Food and Recipes 28 Creative Ways to Use that Bag of Cornmeal in Your Cupboard By Southern Living Editors Updated on July 8, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall When you think of cornmeal, you likely think of cornbread. The correlation is justified, especially for Southerners. Here, cornbread recipes are a practically part of the family inheritance and perfecting Grandma's seasoned variation is a right of passage. But just because the bag of cornmeal in your cupboard was purchased with cornbread in mind doesn't mean you can't get a bit more creative. Cornmeal is the ingredient that gives cornbread its distinctive grit and slightly-sweet flavor, and that texture and taste translates to cakes, pies, fried foods, and more. Whether you're baking, frying, or cooking, be sure you read your ingredient list closely. Cornmeal can be yellow or white, fine or coarse-ground, and you'll want to be sure you have the right bag on hand. Naturally gluten-free, it can also be a helpful way to meet dietary needs of all your guests come holiday season. To help you get started, we've rounded up a few of our favorite ways to get creative with cornmeal. From desserts to dinners to breakfasts, and of course some staple cornbreads, you just might have to run to the store to buy a second bag. 01 of 28 Thyme-Cornmeal Pound Cake Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Thyme-Cornmeal Pound Cake This beautifully glazed loaf cake gets a bit of natural nutty flavor thanks to the inclusion of finely ground cornmeal to the batter. 02 of 28 Cornmeal Crêpes With Blackberries and Buttermilk Cream Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Cornmeal Crêpes With Blackberries and Buttermilk Cream Treat brunch guests to these tender cornmeal crêpes that look (and taste) like they just came from the local bakery. 03 of 28 Fried Green Tomatoes Jennifer Davick Recipe: Fried Green Tomatoes Coated with cornmeal and fried to perfection, there's no better way to serve green tomatoes. 04 of 28 Ginger-Fig Tart With Cornmeal Crust Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Ginger-Fig Tart With Cornmeal Crust The cookie-like crust on this fig tart holds it all together with a touch of nutty flavor and texture from cornmeal. 05 of 28 Ben Mims' Perfect Cornbread Brian Woodcock Recipe: Ben Mims' Perfect Cornbread When we call something perfect, we mean it, and that's saying a lot when it comes to cornbread. 06 of 28 Pan-Fried Okra with Cornmeal Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Pan-Fried Okra with Cornmeal Cornmeal and cayenne pepper are staples in this signature Southern side. 07 of 28 Cornmeal Waffles Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Cornmeal Waffles Add a Southern spin to your breakfast table. Don't have a waffle iron? Use the batter to create cornmeal pancakes on the griddle instead. 08 of 28 Blueberry-Cornmeal Cake Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Blueberry-Cornmeal Cake Medium-grind cornmeal and blueberries unite to create a texture-filled, fruity dessert. 09 of 28 Chicken and Herbed Cornmeal Dumplings Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Chicken and Herbed Cornmeal Dumplings Yellow cornmeal and fresh herbs give these dumplings extra flavor and texture. Pair with a rotisserie chicken, and this dish is ready in less than 45 minutes. 10 of 28 Southwest Cornmeal Candied Bacon Southern Living Recipe: Southwest Cornmeal Candied Bacon Cover your bacon in cornmeal, light brown sugar, ground red pepper, and ground cumin for a candied delight you'll want to put on everything. 11 of 28 Cornmeal Angel Biscuits Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Cornmeal Angel Biscuits Yellow cornmeal adds color, flavor, and texture to these anytime biscuits. 12 of 28 Cornmeal Cookie Berry Shortcakes Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Cornmeal Cookie Berry Shortcakes A touch of crunchy cornmeal sets this bright cookie apart from the rest. 13 of 28 Any-Berry Muffins with Cornmeal Streusel Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling; Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Any-Berry Muffins with Cornmeal Streusel Bake a batch of these cornmeal muffins with any combination of berries you have around for a treat that's just sweet enough to curb a craving. 14 of 28 Classic Chess Pie Southern Living Recipe: Classic Chess Pie Cornmeal is the secret ingredient to add body to the filling of this super Southern pie. 15 of 28 Hush Puppies Recipe: Hush Puppies Made from a six-ingredient batter, these two-bite nuggets are fully submerged for an irritable, deep fry. 16 of 28 Sausage Gravy Casserole with Cheddar-Cornmeal Biscuits Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Sausage Gravy Casserole with Cheddar-Cornmeal Biscuits While we particularly enjoy these biscuits as a casserole crust, they go great with everything from slices of country ham to your go-to fall soups. 17 of 28 Cornmeal Popovers Laurey W. Glenn Recipe: Cornmeal Popovers Preheat your oven with the muffin pan inside to achieve the perfect popover temperature before spooning in the batter. 18 of 28 Cornbread Dressing Recipe: Cornbread Dressing Whether you call it dressing or stuffing, it's not Thanksgiving without a traditional cornbread dressing. This recipe using homemade cornbread is sure to complete any holiday table. 19 of 28 Simple Salmon Croquettes William Dickey / Styling Buffy Hargett / Food Styling Angela Sellersc Recipe: Simple Salmon Croquettes While this speedy recipe takes less than 20 minutes, we recommend mixing up your salmon batter a few hours before you get cooking. This will help your batter firm up before you shape the cakes. 20 of 28 Fried Pickle Chips Alison Miksch Recipe: Fried Pickle Chips Toss your favorite kind of dill pickles into a mixture of ground cornmeal and flour, and then let your cast iron skillet fry them to perfection. 21 of 28 Classic Cornbread Dressing Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Classic Cornbread Dressing This holiday staple starts with a Southern cornbread baked in a skillet for a crisp, golden crust. 22 of 28 Brown Butter Cornbread Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Brown Butter Cornbread Brown butter brings out a slightly nutty hint while just a touch of sugar caramelize this cornbread's crispy the edges. 23 of 28 Deb Wise's Tamale Pie Mix-up Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Deb Wise's Tamale Pie Mix-up This comforting casserole combines ground beef, cornmeal, tomato sauce, corn, and cheese for a hearty main the whole family will love. 24 of 28 Pinewood Fried Chicken Johnny Autry; Prop and Food Styling: Charlotte L. Autry Recipe: Pinewood Fried Chicken Compare this gluten-free cornmeal crust to your traditional fried chicken, and we can guarantee you won't miss the flour. 25 of 28 Fish Fry Caitlin Bensel Recipe: Fish Fry This crowd-pleasing fried catfish has the perfect ratio of savory and spicy, 26 of 28 Cracked-Corn Spoon Bread Peter Frank Edwards; Prop Styling: Kendra Surface; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Cracked-Corn Spoon Bread A nice change of pace from your everyday dinner roll, this spoon bread uses coarse-ground yellow grits or cornmeal to add a rich corn flavor and a bit of texture to your dinner table. 27 of 28 Tomato 'n' Beef Casserole With Polenta Crust Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas Recipe: Tomato 'n' Beef Casserole With Polenta Crust A cornmeal crust seals in all the flavor of the meat and vegetable mixture in this one-dish dinner. 28 of 28 Apple-and-Pear Cornmeal Galette Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Apple-and-Pear Cornmeal Galette Keep the gorgeous center of this apple-and-pear dessert exposed for a simpler approach to autumn flavor. 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