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How to Make the Jiffy Cornbread Recipe Better

Make original Jiffy cornbread better.

The Jiffy cornbread recipe is the go-to for easy box cornbread mix. But how do you make Jiffy cornbread better? Here’s the original Jiffy recipe, with 10 Jiffy cornbread mix hacks, add-ins, and tips. 

Making Jiffy Cornbread Better with Easy Baking Hacks to Make it Jiffy cornbread sweet, moist, savory, and more homemade

The Original Jiffy Cornbread Recipe on the Box

Box Jiffy cornbread mix is pretty much the gold standard when it comes to whipping up cornbread quickly and easily. In a jiffy, if you will.

The petite, retro-looking cornbread box mix has been beloved for decades. The original Jiffy cornbread mix recipe on the box calls for:

  • 1 box Jiffy cornbread
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup milk

These ingredients get mixed together and baked at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes. The result? Let’s be honest. The Jiffy cornbread box recipe is a little plain and dry.

But no worries. This is just a blank canvas. Here are 10 ways to make Jiffy cornbread better: more moist, more flavorful, more delicious — more homemade.

original Jiffy cornbread box mix recipe: eggs, milk, cornbread mix
The original Jiffy cornbread recipe on the box calls for only 1/3 cup milk and an egg.

Why You Need to Hack the Jiffy Cornbread Recipe to Make It Better

A plain Jiffy box mix is a little like a blank canvas: plain, dry, and the basis for making things more interesting and special. Luckily, Jiffy cornbread mix is perfectly amenable to becoming more sweet or savory, and makes a great base to add all kinds of fun mix-ins like corn, cheese, scallions, and more.

jiffy cornbread recipe

These Jiffy cornbread hacks are taken from one of my favorite cookbooks of 2020, the talented Kelly Fields’s Good Book of Southern Baking. Kelly Fields is the chef of award-winning Southern seasonal restaurant Willa Jean in New Orleans. A “revival of biscuits, cakes, and cornbread,” her cookbook makes essential reading for anyone who loves homey, honest, well-made desserts.

Her “Jiffy Fix” page (page 37, to be exact) covers sweet and savory baking hacks. Below are my favorites from her long, fun list–as well as a few of my own.

bowl of chili with Jiffy cornbread

How to Make Jiffy Cornbread More Moist

To make Jiffy cornbread mix moister:

  • Add 1/3 cup sour cream, or
  • Replace 1/3 cup milk with 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • You can also add one 8-ounce can of strained cream corn. This also makes it extra corny.

ingredients to add to Jiffy cornbread mix to make it better like cheddar, jalapeno, and scallions

Add-Ins to Hack Jiffy Cornbread Better

Adding a few basic ingredients to the Jiffy cornbread mix can make the recipe much better and more homemade tasting. Here’s how:

  • To add texture and color to Jiffy mix: Add 1 cup fresh corn kernels, 1 cup chopped roasted bell pepper or pimentos
  • To make Jiffy cornbread mix spicy: Add 1 cup chopped roasted or jarred, drained jalapeños. You can also add a teaspoon of cayenne.

To make the cornbread mix more savory:

  • Fold in 4 to 6 slices of cooked, crumbled bacon or breakfast sausage
  • Add cheese: Add up to 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • Mix and match the combos above
  • Add 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • I also love to add some thinly-chopped scallions

Jiffy cornbread hacks to make the original mix sweet, moist, savory, and more homemade

Hacks to Make Jiffy Cornbread Sweeter

Add more sweetener! This may be the most obvious tip of all. But there are a lot of different directions to take Jiffy mix to add sweetness, from plain sugar to fruit.

Chef Fields suggests:

  • Add two tablespoons of honey, sugar, or maple syrup to the Jiffy mix batter. Sprinkle some sugar on top before baking.
  • Fold in fruit: Add a cup of blueberries or raspberries to the cornbread mix. Fields also suggests tossing 2 peeled peaches in light brown sugar and folding it into the batter.
  • Give it autumn vibes: Add one cup of puréed pumpkin with 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Add another egg as well.
  • Brighten the cornbread with citrus: add the zest of juice of 1 orange or 2 lemons into the batter and bake.

jiffy cornbread box mix baked with butter

What hacks did you use to make the original Jiffy cornbread mix better? Tell us about your recipe changes below! You’ll also like:

jiffy cornbread recipe hacks to make it better, moister, sweeter, and more savory

Jiffy Cornbread Recipe (+ How to Make Jiffy Taste Better)

