Crispy corn cakes suited for snacking and savory soup-soaking, this Hot Water Cornbread will be welcome at your dining table at any time!

Our hot water cornbread has a slightly sweet corny flavor, a crispy crunch exterior, and a delicately tender interior. It’s absolutely addictive. While it’s great with so many main courses, this side dish will steal the show at the dinner table!

If you’re not familiar with it, this particular cornmeal concoction is made by softening seasoned cornmeal with hot (boiling) water, then forming the dough into patties before frying.

I remember being really young at my grandmother’s house and watching her skilled hands pat out little pieces of Hot Water Cornbread. She’d serve these warm, crispy crunchers with homemade soup and chili, and we’d occasionally coerce her into making them for an afternoon snack because we could never get enough of them.

We adore cornbread in our house, so as you can imagine, we have recipes for all kinds of cornbread! I hope you’ll check out our authentic Southern cornbread, jalapeño cornbread, best Jiffy cornbread recipe, and sweet cornbread next!

WHAT IS HOT WATER CORNBREAD?

Hot water cornbread is a traditional southern side dish that takes the standard cornbread ingredients and uses different, simple cooking techniques to create something completely different and wonderful! The texture of hot water cornbread is totally different from regular cornbread. The exterior is crispy and crunchy, with a divine, moist, and tender interior.

It’s also made with fewer ingredients than regular cornbread, all of which I always have on hand! Stock your pantry, and you’re just a few ingredients away from this corny deliciousness!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE!

The texture is wonderfully crispy + crunchy!
Tender + moist on the inside.
It works with most main dishes, especially southern ones.
You only need a few ingredients to make it.

HOT WATER CORNBREAD INGREDIENTS

Oil: Use any oil with a high smoke point, choosing a neutral-flavored oil. Canola, vegetable, peanut, and avocado oils all have high smoke points.
Self-Rising Cornmeal: It’s best to use Martha White cornmeal. I generally use Albers yellow cornmeal, as that’s what’s available on the West Coast.
Salt + Sugar: Our recipe uses a touch of salt to accentuate the corn and a little sugar. While I know in some places sweet cornbread is a jailable offense, that isn’t what you end up with in this recipe.
Green Onions: This is an optional ingredient. To be honest, these aren’t part of my grandmother’s version, but they’re a great addition when I want something a little different. The onions (use both the white and green parts) add a touch of mild onion flavor.
Fresh Thyme: This is another optional ingredient. The slightly minty quality of the thyme adds a brightness that really complements some of the soups I make. Fresh is definitely the way to go with the thyme, too, and I think my grandmother would approve. Do you grow thyme in your herb garden? If you want to try your hand at it, select English thyme.
Water: I start with plain tap water.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST HOT WATER CORNBREAD

Let the batter rest for 10 minutes. Before you begin scoping and frying, let your batter just hang out for 10 minutes. This will allow the water to completely absorb and help create the perfect texture.
Scooping: I recommend using a small scoop, one that holds a generous tablespoon, to scoop out the batter for uniform size and cooking times. You’ll want to wet your hands a bit to press the dough into small patties before gently placing them into the hot oil. Since frying can take a little time, feel free to keep these warm in a 300-degree oven until you’re ready to serve
Frying: There are three types of frying. First, pan-frying, where there’s barely enough oil/fat to coat the pan. This is the choice for searing steak, adding butter flavor to a chicken breast before roasting, or making perfect Saturday morning pancakes. In shallow-frying, the oil is deep enough to cover the soon-to-be-crispy thing about halfway; in deep-frying, it’s completely submerged, even floating in the hot oil. Both of these options create a nice crispy exterior and completely cook whatever you’re frying. Obviously, deep-frying works for chicken and French fries, but you need to shallow-fry delicate things like crab cakes and fritters – and this Hot Water Cornbread – that would fall apart in a big pot of oil. Just remember to use a frying thermometer for consistent temperature, don’t over-crowd the pan, and keep your attention on the stove (even if you’re tempted to sneak away and enjoy a piece of warm cornbread).
What About The Oil? My grandmother used Crisco shortening for frying, and its high smoke point makes it a perfect choice. If you’re not familiar with “smoke point,” it’s the temperature at which you’ll literally see smoke rising from your pan. Too far past that, and you risk funky flavors, scorching, and having to call the guys in the big red truck. Highly processed, filtered oils (even clarified butter) will have a higher smoke point and are more suitable for frying than things like extra virgin olive oil and butter. The ideal frying temperature is somewhere between 360 and 375 degrees, and 365 is the sweet spot for this recipe. You can cook this Hot Water Cornbread without shortening, just be sure to use vegetable or canola oil.
Fear of Frying: If all this talk of frying, smoking, and time-consuming pan-watching is too much, you can pour the mixture into a greased casserole dish (I like my cast iron skillet) and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. If you let the greased pan sit in the oven while it preheats, it’ll help ensure a nice crispy exterior, so even Hot Water Cornbread baked will satisfy that craving for something crunchy.
Water – Evaporation is not your friend when you’re trying to boil just the right amount of water. I usually heat about 2 ½ to 3 cups of water in a saucepan, while the oil is heating, to account for whatever’s lost in water vapor, then I pour the boiling water into a Pyrex measuring cup to make sure I add exactly 2 cups. My experience with trying to boil water in the microwave is that it’s hard to tell if it’s really boiling without using a thermometer and, if you’re like me, my one kitchen thermometer is already in the hot oil!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What’s the Difference Between Cornbread and Hot Water Cornbread? The main difference between the two is the technique used and the texture. Our hot water cornbread is crispier and crunchier on the exterior. Regular cornbread is much lighter and fluffier in texture and doesn’t have a crunchy exterior.

