Molasses Cornbread

Guys! You can count on me to bring you delicious recipes that maybe you’ve never had before, but you instantly know you’re going to love. Molasses cornbread is the season spanning quick bread I’ll be making for all those summer cookouts, followed by fall tailgating ~ right through to winter soups and stews.

Molasses cornbread isn’t a new idea, it has roots in Southern and Appalachian kitchens where molasses was a pantry staple and cornbread was on the table daily. Early versions were dense and skillet-baked, sometimes cooked right over an open fire, but as baking soda and powder became more common, lighter variations emerged. Some recipes keep it barely sweet, perfect for soaking up a bowl of chili or collard greens, while others lean into the molasses for something almost cake-like, just right with a slather of butter and a drizzle of honey. My molasses cornbread is somewhere in the middle: perfect as a savory side for your bowl of chowder, with just a hint of sweetness.

related cornbread recipes

• Pumpkin Cornbread
• Honey Jalapeño Cornbread
• Blueberry Cornbread
• Hatch Chile Cornbread

molasses cornbread ingredient notes

yellow cornmeal

• Cornmeal is an ingredient with many variations, and for this recipe you can use any you like, let’s break it down:
  • Fine Cornmeal (corn flour in the UK) is what I like best for this recipe. It’s very fine and bakes up with a smooth texture and a fine crumb.
  • Medium-Grind Cornmeal is the most common and most versatile, with a little more texture.
  • Coarse Cornmeal (Polenta / Grits) has a coarse gritty texture for a more rustic cornbread with a little crunch to it.

flour

• Again you have choices, and each will give your molasses cornbread a slightly different personality.
  • I used White Lily fine baking flour. This is a super fine white flour made from soft wheat. The effect is a very tender almost cake-like molasses cornbread.
    • If you prefer you can use AP flour, which is not quite as smooth or tender.
    • You can even use whole wheat or white whole wheat for a more rustic result.

buttermilk

• Traditional cornbread recipes often use baking soda, which needs an acid to activate. Buttermilk reacts with baking soda to create a light, airy texture.
  • Alternatively you can mix sour cream with milk to get a similar result.

molasses

• Molasses isn’t just there to sweeten cornbread—it brings depth, complexity, and balance in a way that regular sugar can’t. Its rich, slightly bitter undertones mellow out the natural sweetness of corn, giving the bread a more rounded, layered flavor instead of just being one-note sweet. From a texture standpoint, molasses also adds moisture, helping to create a more tender crumb, especially in a bread that leans naturally rustic. It’s been a staple in traditional Southern and Appalachian baking for centuries.
  • Make sure you buy regular molasses: do not use blackstrap, which is too strong and bitter.

molasses cornbread tips

I was so delighted by this cornbread that I tested and re-tested it multiple times making little tweaks to each iteration to come up with the best. But if I’ve learned nothing else in 15 years of recipe development ~ it’s that everybody’s taste is different. I came up with the ultimate molasses cornbread for me, but you might prefer one of the other variations…

1. If you love a tender cakey texture like I do, use White Lily flour and a fine yellow cornmeal or cornflour.
   • If you like a more gutsy cornbread use AP flour or even whole wheat flour and a medium grind cornmeal.
2. I use a bit of sugar in this recipe, but don’t worry, it’s not “sweet”. The sugar is hydroscopic, meaning it helps keep baked goods moist, which is a boon for cornbread. It also helps balance out the slight bitterness of the molasses and brings out the flavor.
3. Stick to a 9″ square pan for this cornbread ~ a 9″ round pan has less surface area and the cornbread may not cook through as easily.
4. Be careful not to over bake ~ most cornbreads cook quickly and can dry out if baked too long.

the bottom line

I love cornbread, and I do a lot of it on this site. I love how quickly I can make it, and how it rounds out so many simple meals. I also love how I can easily vary the flavors to make cornbread unique and interesting. I absolutely love what molasses does to this recipe. The flavor is rich and malty, and molasses makes the cornbread moister than most. The molasses also gives a slightly denser texture, almost like pound cake.

Wondering whether this is sweet or savory? It’s definitely savory, and will be a great side dish to so many meals. I enjoyed mine with a classic fish chowder but I think it would go especially well with bbq meals.