Cast Iron Cornbread with Sausage and Cheese

Southern sausage cornbread made with grated sharp cheddar, spicy sausage, and creamed corn takes less than 15 minutes to get into the oven and bakes up so hearty that it can be a whole meal on its own. Even though this is a thick and substantial cornbread, it’s still moist and tender. Versatile enough that you can serve it for breakfast or with a bowl of chili.

 

Let’s Make Some Cornbread with Sausage

Southerner’s love cornbread almost as much as we love our biscuits. Made in a skillet with browned butter or Tex-Mex style we can’t get enough of that distinct texture and flavor. Add some sausage and cheese to an incredibly soft cornbread recipe and you have an amazing breakfast dish.

Cooked breakfast sausage and cheese are layered between a cornbread batter that cooks up around the sausage and cheese creating a soft and moist cornbread that is full of flavor.

This comes together so quickly, you can have it in the oven in 15 minutes, great for a weekend breakfast or quick and easy dinner.

You might think this is only a dish to serve for breakfast, but it’s hearty enough to eat for dinner all on its own. It’s also great to serve with short rib chili or homemade chicken soup,

If you have one, pull out your cast iron skillet for this recipe, it gives the exterior a crunchy finish, sort of caramelizing the outside of the bread for that sweet and yummy flavor and perfect golden brown color. You can also use a glass baking dish, just adjust the cooking time, cast iron retains its heat,so it will take less time to cook then if you use a glass baking dish.

Why You’ll Love This Sausage Cornbread Casserole

Southern comfort food: Cornbread is always a comforting side dish, and this hearty version is no exception.

Filling dish: Even on its own, it’s filling, so it’s a handy recipe to have around when you’re feeding a crowd.

Lots of flavor: The spicy sausage and sharp cheddar provide plenty of flavor – so much more than a traditional cornbread.

Quick and easy: Anyone can make this and have it in the oven in 10-15 minutes.

Sausage Cornbread Ingredients

Breakfast sausage – I prefer hot breakfast sausage, it adds flavor and not much spice. You can also use Italian sausage especially if you want to make this for dinner.

Cornmeal – Yellow cornmeal is more common than white, but either will make a delicious cornbread. It can be found in the baking aisle, make sure you don’t use a cornmeal mix but just plain cornmeal.

Creamed corn – This adds flavor and extra moisture to the cornbread.

Sharp cheddar cheese – Sharp cheddar makes for the best flavor, in my opinion, but you can replace with other varieties. If you want it spicy, try adding pepper jack.

Pantry Staples – all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, milk, eggs, vegetable oil.

How to Make Southern Sausage Cornbread

Step 1: Prepare your cast iron pan.

​Use a brush or a paper towel to spread a light coating of butter all around your cast iron pan. Set aside for now.

Step 2: Cook the sausage.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage until it’s fully cooked. Pour out onto a plate lined with paper towels to soak up the grease.

Step 3: Make your cornbread mix.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine corn, milk, eggs, and oil. Pour the corn and egg mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring gently, just until combined. 

Pour half of the cornbread batter into an iron skillet or baking dish and sprinkle it with sausage and cheese.

Finally, top it with the rest of the batter.

Step 4: Bake

Bake in a preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Test it starting at 30 minutes so you don’t let it overcook.

Let it sit for 5 minutes before you cut into it. Serve hot.

A Few Recipe Notes for Making Sausage Corn Bread

• You can make this in a 9 x 13 casserole dish if you prefer. You might have to let it cook a bit longer. Test it every few minutes, and be careful not to overbake.
• Make sure your sausage is well cooked so as much of the oil as possible gets released from the meat. Drain it well and pat it off with paper towels so excess oil doesn’t get into your bread.

Spice it up

Spicy sausage gives this sweet cornbread version a bit of a kick but it’s hardly noticeable. Here are a couple of ways to make it spicy:

• Add some chopped-up jalapeños peppers to the mixture
• Lay some sliced jalapenos on the top of the bread before baking. 
• You can also use a spicy cheese blend instead of the sharp cheddar. 

If you loved this recipe, give it a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! Also, snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #butterandbaggage and tagging me @butterandbaggage.