Cornmeal biscuits are a perfect combination of the crunchiness of cornbread with the ease and tenderness of buttermilk drop biscuits that come together in a jiffy.
The perfect fast side dish for chili, chicken and other casual dining.
🌽Ingredients
Flour—all-purpose (AP) flour
Cornmeal—yellow or white
Honey
Buttermilk—or make a buttermilk substitute (in the recipe), or you may use milk.
Pantry ingredients—baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter
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Featured Comment from ANon:
"5 stars Wow! Delicious recipe and one that will hopefully be used for years to come!"
Soft and flavorful biscuits with the nutty corn flavor and the tenderness of drop biscuits.Perfect for chili, soups, or other comfort foods. Just whip it up when you need it.
Like any drop biscuits, they are quick and super easy to make. You get the great taste of cornbread with a few pantry ingredients.
👨🍳How to Make Cornmeal Biscuits
Preheat oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.
Combine cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Cut up or shred ½ stick of cold butter.
In a separate bowl, combine honey and buttermilk or buttermilk substitute.
Add wet with dry and mix until combined, but don't over-mix.
Make 8 drop biscuits.
Bake until golden brown. 12-14 minutes total.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
✔️Options and variations
Cornmeal can be white or yellow. This seems to be a regional/cultural thing. In the south, it appears that white cornmeal is the norm. But in the north and midwest, yellow is more common. The choice is yours; the taste and texture are essentially the same.
Flour is needed to maintain the structure of drop biscuits, so the ratio of cornmeal to flour can be important. But a one-to-one ratio will almost require a cut biscuit, which is fine but takes a bit more work. A ratio of 3 to 1 or 2 to 1 works well for drop biscuits and still has an excellent cornbread taste but still has that tender biscuit texture.
I suggest all-purpose flour, whole wheat increases the density of biscuits, and combined with the cornmeal, will become a texture issue.
Please don't skip the honey. It makes the corn taste pop.
Buttermilk is recommended, but plain milk may be used and still have very good results. To make a buttermilk substitute, add about a tablespoon of either white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of fresh milk and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. If you happen to have dried buttermilk, it works great in baking.
To make cut biscuits, roll out the dough to 1 inch thick on a lightly floured surface and cut with a 2-inch biscuit cutter.
Optional ingredients—Anything you might add to cornbread will work here, like cheddar cheese, jalapeno pepper, or chives.
Storage of leftovers.
Store in an airtight container. Good at room temperature for 1-2 days, refrigerated for up to 7 days, and frozen for 2-3 months.
When to serve cornmeal biscuits
Serve with comfort food-type dishes, like Beef Stew, Chicken Stew, Salisbury Steak Recipe, and Old Fashioned Meatloaf Recipe. Or serve with spicy dishes like Blackened Tilapia in the Oven or Grilled Blackened Tilapia.
Other recipes you will love our Old Fashioned Cornbread, Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Low-Fat Biscuits, and Beer Bread
FAQs—Troubleshooting
Several things are already in your favor to prevent this with this recipe, but it can still happen. The baking powder is maxed out. The baking soda gives you a quick pop at the beginning of the cooking. And the ratio of cornmeal to flour is good.
1) Oven temperature
It needs to be hot and fully preheated. Your oven may be running a little cool. Have you noticed that things take a little longer to cook than the recipes say?
You can up the temperature by 25 degrees. Even if you are wrong, it will be ok, and just the cooking time will be shorter. Or you can check it with an oven thermometer.
2) Too Moist or Too Dry of Dough
Those balls of dough should be sticky but not too mushy. If they are too moist, they will start to fall a little just sitting there. Put them back in the bowl and add a tablespoon or two of flour.
Too dry (not sticky) is bad also; they won't rise correctly. You need to get a feel for it.
3) Bad baking powder
Baking powder that is old or has had excessive air exposure may not work well.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
📖 Recipe
Cornmeal Biscuits—Easy and Delicious
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ½ cup cornmeal - yellow or white
- 1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar or lemon juice - if using regular milk
- 2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° convection or 425° conventional.
- Combine 1 ½ cups flour, ½ cup cornmeal, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt. Cut up or shred ½ stick (4 tablespoons) cold butter. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a fork or pastry blender..
- In a separate bowl, add 2 tablespoons of honey to ¾ cup of buttermilk. Mix well. The honey will dissolve better if warm. If you don't have buttermilk handy, add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to the milk before dissolving the honey,
- Add wet with dry and mix until combined but don't over-mix. Just get to the point that all the dry components are incorporated.
- Prep a smaller baking sheet with a good coating of PAM cooking spray or parchment paper. Make 8 drop biscuits. That will be balls of about 1 ¼ inch each.
- Bake until golden brown. 12-14 minutes total.
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Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- You may use either yellow or white cornmeal.
- You need a little sugar to make the corn flavor "pop". That is usually honey but maybe other sugars.
- Use aluminum-free baking powder, or you may have an after taste.
- If your biscuits are flat, your oven temperature may be off. Also, you may need a bit more flour or milk. The dough should be sticky but not too mushy. See the troubleshooting discussion in the post.
- The endpoint of cooking is the browning of the biscuits.
- To store, wrap with plastic wrap or foil. Good at room temperature for 1-2 days, refrigerated for up to 7 days, and frozen for 2-3 months.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Inspired by Cooks Country (membership site).
Editor's Note: Originally Published January 21, 2018. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Mary Whittier says
I have buttermilk cornbread mix… can I use that and omit the baking powder?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Mary,
Welcome to the blog.
I doubt if just omitting the baking powder is correct. Most mixes are "complete" and only need a liquid of some type—usually milk and occasionally an egg depending on the mix. There may be instructions for cornbread muffins on the package.
Dan
Laura says
These were easy to make and turned out great. We make cornbread regularly and this was a nice change.
Michelle says
I just have to applaud your listing the amount of the ingredient in the directions!!! I don't understand why more people don't do this. I like to measure and add at the same time. It just made my day that you did that! Also, I have a question. If I only have corn muffin mix, not cornmeal, how much should I use of it?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Michelle,
Welcome to the blog.
I like the measurements there, so they are they. I dislike pop-ups and video-don't have them. The list goes on. But the ads stay or the blog would die ;)
About cornmeal vs corn muffin mix. Not the same, don't use it for this. It will probably have all the ingredients it needs to make muffins by itself-like flour, baking soda, etc.
Dan
ANon says
Wow! Delicious recipe and one that will hopefully be used for years to come!
Nikki says
Love it its my 2 go now and its easy to add different things like cheese green onions one of my favorites or a little Italian spice and garlic parmesan cheese
Lori says
This is the recipe I never knew I wanted but now I’ll use it often! Quick drop biscuits and cornbread, what’s not to love? Thanks!
DrDan says
Hi Lori,
Thanks for the note. It is an interesting change of pace.
Dan