The 5 Best Boxed Cornbread Mixes of 2024 (We Tried 8)

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While homemade cornbread is great, let’s be the first to tell you that you don’t have to make everything from scratch — especially for major culinary holidays like Thanksgiving. In fact, there are so many pre-made cornbread mixes on the market these days that you could say we’re in the golden age of wonderfully golden and fluffy store-bought cornbread.

Of course, quantity does not always equal quality. To figure out which ones are worth adding to your shopping list (and your table), we spent an afternoon sampling as many store-bought cornbreads as possible.

There are many different taste preferences when it comes to cornbread (sweet/savory team, chewy, good crumb, etc.), so we recruited a team of nine testers to spend the afternoon tasting as many people as possible. cornbread brands as much as possible (with water breaks!).

For this test, we researched a variety of name brand blends based on popularity, availability, and price. We also sought advice from our editorial team to complete the list of eight competitors. Brands ranged in price from $1 to $6, although most were around $3 at the time of this tasting.

In the end, a cornbread mix reigned supreme with its golden crust and strong corn flavor (spoiler alert: it wasn’t Jiffy!).

Best Cornbread: Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade Cornbread

If you’re looking for a killer cornbread that looks like And tastes great, keep a box of Simply Homemade Fleischmann Cornbread Mix in your pantry. Our tasters were also impressed by its “golden crust” and “slightly sweet corn flavor” (both comments attributed to Nikol, our shopping editor). It wasn’t just Nikol who loved this cornbread; Almost all of our testers placed it as their top choice, including Greg, our People Operations Manager, who noted that it was “soft but not Also sweet taste and soft crumb.

This cornbread is on the sweet side, but we think that makes it all the better to pair with corned beef chili or a Thanksgiving spread. We’re also thrilled that our top pick also happened to be the cheapest option ($0.12 per ounce!), which only sweetens the deal.

Runner-up: Bob’s Red Mill Golden Cornbread Mix

Yes, Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade Cornbread nabbed our top spot, but that doesn’t mean our testers weren’t totally wowed by Bob’s Red Mill Golden Cornbread Mix. “This is exactly what I look for in a good cornbread,” wrote Ali, our associate grocery editor. Its “large appearance, almost buttery flavor and soft texture” made him “want to eat the whole pan.” (She didn’t.) Which is precisely why it was the runner-up.

Tamieka, Apartment Therapy’s editorial assistant, particularly liked this blend, in part because it “reminds her of her mother’s (cornbread).” She also praised the great consistency of the crumb and the balance of flavors overall.

With so much enthusiasm behind the brand, why hasn’t it taken the top spot? Ultimately, tests like these highlight how subjective taste can be. If some tasters delighted in its soft texture, others, like Greg, found it a little Also humid. Go figure! Overall, this is a great option.

Honorable Mention: Duncan Hines Sweet Cornbread and Dolly Parton Muffin Mix

We’re big fans of Dolly Parton’s collaborations with Duncan Hines, so it wasn’t such a big surprise that our team enjoyed her Duncan Hines Dolly Parton Sweet Muffin Cornbread Mix. Just like Dolly, this cornbread wasn’t just golden yellow – in Ali’s words, “it was glowing.” Ali was among the testers who gave this blend a very high rating for its “strong corn flavor and chewy texture.”

It reminded Tamieka (who enjoyed this cornbread) of “freshly baked cake,” which is why it didn’t get higher ratings overall (too dessert-like). Mara, our grocery editor, agreed that “it’s sweeter” and would make a great dessert “topped with a drizzle of warm honey butter.” YUM!

Honorable Mention: Famous Dave’s Original Recipe Cornbread Mix

If you like your cornbread extra sweet, then Famous Dave’s Original Recipe Cornbread Mix is for you. Our testers were split on this one, and it had everything to do with the softness level. Some, like Ali, admired how its delicate sweetness “complimented the flavor of the corn,” while other testers, like Mara, found that the same sweetness “overpowered the flavor of the corn.” Other people, like Nikol, really liked the “crumbly but chewy” crumb of this cornbread.

The rest of our team was 50/50 on whether it was too sweet or had just enough sugar, so grab a box and taste for yourself, then let us know what you think!

Honorable Mention: Betty Crocker Pouch Cornbread and Muffin Mix

Micki, our sales editor, was one of the testers who Really I loved the Betty Crocker Pouch Cornbread and Muffin Mix – so much so that it was worth a shout out. She gushed about its “subtle corn flavor and chewy crumb,” emphasizing how much she appreciated its texture — her top priority for good cornbread.

On the other hand, some testers, like Chanel, our product design director, felt that it was completely lacking in color, texture and corn aroma. Overall, we think this is a great cornbread for any spread, but it might need a touch of butter to really let it shine. The rest of the mixes are double that of Betty Crocker, which is important to note if you’re cooking for a crowd.

How We Tested Cornbread Mixes

We brought together nine staff members to randomly sample eight different popular cornbreads sold at grocery retailers today. Ola, our culinary assistant, baked each cornbread the day before the taste test, according to the package directions. The next day, she cut each completely cooled cornbread into squares and assigned it a letter from A to H – to disguise the brand identity. To refresh the palate, we also had a large carafe of water for the testers between tastings.

Tasters were given small bowls and encouraged to taste the cornbreads in random order (to avoid giving an advantage to any particular brand) before writing down their thoughts. Tasters rated each cornbread on a scale of one to five (1 = No, thanks; 2 = Meh; 3 = Pretty good; 4 = Really like it; 5 = Yes, please!) according to four criteria: appearance, smell, texture and flavor – and included any specific observations, tasting notes and general opinions worth mentioning. They were also asked to answer, arguably, the most important question of all: Would you spend your own money on this cornbread mix?

To decide which store-bought cornbread is best, we recruited nine volunteer testers who work at Apartment Therapy Media (our parent company) to evaluate eight different brands of cornbread based on their texture, appearance, their smell, their desire for redemption and, of course, their taste. flavor.

At the time of the test, the tasters were unaware of the brands involved and sampled each at random. Each taster independently completed a scoring sheet, scoring and ranking each cornbread without discussion or greater influence from the group throughout the test. Only after all the evaluations were completed did we tally the scores to determine the winners.

Is your favorite cornbread mix on the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.

This article was originally published on The Kitchn. See it there: We tried 8 cornbread mixes — and the $2 winner came out of nowhere (it tastes homemade!)