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King Cornbread

May 29 by Priscilla 29 Comments

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Cornbread has indeed saved the world. Not just a staple of the South, where cornbread is religion and the daily bread part of every important occasion; corn and cornbread has sustained folks around the world.

Heart Healthy King Cornbread | ShesCookin.com

Jump to Recipe

Cornbread: a Staple of America

Cornbread was especially significant in the New World where indigenous Native Americans shared their ways with the starving colonists and helped to shape and flavor the regional cornbreads of America. Whether skillet-baked buttermilk Southern cornbread, sweet cake-like Northern cornbread, and chile-spiced, smoky Southwestern cornbread – cornbread remains a vital component of regional fare.

In our house, cornbread is King. Growing up in Northwest Arkansas, I brought my religion with me, as many before me have. Cornbread is the first thing College Girl requests when she comes home and it was one of the first foods I absolutely had to find a way to make without baking powder when Don was put on a very restricted sodium diet.

Low Sodium Cornbread

Why no baking powder? Surprising to us, and to many who are watching their sodium intake, bread is one of The Salty Six. Not only is most bread highly processed with salt added for flavor and a preservative, but a component of nearly every baked good is baking soda or baking powder – baking soda has an astounding 150 mg. of sodium per 1/8th teaspoon and baking powder  55 mg. per 1/8 teaspoon. The labeling verges on deceptive because when do you use only 1/8 of a teaspoon? When you do the math, that is 1,200 and 440 mg of sodium per teaspoon respectively! Check the label.

Heart Healthy King Cornbread | ShesCookin.com

History of Cornbread

But, back to cornbread and its place in food history. You can find cornbread brethren in Mexico as pan de elote; arepas; in Columbia and Latin America; and humitas in Columbia, Peru, and Bolivia. New World corn spread to Old World Europe – broa, a yeast-risen dense cornbread, served with caldo verde in Portugal, and more of a cornmeal mush in Italy’s polenta in Italy and Romanian mamaliga. The path of corn around the world is as intriguing as tales of spice traders, and no one tells it better than passionate author Crescent Dragonwagon who spent six years following the cornbread trail from the Green Mountains to the Ozarks, to Latin America, Asia, and beyond researching and writing The Cornbread Gospels.

“No other single food has been the subject of more passionate discussion, on and off the record, than cornbread. Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, and Mark Twain are just a few of those who wrote heatedly about cornbread. No other single food has more purely American historical and cultural connections, from the worship of Mother Corn, the Corn Goddess, by Native Americans, to the survival of the Pilgrims, … to its darker history, that of a staple food to those once enslaved in this country.”

Heart Healthy King Cornbread | ShesCookin.com

Cast Iron Cornbread is the Best

Usually, I bake cornbread in my cast iron skillet and it makes a nice homespun presentation. But,  I also like to serve it in my brick red apple casserole dish because I get to eat the little crunchy “stem” piece. College Girl always liked the puffy centerpieces, I adore the crunchy edges, and Don is an equal opportunity cornbread eater.

Heart Healthy King Cornbread | ShesCookin.com

Cornbread is a given when I cook Southern dishes like beans, my un-fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, pulled pork and, of course, chili and ribs. Over the years I tweaked my cornbread recipe to be a little less caloric by substituting 1% milk for whole milk and sunflower oil for butter or bacon fat. Now, with the help of Hain Featherweight Sodium-Free Baking Powder (yes, there is such a thing – it contains potassium in lieu of sodium) and no added salt, it also has nearly zero sodium (milk has a little). Some people like sweet cornbread – we’re not one of those people – there is only a scant 1/4 cup of sugar for just a touch of sweetness.

