There is a not-so-secret ingredient to this Cottage Cheese Cornbread recipe that sets it apart from others and makes it extra delicious! The cottage cheese actually melts into the cornbread and you would never know it is there, but it adds a wonderful dimension and, along with buttermilk, helps keep this cornbread extra moist and delicious!
Looking for more Southern side dishes? Be sure to try our Best Baked Beans Recipe, Copycat Costco Mac and Cheese, and Coca-Cola Jello Salad!
When we went to Charleston, South Carolina last year, I had a really different cornbread at Virginia's On King that I've been thinking about ever since.
In my quest to recreate their cornbread, I stumbled onto the idea of adding cottage cheese to cornbread when I read a press release on their blog that mentioned in passing that cottage cheese was their secret ingredient for added moistness.
I was immediately intrigued.
Cottage cheese is one of my favorite secret ingredients. It has awesome flavor and personally, I love the texture. We use it in Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Casserole and Green Chili Egg Casserole, or just eat it with bottled pears for a quick breakfast or snack.
I know this still isn't quite like the cornbread I had there, and I just might have to make another trip to sample some and dial things in a bit more, but this cottage cheese cornbread recipe is absolutely amazing and worthy of it's own post since it's definitely different from our other favorite cornbread recipe.
Which is still perfect and amazing, even if there is room enough in the world for more than one type of cornbread that we love.
A few of the other changes I made to this cottage cheese cornbread that make it different from our other favorite recipe, is to use buttermilk instead of regular milk, add frozen corn kernels for bursts of that sweet corn flavor, and to pour the batter into a preheated cast-iron skillet with a little melted butter on the bottom.
Cottage Cheese Cornbread is a unique spin on a traditional side dish and one that you may not have tried before. Originally, I thought about calling this dish “better than it sounds cornbread” or “don’t knock it till you try it cornbread” just because the name might sound off-putting for anyone who, like my husband, gags at the thought of eating cottage cheese.
But if you have an adventurous food-loving spirit and are willing to try something new, this cornbread is going to surprise you. I promise you won't even notice the cottage cheese in it and you will fall in love with the moist, wonderful texture!
What is cottage cheese cornbread?
Cottage cheese cornbread is a homemade cornbread batter that uses cottage cheese as one of the ingredients.
While the appearance of the raw batter might be a little outside the norm, the cottage cheese melts into the batter as it cooks giving you great texture and flavor to your cornbread without being overly sweet.
It’s definitely a recipe worth trying if you’re looking for the best cornbread recipe out there!
How to make cottage cheese cornbread
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, place an oven-safe cast iron skillet in it to heat it up.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Add in the buttermilk, cottage cheese, eggs, and oil. Stir just until combined. Then, stir in the corn.
- Add the butter to the preheated skillet. Once the butter is melted, pour the cornbread batter into the hot pan, and then bake for 25-35 minutes until golden brown on top and a toothpick can come out clean with just a few crumbs when inserted into the center of the cornbread.
- Slice and serve with butter and honey.
Can you freeze cottage cheese cornbread?
Absolutely! After baking your cornbread, let it cool completely before wrapping in plastic wrap or storing it in an airtight container such as a Ziploc bag. Then freeze for up to a few weeks for the best results.
What should I serve with cottage cheese cornbread?
Cornbread and chili are a match made in heaven and you can’t go wrong with that pairing.
Other dishes that would go great with this cornbread would be roasted chicken, pretty much any kind of soup, or Mexican dishes. My mom always served cornbread with enchiladas when I was growing up.
More recipes that use cottage cheese
- Cottage Cheese Jello Salad
- Green Chili Egg Casserole
- Smoked Salmon Quiche
- Creamy Beef Noodle Bake
- Pierogi Lasagna
- Onion Dill Bread
Looking for more side dishes? Try these!
- Mashed Potatoes
- Fried Yellow Squash
- Baked Beans
- Homemade Bread Sticks
- Fried Green Plantains
- Rice Pilaf
- Spanish Rice
- Deviled Egg Potato Salad
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Cottage Cheese Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. While the oven is preheating, place an oven-safe cast iron skillet in it to heat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Add the buttermilk, cottage cheese, eggs, and oil. Stir just until combined. Stir in the corn.
