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Banana Cornbread with Honey

What’s better than plain old cornbread? Banana Cornbread sweetened with honey! It’s a fabulous, fresh take on northern-style cornbread.

Banana Cornbread

The last three months of 2012 brought so much difficulty, grief and heartache. So when 2013 rolled in on Tuesday, I had some pretty high expectations for it — and I wasn’t about to enter 2013 without whatever extra luck we could manage.

In planning the menu for our annual New Year’s Day Family Meal, I took lucky foods into account. This year just has to be better.

making

Among our lucky dishes was cornbread, which is considered auspicious because of its golden hue. I magnified it, adding kernels of corn to the batter. And it took on a healthier note by replacing half of the sweetener and butter with mashed banana. The remaining sweetener is honey — another lovely golden food.

This was a huge hit — in fact, I think it might be our new favorite cornbread.

Eat. Live. Be.

You might remember that Cate, Patsy, Joanne and I did this #eatlivebe thing back in 2011 and for a little in 2012. Well, back in November, we decided to revive it again for 2013. We discussed the hows and whys and were all gung ho … and then everything happened. Until yesterday, I’d forgotten.

But since health is among the foremost of my New Years goals, I still wanted to participate — even if my first post is a wee bit late (sorry girls!). So, on with it, right?

For 2013, my health goals are simple:

  1. Use that Gym Membership — I have belonged to a gym since summertime when I went pretty religiously. But belonging and going are two different things. In 2013, my goal is to go to the gym at least two times each week — it’s two more times then I am going now.
  2. Find and Stick to an Eating Plan — Since I prefer to eat a variety of foods, most diets don’t appeal to me. But tracking what I eat does work for me, as long as I stick to it. I need to find a tracking program that will work for me with an easy interface. I’ve used several that I’ve liked in the past, but really what’s most important is that it work for me now.
  3. Lose, Lose, Lose — In the past, I have set lofty weight loss goals. These numbers, however important, haven’t helped me. This year, my only goal is to lose weight. It really doesn’t matter how much as long as the scale goes down.
Banana Cornbread with Honey

Banana Cornbread with Honey

Yield: 16 pieces
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 overripe banana, mashed
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup nonfat milk
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 cup frozen corn

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch square baking pan and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, sift together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt.
  3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the banana, honey, eggs, milk and melted butter. Fold into the dry ingredients. Add the corn and stir to combine
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and tilt to distribute evenly.
  5. Bake for 28-30 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Julie

Sunday 11th of October 2020

Awesome recipe! I used ghee instead of butter and added a little chopped jalapeño for a spicy kick. I don’t have a square pan so I used a rectangular dish and reduced the time to 20 minutes. I will be making this again and sharing with friends! Tastes buttery and rich.

Sue B

Monday 27th of April 2020

We don’t have any frozen corn - is there anything I can use as a substitute or can I make them without? Thanks

Sarah Walker Caron

Tuesday 28th of April 2020

Hi Sue, you can omit the corn if you don't have it I wouldn't recommend substituting anything in its place though — no other veggies will add the same favor and nuance to this cornbread.

Janet

Sunday 12th of April 2020

This morning, I was thinking about doing something different with two overripe bananas sitting on my counter. Then I had what I thought was an original idea - banana cornbread! Of course, I quickly realized I couldn't be the only to think of that, so I googled it - and there was this beautiful recipe of yours! I'm going to make it today, using both bananas, and using a cast iron pan. Can't wait!

Sarah Walker Caron

Tuesday 14th of April 2020

YAY! So glad to hear you found my recipe. Hope you loved it!

Michelle

Monday 23rd of March 2015

I just made your cornbread this morning and it is just delicious! I made a few changes because I am incapable of following recipes to a tee. I added two bananas instead of one, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, used melted coconut oil instead of butter and left out the frozen corn (I would have added it but I didn't have any on hand). It is very tasty (extremely moist and fluffy!) and I'm positive it would still be so without my additions/subs. Thank you so much for the recipe Sarah, I look forward to making this bread again!

Sarah Walker Caron

Tuesday 24th of March 2015

Michelle, I am so glad you loved it!

Joanne

Saturday 5th of January 2013

FreshDirect made a mistake yesterday and sent me two BAGS of bananas instead of two plantains. So now I definitely need to make this cornbread!

I wish you so much love and happiness this year my dear! And I think your eatlivebe goals are great. I've been using My Diet Diary on my phone. I'm not really being accurate about the calories but I find that as long as I can look at the running tab of what I ate and be happy about it, then it's good enough for me!

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