There are other differences between the two. Regular cornbread is generally baked in the oven in either a cast iron skillet, baking dish, or muffin tin. It’s mixed with a combination of cornmeal and flour and then mixed with milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Hot water cornbread, on the other hand, incorporates hot water to soften and hydrate the cornmeal. It then scoops out the batter to be deep-fried in oil rather than baked.

I Don’t Have Self-Raising Plain Cornmeal: No problem. For every 1 cup of plain cornmeal you need, remove 1 tablespoon and return it to the bag. Add 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Whisk it all together, and Bob’s your uncle!

Why Is It Called Hot Water Cornbread? It uses hot water to soften the cornmeal before using it in the recipe, a technique not usually employed when preparing regular cornbread.

Why Is My Hot Water Cornbread Falling Apart? Generally, this happens if you try to fry the batter in oil that isn’t hot enough. If your oil isn’t hot enough, the batter doesn’t have the opportunity to form that signature crispy crust, which ultimately holds the whole kit and caboodle together. I like my oil to be at 375 degrees before I start dropping the scoops of batter into the oil.

This can also happen if you make your batter too thin. Your batter needs to be thick enough not to completely splatter in the hot oil.

Let’s Talk About The Water: I give you the approximate amount of water you’ll need to use. I suggest you use an approximate amount, the closest amount I can estimate. The exact amount you’ll add will vary depending on the moisture content in your atmosphere and the exact grind of the cornmeal you use. You need to create a batter that is pourable and has the consistency of very thick pancake batter.

WHAT I SERVE WITH HOT WATER CORNBREAD

This is delicious—serve it with Southern fare, of course! It’s often served simply on a bed of pinto beans or Creole beans and rice, and is incredibly wonderful that way. It’s a must with my Texas chili or my Mom’s classic chili, and it’s great served with stews like our classic beef stew, slow cooker beef stew, instant pot beef stew, meatball stew, Guinness beef stew, pork stew, or chicken stew.

We love this with our smothered chicken, crockpot pork chops, crockpot BBQ pulled chicken, crockpot chicken and gravy, chicken and dumplings, or southern chicken and dumplings, crockpot pulled pork, crockpot Mississippi meatballs, or Mississippi pot roast!

HOW TO MAKE HOT WATER CORNBREAD RECIPES

Add enough oil to a large skillet to reach halfway up the sides. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, salt, sugar, green onions, and thyme. Add boiling water and stir until smooth.
Spoon the batter into large tablespoonfuls and gently flatten with wet hands. When the oil is hot, fry in batches, turning once, until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

***See the full instructions below.

STORING + REHEATING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD

Storing: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a day or two or refrigerated for up to 4-5 days.
Reheating: Reheat leftovers in a skillet, lightly coated with vegetable oil, over medium heat until they’re warmed through. You can also place leftovers in the oven or toaster oven at 350°F for about 5-10 minutes.
Freezing: Yes, you can freeze the cooked patties and follow the instructions above to reheat them.
Make-Ahead: Prepare and freeze, then reheat as instructed above.

MORE CORN RECIPE IDEAS

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