Sweet or savory, cornbread is a classic American quick bread, one that typically relies on cornmeal as one of the base ingredients. The cornmeal gives cornbread its distinctive flavor, along with a gritty texture that you don’t find in traditional types of bread.
For many, cornbread is beloved because it is familiar. It’s often a dish they grew up on, perhaps with a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation. Not surprisingly, cornbread ends up evoking a strong sense of nostalgia, bringing many of us back to the comfort of home.
While cornbread is a simple side, it’s also a versatile one. There are countless ways to change the recipe up, like by mixing in shredded cheese, fresh herbs, chopped nuts, spices, or even jalapenos.
Regardless of your recipe, you’ll need to think about what to serve with cornbread. After all, cornbread is far too light to be a meal on its own. Thankfully, there are plenty of great options, including chili, BBQ pulled pork, collard greens, and baked beans. Or, if you want a snack, you might just serve your cornbread with butter and honey.
What To Serve With Cornbread (15 Sides To Try)
Chili
Chili is easily the most famous and popular cornbread side. The combo is so well known that many people can’t even imagine having chili without cornbread to go alongside it.
There are excellent reasons for this, as cornbread is softer, lighter, and sweeter than chili – features that all create an excellent contrast. The lightness of cornbread also helps it act as a palate cleanser, making your meal much more enjoyable.
For some people, cornbread is purely a side dish for their chili, where they might alternate between bites of the bread and bites of chili. Others choose to dunk their cornbread into the chili or crumble it on top of the chili.
The combination also works with most types of chili. This includes versions made with or without beans, versions with unusual spices like allspice and cinnamon, and even white chili. This also means that cornbread works well with any chili-like meal.
The Best Texas Style Chili
One of the biggest debates about chili is whether it should or shouldn’t include beans. Many people argue that the focus should be on the meat and chili peppers, where beans simply act as filler and make the meal much less appealing. Others argue that beans make the chili heartier and improve its texture.
This Texas Style Chili is for those who don’t want beans (or don’t have any in the house). But, don’t worry, this is a delicious and filling meal even without the beans.
The ingredients selection includes many familiar favorites, including chili powder, oregano, tomato paste, diced tomato, beef stock, and jalapenos. These ingredients create a truly wonderful meal – showcasing why homemade chili is always better than store-bought versions.
Fried Chicken
Fried chicken tends to be crispy, salty, and greasy. Those features mean you need a contrasting side – and cornbread fits that bill nicely. Even the slight sweetness of the cornbread works well against the more savory flavors of the fried chicken.
Of course, this pairing isn’t just about the flavors. It also works because fried chicken and cornbread are both comfort foods, giving you a meal that can easily improve your mood.
If you’re worried about the health side of things, consider making fried chicken in the air fryer instead of deep frying it. Oven baked chicken is another great option and can even end up with a similar texture.
Extra Crispy Southern Fried Chicken
This Extra Crispy Southern Fried Chicken is for everyone who wants their fried chicken as crispy as possible. It’s also a great recipe for beginners, as there is only a handful of ingredients, including the chicken, milk, eggs, garlic powder, and all-purpose flour.
The chicken is deep fried, so it’s certainly not the healthiest version of this meal. Still, that doesn’t have to be a problem. After all, there’s something deliciously decadent about having a treat meal every once in a while.
BBQ Pulled Pork
Honestly, cornbread works well with any dish that uses BBQ sauce. This effect is partly due to the contrast in flavors, as BBQ sauce can be intense, while cornbread is pretty mild instead. There’s also an interesting texture difference between the sauce and the cornbread.
BBQ pulled pork and cornbread is a classic example of this pairing, one that’s well worth trying for yourself. You can even cut your cornbread open and use it like burger buns to sandwich the pulled pork. Or, you could just use a single piece of cornbread and make an open-faced sandwich.
There are other variations on this theme as well, including pulled pork casseroles with cornbread as the topping. It’s even possible to include pulled pork in your cornbread recipe.
Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Pork
As the name suggests, this Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Pork uses root beer as a key ingredient. This is a fantastic idea, as the root beer helps to tenderize the meat, while also adding an interesting flavor and plenty of sweetness.
Beyond that, this is a very straightforward recipe. You just need the pork, root beer, BBQ sauce, and a handful of spices. Nothing more is required, yet you end up with rich and incredibly flavorful pulled pork.
Stews
Then there are stews, especially those that are rich and packed with flavor, like beef stew. Here, the cornbread is perfect as a refreshing palate cleanser, while also offering a great texture contrast.
The texture of cornbread helps too, as you can use the cornbread to mop up any extra juices from your stew. Sometimes that’s the absolute best part of the experience.
You can try this pairing with pretty much any type of stew. However, rich meat stews are the best, as they can be intense with plenty of strong savory flavors.
Kokkinisto – Greek Beef Stew
This Kokkinisto – Greek Beef Stew is a deceptively simple recipe. It relies on ingredients like cubed beef, beef broth, red wine, chopped tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. These ingredients work together to create a rich and fantastic flavor profile.
Interestingly, the original version of the stew doesn’t contain many vegetables – just the onion really. However, the recipe creator mentions that you can easily add diced carrots and celery if you wish.
It’s easy to see how cornbread works well with the stew’s strong flavors. Plus, the stew can be made on the stovetop, in the slow cooker, or in the Instant Pot, giving you plenty of options.
Hearty Soups
Soups are another angle to consider. Here too, you’re getting a fantastic contrast of textures. The flavors of your soup often will work well with cornbread, especially if the soup is savory and your cornbread is slightly sweet.
Of course, the pairing varies, as there are so many types of soup out there. These can be quite different to each other, including creamy soups, light soups, and those that are packed with flavor and ingredients.
Hearty soups are perfect here. You can often even use the cornbread to scoop up some of the soup ingredients. Taco soups, minestrone, and black bean soup are all great examples to get you started. But, don’t be afraid to experiment, as plenty of other soups will work well too.
Tuscan Chickpea Soup
What do you think of this Tuscan Chickpea Soup? It relies on fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes, which give it a distinctly Mediterranean flavor profile.
Then there are the chickpeas. These add complexity to the soup, making it much more filling. Plus, because the soup uses coconut milk for its creaminess, it’s a vegan friendly recipe (of course, you don’t need to be vegan to enjoy it).
If you don’t have sun dried tomatoes, then fresh tomatoes can be used as a substitute. While these don’t have the same tanginess as sun dried tomatoes, they will work in a pinch and still give you a fantastic meal.
Collard Greens
Protein packed sides aren’t the only option with your cornbread. You can also focus on vegetables, like collard greens (or any type of dark leafy green, for that matter).
Collard greens are an especially good choice, as they’re strongly associated with Southern cuisine, as is cornbread. Of course, you’ll likely want an additional side – one that offers some protein. Pork chops are an easy option here, although any other type of meat will work as well.
Southern-Style Collard Greens
Southern-Style Collard Greens are a world all to themselves, as this recipe shows. The cooking style is unique, as the collard greens are cooked slowly, often for hours. Extra ingredients are included too, such as a ham hock and aromatics.
The slow cooking, aromatics, and meat provide the collard greens with much more flavor than they would have otherwise. This richness is perfectly contrasted by the flavor and texture of your cornbread (regardless of whether you have focused on sweet or savory cornbread).
Baked Beans
Baked beans have some of the same features as stews, so they shouldn’t be a surprising addition to the list. The dish is often made with navy beans, which are cooked with a thick and rich sauce that can include molasses or brown sugar for flavor.
The bean mixture often contains smoky flavors as well, from ingredients like bacon or smoked sausage. These ingredients add to the flavor and texture, making the dish even tastier.
It’s no surprise that these richly flavored beans contrast well with your cornbread. Both dishes are also classic comfort foods, giving you a meal that’s both familiar and comforting.
