Cornbread is a delicious addition to any meal, as we all know, but what about those times when you want there to be a little something extra going on? You know, when cornbread alone isn’t quite going to cut it. Well we’ve got the perfect fix for you – cheesy broccoli cornbread! It might sound a little weird at first, but hang on a minute…this stuff tastes great! The steamed broccoli in there ensures your loaf never gets dry, plus the cheese adds just the right amount of saltiness that complements the sweet cornbread perfectly. This stuff is so good!
So this is cheesy broccoli cornbread, right? Which means we didn’t just throw some cheddar cheese into the mix…. Not that there’s anything wrong with cheddar cheese, mind you, but there’s also a 6.5 ounce package of garlic herb spreadable cheese in there to really kick things up a notch. You can skip it if you must – although you should then add in another fat like sour cream or Greek yogurt to keep things moist – but we absolutely love the flavor this garlic herb cheese brings to the recipe.
Things to note here: this is a versatile dish that you can bake up in just about any baking dish. It’ll be a little flatter in a 9×13, but that’s no problem; cutting it into squares is super easy when you make it in a square baking dish, or you could go with the loaf dish like we did and get nice slices to serve up next to your main dish. You can’t go wrong here and we urge you to veer from the norm and try out our veggie and cheese-packed version – it makes any meal extra special and will riggle its way into your recipe arsenal, you’ll see!
Broccoli Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups broccoli florets, steamed and roughly chopped
- 1 (6.5 oz.) container garlic-herb spreadable cheese
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated, divided
- 1 (8.5 oz.) box cornbread mix
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350º F and lightly grease a 9x5-inch loaf baking dish with butter or non-stick spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and melted butter together until smooth, then mix in steamed broccoli, garlic herb cheese spread and diced onion. It’s okay if broccoli breaks down into smaller pieces
- Once that’s combined, mix in cornbread mix, garlic powder, mustard powder, onion powder and cayenne, then fold in 1 cup cheddar cheese.
- Transfer batter to greased baking dish and top with remaining cheese, then place baking dish in oven.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe adapted from Melissa's Southern Style Kitchen