I Asked 5 Chefs for Their Go-To Boxed Cornbread Mix—and the Winner Is ‘America’s Favorite’

True, you could make homemade cornbread to accompany your next chili, barbecue, or Thanksgiving dinner. We have some seriously foolproof—and seriously delicious—recipes that you can follow if you do. Case in point: Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread, Golden Sweet Cornbread, and Homesteader Cornbread—all of which have more than 1,800 5-star reviews and counting. One home baker even describes the Grandma-approved recipe as worthy of “5++ stars.”

But even though whipping up cornbread from scratch only requires a handful of staple ingredients, we don’t always have the motivation to round those up and clean our flour-dusted counters and dishes afterward. That's where boxed cornbread mix comes in. After talking to chefs, bakers, and cookbook authors, it appears we're not alone in enjoying a store-bought shortcut from time to time.

Up until recently, there was a nearly universal belief that Jiffy was the gold standard in terms of store-bought options. Jiffy has had a stronghold on the cornbread mix market since 1950 and is prized for being affordable, accessible, and customizable. But these days, Jiffy has a lot more competition. Walk down the baking aisle at any supermarket or scroll through the selection from grocery stores online and you’ll spy dozens of options.

To help us narrow down the field and find the best box for your buck, we tapped a panel of chefs from across the country. They’ve baked their way through many competitors, tasted the results, and are here to dish about their favorite store-bought cornbread mixes.

Our Panel of Cornbread-Savvy Chefs

• Erin Clarke, Milwaukee-based recipe developer and author of "Well Plated Everyday"
• Mary Payne Moran, chef and owner of The Silver Lake Kitchen cooking school in Los Angeles and the author of “The Vita Gang Mysteries: Who Stole Vita D?”
• Jacob Schroeder, chef/owner of Crafted Food Services and Moxie Kitchen + Events in Des Moines, Iowa
• Lauren Grant-Vose, recipe developer and founder of Zestful Kitchen in Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Alisa Woods, owner of Sift n Sprinkle Bakery in Des Moines, Iowa

Qualities of the Best Cornbread Mix

Many Americans have strong feelings about what qualifies as the best cornbread. So much of it depends on personal preference and what you grew up with. Some folks prefer sweet cornbread, while others think adding sugar to cornbread is a sin. There’s also the debate on butter vs. oil, the ideal number of eggs, and the ratio of cornmeal to flour. 

As general guidelines, the chefs say to look for the following features in your cornbread mix:

• The ingredient list should be short and functional. “The first place I always look with any mix is the ingredient list,” says Clarke. She steers clear of artificial flavors so the corn itself can really shine. According to Schroeder, the majority of cornbread mixes have a very similar, “unremarkable” list of ingredients. “I go for the brands that go the extra mile by including functional ingredients like buttermilk powder or potato flour that I know will result in a better product,” he says.
• It should match your ideal sweetness level. “The world is endlessly divided on whether or not cornbread should be sweet,” Clarke explains. “I plead the fifth! But it’s helpful to note if there is any added sugar, and if so, how much compared to other mixes on the shelf.” Take a peek at the nutrition facts panel to determine the grams of added sugar per serving, then compare that to its peers on the shelf. There’s no wrong answer here, just what you gravitate towards.
• Ideally, the instructions ask for more than water. Schroeder and Clarke tend to avoid "just add water" mixes. “It might just be a psychosomatic thing for me, but I think the mixes that have you add oil and eggs taste better and are more moist,” Schroeder says. Clarke adds that “milk, eggs, and some kind of fat are preferable to just water because the final flavor is richer.”
• It should be far from the expiration date. This is less about the specific brand and the recipe and more about the freshness factor. “Skip cornbread mix that’s expired or close to the expiration date,” Moran suggests. “The baking powder or soda can go flat the longer it sits on the store or home shelf.”

Above all, Moran believes, “Trial and error is the best way to tell if you’ll like a boxed cornbread recipe." When she's baking cornbread, she looks for "a moist crumb, crusty exterior that browns nicely and most importantly the cornbread stays intact when removed from the pan.”

