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Hot Water Cornbread

This Hot Water Cornbread recipe only calls for 2 ingredients and is the perfect complement to nearly any meal!

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Cornbread is just a staple in the South.  There aren’t many meals that aren’t perfectly complemented by a golden brown skillet of it.  That said, we do have our variations.  And Hot Water Cornbread is one of them.

We Southerners do “fried” cornbread several ways.  My mama always made what she called “Fried Cornbread” which was a most delicious cornbread made with cornmeal and buttermilk that you simply fried.  It was a constant alongside homemade vegetable soup and often made an appearance beside chili too.  It’s also great to pile some greens or beans right on top of.

This is another variation, which produces a little bit lighter textured bread.  Now, there are 100 different ways to do this.  Some recipes call for you to make a thick dough and form it in your hands before frying.  I think this method with a pourable batter easier, neater, and I like the crispy exterior better.
This Hot Water Cornbread recipe only calls for 2 ingredients and is the perfect complement to nearly any meal!

The recipe calls for self-rising cornmeal.  That’s what my mama has always used, so that’s what I use.  However I realize it’s not readily available across the country (and dare I say world), so I’ve added a note to the recipe on how to make your own.  Y’all enjoy!

This Hot Water Cornbread recipe only calls for 2 ingredients and is the perfect complement to nearly any meal!

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4.86 from 7 votes

Hot Water Cornbread

Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Total Time15 mins
Servings: 12 to 14 pieces
Author: Stacey Little | Southern Bite

Ingredients

  • 2 cups self-rising cornmeal
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups boiling water
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Pour about 1/2 inch of oil into a heavy-bottomed skillet. Heat the oil to about 350° or until glistening but not smoking. In a large thick plastic or metal bowl combine the self-rising corn meal with about 1 1/2 cups of boiling water. Carefully stir to combine. The batter should be pourable. Add additional water until you reach the consistency of thick pancake batter. Different corn meals will require different amounts of water. Start with less and add more if you need it.
  • Once the oil is hot, pour about 1/4 cup of the batter into the oil. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or until brown around the edges then carefully flip over and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes. Work in batches, adding additional oil if necessary. Drain the cornbread on a plate lined with paper towels. Serve warm.

Notes

Can't find self-rising cornmeal? Try this...
For every 1 cup of self-rising cornmeal: Start with 1 cup of finely ground plain corn meal in a bowl. Remove 1 tablespoon of the cornmeal and return it to the bag. To the bowl add 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix together.
You'll obviously need two cups for this recipe. 🙂
Making This Recipe?Tag me on Instagram: @SouthernBite using the hashtag #SouthernBite, so I can see how it turned out!

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This Hot Water Cornbread recipe only calls for 2 ingredients and is the perfect complement to nearly any meal!

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. This is the way my Mama always made her Hot Water Cornbread! She never would let me get close enough to see just how she did it because she was always afraid I’d get burned by the hot water splatter even when I got much older she was still afraid I’d somehow get burned. Of course like many of our Mamas, she didn’t have a written recipe, just what was in her head so I never knew the amounts. Thank you so much for this and I am definitely going to make some this weekend to go with some good old beans!
    Many thanks again for all your wonderful recipes and stories.
    I have your great cookbook as well as I have given several to my friends and they equally love the book as do I.

    Reply

      • Thanks so much for the this post, as soon as I saw it, it brought back the time when I use to make this for dinner.
        I’m from Louisville, It and once came to California I forgot. I knew it was simple, but when in doubt of a good thing “Don’t Do It” 🤗
        So, thanks again 🙋

        Reply

      • A male friend I had on Ga used to mk what he called Lacy Cornbread all he did was put cornmeal in a cup w little salt n water n stir then pour into hot skillet oh my it was so good w alittle butter n brown beans !!
        Miss those days

        Reply

        • That sounds good too. My Mom never made these. Only cornbread in a cast iron skillet. I was a young teen when she tried duplicating LJS’s hush puppies. That was very short lived, but by golly she made the best brown beans. Many people don’t make brown beans like she did. She would let the water cook down pretty low before she refilled it about half of her pot. She let the water cook down low in the pot. She did that twice and the third time it turn out almost like a gravy.

