Thanksgiving is around the corner, and if cornbread is a staple at your celebration—like it is at mine—you might be planning to make it from scratch. We have many great cornbread recipes if you want to go with the homemade approach, but if you’re already overwhelmed with the prospect of having to prep and cook an entire Thanksgiving feast, all while entertaining family members or friends, it may be time to consider going the simpler route: boxed cornbread mix. Homemade cornbread is nice, but do you know what’s nicer? Making Thanksgiving as stress-free as possible.
With many solid cornbread mixes to choose from online and at grocery stores, there’s no reason to lose sleep over this particular T-Day decision. With that in mind, we pulled together 11 different cornbread mixes you’re likely to find in your local supermarket, baked them up as muffins, and had our tasters sample them without knowing which brands they were trying. After tasting our way through the 11 cornbread mixes, we found not one but two overall winners we’d be happy to serve at our own Thanksgiving tables, as well as a couple of other worthy contenders. Read on for all the details.
The Criteria
Talk to our editors, and you’ll find that they all have very strong opinions about what makes good cornbread. Some, like our commerce editor Grace, like it on the sweeter side with plenty of butter and a drizzle of honey, while our commerce writer An enjoys a hefty dose of jalapeños in hers. Others, like our associate editorial director Megan, prefer it Southern-style with no sugar, perfect for serving with savory sides such as collard greens and black-eyed peas. Like Grace, our senior social media editor Kelli enjoys a touch of sweetness, and she’s also open to the inclusion of whole corn kernels.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Though all our cornbread preferences differ greatly, we all agree that good cornbread should be tender and moist, with the pleasant earthy aroma of dried corn. It should be well seasoned with salt, but it should not be overly salty, nor should it be so sweet that it passes for cake. (As our editorial director Daniel noted in his Southern-style cornbread recipe, “cornbread needn’t be overtly sweet, but it does need just enough sweetness to avoid tasting like the fabric of the universe has been torn asunder and you’re hopelessly trying to lick the rift.” Point taken!)
Cornbread should also have a lovely golden color, and be neither exceedingly pale nor fluorescent yellow. Though cornbread made from a box doesn’t have to taste homemade, it should be good enough that you’d happily make it when you want a minimal-effort option or when you are simply too tired to make it from scratch.
Overall Winner (Tie): Flesichmann’s Simply Homemade Cornbread Baking Mix
Fleischmann
Almost every single taster loved this cornbread mix, and this was Daniel’s favorite of the bunch. “This one seems like the sweet spot texture- and flavor-wise,” he wrote. Megan described this as “corny and sweet,” and though it was sweeter than she liked, she thought it was well-balanced, tender, and “a decent muffin.” Similarly, our associate visuals director Amanda thought this cornbread had “a good balance of crunch and moistness,” and noted that it was the only sample she wanted to go back and eat more of. With yellow cornmeal as its first ingredient, this mix has a robust flavor and aroma that evokes that of homemade cornbread made with a good quality cornmeal.
Overall Winner (Tie): Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
Jiffy
In our tests, Jiffy tied with Fleischmann’s for the top spot. Almost every single taster noted that this mix was not too sweet, and everyone thought it was balanced, had just the right amount of corn flavor, and was nicely tender. Kelli described it as “plain and straightforward, and just how cornbread should be,” and added: “Is this one Jiffy? I think it is.” Jiffy was one of the best cornbread mixes we tried, and at 10 cents per ounce, it is also the most affordable mix we sampled. One thing to note: Jiffy is the only mix that contains lard—and the only non-vegetarian product we sampled. So if you avoid pork products, this one’s not for you.
Runners Up: Our Favorite Cornbread Mixes
Another Great Cornbread: Martha White Sweet Yellow Cornbread Mix
Martha White
With the exception of Amanda, every taster gave this mix glowing reviews. Daniel thought it had a classic flavor, and gave it full marks for taste. Likewise, Kelli noted that this mix “tastes how cornbread is supposed to taste.” Megan felt that it had “real corn flavor” and liked that it wasn’t too sweet—in fact, she liked it enough to say that this mix had her “favorite flavor of the bunch,” which resulted in her being her top choice overall, despite not being her top in terms of texture. Indeed, though it scored well on the flavor front, many tasters thought this cornbread was slightly dry and would benefit from a generous dollop of butter.
The Best Cornbread Mix for Those Who Have a Sweet Tooth: Krusteaz Honey Cornbread & Muffin Mix
Krusteaz
“Good corn flavor, though a slightly off, almost artificial sweetener aftertaste,” Megan noted. For what it’s worth, there’s no artificial sweetener here—just sugar and a touch of honey powder. Kelli thought this cornbread had slightly too much sugar, but if you like your cornbread on the sweeter side, then this may be the mix for you. Looking at the ingredient list, it’s no surprise, as this mix contains more sugar than cornmeal. Texturally, this mix also had tiny nibs of cornmeal, which provided a pleasant crunch that both Amanda and Daniel enjoyed.
The Contenders
- Bob’s Red Mill Golden Cornbread Mix ($3.69 for 13 ounces)
- Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix ($0.89 for 8.5 ounces)
- Kentucky Kernel Old Fashioned Cornbread Mix ($3.72 for 10 ounces)
- Famous Dave’s Corn Bread Mix, Original Recipe ($3.39 for 15 ounces)
- Martha White Sweet Yellow Cornbread Mix ($1.46 for 7 ounces)
- Betty Crocker Cornbread & Muffin Mix ($1.01 for 6.5 ounces)
- Old El Paso Southwest Style Cornbread Baking Mix ($4.42 for 13.5 ounces)
- Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade Baking Mix Cornbread ($3.99 for 15 ounces)
- Krusteaz Honey Cornbread & Muffin Mix ($3.99 for 15 ounces)
- Trader Joe’s Cornbread Mix ($2.99 for 15 ounces)
- 365 by Whole Foods Cornbread & Muffin Mix ($3.79 for 15 ounces)
Editor’s note: These are prices at the time of publication; prices are subject to change.
In Conclusion
Every single cornbread mix we sampled was incredibly easy to whip up, requiring little more than whisking the mix with an egg or two, some oil or butter, and milk or water. Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade Baking Mix Cornbread, which tied with Jiffy for our top spot, has three important differences from most of the other mixes we tried that likely contribute to its better, more robust flavor. First, cornmeal is its first ingredient, rather than wheat flour, which leads the list for many mixes. Secondly, that cornmeal is yellow rather than white, and yellow cornmeal tends to have a more pronounced nutty, corny flavor than white. And finally, the cornmeal in Fleischmann’s has not been degermed.
When corn is milled into flour, the kernels are crushed and the germ and endosperm are often removed to make refined corn flour. The germ, however, contains many fibers, oils, and amino acids that can contribute to corn’s rich flavor and aroma. If, like us, you prefer a pronounced nutty, corny flavor in your cornbread, we recommend purchasing a cornbread mix like Fleischmann’s that contains yellow cornmeal that hasn’t been degermed.
Our Testing Methodology
All taste tests are conducted with brands completely hidden and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample one first, while taster B will taste sample six first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill our tasting sheets ranking the samples for various criteria. All data is tabulated and results are calculated with no editorial input in order to give us the most impartial representation of actual results possible.