Low Sodium Cornbread Recipe – Family Tested and Approved

Print
Heart Healthy King Cornbread
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 
Cornbread is a favorite in our house and, with a low fat, low sodium makeover, it's much healthier. Delicious warm from the oven, toasted with butter or jelly, morning, noon, or night, your family will be clamoring for it, too.
Course: Bread
Servings: 10 servings
Author: Priscilla
Ingredients
  • 1 c. unbleached flour
  • 1 c. medium-grind cornmeal
  • ¼ c. sugar
  • 3 teaspoons Hain Featherweight No-Sodium baking powder*
  • 1 egg lightly beaten
  • ¼ c. sunflower or canola oil
  • 1â…“ c. 1% lowfat milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425° degrees F.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Blend in the beaten egg, milk and oil.
  4. Pour into a baking dish sprayed lightly with oil. Bake for 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes

* I buy Hain's Featherweight No-Sodium Baking Powder on Amazon, you can buy it via She's Cookin's Amazon Affiliate store https://www.amazon.com/shop/shescookin, at no additional cost to you. Nutritional Analysis via MyFitnessPal.com

Heart Healthy King Cornbread | ShesCookin.com =

 

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Category Baking + Sweets| Breakfast-Brunch| She's Cookin' Tags cornbread| low sodium cornbread| salt substitues

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura (Tutti Dolci)

    May 29 at 1:24 pm

    I love cornbread too. So glad you were able to make a heart healthy variation!

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      May 29 at 2:10 pm

      Thanks, Laura! It took a bit of doing, but definitely worth it 🙂

      Reply
  2. shockinglydelicious

    May 30 at 11:05 am

    I hadn’t ever thought about the sodium in baking powder and baking soda. Thanks for the education!

    Reply
  3. reubenanderin

    November 14 at 2:07 am

    I just made this cornbread today. It’s super yummy – and fluffy! Perfect amount of sweetness.

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      November 14 at 9:04 am

      I think so too! Thanks for letting me know that the recipe worked for you 🙂

      Reply
  4. Julie

    October 30 at 1:21 pm

    Now, work on a recipe with no milk. I’m lactose intolerant and I really like cornbread. Could you make it with almond milk and cut down a little on the sugar?

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      October 30 at 4:37 pm

      Hi Julie – My daughter is lactose intolerant and has no issues with this cornbread. But, I’ll give it a shot with almond milk. I don’t use full fat milk, so I think almond milk will work – you should give it a try! Thanks for visiting 🙂

      Reply
    • Nancy W

      November 15 at 4:33 pm

      Hi, just made this today using unsweetened coconut milk, and monk sweetner – 2 tablespoon instead of sugar. It was great!

      Reply
      • Priscilla

        November 16 at 2:28 pm

        I’ve never used monk sweetener! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment – I really appreciate hearing from readers who make and enjoy my recipes :))

        Reply
        • Nancy W

          November 16 at 4:30 pm

          Monk sweetner brand is Norbu, I also use Natvia – stevia sweetner.

          Reply
  5. Samantha Cantrill Whitley

    May 12 at 10:13 am

    I came across your recipe looking for low sodium recipes. The sodium you have listed seemed a little high for what’s in it, so I ran it through myfitnesspal.com. The only changes I made was using 2%milk instead of 1%. Their calculations came up with 33mg of sodium/serving.

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      May 12 at 12:55 pm

      You are absolutely right! I think the analysis that I use was calculating the Featherweight as regular baking powder, when I took it out the sodium came down to 23 mg. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

      Reply
      • Katherine

        March 20 at 6:36 pm

        The Featherweight No Sodium Baking Powder, the store brand Bread and Butter Pickles I eat, the Heinze No-Salt Ketchup all DO have potassium chloride. Do you know the risks of consuming that? I’m suspicious that it may be just as bad as sodium chloride for CHD and other conditions that require a low sodium diet.

        Reply
        • Priscilla

          March 27 at 2:15 pm

          Hi Katherine – Excellent question, but I don’t know the answer and would have to ask an expert. However, we have never had a cardiologist tell us that the potassium in low sodium products is harmful.

