This easy Cake Mix Cornbread is a perfect cross between a cake and cornbread. The texture is fluffy and smooth but has that yummy cornbread taste!
Cake Mix Cornbread
This Cake Mix Cornbread recipe is so good! The bread is moist and light. I’m not a huge fan of corn breads that are really grainy and dense, or corn breads with vegetable surprises inside. That is why I love this recipe so much. It is a perfect cross between a yellow cake and cornbread, and there are no surprises. It is easy to prepare and tastes amazing with some butter and honey. This is a great side dish for fall and winter to serve with soup or chili.
Make This in a ‘Jiffy’
One of the great parts about this recipe is the inclusion of Jiffy Cornbread Mix in the list of dry ingredients. That, combined with the cake mix and other ingredients make this a quick, simple, delicious way to get all the flavor you love with the perfect texture.
Variations
If you like your homemade cornbread slightly more grainy, add another cornbread mix and another egg. You will end up with more than what will fit in a 9×13 pan. Some people like to get creative with the pan choice when baking this bread. If you have more batter than will fit in the 9×13 pan, you can add the excess batter to some muffin tins for little muffins. One reader suggested baking it in a bundt pan for a different way to serve. Round pans work well too.
Tips for Baking Cake Mix Cornbread
While we try to give accurate cooking times, there are many factors that can affect how quickly your cornbread bakes. The best way to tell if your cornbread is done is to do the toothpick test. You’ll know its done when the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the edges and top are golden brown, but the toothpick does not come out clean, you can cover the pan with tin foil to slow the outside down and leave time for the inside to cook.
Try this Cake Mix Cornbread with one of our delicious chilis:
- Pork Chili Verde – An award winning chili with tender pork in a tasty, savory green chili sauce.
- Creamy Italian Sausage Chili – This creamy and hearty chili is made with sausage and 3 types of beans.
- Mom’s Cheater Chili – This chili recipe is simple and fast! The ground beef, onions, and tomatoes make a hearty meal.
- Cafe Zupas Chicken Enchilada Chili Copycat Recipe – This chili is loaded with seasoned chicken, beans, and corn in a creamy, slightly spicy, soup.
- Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili – Chicken, corn, white beans, Monterey Jack cheese and green salsa combine to make a creamy, flavorful chili.
How to make Cake Mix Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 17 ounces Jiffy cornbread mix 2 boxes
- 1/3 cup milk
- 4 eggs
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Mix cake mix and corn bread mix together in a large bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir well. The batter should be nice and thick.
- Pour into a greased 9×13 pan or lined muffin tin.
- Bake at 325-degrees for 40 minutes, or until baked through. Use the "toothpick test" to determine doneness. If baking in a muffin tin, bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and baked through.
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
Christina says
Okay, so I just made this. 1 Pillsbury yellow cake mix, 2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix, 2/3 water, 1/3 milk, 3 eggs and 1/2 cup oil. Mix until combined. I used a parchment lined 13×9 (splash pan with water to hold paper to it). Bake 30 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven. Perfect!
Jessika Gourley says
I followed this to the T. And after 25 min it is still soupy in the middle yet a nice brown on top. I feel like there is too much liquid.
So I tried again leaving out the water. And again after 25 min it has nice brown on top and not cooked in middle it’s soupy.
Therefore some thing else liquify needs to go.
Or a lower temp for an hour cook?…,
Favorite Family Recipes says
I’m so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you! What kind of pan are you using?
April says
I had this same problem. Another recipe I saw after attempting to make this one called for 2 boxes of the jiffy mix. I made this a long time ago and it was delicious, but I do believe I used 2 boxes of jiffy corn mix.
Echo Blickenstaff says
Thank you for letting us know. We will test this recipe again!
Janice says
This recipe needs updating. Cake mixes are smaller now even jiffy is no longer 9 oz. might be why cakes aren’t cooking properly to much liquid now?
Favorite Family Recipes says
We are actually currently working on updating this one. Check back for updates!