          Reply

  4. I Love Hot water corn bread and milk. I also like to put cracklins in it . and pat it into patties and fry. I use self rising cornmeal and about a forth cup of course cornmeal. Pour Hot water in it. I am 82 so I make it the poor peoples cornbread. I Love it.

    Reply

    • SoretaMyrick “I Love Hot water corn bread and milk.”
      One of my favorite dinners! (<Lent) or if any was left over, breakfasts! Fav, fav, fav! I didn't see how my Mom made it and it wasn't ever passed on……..(She passed too early.)
      Fit for a king or queen! In my humble opinion!
      Now the idea of putting cracklings in it sends it over the roof for me! Haven't ever had it that way, but is something will definately try!..( I like bacon grease in my oatmeal!)
      Thank you! Have got to try it!
      And Thank So much for the memories <3

      Reply

      • My mom would put cracklings in her cornbread I hated it dad would kill 3 hogs every Thanksgiving and she would make her own cracklings .

        Reply

  5. Thanks for sharing!!! I have always loved fried cornbread… I am originally from N.C., and love to add some cooked fresh collards (drained, of course) to make collard sandwiches!!!! Also, just love to eat crispy cornbread by itself!!!!

    Reply

    • What a fun post this is! And a coincidence, too. Last evening I cooked black-eyed peas, hot water cornbread, potato salad and fried chicken for supper. When summertime comes, I’ll add sliced homegrown tomatoes to this favorite meal. I grew up in East Texas, and our family recipe is the same as yours, but with the addition of an egg. Though our home is now in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and we love the wonderful food here, my sweetest memories are of the meals my mother and grandmother cooked for our family. Thank you, Stacey, for carrying on a great tradition with the recipes you share.

      Reply

  8. Wow!
    Thank you! Stacey! Will be having this, um…, probably daily! at least!
    Memories!
    SoretaMyrick gave me one idea and it lead to another and another for add ins could be infinite!
    Now I know how to make it!
    Thank you! thank you, thank you! <3

    Reply

  9. Can you make hush puppies out of this. My husbands aunt from Gallitin Tenn made hush puppies she put hot water in the the cornmeal grated onion they were made in little balls I live in Weatherford Tx they were just like Long John Silvers a fast food chain here.

    Reply

    • That’s Gallatin TN. My hometown. I put minced onion is mine also but just make a patty and fry. The hot water cooks the onion. Also good with sour cream mixed in the batter.

      Reply

  10. My Mother fried her cornbread. One of my favorite meals, and one I always asked for when I would return to visit was fried cornbread and corned beef and cabbage. Not the long cooking kind – the quick fixing chopped cabbage and can of corned beef kind. Takes me back everytime I make it but it is never as good as when Mama made it. Your website is wonderful.

    Reply

  11. Gosh! I just loved when my Granny would make fried cornbread, pinto beans, and collard greens. Seriously, nothing better. I could almost smell them frying when I looked at your pictures. Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply

  13. I’ve never seen it done this way, can’t wait to try your recipe. My Mama is always having me make her a small batch. I make it like she does, like her Mama did before her. Ours is equal parts flour and cornmeal, a pinch of salt, boiling water added to make a thick batter. About a tablespoon formed into football shapes and fried until crisp.

    Reply

  14. Oh, Stacey….soooo good. I, too make corned beef from a can to go with your hot water fried cornbread. I put a handful of diced onion in a skillet, open the can of corned beef, add a few diced red potatoes, add chopped fresh garlic and a half a cup of good red wine. (cover) If you need more liquid, use up to 1/4 cup water. I, also, do turnip greens and mustard greens mixed with your cornbread. OMG….so wonderful. We also like homegrown butter beans or peas with this cornbread recipe. Nothing better. Gosh…I do believe we have had your hot water fried cornbread everyday for lunch or supper. We are not tired of it YET!

    Reply

  16. This recipe did not work for me at all. I followed your instructions very closely and all I got was a big goopy mess in the pan. I can’t imagine what went wrong, but something sure did.

    Reply

    • Oh, no! Was it too soupy? If so, adding some more cornmeal to get it to the right consistency is all you have to do. I tried to be very specific about consistency because different cornmeal will require different amounts of moisture.

