Cornbread is an expected—and beloved—side dish, especially with barbecue, but the deep affinity consumers have for its sweet flavor and crumbly texture should be an unmistakable signal to menu developers that there are exciting opportunities to explore here. Consider the numbers: A whopping 77 percent of consumers like/love cornbread, finds Datassential. In fact, according to the company’s Q1 2024 reporting, cornbread is predicted to outperform 24 percent of all other foods, beverage and ingredients over the next four years.

Chef Dimitri Ponomarchuk, CEC, Director of The Krusteaz Company Culinary Resource Group, credits cornbread’s “unfaltering versatility, customizable characteristics and broad taste appeal” for its menu success. And for foodservice operators, “Cornbread is simple to prepare and can be very profitable,” says Ponomarchuk. In fact, those advantages got a little sweeter with the recent addition of Honey Cornbread to the Ready to Bake Batters lineup from Krusteaz Professional.

The convenience and quality of Ready to Bake Batters provides chefs with peace of mind—from bag to pan, there’s no thawing, measuring or mixing required, eliminating the need for highly skilled production staff. The new Honey Cornbread product delivers a rich, golden color, beautiful caramelization and a sweet corn flavor with a hint of vanilla. It produces an even rise throughout and a moist, tender, crumbly texture for clean cuts.

The Ready to Bake Batters line also gives chefs creative freedom to explore, expand and elevate menus with inventive applications for a popular flavor profile like Honey Cornbread. At retail, Krusteaz Honey Cornbread is the No. 1-selling cornbread SKU, providing more confirmation that cornbread’s time has come!

Photo Credit: Polara

Pulled Pork Stuffed Honey Cornbread Muffins (left) and Crispy Pork Belly Honey Cornbread (right) demonstrate easy-to-execute elevations of cornbread offerings, maintaining familiar formats while adding popular flavors in the mix and as toppings.

THE GOLDEN TOUCH

The most straightforward means of refreshing your longstanding cornbread recipe is to add heat, sweet or cheese. According to Datassential research (MenuTrends, December 2022), jalapeño cornbread has grown in recent years, along with honey, honey butter and cheddar flavors. Both of the examples pictured above, Pulled Pork Stuffed Honey Cornbread Muffins (left) and Crispy Pork Belly Honey Cornbread (right), incorporate jalapeño, while featuring pork, in a nod to barbecue traditions. Or bake cornbread muffins, slicing off the tops to serve as “buns” for pulled pork sliders, Ponomarchuk suggests, noting that the muffin leftovers can be diced and toasted for use as croutons in a soup or salad. Or move all those flavors south of the border with a cornbread carnitas bowl, he offers. Use grilled cornbread as a base for savory pork carnitas and top with poached eggs, black beans, Cotija and pico de gallo.

Cornbread need not be relegated to concepts focused on barbecue or Southern regional specialties. It can be prepared and served in virtually any foodservice venue and across all dayparts, says Ponomarchuk. Chefs are encouraged to push on expected boundaries. If cornbread is a quintessential accompaniment to American barbecue, why not serve it with Korean barbecue? Look to different inclusions, formats, ingredient pairings, flavor systems and cuisines.

Chef Ponomarchuk suggests five easy innovations with cornbread, using Ready to Bake batter as a base and encompassing a world of flavor inclusions:

• Elote Spoon Bread: add lime zest, Cotija, mayonnaise, cilantro and spices
• Mediterranean Cornbread: include feta cheese, smoked tomatoes, Greek yogurt, garlic and oregano
• Cajun Cornbread: leverage the robust flavors of andouille sausage, green peppers, Muenster and chunks of okra
• Continental Cornbread: add Stilton, along with caramelized onions and garlic
• Hot Honey Cornbread: incorporate buttermilk, mayonnaise and Parmesan into the batter, cook and then drizzle with hot honey at service

Photo Credit: Polara

This Blackberry Bourbon Honey Cornbread Skillet is a visual stunner that dials up the crave quotient, while making the most of a popular presentation style.

Skillets, squares, loaves and muffins are traditional formats for cornbread—and provide a welcome familiarity that can make it easier for diners to venture into a new flavor profile. Consider the Blackberry Bourbon Honey Cornbread Skillet pictured above, where the iron pan complements the visual aesthetic of the dark berries. A simple honey cornbread muffin brunch basket will attract interest when paired with an assortment of unexpected jams and flavored butters.

Continue to steer into the breakfast/brunch space by using cornbread as a substitute for traditional pancake and waffle batter. Bake a cornbread loaf, coat the slices in an egg custard and griddle for a new take on French toast. Ponomarchuk notes the broad spectrum of opportunity: from a new flavor for Chicken ‘N Honey Cornbread Waffles (pictured below) to next-level Griddle Honey Corn Johnny Cakes made with honey cornbread and served with a fried egg, tomato, avocado and Sea Island red peas.

Photo Credit: Jessica Lardinais | Polara

The versatility of cornbread makes it a contender for flavor-forward options across the menu, including breakfast (Chicken ‘N Honey Cornbread Waffles, left) and dessert (Georgia Peach Honey Cornbread Cake, right).

Contemporary cornbread applications have a place on the dessert menu, as well. Ponomarchuk suggests trying sweet cornbread-flavored ice cream, with pieces of cornbread mixed in for texture. Cubes of cream cheese and diced peaches added between two layers of Honey Cornbread make the Georgia Peach Honey Cornbread Cake an easy grab ‘n’ go treat. Another example of minimal execution and maximum flavor impact? Ready to Bake batter is all you need to fill mini bundt pans, adding a generous lavender drizzle for trend-forward Lavender Honey Cornbread Bundt Cakes.

DO MORE WITH A SIMPLE POUR

Review recipes that use batters, breads, doughs and even breadcrumbs to consider how cornbread can be employed as an intriguing substitute. Perhaps you’ll explore mixing the batter into pizza dough or trying it as a stuffing for bell peppers. Attendees at the 2024 Flavor Experience had the opportunity to taste two elevated cornbread takes: cornbread-wrapped links served with a flight of dipping sauces and cornbread fritters with zucchini, onion, garlic, corn and West African seasonings.

Culinary play with cornbread is certainly easy to contemplate with Ready to Bake Honey Cornbread Batter in your cooler. Ponomarchuk cites a few advantages chefs shouldn’t overlook or underestimate:

• The batter provides a consistent baked quality every time, at any altitude, no matter who bakes it.
• The batter can be baked in any size or shape. It holds inclusions and fillings well.
• The batter has no added preservatives, but has eight months’ refrigerated shelf life. (After opening, it can be used for up to seven days.)
• After baking, and when well-wrapped, the honey cornbread can be stored for three to five days in ambient temperatures.

As chefs face ongoing operational challenges—finding and keeping qualified staff, managing limited time to train and prioritizing versatile ingredients with numerous opportunities for cross-utilization—every solution that can help relieve stress while delivering quality is highly valued. When it comes to innovating around cornbread, the batter matters.

Click here to visit Krusteaz Professional and learn more about Honey Cornbread and the other four varieties of Krusteaz Professional Ready to Bake Batters, discover additional recipe inspirations and request a sample.