Easy Sweet Potato Cornbread
This sweet potato cornbread is incredibly moist, tender and delicious. Roasted sweet potato adds a natural sweetness to this savory side dish.
You’re going to love this sweet potato cornbread recipe. It’s perfect for fall, Thanksgiving and colder days when you’re craving something warm and cozy. This cornbread goes super well with chili, stew, soup, chicken pot pie and other comforting dinners. Or you can enjoy a slice of homemade cornbread for breakfast with a pad of butter and a drizzle of honey!
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Featured 5-star reviews:
Want to know what other people thought of this recipe? Check out these 5-star reviews left by our readers:
- "Yum!! This cornbread was delicious. I loved the addition of the sweet potato. I used canned sweet potatoes that I drained well and it worked out great!" - Holly
- "SO good. Super moist and flavorful cornbread. Can't wait to make this again for Thanksgiving!" - Nicole
Looking for more delicious fall recipes? Try our ginger pear muffins or this apple cinnamon baked oatmeal for breakfast.
Why You’ll Love This Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Cornbread
This cornbread is a little on the sweeter side. You’ll want to add some brown sugar to enhance the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. I added some cinnamon to compliment these flavors and make this dish even more perfect for fall. If you don’t want to use granulated or brown sugar in the recipe, you can use honey or pure maple syrup instead!
How To Roast Sweet Potatoes
This cornbread gets tons of flavor and moisture from roasted sweet potatoes. Roasting your potatoes will bring out the extra sweetness and enhance the overall flavor. That’s why I opt for fresh potatoes over canned ones since the roasting process is key!
Here’s how to roast your potatoes:
- Line a baking sheet with a piece of foil.
- Stab your sweet potatoes with a fork, place them on the foil, and drizzle with a bit of oil.
- Crumple up the foil so your sweet potatoes are wrapped up entirely.
- Place your baking sheet in the oven and roast until the skin gets wrinkled and you can easily poke through the potato with a fork.
- Remove from the oven and let cool before removing the skin.
How To Make Cornbread in a Cast Iron Skillet
I like to make this easy cornbread recipe in a 10” cast iron skillet since it is naturally nonstick! Baking in cast iron gives your cornbread a beautiful outer crust. Plus, this creates a beautiful presentation to share with your guests during the holidays or get-togethers.
If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can bake this cornbread in a casserole dish. Be sure to grease whatever dish you use with cooking spray to help prevent sticking.
Tips & Tricks
- Sweet potatoes: Leave the skin on your sweet potatoes and poke with a fork. Wrap in aluminum foil and drizzle with a little oil. Wrap to enclose the potatoes in the foil and place on a baking sheet. This is my favorite way to roast potatoes and the foil and baking sheet catch any possible drips!
- Cornmeal: I recommend using finely ground cornmeal. If you use a medium grit cornmeal, your cornbread will have crunchy pieces of cornmeal throughout. I used Quaker light cornmeal for this recipe, but any brand will do! If you end up buying the wrong one or you only have a coarse cornmeal, try blending it in a blender to get a finer consistency.
- Canned sweet potatoes: If you opt for canned sweet potatoes or canned yams, be sure to strain all of the liquid from the can. Use a fork to mash your yams before incorporating into the batter.
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes
- Eggs
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Milk
- Oil
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Corn meal
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cinnamon
This sweet potato cornbread is incredibly moist, tender and delicious. Roasted sweet potato adds a natural sweetness to this savory side dish.
- 2 small to medium sweet potatoes, roasted (about 1 cup mashed)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup milk of choice
- 1/4 cup neutral oil, I used olive oil
- 1/4 cup salted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups fine yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Preheat your oven to 400F. Wrap sweet potatoes in foil, drizzle with a touch of oil and roast until you can easily poke them with a fork. Skin will look wrinkled and a knife will effortlessly glide through the sweet potatoes when done. Let cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients: eggs, sour cream, milk, oil, and melted butter. Add in the sugars and cooled mashed sweet potatoes and stir to combine.
Once your wet ingredients are combined, add in the dry ingredients. You can add the dry ingredients to the same bowl. Before stirring, use your measuring spoon to move around the baking powder and mix it into the dry ingredient layer before. This helps distribute the baking powder. The batter will look a little lumpy. Do not overmix.
Place a 10” cast iron skillet into your oven at 400F. Let the skillet heat up for 5 minutes or so. Before adding your batter to the hot skillet, be sure your skillet is well-oiled or properly seasoned so your cornbread doesn’t stick.
Carefully pour your batter into the hot skillet and smooth out the top so it's flat. Bake cornbread for 20 to 25 minutes or until a knife comes out with little crumbs. The edges of the cornbread should be lightly golden and the center should have puffed up a bit. If you overbake, your cornbread will not be as moist and could be dry.
Serve warm with butter or let cool to store in the fridge. I simply covered my cooled cast iron skillet with aluminum foil for easy storage. Cornbread lasts up to 3 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge.
You can substitute 1 cup of canned sweet potatoes or yams for fresh sweet potatoes. Drain liquid and mash. Canned will not have as much flavor or natural sweetness as freshly roasted.
Can use ½ cup of oil or butter instead of ¼ cup of each. I like using both oil and butter, butter for flavor and oil for moistness. I feel that if you use only butter, cornbread may not be as moist but still good!
If you want to reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe, try substituting ¼ cup brown sugar for ¼ cup pure maple syrup or honey. Coconut sugar is another option.
Hi, I’m Esther, a full-time food blogger, mother of 2 beautiful daughters and a lovely wife. I currently live in New York with my family. Loves travelling, sharing new recipes, and spending time with my family.