- Add the butter to the preheated skillet. Once the butter is melted, pour the cornbread batter into the hot pan, then bake for 25-35 minutes until goldden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean with just a few crumbs when inserted into the center of the cornbread.
- Slice and serve with butter and honey.
Nutrition
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Thank you for posting these yummy recipes. I love that you cook from scratch. This is my go to site for all my recipes. I am trying to find cream cheese bread recipe. Thought I got it here. could be in My MN. cook book. Any way, Thank you. I pray you and your family are in good health
Thank you so much, Peggy! Sorry for my slow response - I've been in the throes of homeschooling my kids and kind of letting a lot of things like responding to blog comments slide, but your comment made my day. I don't have a cream cheese bread recipe, but now I feel a need to go find one or make one! Is it a quick bread or a yeast bread? And those local cookbooks are my FAVORITE! Love them!
This recipe sounds great!
Your cornbread is very good! Thank you for the recipe -it’s  a keeper 😀
Hello, thank you for sharing your recipe! I made the cornbread and it was fantastic 😀
I just made this tonight and normally I am a lousy baker. This turned out FABULOUSLY and was SUPER EASY to make. However, I burned my hand on the handle because I am only used to using my caste iron pan for 'stove-top.' Lesson learned! I used organic-frozen corn and corn oil. I DO think the 'butter melted into the warmed cast iron' REALLY does the trick. This IS super moist and delicious. Mine cooked perfectly..browned on sides and bottom. My oven tends to not be reliable in temp and a bit hot so I turned it down 25 degrees to make sure it wouldn't burn.
One thing I noticed is that it didn't 'hold together' as well as I would have liked...it 'fell apart' a bit when in my hands. Any suggestion on how to make it 'stay together' better?
Hmmm, that's a good question about getting it to stay together better. I always eat it on a plate with honey and a fork so I have never actually noticed it falling apart. My guess would be adding an extra egg yolk for more binding and richness maybe would do the trick? But adding a whole egg would contribute toward a cakier cornbread, so I don't really know! This might take some experimenting to figure out!
Just made this tonight. Fantastic! Blended the cottage cheese a bit before adding. Served with chili. Delicious.
I add blueberries and uses half flour and half Masa with this recipe. Comes out great! Thanks
Easy & delightful. I used a 10" cast iron skillet and it was perfect. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing it!
So glad you enjoyed it, Tara!
Sounds good. I was wondering what would happen if I left out the sugar. I prefer unsweet cornbread. Has anyone tried this?
Hi Amy,
I took the cottage cheese corn bread to work. It was a hit! People asked me for the recipe. It’s true, you can’t find the cottage cheese in there and it is moist. I put a tbl. Of honey in the batter too. Thank you for a great recipe! Nancy H.
Oh I am glad everyone liked it! The cottage cheese is kind of like a secret ingredient. So good!
I was wondering the same thing. Did you try it without the sugar?
Instead of frozen corn added kernels from one corn cob. Reduced sugar to 2 to 3 tablespoons. Used toaster oven and preheated Corning ware. Reduced temperature to 375 near end.
I made it and it was a Family fav. However, I had it in the over for double time! And it still was too moist because it was soo thick. I will use a 13x9 pan and it still will be plenty thick. Very very moist.
I'm sorry they were raw in the middle! Every oven cooks differently. It sounds like though you know what to do to adjust the recipe to make it work for you. Let me know next time if it doesn't work out and I can take another look at the recipe and make some adjustments! Thanks for the feedback!
Needs double time and a larger pan. This recipe is a keeper. But following exactly instructions ended up still raw in the middle.
I'm sorry they were raw in the middle! Every oven cooks differently. It sounds like though you know what to do to adjust the recipe to make it work for you. Let me know next time if it doesn't work out and I can take another look at the recipe and make some adjustments! Thanks for the feedback!
This was so good! I used a black bean, green peppers and corn mix for the corn, and instead of buttermilk a mix of milk, soured with vinegar and a little bit of yoghurt.