      Reply

  17. My mouth is watering so much right now! This isn’t how my mama made it but it looks almost like hers. She used twice as much cornmeal (self-rising) as flour, the amount depended on how many people were here to eat, lol. Then she added a little salt and water. That’s it, so simple and soooooooooooo good. You fry it up and have a feast, lol. I like it just by itself. I think I’m gonna try your recipe and see how it tastes…it sure looks wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing with us!
    Oh, by the way, my mom also used to make something called flour bread in a big cast iron skillet. We would eat it with fat back and molasses. We were a large family without a lot of money. My mom also just threw ingredients in a bowl, never measuring so I have no idea how to make it. Have you ever heard of it? If so, could you please share? I’ve been wanting some lately but have no idea where to start, lol. Any help would be greatly appreciated! And, I won’t even start on her bread pudding…LOL
    Thank you and have a wonderful day. 🙂

    Reply

  18. Our little family cookbook has a recipe almost just like this (along with a story about how my great-grandmother made it on a wood stove). I never had the nerve to try it, but after reading your post I think I will.

    Reply

  19. I love, love, love! any kind of cornbread except that icky sweet stuff that comes in a box. My husband only liked the kind in the box! But when I made fried cornbread in patties, in a little more grease than I should have, he scarfed it up, ’cause he loved that crunch! (Except for that yukky sweet stuff in the blue and white box, I cook all my cornbread on top of the stove, like a pancake. When it’s half done, I flip it over and cook the other side. I can’t tell the difference between that and baked.
    Lately, though, when I’ve made beans, I’ve made Indian fry bread (as in American Indian, like my husband) That’s his all-time FAVORITE way to eat beans! And I have to admit, it’s almost as good as cornbread and beans. Almost.

    Reply

  21. I made these tonight to go with some leftover chicken salad. The whole family LOVED them. We then turned them into a dessert by smothering them with honey. So yummy.

    Reply

  26. I’ve always made cornbread with just water (room temp) and self-rising cornmeal. I tried it with the boiling water to see what the difference was, and it was a mess for me lol! Mine usually turn out looking just like your photos, but after adding the hot water, it spider-webbed out across my oil as it cooked and stayed mushy in the center. I have no idea what went wrong! Have you ever made it with room temp water? Did you notice any difference in the finished product?

    Reply

    • Hot water tends to give the leavener in self-rising cornmeal the immediate heat it needs to give the cornbread lift. In your case, I think maybe there was too much liquid in your batter.

      Reply

  27. Stacey, thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve heard of hot water cornbread before, but I hadn’t tried it until tonight. I had it with soup beans (pinto), fried potatoes, homemade sauerkraut and a big slice of sweet onion. Needless to say, I am stuffed!

    Reply

  29. This was a hot mess. The batter stuck to the pan and even to the spatula. I got 5 presentable patties out of the batch; the rest fell apart. The flavor was nice, but they looked awful. I tried thinner, thicker, but they still stuck. I switched midway to a nonstick pan, but they even stuck to that! I am NOT looking forward to cleaning those pans. 😕

    Reply

    • Sounds like maybe your oil wasn’t hot enough, Christian! That or you didn’t allow them to cook long enough before flipping them. Sorry to hear you had trouble!

      Reply

  30. My sisters and I have been searching out a way to make fried cornbread for years, literally years. Our grandmother mixed, shaped fingers with the batter and fried, but NEVER told us or showed us how to actually make them from start to finish. All we know is she used white cornmeal. What would need to be done to get them to look like the fingers she made us as children – soft and moist on the inside in a coat of crispy brown goodness?

    Reply

    • I would imagine she had a similar batter and just spooned it into a log shape right into the hot grease. Wouldn’t it be great if we all had the forethought to be able to capture those recipes before they were gone! Good luck!!

      Reply

    • I make the cornbread like your grandmother. I use only white cornmeal and salt in a bowl adding very hot water (almost boiling) until I have a moist batter just barely stiff enough that can be picked up and pattied, definitely not a pourable batter. The batter will be very hot to work with. Make a patty between your two hands. This will give the finger marks. Place in the pan of hot oil. You can cool your hands with cool water between making patties. It make take a couple of batches to learn the right consistency. That’s why we all learned by watching our mamas make this bread.

