Loaded Mexican Cornbread
Cornbread wasn’t something I knew about until my teens. In the Midwest, or at least Nebraska, cornbread wasn’t typically consumed with chili. I know…Cornhuskers…cornbread…it should be a given. But I grew up consuming cinnamon rolls with chili.
Now I know what you are thinking, cinnamon rolls with chili…GROSS! Don’t knock it til you try it, it is actually really tasty. That being said, I didn’t know the goodness of cornbread until my teenage years. Since then, I have tried cornbread in many different ways, and a whole host of variety of types and brands.
Personally, I think cornbread should be on the sweeter side and have more of a cake-like consistency…unless you are making Ho-Cakes (a southern thing), then the grit of the cornmeal should be more coarse. Over the years, I’ve settled on Marie Callendar’s cornbread mix. I know, it’s a mix…but I have yet to perfect the made from scratch version that tastes just as good as Marie’s mix. AND…sometimes a girl just doesn’t have the time to make cornbread from scratch.
Loaded Mexican Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 lb cornbread mix plus the ingredients required for the mix
- 1 medium onion
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 1 large jalapeno
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 10.5 oz black beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 lb andouille sausage chopped
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
- fresh cilantro
- sour cream
- honey
- green onions
Instructions
- Dice the onion and the peppers and then add to a skillet that has already been drizzled with olive oil. Lightly salt and pepper to season the vegetables.
- Saute until the onion and peppers begin to brown slightly. Remove from the skillet and pour it into a large mixing bowl.
- Add more olive oil into the skillet and saute the andouille sausage until it begins to brown. While the sausage is cooking, in the same large mixing bowl, pour in the corn and the rinsed black beans.
- In a seperate mixing bowl, make the cornbread according to the directions on the package. Add the sausage into the large bowl when slightly browned.
- Pour in the cornbread mix into the large mixing bowl, then add in 1½ cups of the cheddar cheese and stir to combine. Pour into an already greased 9×13 inch pan and spread until the ingredients are even over the pan.
- Bake at 375°F for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife pressed into the center comes out clean. Serve immediately, topped with fresh cilantro. Extra toppings such as avocados, sour cream, honey, and green onions go extremely well with this dish.
Nutrition
To make this a vegetarian meal, switch out the andouille sausage to cremini mushrooms and sauté just like you would the sausage. The mushrooms will brown quicker than the sausage would, so keep an eye on it.
What is your favorite way to eat cornbread? Are you a purist and eat it with just some honey and butter? Or do you always have it as a side to chili? Have you ever had a cornbread casserole? Hope y’all are having an amazing week. Stay safe, and hug your loved ones.