Melissa Thornton says
Hi there,
I know the recipe is being updated, but I gave it a try and wanted to share my results. After reading some of the comments, I checked the liquid amounts and decided to reduce the water to 3/4 C. This now equaled the amount of liquid required on the packaging for the cornbread and the cake mixes. I baked it in a casserole slightly larger than a 9 X 13. It needed 30 minutes to fully cook the center. The flavor was delicious! For my taste, I think 2 boxes of cornbread would be too corny (I know it’s cornbread- lol). It had just the right amount of corn flavor, and the cake mix truly does add the sweetness and fluffy texture that I like. However, while the middle was great, the sides were a bit overdone. I think the ultimate issue, as mentioned in the post, is the amount of batter this produces. I think next time I will bake it in 2 9X9s. or as muffins. Still the best cornbread I have made!! Thanks!
Paulette says
Easy and delish‼️‼️ I didn’t have yellow cake mix so I used what I had which was FRENCH VANILLA. ALLS WELL‼️‼️😂😂❤️❤️
William says
Can I use more milk and less water in this recipe?
Favorite Family Recipes says
I haven’t tried it that way before, but I don’t see why not. Let us know how it turns out!
Joe says
I made this corn bread tonight. I had it with pinto beans. The texture and taste was great. My life family loved it.
Debi Roman says
I’ve been making this over 10 years even before I saw recipe. I love it warm out of oven and with a smear of butter.
Patty says
We loved the recipe. This cornbread is light, tasty and has a nice texture. It is delicious and easy to make. I’ll definitely make it again. Thank you!
Sally says
Could you also add creamed corn?
Favorite Family Recipes says
I haven’t tried it that way, but let me know how it turns out if you do!
Latorcha says
I just made it and it was delicious thanks for sharing !
Lisa says
I made this recipe and my family loved it. It is easy to make and cooks in the time provided in the recipe. We did feel that is was more like cake than cornbread but delicious. I have adjusted the recipe by removing one cup of cake mix and adding an additional cup of Jiffy mix. This was perfect for us. I have reserved the leftover cake and jiffy mix from the past three times I’ve made it and I’ll try that to see how it comes out (saved in a sealed storage bag) next time. Thank you for this recipe it was just what my family was looking for in a good cornbread recipe.
Echo Blickenstaff says
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it.
millie says
I like this recipe better than regular cornbread. so moist. someone posted that their xake sunk in the middle. mine did the same but not too much. but it was fully baked. i left it for 35 minutes. Can’t wait to share this with others.
millie says
I did mine as well right now. And the same thing happened it sunk in the middle, LOL, but it’s fully cooked though.
StitchinSweetSue says
Ty for sharing this recipe. I baked this 12/2019, very moist with excellent flavor, crumbly but not at all gritty, For my oven, I needed 40 mins @ 350. Cake rose so high that I thought batter might spill over cake pan, but never did, baked to perfection. Would def make again! Happy Holidays!
Aunt Jenny says
Thank you for this recipe, it is delicious. It did take about 30 minutes to bake in my oven, at the 20 minute mark it hadn’t browned up on top. I will definitely make this again.
Jennifer says
Just had a question I really want to try this for our sunday dinner. Do I add the ingredients from the cake box and the jiffy. Or just use the ingredients you have listed?
Echo Blickenstaff says
Just the ingredients listed. Thank you for asking!
Ron C says
Hi
Can I substitute yellow cornmeal in lieu of Jiffy Cornmeal mix, and would I need to add baking powder or baking soda and salt to the mix before doing so?
Your recipe sounded so great that I ordered 18 boxes of Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mix to make a lot of batches for my neighbors here in Florida.
Thank you,
Ron C
Ruskin, FL
Erica Walker says
For this recipe you will actually want to use the Jiffy cornbread mix (not the cornmeal mix). I’m not sure how you would replace that with cornmeal. The cornbread mix has all the ingredients needed for bread all mixed in. I don’t think using JUST cornmeal will work how you would expect it to. Hope this helps!
beth lancaster says
This cornbread is delicious and I’ve made it several times – I do have a problem, though, it consistently doesn’t cook in the middle. I have used a 9 x 13 pan and tried using 2 8 x 8 pans. Same results. It appears done when I test it with a toothpick, but after I take it out of the oven and it sits a bit, the center falls and is undercooked. Any suggestions??