Here's the original box Jiffy cornbread recipe, and 10 hacks to make it better: sweeter, more savory, more interesting, and more homemade. Inspired and adapted from Kelly Field's Good Book of Southern Baking.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: bread, Dessert, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keywords:: baking hacks, cornbread, easy baking, how to make jiffy cornbread better, jiffy box mix, jiffy cornbread, jiffy cornbread recipe, side dish, thanksgiving
Servings: 6 to 8 muffins or one short 8" x 8" loaf
Print

Ingredients 

The Original Jiffy Cornbread Recipe on the Box

  • 1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup milk

Add-Ins to Make Jiffy Cornbread More Moist (Choose one of the following.)

  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 8-oz. can drained cream corn

Add-Ins to Make Jiffy Cornbread Sweeter (Choose one of the following.)

  • 2 tablespoons honey, sugar, or maple syrup

Add-Ins to Make Jiffy Cornbread More Savory (Use any combination of the following.)

  • 4 to 6 slices cooked, crumbled bacon or 1/2 cup cooked breakfast sausage
  • 3/4 cup shredded or cubed sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • A couple of thinly-chopped scallions

Instructions

For the Original Jiffy Cornbread Box Mix

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease or line a muffin tin or small brownie or loaf pan.
  • Mix together the cornbread mix, egg, and milk.
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

To Make Jiffy Cornbread More Moist

  • Mix the box cornbread mix and egg together, but instead of the milk, use 1/3 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup buttermilk, or one drained 8-ounce can creamed corn.
  • Proceed with baking. Your baking time may increase slightly, so bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

To Make Jiffy Cornbread Sweeter

  • Mix the box cornbread mix, egg, and liquid of choice (buttermilk, milk, or sour cream) together, along with 2 tablespoons of sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
  • Proceed with baking.

To Make Jiffy Cornbread More Savory With Add-Ins

  • Mix the box cornbread mix, egg, and liquid together with your preferred combination of bacon, sausage, scallions, cheese, or salt.
  • Proceed with baking. Your baking time may increase slightly, so bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

25 comments

  • Adelle Santwire

    5 stars
    Fun! I needed to make some type of snacks for our herbal garden class to share, quick! Raiding my pantry I came up with two boxes of corn muffin Jiffy mix but needed a little extra in flavor. Google found me to your site. I Added 1/2 cup of sour cream and diced up about 1/4 cup of chives. served with cheese and olives. Delicious. Will be exploring this baking idea again. Thank you.

  • How should I strain my can of creamed corn?

    • Unpeeled

      I use a typical small mesh strainer. Just don’t use one that’s too fine!

  • When fresh corn comes in, I microwave the ears still in husks. Then I cut the kernels off the cob and using the back of my knife I scrape down the cob to get all the corn “milk” out, then freeze. When I make Jiffy cornbread, after thawing the corn I use the corn “milk” in place of regular milk and then add some of the corn to the batter, mix and bake. Sweet and moist and so good!

    • Unpeeled

      This sounds absolutely fantastic! What a good, fresh way to make it even more corny. Thanks for sharing this.

  • 5 stars
    Great tips. Thanks!

  • 5 stars
    I used 2 boxes of mix, a can of creamed corn, a can of green chiles and 2 cups cheddar cheese. My husband loves it! I also added 5 extra minutes to the baking time.

  • I like to put a drizzle of honey in the mix and then put a layer of pecan pieces over the top drizzled with more honey and then bake like normal. I will definitely be trying the extra egg and doubling the mix! Thanks for the idea

    • Unpeeled

      This sounds fabulous. I love anything with pecans.

  • 5 stars
    Great tips. Made a cheddar scallion version and went great with my chili. Also added an egg and doubled the recipe.

  • Marianne

    5 stars
    Thank you! Lifesaver!! The plain mix is awful.

  • 5 stars
    Thank you for this! I just made a sweetened version with buttermilk (two boxes) and it tasted so much better.

  • Linda Jean

    I love having Jiffy on the shelf when I need a bready side for dinner. Since Jiffy has reduced the product in the box over the years (I’ve been using it for over 50 years), I now just grab two boxes and throw the double batch into my 8×8 pan. To moisten, grate an apple – any apple! – and stir in at the end. If you want more moisture, grate in a second appley. Jiffy is very forgiving.

    • Unpeeled

      I always recommend doubling the recipe. One box is so tiny! It’s like cornbread for one. And I love the apple idea a lot.

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