Southern-Style Baked Beans With Bacon
Southern-style baked beans are often smokier than other types of baked beans, as is certainly the case here. These Southern-Style Baked Beans with Bacon also include a ton of bacon, which just makes everything better.
Cooking bacon on top of the baked beans means you get a ton of extra flavor and richness. Plus, you know, bacon!
The recipe creator takes an unusual approach by cutting the bacon into small pieces before arranging it on top of the beans. Doing so makes the dish easier to serve. So, if you’re serving the baked beans during an event, everyone should get at least a little bacon.
Pinto Beans
Pinto bean dishes can look much like baked beans and have some features in common. However, the flavor profile is often less smoky and more complex than baked beans.
There’s also more room for variation, allowing you to tweak the recipe based on your preferences. You might even make a casserole version and top the beans with plenty of cheese. Or, create a version that relies on Tex-Mex flavors.
Easy Creamy Pinto Beans
These Easy Creamy Pinto Beans are as simple as they sound. You can even make them using canned pinto beans, rather than soaking and cooking the beans yourself.
The dish is also a healthy alternative to refried beans, as the texture is similar, but you don’t actually need to fry the beans in fat. To make it, you just need the beans themselves, a selection of aromatics, olive oil, seasonings, and a little hot sauce (if you want it).
Not surprisingly, these ingredients provide plenty of flavor, making this a side you won’t soon forget.
BBQ Ribs
Cornbread naturally pairs with any BBQ-based dish – including BBQ ribs. This is also a fun choice, as you’ll end up getting BBQ sauce on your hands when eating the ribs, which then gets transferred onto your cornbread.
There’s also the protein in ribs to think about. This naturally complements the high carb content of the cornbread, giving you a satisfying meal. Of course, you’ll probably want some veggies too, like perhaps coleslaw or collard greens.
Sticky Oven BBQ Ribs
What do you think of these Sticky Oven BBQ Ribs? They’re packed with flavor, as they begin with a dry rub and are then seasoned with delicious barbecue sauce.
The fact that they’re baked in the oven is fantastic too. Doing so helps ensure that the ribs turn out perfectly every time, with minimal effort required. The oven is also what gives the ribs the crispy caramelized edges you see in the image.
This is a pretty easy recipe too, especially as it relies on store-bought sauce as the base of the BBQ sauce. You probably have most of the required herbs and spices at home as well.
Red Beans And Rice
Red beans, rice, and cornbread is a classic dinner in South Louisiana, one that’s served in plenty of other places as well. As with other sides, you get some interesting texture and flavor contrasts between the ingredients
Plus, red beans and rice can be a surprisingly brothy dish. This means you can use the cornbread to sop up the flavorful liquid – ensuring that nothing goes to waste.
Many versions of the recipe go beyond just the beans and rice. Sliced sausage is a popular addition, as is hot sauce. Herbs and spices are often included as well, giving the meal a fantastic flavor.
Louisiana-Style Red Beans And Rice
If you’ve never made red beans and rice before, this Louisiana-Style Red Beans and Rice recipe is the one you need. The recipe includes all the traditional flavors, while still being budget friendly and easy to prepare.
Most of the ingredients are ones you’ll already have at home. The main exception is the andouille sausage, which you might need to hunt for. Still, this sausage is responsible for much of the recipe’s flavor, so it’s certainly worth including.
Honey And Butter
You don’t always need an entire main to serve alongside your cornbread. For many, cornbread is best served warm with butter and a little honey.
The honey helps enhance the natural sweetness of the cornbread, while the butter provides an interesting contrasting saltiness. Honey and butter is especially helpful if your cornbread is a little too dry on its own.
You can make this combo even tastier by experimenting with the type of honey. Raw monofloral honey can be exceptional here, as the flavor profile differs notably from one type of honey to the next. Or, instead of honey, you might serve slices of honeycomb on your cornbread instead.
3-Ingredient Honey Butter
Instead of serving honey and butter individually, you might try a recipe like this 3-Ingredient Honey Butter. The ingredients here are unsalted butter, honey, and salt. That’s it.