          Reply
  6. Jaime Weisberg

    December 28 at 2:59 pm

    Great recipe! I made a few changes: 1/2 cup whole wheat + 1/2 cup white flour; 1/4 cup honey instead of sugar; and just 2tsp baking powder (regular – didn’t have sodium free). loved it!

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      December 29 at 5:37 pm

      Great! I’m glad you like it and thanks for letting me know 🙂 It has to be sodium-free for us, but regular baking powder definitely works!

      Reply
  7. Ronda Adams

    November 14 at 9:33 am

    Does the floor and cornmeal noir have sodium in it.

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      November 14 at 9:38 am

      Hi Ronda – flour and cornmeal are sodium free in their pure form, but flour mixes such as pancake, biscuit, cake mixes etc. do contain sodium as the baking powder and/or baking soda are added for your convenience.

      Reply
  8. Kathy Mlaker

    June 19 at 11:02 am

    So happy to have found your website. I am new to low sodium cooking so your recipes are a life saver.

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      June 22 at 1:47 am

      Glad to be of help, Kathy. It takes time to adjust your taste buds because we are so conditioned to sugar and salt in our food, but soon you’ll notice how ingredients can be flavorful on their own. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

      Reply
  9. Jeanne M

    October 18 at 10:27 am

    I have tried using the no-sodium baking powder in cornbread and also in zucchini bread. For some reason nothing raises properly and the middle does not get done properly. I am open to suggestions to what is causing this. I have tried the EnerG baking soda for a sodium reduction but it doesn’t work either. I have also tried using cream of tartar but that has not made a difference. Any help would be appreciated.
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      October 18 at 5:57 pm

      Hi, Jeanne – I’m have used Hain Featherweight in cornbread for years with great results – the cornbread photos here show how much it rises. The things that could possibly contribute to the bread not rising and not being done in the center are: your oven is not heating to the full 425 degrees – use a meat thermometer or similar to see if your oven is heating to the correct temperature; altitude – not sure where you live, but altitude affects baking; or the product is old. Also, are you using coarse-grain cornmeal? It is heavier than medium-ground and may take longer to bake and doesn’t allow as much rising. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  10. Mike

    December 7 at 8:18 am

    Hi …. with respect to the earlier question regarding using potassium chloride as a salt substitute …. I have congestive heart failure and took a product called NO SALT which is sold as a salt susitute to my cardiologist as he wanted me to reduce my salt intake …… he said salt (sodium chloride) and potassium chloride are both salts and equally dangerous for sodium restricted diets. I made your recipe using the no sodium baking powder and didn’t add any salt. I did add a little brown sugar as I do like a sweet cornbread.

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      December 8 at 6:44 am

      Hi Mike – thank you for taking time to leave a comment and share what your cardiologist told you about potassium chloride. And that you made the cornbread – I prefer a little sweetness, too 🙂

      Reply
  11. Cindy S

    March 2 at 6:07 am

    What size pan? 13×9 or 8 inch square?

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      March 2 at 1:40 pm

      Hi Cindy – I use an 8×8 square. And good question – I’ll update the recipe notes to reflect this.

      Reply
  12. Irving Bonds

    April 28 at 8:12 pm

    Let’s make this recipe much healthier, Leave Out The Sugar. As a 60 year old southerner who has eaten cornbread at least once nearly every week of my life I know whereof I speak. If you are making corn cake put in all the sugar you want, but cornbread should never ever have more than 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Enjoy the corn flavor without unnecessary ingredients.

    Reply
    • Priscilla

      April 29 at 7:47 am

      Thank you for your comment. I also grew up in the South and am familiar with no-sugar cornbread, this recipe has minimal sugar and it boils down to personal preference actually. Any recipe is subject to adaptation.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Low Sodium Homemade Country Biscuits | She's Cookin' | food and travel says:
    January 5 at 8:06 am

    […] works wonderfully in cornbread, resulting in a light, fluffy piece of carb heaven. My heart healthy King Cornbread recipe was perfected over the years and is one of my family’s most requested favorites. And […]

    Reply

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