      Reply

  31. An elderly couple I know used to make fried cornbread all the time, exactly the way you made yours. They ate it drizzled with molasses. It was delicious. I like mine slathered in butter.

    Reply

  32. I grew up with the regular style cornbread that you bake in the oven. But first my mother-in-law
    used to make this when she was alive many years ago and it was delicious! Thank you for posting this!
    Love your recipes and always look forward to each blog from you!

    Reply

  33. My mother-in-law made hers into little logs, like someone mentioned above, the ingredients are the same except she used much less liquid so that the batter was more like a dough, she would take a spoonful in her hands and simply roll it into a small “log” and then she deep fried them until golden brown. The only difference between her recipe and yours was the amount of liquid and the fact that she used white cornmeal and she added her own baking powder, salt, etc.

    Reply

  34. We had a June apple tree in out backyard and the apples weren’t good for much more than making fried apples with. So any time we had fried apples, mama always made fried cornbread and it was so good. I also love it with sorghum poured over it. Nothing better than cornbread with sorghum.

    Reply

  35. Man, you just took me back to being a kid and going fishing with my papa on the burn out bridge in Texas. My Grandmother would always pack me a nice bag of her Hot-Water Cornbread, some fresh cracklins and a link of some Boudin. Thank you and may God continue to bless you.

    Reply

  36. I used Martha White self rising buttermilk corn meal mix, my batter was pretty thick. When I put it in hot oil it came apart and reminded me in taste and texture of The crumbles on the food fromLong John Silver. I poured most of the oil off and added an egg and finely got something that resembled your picture. They were good and went with my ham and beans.

    Reply

  37. These were so great!! My dad used to make fried cornbread, but never the same way twice. I just switched to using cast iron for cooking and was reminded that I always wanted to make his crunchy cornbread. I followed your recipe and measured the temp of the oil before frying ( I used bacon grease) and they were exactly like yours in the picture. They even cooked in the same amount of time, which is always a relief for me, and rare for some reason when I follow someone else’s recipe. My whole family is from the south and it means a lot to raise my girls on the good stuff. I added finely diced onion and they were SO good and easy to make. Thank you for posting.

    Reply

  40. Can I use Jiffy Corn Muffin mix instead of Corn Meal, and will it change the texture or taste of the corn bread?

    Reply

  41. I have tried making hot water corn bread using jiffy. At first time with jiffy mix and hot water look more like a pancake. Not bad but I wanted a more cornmeal texture, so I added half cup of meal, 2 tbsp butter and hot water the next time I used jiffy mix. They are good.

    Reply

  43. My mom would make cornbread and put in square pan. Chill it, then slice it, roll in flour then fry. Some times she would put puddin meat in it when she cooked it. Then slice and fry. We would put syrup on. So, so good.

    Reply

  44. So easy to make and just like my Mother and Grand Mother made. It’s been years since I’ve had any. Made them tonight and WOW, just a flashback to memories of my Mom’s and Granny’s cooking. This will be a regular and I plan to teach my daughter and Grand daughter. Thanks so much!

    Reply

  45. Do you have any suggestions for making this keto-friendly? Can almond flour be substituted for corn meal or maybe almond meal?

    Reply

  46. I was making this for breakfast and as I was pouring the boiling water and stirring my cornmeal the entire Anchor Hocking bowl I was using exploded. glass everywhere. Glad my grand kids were not here. CAUTION DO NOT USE A GLASS BOWL

    Reply

    • That’s super scary! Rapid temperature changes can certainly cause some glass to shatter – especially of there are any scratches on the glass. I’ve updated the recipe to recommend a thick plastic or metal bowl.

