Traditional Appalachian Spoon Bread

  4.9 – 9 reviews  

A hearty beef stew or winter soup pairs wonderfully with this creamy and warming side dish. This was something my grandfather cooked and gave me the recipe for. Use a spoon to serve and generously top with genuine butter. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 35 mins
Additional Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 1 hr
Servings: 6
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

  1. 2 ¾ cups milk
  2. 1 cup white cornmeal
  3. 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  4. 1 teaspoon salt
  5. 4 large eggs, separated
  6. 1 tablespoon white sugar
  7. ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
  8. ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
  9. 1 pinch salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an oven-proof cast iron Dutch oven or a deep baking dish.
  2. Heat milk and cornmeal in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently, until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Remove cornmeal mixture from heat and stir in butter and 1 teaspoon salt until well combined.
  3. Beat egg yolks, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar together in a bowl until smooth; stir into cornmeal mixture.
  4. Beat egg whites, 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1 pinch salt together in a separate bowl using an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Lift your beater or whisk straight up: the egg whites will form soft mounds rather than a sharp peak. Gently fold egg white mixture into cornmeal mixture until well mixed and fluffy; pour into prepared Dutch oven.
  5. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown with a moist center, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
  6. Spoon bread is best baked in a cast iron Dutch oven to ensure even temperature and maximum rise, however you can use any deep baking dish. Be sure to grease the dish for easier clean up! Recipe can be doubled.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 220 kcal
Carbohydrate 23 g
Cholesterol 143 mg
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Protein 10 g
Saturated Fat 5 g
Sodium 515 mg
Sugars 8 g
Fat 10 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Michael Holland
Delicious did not have cream of tarter I used salt Added green chili’s and corn This is a keeper
James Davis
THIS is the recipe I have been searching for! Wonderful texture, not too sweet and I made it with yellow cornmeal which is my favorite. I have saved it on pinterest, my computer, my tablet and printed out a copy for my family recipe book! I never want to lose it! thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
Brooke Soto
I used this recipe and another recipe to make it a little simpler. I added 3/4c cornmeal and 1t salt to 1 C nuked boiling water and 3 T butter. I then added 1C milk and the 3 egg yolks and cr of tartar. Whipped the whites with cr of tartar and salt. Combined the 2 mixtures. Baked at 350 for about 45 minutes. Mine took that long to brown on top. It was really delicious.
Whitney Porter
Delicious, but I was a bit worried about adding egg yolks to hot cornmeal, so I let it cool. And do I cover it in the oven or not?? Otherwise good recipe.
Brittany Hoover
Loved it, but took me longer than 15 minutes to locate and assemble all ingredients and prepare, more like almost 30, but well worth it!
Jamie Smith
This is a great recipe! I’ve been testing out different spoon bread recipes and they all came out just like regular cornbread. This turned out just like it’s name- spoon bread. Creamy and soft. Almost like a dense souffle. It soaked up some the juices from my smoked pork chop, which made it taste even better! I used yellow cornmeal for color. I normally don’t like sugary cornbreads, but I wanted to follow the recipe to the letter the first time. I Tablespoon did not make it too sweet so I’m glad I added it. This morning I ate it for breakfast with jam. Lends itself to sweet or savory meals. I don’t think you can improve this recipe! It’s a winner.
George Lee
Came out just like Papaw’s! Next time I would use unsalted butter. I did substitute yellow cornmeal since I didn’t have any white. Definitely a keeper, we serve with butter and syrup for breakfast.
Catherine Cantu
This turned out beautifully. Only change I made was to leave out the sugar as I prefer unsweetened cornbread. I didn’t have a double boiler so I cooked it in a saucepan and stirred constantly and it worked fine. Served it New Years Day with black eyed peas.
Melanie Walker
This came out perfect. I was looking for this cooked in a cast iron dutch oven. Everyone loved this.

 

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