Erica says
That is strange. You may need to try cooking it on a slightly lower heat for a longer amount of time. Hopefully that way it will cook more evenly. Hope this helps!
Sonja says
I agree. I loved the light and fluffy texture… typical cornbread tends to be too dense or grainy for me… I also added peppers but it was still REALLY REALLY sweet. Any suggestions on taking this good recipe and toning down the sweet? Thanks!
Favorite Family Recipes says
Probably the best solution would either be to make your own cake mix or a low-sugar cake mix. I know you can even get sugar-free cake mixes but the artificial sweeteners still might make it on the sweet side. It may be worth a shot though! Hope this helps!
Victoria says
I couldn’t stop craving this cornbread cake and need to try it. I finally made a bundt cornbread cake today for Christmas Eve. So delicious, dense and moist! I also added a capful of vegetable oil to make it more dense as suggested. My cornbread had to bake for 50 min. Simply amazing!! Thank you
Favorite Family Recipes says
What a great idea to make it in a bundt pan! Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you like the recipe. 🙂
Marilyn says
Question: I have 2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix which comes to 17 oz. I’m 2 oz shy of what recipe requires. I think I should be okay following your recipe. What do you recommend?
Favorite Family Recipes says
The recipe calls for one 9 oz box of cornbread mix, so you should have plenty!
Clive Gouldthorp says
It’s confusing –
1 9 Oz (one nine) oz. looks like 19 (nineteen)oz .
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yeah you are right, it does kind of look like a 19, we use a recipe plugin that formats the recipes. I will se what we can do to make this less confusing. Thanks for catching that.
Carolyn Jorgensen says
I was about to use two 8.5 oz boxes of jiffy mix to make this with 17 oz and add 2 more oz of corn meal . Glad u read the reviews.
Shenika Woody says
I used the two 8.5 oz boxes in mines and it came out great. Thanks again.
J. Mansfield says
Not being a novice cornbread “baker”, I wanted to give this recipe a try. After baking for 40 minutes, the top was nicely browned and top felt firm. I had used a toothpick at 30-and 35 minutes. After it had been out of the oven for about 15 minutes, the center sunk. Obviously not throughly baked. My oven tests correct on temps, and I used the 9X13 pan. Was the 350* baking temp the culprit? How did you get yours to bake in 35 minutes?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thank you for sharing your experience– I am actually not sure why it would sink in like that. You could definitely try baking for longer next time. What elevation are you at?
Eileen says
Can haddon a can of corn?
Nicole says
I had the same problem—it takes FOREVER to bake
Favorite Family Recipes says
Sometimes different altitudes can have an effect on the baking time. I am sorry this recipe didn’t work for you!
Avia says
This is best cornbread I ever tasted. This is a definite keeper.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Wow, what a compliment! Thank you so much!
Cee Cee says
Loved the flavor of this cornbread but it was almost too light for my tastes. It didn’t hold together once sliced and crumbled when we tried to butter it. Next time I made add some oil to make it a little denser.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this recipe. Yes, it is supposed to be light and airy. Let us know how adding oil works out, would love to know if it makes it more dense!
peggy says
hi, made the corn bread was really good i add a jalpena to it. going to make 3 more with different pepper and some garlic.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Oh I love the idea of adding some jalapeño. I have heard of people adding some cheddar cheese to the mixture as well, yum!
Nita says
????????????????Exactly but u know there always has to be that one to go against the grain and be negative. Smh laughably silly is the exact right response to that.
Shanna says
This recipe is definitely a keeper!!! It was absolutely delicious, thanks for posting ????????
