This Instant Pot Cornbread is moist, dense, and subtly sweet. This classic side dish is steamed in your pressure cooker then served with homemade whipped honey butter!
Today’s instant pot cornbread recipe is a fun twist on a classic. Instead of baking, we’re essentially steaming cornbread which creates as ultra moist, rich texture!
If you’re looking for a baked cornbread, check out my easy cornbread recipe. If you’re looking for something a little lighter and fluffier, my vegan cornbread is a sure winner!
Ingredients
A classic cornbread that’s steamed instead of baked is paired with a fluffy honey butter! Both use every day ingredients that I always have on hand.
Instant Pot Cornbread
- Unsalted Butter – adds moisture and a rich flavor.
- Dark Brown Sugar and Honey – honey adds a bright, sweet flavor while dark brown sugar adds a warmer sweetness.
- Eggs – helps bind the cornbread ingredients together.
- Fat Free Buttermilk – gives the cornbread just the right amount of moisture and makes it ultra-tender.
- Yellow Cornmeal – gives the cornbread its structure and signature slightly sweet flavor.
- Baking Soda – our leavening agent which ensures that the cornbread isn’t too dense.
- Cream Style Corn and Sweet Corn – creamed corn adds moisture while sweet corn adds a pop of texture and sweetness.
Whipped Honey Butter
- Unsalted Butter – softened and whipped for delicious light and airy texture.
- Honey – adds just the right amount of sweetness to complement the sweetness in the cornbread.
- Vanilla Extract – adds warmth and flavor depth.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – the classic warm and sweet seasoning combo that really gives the honey butter delicious flavor.
- Salt – brings out flavor and cuts the sweetness of the other ingredients.
How to make
Sometimes oven-baking cornbread can cause the bread to be on the dry side. Cooking your cornbread under pressure provides it with so much moisture!
Whipped Honey Butter
- Place butter, honey, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on high until light and fluffy.
Instant Pot Cornbread
- In a large bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, honey, eggs, and buttermilk until well combined.
- Whisk in cornmeal, baking soda, and salt then add in both cans of corn.
- Pour the batter into a greased 7-inch cake pan and cover with greased tin foil.
- Place 1 cup of water into your instant pot. Place the pan onto the instant pot trivet and lower it into the prepared instant pot. Cover and lock the the lid then cook on HIGH for 60 minutes.
- Allow a natural release for 10 minutes, do a quick release of the valve, then use a dish towel to lift the trivet up and out of the instant pot. Remove the foil.
- Let the bread cool completely before turning it into a cutting board. Cut, then serve with whipped honey butter!
How do you make cornbread fluffy?
If you’re looking for a fluffy cornbread, I’d recommend my vegan cornbread recipe. It’s lighter in texture whereas this cornbread was specifically made to be nice and dense (common with steamed baked goods). That being said, there are a couple of key ways ways you can make sure your cornbread isn’t too dense:
- Don’t over mix. You want to mix enough that the ingredients are fully combined but not so much that you eliminate little pockets of air in the batter. The air pockets are what makes the baked cornbread nice and fluffy.
- Use fresh leavening agents. Make sure the baking soda isn’t expired before you use it. If it’s too old, it won’t work properly and the cornbread will be dense.
Why is my cornbread soggy?
If your cornbread came out too soggy, there may be a couple of reasons why:
- You didn’t drain the corn. Make sure you drain the canned sweet corn before you incorporate it into the batter. You don’t want the excess liquid or the bread will be watery.
- You didn’t cover with foil. Covering the bread in the instant pot prevents condensation from gathering on the top of the bread as it pressure cooks.
- You didn’t set up your Instant Pot correctly. Be sure the seal in the lid is in place, then make sure to seal and lock the lid with the pressure release valve pointing toward sealing. Lastly, cook on HIGH pressure for 60 minutes.
Can you bake this cornbread?
If you’d rather have a baked version, check out my oven baked cornbread recipe instead!
Variations
I love this cornbread as is but if you want to add some flavor variation, here are a couple of options!
- Add meat. Mix in little pieces of bacon!
- Make it spicy. Add in diced jalapeños for a kick of heat.
- Make it cheesy. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese for little pockets of ooey-gooey cheesiness.
What to serve with instant pot cornbread
Cornbread is the perfect sweet side to pair with a savory main dish! Here are some ideas!
How to store
Store leftover cornbread in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the fridge for 5 days, or in the freezer for 2 months.
To reheat, thaw in the fridge if frozen then enjoy cold or microwave to warm.
– Jennifer
Instant Pot Cornbread
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
Instant Pot Cornbread
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar packed
- ⅓ cup honey
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup fat free buttermilk room temperature
- 2 cups yellow cornmeal spoon and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (15 oz) can cream style corn
- 1 (15 oz) can sweet corn drained
Whipped Honey Butter
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Recipe Video
Instructions
Instant Pot Cornbread
- Pour 1 cup cold water into the bottom of a 6 quart Instant Pot and grease a non-stick round 7 inch cake pan (7.7 x 7.7 x 2.75 inches)* with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, honey, eggs, and buttermilk until well combined.
- Whisk in cornmeal, baking soda, and salt, then whisk in both cans of corn.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and cover with tin foil that’s been sprayed with cooking spray (this prevents the bread from sticking to the foil).
- Place the pan onto the instant pot trivet and lower it into the prepared Instant Pot.
- Cover and lock the lid - make sure the valve is pointing to “SEALING.”
- Cook on HIGH pressure for 60 minutes.
- When the cook time ends, allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then do a quick release of the valve.
- Use a dish towel to carefully lift the trivet up and out of the Instant Pot.
- Carefully remove the foil (you don’t want the condensation dripping onto the bread), then let cool completely in the pan before turning out upside down onto a cutting board.
- Cut and serve with whipped honey butter, if desired!
Whipped Honey Butter
- Place butter, honey, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Beat on high until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as necessary.
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Notes
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Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.