Sweet Potato Cornbread has subtle hints of sweetness and cinnamon making it perfect for your fall and winter meals.
Sweet Potato Cornbread is a delicious twist on the classic making it perfect to go with a bowl of soup or stew, or any other traditional cool-weather dish. It’s easy to make, and is a great way to use up leftover baked sweet potatoes.
An idea is born
Funny story: Some time back a friend was telling me about a restaurant she loves in a favorite beach town. “They have sweet potato biscuits that are just the best”, she said – or so I thought. Thinking that sounded great, I set about crafting a recipe for sweet potato biscuits.
As sometimes happens when developing a recipe it took a few tries to perfect. About the time I finished, I saw the friend and told her about it. “No,” she said, “it was sweet potato cornbread.” Duh!
Being about ready to post the Sweet Potato Biscuit recipe I went ahead with it. And, I must say, the biscuits are really good. We had them with our Thanksgiving dinner last year and they were definitely a hit. They also freeze beautifully, making a great addition to our post Make Ahead Recipes for Holiday Meals.
At any rate, I filed the idea of Sweet Potato Cornbread away in my mind and it’s now a reality. I think you’ll love it too. Personally, I can’t think of anything I’d rather have with a nice big serving of collard greens. (Now that’s southern food! More info on southern recipes here. )
Of course, this sweet potato cornbread is good any time of year. Going back to the source of the idea – it’s served year round in a seafood restaurant at the beach. So… whenever you have a hankering, go for it!
How to cook Sweet Potato Cornbread
This post contains affiliate links. Click here for our full disclosure and privacy policy.
A few tips to keep in mind, but overall this is a simple, straightforward recipe:
- Make it in an iron skillet. Heating the empty skillet before you pour in the batter gives crispy edges. If you don’t own an iron skillet you can click here and order from Amazon.
- Bake the sweet potatoes. In researching ideas I saw some recipes that recommend cutting the sweet potato into cubes and boiling. I can’t help but think this would diminish flavor and nutrition.
- Mash the sweet potatoes well. This is the type of potato masher I use.
- Use self-rising cornmeal mix. It is an already blended combination of cornmeal, flour and leavening agents. It’s no better than adding all of those ingredients individually – it’s just easier. We use it in our Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins and to make the cornbread for our Cornbread Dressing. Click here to order.
How to eat Sweet Potato Cornbread
It’s so good hot from the oven you can eat it absolutely plain. But, it is most definitely delicious with a good drizzle of honey.
Better yet, how about honey and a good, big pat of butter?
Sweet Potato Cornbread
Ingredients
- 3 cups self-rising cornmeal mix
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 1-1/2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 medium)
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Instructions
- Heat greased10 inch cast iron skillet for 5 minutes in oven which has been preheated to 425 degrees.
- Stir all ingredients in bowl just until well blended and put in heated skillet.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes or until lightly brown and done in center.
Love sweet potatoes?
This is a super simple recipe that makes a wonderful side dish year round. Only 4 ingredients are in this one and it has humble beginnings in the Gullah culture of the Carolina Lowcountry. Gullah Style Sweet Potato recipe can be found here.
Sweet Potato Butter is divine spread on a fresh Buttermilk Biscuit or toast and it makes a unique hostess gift, too!
Be sure to tag us on Facebook and Instagram with a photo of your Sweet Potato Cornbread. We love seeing your versions of our recipes.
And don’t forget to sign up here for a new recipe each week.
More Recipes You’ll Want to Try:
Shrimp and Grits 
Southern Appetizer Board 
Grilled Chicken Wings: Cajun Style 
Roasted Asparagus 
Filet Mignon with Bourbon Peppercorn Sauce 
Apple Pecan Cheesecake 
Coconut Pie 
Traditional Ambrosia
Pinned it as well..I am definitely making this..
Great! Thank you.
I’ve never made Sweet Potato Cornbread before, but after reading this I’ll definitely be giving it a go!
I’m betting you’re going to love it.
Truly an inspired recipe! I have a chili in the crockpot and I’m headed to the kitchen to make this yummy cornbread for a side!
That sounds divine, Beth!
I can’t believe how easy these look to make! I love that there are just a few simple ingredients! Making these asap!
Thanks, Suzy! Sometimes simple is best.
Sweet cornbread is one of my favorite side dishes, but I often feel it’s not sweet enough. I bet adding the sweet potato, which is genius, makes it perfect!
It is lightly sweet, Aimee. But, if you prefer more sweetness you could easily add a couple of more tablespoons of brown sugar.
I loved how easy this is to make! So delish, too!
Thanks, Toni!
This was easy to make and totally delicious!! I substituted the cornmeal with 300g of millet flour and 100g of sorghum flour for a lectin free option. I absolutely love the texture. Thank you 🙂
Thanks for letting us know, Amy!
I made this bread last night, had to add more milk just to moisten everything. The taste was very good but not sure why the batter was so dry. Maybe next time I’ll only use 2 cups of the corn meal mix.
Hmmm…. no one else has mentioned having that problem. Did you use large eggs and get 1 to 1 and a half cups of sweet potato to mix in? I’m afraid using only 2 cups of the corn meal mix would make for a very wet batter. If you try it, please come back and let us know how it turns out.
Hello… can this recipe be made into Muffins????
Has anyone tried to make muffins????
Thanks in advance and Be Safe!!!!
Hi Terence. We have not made this into muffins though I’m sure it would work. I would adjust the cooking time downward and just keep a close eye on them. Come back and let us know about how long it took. Thanks!