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thank you! So glad you liked it 😀
Melanie says
I’m sorry to rain on the parade of comments but, you might as well use Jiffy corn muffin mix. This is NOT cornbread, not real cornbread. I am Southern and have been making cornbread since I was a little girl….from scratch. Please don’t try to pass this off as real cornbread. Thank you.
TL says
I had to laugh at your comment. Since you’ve been making such amazing cornbread… from scratch.. since a child.. why are you looking at cornbread recipes on the internet? Don’t you have your own perfected already? SMH…
Miss Ann says
“DITTO” LOL!!!
Lady J says
Exactly 😂
Suzanne Bernstein says
I do not believe she stated it was ‘real cornbread” in her descriptor…..
Kaththee says
I am cooking this recipe right now and so I can’t comment to how it will turn out but I have to say I understand Melanie’s frustration. I am Southern too and I know this isn’t real cornbread but sometimes I am not in the mood for cake type cornbread. I started making cake like cornbread for my Yankee mother-in-law and even though she has passed we still enjoy it from time to time. I always mixed a Jiffy cake mix with a Jiffy cornbread mix and although I have seen the recipe online I made it up at the time. I haven’t been able to find Jiffy cake mixes which are like a half cake mix so I found this recipe. All that aside, I do understand Melanie’s feelings. Cornbread is part of our culture and while it is fine to borrow ideas from other cultures it is galling to say something like –
These tacos are so good. They taste like tacos except the texture is perfect. I am not a fan of the mealy feel of soft corn tortillas and I am not a fan of cheap flank steals so instead this recipes calls for whole wheat pita bread (so fluffy not grainy) and tender, rare slice filet mignon and just a touch of chopped chives instead of those big chunks of raw onion that you can taste for days. It is yummy and still has that great street taco taste.
It is okay to take from another culture or to borrow a recipe and make it more like your culture and personal taste but it isn’t okay to take the recipe, insult it and say how you made it so much better- “perfect” even.. I cringed at your reply. Granted she didn’t explain herself well, but when one is angry they are not always wise. I am older and more accustomed to seeing Southern culture being the only one left that is safe to deride, mock and insult.
I just took my cake cornbread out of the oven and it took 40 mintues to cook in a USA brand 9 x 13 metal baking pan. I am sure it will be delicous. Thank you for the recipe.
Favorite Family Recipes says
I am sorry you guys felt this way! We didn’t mean to offend! We just have picky eaters in our family that prefer it this way. We know it isn’t the real stuff! As they say – The best cornbread recipe is always yours! 🙂
Lori T says
Just made it this afternoon and serving with home made chili….always a favorite. Years ago when I worked at General Motors in Michigan it was always on their lunch menu once a week and we thoroughly enjoyed it then and still do to this day 40 years later.
millie says
It’s not being passed as a real cornbread, it says cake cornbread. And it tastes delicious.. I just made it.
Echo Blickenstaff says
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you!
Lafon says
It’s really good!!!….even though I forgot 2 add water….lol…no one could tell….lol
Lindsay says
Can I make this with flax eggs? If so, how many? We are vegans, I have the dairy free milk covered as well as the butter. Thanks so much
Favorite Family Recipes says
We have never used flax eggs before so I’m not sue how it would affect the recipe. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Melissa Lindsey says
What size cake mix is to be used??
Favorite Family Recipes says
For the Cake Mix Cornbread, use a 15.25 oz boxed cake mix. Thank you for asking!
Robin says
Fantastic! Tastes like Wegmans corn muffins. Jiffy muffin mix is now 8.5 oz., so I added 1/4 c locally ground corn meal. Baked in preheated 13″ cast iron pan. Forget the chili, this is the star!
Echo says
I’m so glad you like it! Thank you for sharing your adaptation to the recipe.
Kimi Campbell says
I did not notice the difference in the jiffy mix while preparing, I cooked an additional 8 minutes and it was great!
Sel says
So did I. It came out great! It sunk alittle in the middle but other than that, it was winner!
Liz says
Thank you for the nice recipe. Have a Wonderful Day!