
Hatch Green Chile Cornbread
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
wet ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 cup chopped roasted Hatch chiles, hot, mild, or a mix plus a few more for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Set oven to 400F
- Lightly butter a 9 or 10 inch tart pan, or cake pan. If you are going to want to remove it from the pan for slicing, line the bottom with a piece of parchment.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs, buttermilk, and cooled butter together. Stir in the chiles.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing just until combined.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Top with a few extra chopped chiles.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until risen, browned along the edges, and done in the center. You can check with a toothpick. Cool on a rack or serve hot from the pan.
- If you are removing from the pan, let cool for about 15 minutes before carefully inverting the pan. It should slide out easily.
- Slice into squares or wedges, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
notes:
- Double the recipe for a 9×13 pan, and the cooking will probably be a little longer. Cornbread cooks surprisingly quickly, though, so be alert. Depending on your pan and your oven, the cooking time can vary.
Subbed the flour for a gluten free blend – came out wonderfully light/fluffy on the inside and crisp on the outside. Used thawed roasted hatch chilies I froze during chili season. I liked the sweet/spicy contrast and flavor from the brown sugar, but next time will try halving the sugar to make it a little less sweet. Hopefully that won’t change the texture too much, because it was wonderful!
I live in Florida, the Middle Keys.
Produce here is very pedestrian, so can I ask if you could use jalapeños instead? I can get those, but not a lot of what our grocery store considers “exotic” example…they look at me funny when I ask if they have any eggplant ????
Yes, you can use jalapeños, I have a specific recipe for jalapeño cornbread. You can also use canned (drain them well) chiles for this. Frozen, too. But definitely use jalapeños if you like the heat.
Do you seed the roasted Hatch chilis before using them in the recipe?
I don’t, you can even see some of the seeds if you look close at the photos. But feel free to seed them if you prefer.
P.S. I didn’t see where I could leave a Star rating, but I would give it a 5!
I’ve made this cornbread almost a dozen times – it’s a hit every time – I have found your recipes to be very reliable, Sue – when I’m looking for a particular recipe I check your site first, your instructions are spot on and the results are consistently good. Thank you!
Thanks SO much, this is music to my ears! I’m a big Hatch chile fan, and I’m looking forward to working up for hatch recipes when they come back in season this year 🙂
The first time I made this, I didnt have buttermilk so I substituted 3/4 cup greek yogurt and 1/4 cup milk and it turned out soooo good. The second and third times I made this, I followed the recipe using buttermilk like called for and it was a bit dry to me. Making it again going back to yogurt and I hope it turns out like it did the first time; moist and heavenly with honey right out of the oven. Thank you for this great recipe!!!
It’s always nice to hear different variations that work, thanks Erika!
For the last 16 or so years we have gotten Hatch Chiles roasted from HEB in Houston. We buy a box and share. The first time I had them was in Montrose, Colorado. They were roasting them at a farmers market on the side of the road. The smell was out of this world. We got in the long line and asked someone what was that amazing smell. I use them to make my pimento cheese, scrambled eggs. So many things.
It’s one of the great foodie pleasures to discover a local specialty food like this, Tinker, I so agree 🙂
excellent!
Hello there I am in love with this recipe it is Soo amazing!! I have made it a couple of times now except I slightly modify it by adding a can of corn to it it is Soo filling and yummy thank you so much for the recipe!!!
I think I’d love it with corn, maybe even creamed corn!