Melt-in-Your-Mouth Sweet Potato Cornbread
This delectable sweet potato cornbread is a fast and easy side dish for soup, chili, or Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a moist and flavorful homemade cornbread that’s kicked up with some mashed sweet potato, tangy buttermilk, Greek yogurt, and a touch of sweetness and fall spices.
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Why This Recipe Works
Cornbread is always a good choice when you want warm homemade bread for soup, stew, or chili because it’s fast, easy, and perfect for dunking. It’s also a great side dish for a BBQ (along with my crock pot baked beans).
But let’s face it, regular cornbread can be dense, dry, and crumbly.
Not this one! This recipe is a winner because it’s:
- Light, moist, and fluffy, with a tender crumb that melts in your mouth.
- Packed with flavor from sweet potato and pumpkin pie spice mix, so it tastes like fall.
- Lower in sugar than most other cornbread recipes (only ⅓ cup of maple syrup as a sweetener and it’s optional).
- Full of healthy ingredients. Sweet potatoes add fiber and beta carotene, Greek yogurt, buttermilk, and eggs add protein, and cornmeal is a whole grain.
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the key ingredients needed to make my sweet potato cornbread. Substitutions and variations are listed in the section below.
Be sure to check out the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients with measurements.
Sweet potatoes. You only need about one cup of mashed sweet potato, which is one large or two small sweet potatoes (about ¾ pound). Homemade mashed sweet potato tastes best.
Cornmeal. I tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill medium grind cornmeal and Quaker cornmeal, and both worked fine. I personally prefer Bob’s Red Mill because it has twice the fiber, but it will make the cornbread a little more coarse.
Baking powder and baking soda. It seems like a lot but these make the batter light and fluffy so your cornbread comes out soft and tender.
Maple syrup. This adds just a touch of sweetness which complements the sweet potatoes, and it has a more complex flavor than plain white or brown sugar.
Plain Greek yogurt. I use plain Greek yogurt instead of butter or oil for added moisture and more protein. Use 1%, 2%, or full-fat Greek yogurt, depending on your preference.
Buttermilk. This adds even more moisture, a bit of tang, and a tender crumb. Again, low-fat or full-fat work equally well.
Substitutions and Variations
Instead of fresh sweet potatoes, you can use frozen, cubed sweet potatoes.
You can also substitute canned pumpkin puree (although that would make this pumpkin cornbread instead of sweet potato cornbread). I originally made this recipe with canned pumpkin a few years ago, but when I retested and updated it recently, I decided to try sweet potato instead, and I really love the results.
Instead of maple syrup, you can use an equal amount of honey, brown sugar, or a no-calorie brown sugar substitute. Remember that sweet potatoes add a touch of natural sweetness, so you can also skip the added sweetener.
For a dairy-free version, skip the yogurt and buttermilk and use 1 ½ cups of oat milk plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Step-By-Step Instructions
First, peel and cut your sweet potatoes into 1-inch or smaller cubes. Put them in a saucepan with just enough water to cover them. Bring the pan to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium and let them boil for 15-20 minutes or until they fall apart with a fork. Drain them well.
Second, mash the drained sweet potatoes. Return them to the pot or a mixing bowl, and with a fork or potato masher, mash them evenly. You should have about 1 cup of mashed sweet potato (a little more or less is OK). Set it aside to cool.
Third, combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk them to combine.
Fourth, combine the eggs, maple syrup, Greek yogurt, and buttermilk in a second mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine the ingredients.
Fifth, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold everything together. A spatula works better at this point than a whisk.
Sixth, stir from the bottom to incorporate the flour, but don’t overmix the batter. It should be lumpy.
Seventh, add the mashed sweet potatoes and fold them in until everything is incorporated. The batter should still be lumpy.
Eighth, pour the batter into a 9-inch skillet baking pan or a 9 x 9 casserole dish and spread it smooth with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Expert Tips
- Use a 9 or 10-inch cast-iron skillet if you love those crispy bits around the edges. I absolutely love my Lodge cast iron skillet for this recipe (and for baking focaccia bread or pan pizza).
- To shave a few minutes off your bake time and get a brown, crispy bottom, put your oiled cast iron skillet in the oven and let it preheat along with the oven. Just BE CAREFUL to not touch the handle because it will be smokin’ hot (trust me, I know). Cover the handle with an oven mitt when you take it out of the oven to pour in the batter so you don’t accidentally touch it.
- For a moister cornbread, don’t overbake it. The longer it bakes, the drier it may become.
What to Eat With Sweet Potato Cornbread
This sweet potato cornbread is SO good with:
- Any kind of chili, but especially my Three Bean Chicken Chili
- Silky soups, like Creamy Sweet Potato Black Bean Soup, Creamy White Bean & Fennel Soup, or Roasted Acorn Squash Soup
- Breakfast foods, like scrambled eggs, Egg Muffin Cups, or 5-Minute Pesto Eggs.
And if you have leftover cornbread, crumble it, and use it to make Wild Rice Stuffing Casserole.
Recipe FAQs
This cornbread recipe tastes the best when it’s served warm and freshly baked, but you can keep leftovers covered in foil or plastic wrap for up to three days in the refrigerator. Reheat the bread in the microwave for about 30 seconds per piece. I don’t recommend freezing this recipe because it tends to get dry and crumbly when thawed. However, you can freeze it and use it to make stuffing
No. Leave it uncovered so the top can get light golden brown.
Absolutely! The baking time will depend on the size of your muffins. Mini muffins will take approximately 12 minutes, while full-sized muffins will take 15-18 minutes. Keep an eye on them because all ovens differ.
Related Sweet Potato Recipes
Love sweet potatoes? Then don’t miss these other sweet potato recipes.
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating on the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page. Your email will not appear publicly!
Sweet Potato Cornbread
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mix
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup maple syrup optional
- 1 cup buttermilk low-fat or regular
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt nonfat, low-fat, or full-fat as preferred
Instructions
- Put the sweet potato pieces in a saucepan and add enough water just to cover them. Bring the pan to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to medium.
- Boil the sweet potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they fall apart when pierced with a fork. Drain them in a colander and return them to the pot. Mash the sweet potatoes with a fork or potato masher and set them aside to cool.
- While the sweet potatoes boil, preheat the oven to 400℉ and set the oven rack to the middle position. Grease or spray a 9" square baking pan, round cake pan, or cast iron skillet.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice mix. Whisk everything together and set the bowl aside.
- In a second, larger mixing bowl, combine the eggs, maple syrup, buttermilk, and Greek yogurt. Whisk well until everything is combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and using a large spatula, mix to combine. Do not over-mix. The batter may have some lumps.
- Add the mashed sweet potatoes to the batter and fold everything together. Don't overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for about 10 minutes, and then cut into wedges or squares and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
If you print this recipe, you can scan the QR code below to see updates and tips or leave a comment.
if I bake this in an 8×8 GLASS pan, should the temperature be reduced?
I can’t wait to try this as another way to use fresh pumpkin
Hi Nancy, I don’t think it would make that much difference. Just keep an eye on it toward the end because glass pans can cook a little bit faster. Thanks for visiting!
Your cornbread looks amazing and that maple butter…YUM!
Thanks Sonali! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family 🙂
I’ve never had buttermilk cornbread that I can remember! I think I need to buy a little container and make a pot of soup and this bread for lunch next week!
It’s really good with soup or chili! I never use up the entire container of buttermilk, but do you know they make powdered buttermilk that you can just reconstitute with water as needed? Best invention ever! Thanks for visiting Cassie 🙂