While you could make this with salted butter, unsalted is a better choice. By adding the salt yourself, you get to control the final flavor profile.
It’s important to experiment with this recipe, as everyone varies in their desired level of sweetness. You might want to add more honey than the recipe calls for or decrease the amount. It’s completely up to you.
Jambalaya
Jambalaya is an exceptional savory rice dish, with a host of ingredients for flavor and texture, including sausage, chicken, shrimp, onion, celery, and green bell pepper.
Like most such dishes, the ingredients can vary dramatically, leading to different versions of the same meal. For example, there are red versions that rely on tomatoes and have bright flavor notes, plus brown versions that are richer and more savory.
No matter how it’s made, jambalaya is delicious. It’s also a fantastic one-pot meal that should keep you satisfied for hours. Cornbread is the perfect crumbly contrast to all those rich flavors.
Classic Creole Jambalaya
As the name suggests, this Classic Creole Jambalaya follows the Creole approach to jambalaya. This is sometimes called red jambalaya, due to its focus on tomatoes. Spicy pork andouille sausage is one of the star ingredients, along with shrimp, spices, aromatics, tomatoes, and rice.
While the ingredients list is long, the dish itself comes together with beautiful simplicity. Plus, because it is made in a single pan, you get layers upon layers of delicious flavor.
That said, everything is easier if you prep the ingredients before you start. This way, you can simply add them to the pot at the right time.
Shrimp And Grits
Pairing cornbread with shrimp and grits is a little odd, given that grits already contain plenty of carbs. Yet, there’s something comforting about having a wedge of cornbread alongside your grits. It helps that both dishes are popular in the South, making it easy to associate them with each other.
There’s also the texture of cornbread to consider. This is a fantastic contrast to the creamy grits and the tenderness of the shrimp. Plus, you can use some of your cornbread to mop up any leftover sauce from the shrimp and grits.
Southern Shrimp And Grits With Creole Sauce
Let’s lean into the Creole style again with this Southern Shrimp and Grits recipe, which comes complete with Creole sauce. The Creole sauce includes peppers, tomatoes, and spices, making your meal even more flavorful than normal.
That’s not even the entire story. The shrimp is also marinated before it is cooked, adding another layer of flavor. To round the whole thing off, there is bacon and turkey sausage in the mix. These boost the protein content, making this a very filling and complex meal.
Pork Chops
For a simpler side, why not serve pork chops with your cornbread? They’re easy to cook and provide plenty of protein. Of course, you might want a vegetable-based side as well to round things out.
The combo is even more interesting if you serve smothered pork chops rather than plain ones. Adding gravy over your chops like this provides plenty of moisture and makes them taste even better.
Pork Chops In Creamy Mushroom Sauce
This recipe for Pork Chops in Creamy Mushroom Sauce is almost impossible to beat. You end up with crispy seared pork that’s still perfectly tender and is covered with an amazing mushroom sauce.
This is also a one-pot meal, which makes cleanup a breeze and is perfect at the end of a long day. The ingredients list is short too, with familiar ingredients like butter, herbs, mushrooms, chicken broth, and half and half.
Cornbread would be the perfect counterpoint to the rich flavors of the meal. You could even dip your cornbread directly in the gravy for extra flavor.
Vanilla Ice Cream
Our final entry is an odd one. A Reddit member mentioned often serving vanilla ice cream on warm cornbread, and the forum immediately blew up with people wanting to try the combo.
It’s easy to see why too, as pairing cornbread with vanilla ice cream should work extremely well. You’re getting great contrasts of flavor and texture, plus vanilla ice cream isn’t intense, so it won’t drown out the complexities of your cornbread.
To be even more adventurous, why not try making a cornbread ice cream sandwich?
Old-Fashioned Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
This recipe for Old-Fashioned Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream really does go back to the classics, as it is designed for an old-fashioned ice cream maker. It relies on familiar ingredients too, including milk, eggs, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk.
While the ingredients list is short, the flavor combo in the ice cream can’t be beaten. You might find yourself making this one time and time again.
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