For Moist And Flavorful Cornbread, Add In A Classic Creamy Cheese

Cornbread and pimiento cheese are two essential Southern dishes, so why not combine them? For anyone unfamiliar with pimiento cheese, it's a spread that typically consists of cheddar cheese, mayo, cream cheese, and, of course, pimiento peppers. Cornbread, meanwhile, is delicious on its own, but sometimes you want to make it a little bit different.

As you can see from the ingredient list of pimiento cheese, the spread is packed full of goodness. By adding it into the cornbread, you'll be infusing all of that cheesy and peppery flavor into the bread. As if that wasn't reason enough to combine the two dishes, the cheese also keeps the bread extra moist, making for an even more satisfying texture.

So, next time you're making a batch of homemade cornbread, you may want to first whip up some fresh pimiento cheese – or buy a premade version — to fold into the cornbread batter. You may have to adjust your usual cornbread recipe to add in the pimiento cheese (whether homemade or store bought). If your recipe calls for three cups of dry ingredients (the corn meal and flour) use one cup of pimiento cheese, and about 1¾ cup of buttermilk or milk. When folding in the pimiento cheese use your judgement to make sure the batter is not too wet. The result will be a buttery, sweet, light and fluffy cornbread with a creamy, cheesy infusion.

One perk of homemade pimiento cheese is that it's customizable — which means that pimiento cheese-infused cornbread can also be personalized to taste. For example, some versions of pimiento cheese include jalapeños or bacon. The jalapeños, of course, give the spread a spicy kick, while the bacon adds in some extra smoky savoriness. It's also fairly common to add both of these ingredients to cornbread — so why not add both to your pimiento cheese?

You can also add extra seasoning such as garlic powder or onion powder into the cheese if you want more savory elements. Similarly, if you don't want pieces of jalapeño in the pimiento cheese cornbread, you can add heat by using cayenne pepper or hot sauce. Additionally, some pimiento cheese recipes include chopped scallions – if you add this to the pimiento cheese that goes into the cornbread, you'll end up with something quite similar to a cheddar-scallion cornbread or, in other words, one deliciously cheesy, savory cornbread.