      Reply

  49. Hey Stacy, going to try this, my momma made cornbread in a pan, but fried like this no, she did make cornmeal panvcakes on occasion but that was added to a basic pancake batter, but she made cornmeal mush which was simply cornmeal poured into rapidly boiling water and cooked til it was thick, watched her for years she never measured anything just poured it from the bag. She stirred it as she poured and when it got to a certain thickness stopped and let it cook for 5 or 10 minutes and had a thick soft mush. I was not a fan (texture issues) but I loved what happened to leftover mush. It was allowed to cool in the pot, then she would slice the cold solid mush and fry it, crispy for me and softer for my brother who actually ate the mush.
    When I was a small child up until about 12 she always scalded her cornmeal before stirring it into her cornbread batter which has eggs and flour in it. That was the only time she measured stuff and she didn’t have measuring cups, she had a coffee cup, and measured by eye any thing smaller than a full cup. Miss her everyday.

    Reply

  51. I never had hot-water cornbread so the problem might have mine. The batter spread out and didn’t hold together when I flipped them. Reading your replies, maybe I didn’t have the oil hot enough or added too much water. I cut the recipe in half and needed more than a cup of water. The last bit of water might have been the problem. They really needed draining since they never crisped up enough. I’m going to try “refrying” the leftovers tonight in a little butter and see if that helps. I served them with your Bloody Mary chili, adapted for the Instant Pot in Slow cooker mode. Great chili! (IP adaptation version in my chili review)

    Reply

  52. Thanks for the recipe! Always wanted one from my mother and my aunt but they made it without measuring so couldn’t give me one. Hit water cornbread is so good with fish!
    I wonder if you know the recipe for Butter Roll? It’s like peach cobbler without the peaches. I can’t find a recipe.

    Reply

  53. Thank God for Southern Cooks! My Mom was from Pollock, Louisiana and she always made fried cornbread on the stovetop in an iron skillet. Served with fried crappie, catfish or bluegill. Yes, Mom fed us fish with bones in them and we all survived ♥️

    Reply

  56. My Aunt Sally made the best hot water cornbread and there is an art to making it__Novices be prepared for several test batches. Sally only used three ingredients: white cornmeal, salt and boiling water. Getting the right amount of water and salt is the test. Once she had her batter together and could stand the heat of the hot water in the palm of her bare hand she would put a scoop in her hand and start forming her hush puppies (I use that term because the shape was close to a crescent hush please shape). The mixture would conform to the fold of her fingers and make a little oblong hush puppy. She immediately dropped that in hot Crisco and the hush puppy would float and dance in that hot oil until a light golden color—heaven on earth!!! I would guess her mixture probably made maybe twenty puppies.
    No other ingredients ever used and never cooked in a fry pan, just fried in crisco in a quart or so size pan. Oil needs to be hot enough and deep enough that when the puppy hits the oil, it starts dancing it’s happy dance!!!
    Best with pinto beans, beef stew or soup. Mouth melting with a little dab of butter while they are piping hot.
    Good luck—if you can master her recipe you won’t live to regret it and your family will remember you for years to come.

    Reply

  57. My mom made this for us every time she made a pot roast with potatoes, carrots and onions and brown gravy. I’ve tried and tried to make it and it never tasted like my moms but I never boiled the water and I guess that really makes a difference for some reason because I just made some and sure enough it taste just like moms! I never knew she boiled the water. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  58. One of my life missions seems to be to recreate the wonderful home-cooking that I remember. I can spend hours trying to piece together a recipe based on memory alone. It’s a wonderful exercise. I left Carolina for good when I was in my early 30s to live in NY. But even before I left, that wonderful two or three decades when people were still mostly “down-home” and cooked with that aesthetic had largely evaporated. My grandmother on my father’s side owned a large boarding house in Fayetteville, NC, where I was born. She was written up several times in the local paper for the 20-foot table she and her spectacular African-American cooking help spread daily for her boarders and guests, and all on a wood stove; gallons of sweetened iced tea on the table and tubs of lard under the large prep. table. The house is now designated as an historic landmark. I’m sure that this is where my mother learned her not particularly brilliant but memorable cooking skills. Who knew that in the 21st century so many of us would yearn for that particular simple but unerringly delicious cuisine. One of my last challenges was this cornbread. It wasn’t quite so round and neat, and had lacy crunchy edges that were so delicious.

    Reply

  59. yes I wanted to ask i don’t have self rising cornmeal i have yellow cornmeal is that ok to use to make this recipe

    Reply

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