The Best Cornbread Mix, According to Chefs

Tying for first place as the best cornbread mix is Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. It earned two votes, one from Schroeder and one from Woods. Given that Jiffy has been a mainstay in many American kitchens for more than 70 years, this doesn't come as a surprise to us.

“I buy the Jiffy brand to make corn pancakes. These are my absolute favorite breakfast food,” Woods says.

It's important to note that the original Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix contains lard, which, if you ask Schroeder, is an asset to the mixture. “If a mix had to contain some kind of fat, I would personally prefer lard over soybean or palm oil," he says. If you're put off by the lard, Jiffy also makes a vegetarian option that uses shortening instead.

Both the flavor and texture of Jiffy hit the mark for Schroeder, who once did a side-by-side taste test for a consultation job. Everyone easily agreed on Jiffy. "I fist-bumped my childhood spirit because Jiffy is what I grew up with!” he says. The coarse cornmeal in JIffy "adds a pleasant layer of texture compared to other brands that are more akin to eating a finely-textured cake,” Schroder continues.

The more unexpected and delicious contender that tied for first is Krusteaz Sweet Corn Muffin Mix. According to Grant-Vose, “Krusteaz is light and fluffy, has good corn flavor, and develops a beautiful bottom crust.”

Moran adds that “the crumb is softer and more cake-like than other brands, and I love the yellow color of the cornbread.” That light and lofty crumb is likely due to the higher ratio of flour to cornmeal compared to the other mixes on this list.

“Lastly, it’s on the sweeter side and my family loves this,” Moran says, nodding to the 28 grams of added sugars. Not so into super sweet cornbread? Krusteaz also has Southern Cornbread and Muffin Mix with just 4 grams of added sugars.

Other Favorite Cornbread Mixes

• Famous Dave’s Original Recipe Cornbread Mix: When she wants a quick fix corn muffin to serve as a side dish for family dinner, Woods grabs a box of Famous Dave’s. This is her “absolute favorite,” if forced to choose just one. She first fell in love with this cornbread at the restaurant of the same name, and appreciates that the mix is “just a cheaper version I can make at home! I love the honey flavor in it, and it doesn’t dry out as much as some corn muffins will.” If you, too, crave restaurant-inspired recipes, don’t miss our 7 copycat dinners for every night of the week.
• Stonewall Kitchen Cornbread Mix: Lauded by Clarke as “the best I've tried,” Stonewall Kitchen’s ingredient list is short and sweet. Actually, it’s just sweet enough, according to Clarke, with 12 grams of added sugar per serving. “It has a rich, buttery flavor. The cornmeal is present without the muffins being overly gritty, and they rise into a beautiful domed muffin once baked,” Clarke tells us.

How to Make Store-Bought Cornbread Mix Taste Homemade

We hope these chef favorites might inspire your next round of cornbread. Regardless of which mix you start with, these chef and baker tricks will help you bake your most flavorful and most bakery-quality batch yet.

• Preheat the pan. Preheat your oven with the muffin tin or a cast-iron skillet inside, Moran suggests. Prepare the cornbread batter, then carefully remove the pan from the oven. At this point, “Drop in a couple teaspoons of oil, swirl to coat the pan, and add the batter. The moment the batter hits the pan it will start to cook, which in turn creates a golden, crisp crust,” Grant-Vose explains.
• Break the rules. If the instructions call for adding water, Schroeder says “I always substitute that with an equal amount of buttermilk.” Grant-Vose also encourages replacing some of the milk with creamed corn for extra pockets of sweetness that also serve to keep the cornbread moist for longer.
• Get creative with mix-ins. Clarke is keen on folding in a minced jalapeño and a handful of Cheddar or pepperjack cheese. Woods likes to sometimes add in creamed corn. For Moran, sneaking in a scoop of sour cream for tang and tenderness never hurts. For all of those upgrades in one package, try our Jiffy Jalapeño Cheese Cornbread Muffins. Oh, and those corn pancakes Woods mentioned? Just add eggs and butter to the mix, then scoop the batter onto a greased skillet to create little johnnycakes.
• Don’t forget the final flourishes. When the cornbread is fresh from the oven, Schroeder advocates that we all should “Brush on melted butter, drizzle it with honey, and add a sprinkle of coarse salt.”