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    Home | Recipes | Breads

    Published: Jun 8, 2021 · Updated: Apr 3, 2022 by Angie Dixon ·

    Cheese and Jalapeño Polenta Bread (Cornbread)

    jump to recipe Pin

    This cheese and Jalapeño Polenta Bread is delicious, cheesy, spicy. A great side dish for the weekend barbeque that comes together in less than an hour.

    I love mealie bread and was having a bit of a craving this weekend. But all I had in my pantry was a jar of pickled Jalapeños, and just enough polenta to make my favourite polenta bread.

    Cheese and Jalapeno Polenta Bread in Cast Iron Pan

    Are cornbread and polenta bread the same?

    These are both quick bread recipes, however, the methods and ingredients used in the Southern US are a bit different to what I am using here. Although I'm sure somewhere along the line ideas and methods were swopped.

    Cornbread is usually made with southern grits, made from white corn, while polenta is made from yellow corn. The colour difference arising from the amount of beta carotene within the varieties. However, other than that, there isn't much difference in the corn or maize varieties.

    Cornbread is common in the US, and this recipe is a riff on the US version, however, instead of butter I opted for olive oil since I was using polenta. But I wanted spice - and love my pickled Jalapeños, and love cheese.

    Slices of Cheese and Jalapeno Polenta Bread

    Ingredients for Cheese and Jalapeño Polenta Bread (Cornbread)

    Flour - plain all purpose, standard grade flour is needed for this recipe, and only a single cup or 150 grams.

    Coarse polenta or cornmeal (not cornflour or corn starch!) gives this bread a nice maize flavour.

    Olive oil, milk and eggs add moisture to this bread, while the eggs also bind everything together.

    Cheese (I would suggest a cheddar or even a mature cheddar for added flavour), Jalapeño, pickle juice and garlic powder add to the flavour of the polenta.

    Baking soda and baking powder are the leavening agents that make this bread light and fluffy.

    Making Polenta Bread

    This is a really simple recipe that starts with preheating your oven and preparing your baking vessel. All the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, polenta, salt, garlic powder, baking soda, and baking powder) are whisked together to evenly distribute the ingredients and to break down any clumps that may have formed in the flour.

    The wet ingredients are then added to the fry ingredients and mixed through until a fairly wet batter is formed.

    Pour this into your baking vessel and bake until golden brown or a cake tester comes out clean from the center.

    Rate & Review!

    If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating! It gives my readers and me helpful feedback. If you want more recipes, subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!

    Recipe Card

    Cheese and Jalapeno Polenta Bread in Cast Iron Pan.

    Cheese and Jalapeño Polenta Bread (Cornbread)

    Angie Dixon
    This cheese and Jalapeño Polenta Bread is delicious, cheesy, spicy. A great side dish for the weekend barbeque that comes together in less than an hour.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Email Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    Prep time.Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook time.Cook Time 40 minutes mins
    Total time.Total Time 50 minutes mins
    CourseCourse Side Dish
    CuisineCuisine American
    Servings 12 servings

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 150 grams plain flour (all-purpose/standard grade)
    • 170 grams polenta
    • 1 teaspoon table salt
    • 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar (honey or maple syrup)
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 2 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda (bicarb/bread soda)
    • 375 grams milk
    • ¼ cup chopped pickled Jalapeño
    • ¼ cup Jalapeño pickle juice
    • 2 eggs (large)
    • 120 grams grated cheese
    • 80 grams olive oil
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    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 180°C/355F. Grease and line a loaf tin, 8"x8" tin or a 9" cake tin.
    • Place the flour, polenta, baking soda, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk, mix the dry ingredients to break up any clumps in the flour and distribute the ingredients evenly. Mix the grated cheese through the dry ingredients.
      150 grams plain flour, 170 grams polenta, 1 teaspoon table salt, 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 120 grams grated cheese
    • Add the milk, eggs and olive oil to the dry ingredients and mix until well-combined.
      375 grams milk, 2 eggs, 80 grams olive oil
    • Pour in the Jalapeños and pickle juice, stir to combine.
      ¼ cup chopped pickled Jalapeño, ¼ cup Jalapeño pickle juice
    • Pour the batter into the prepared dish and bake for 40 to 50 minutes until the bread is golden brown, and a cake tester comes out clean from the centre of the bread.
    • Allow the bread to cool before serving with butter and honey.

    Notes

    Olive oil can be replaced with butter.
    Pickled Jalapeños can be substituted out with 2 fresh Jalapeños.
    Instead of grating the cheese, chop it into small square blocks about 3mm x 3mm in size. This will result in chunks of melted cheese throughout the bread.
    For fan-forced or fan-assisted ovens decrease the temperature by 20°C/25F.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1slice | Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Sodium: 580mg

    Nutrition information is an estimate. If scaling the recipe remember to scale your cook and bakeware accordingly. All temperatures stated are conventional, unless otherwise stated. Recipes tested in grams and at sea level.

    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    « Whipped Shortbread (EET-SUM-MOR)
    Lemon Cake with Lemon Glaze »

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Rachel says

      November 07, 2022 at 11:11 am

      5 stars
      I wanted to make corn bread but only had polenta. So I found this recipe and loved it! I loved how there was a crackly crustiness to the top and edges but soft. It goes so well with soup. Amazing with chili and sour cream!

      Reply
    2. Joan says

      September 27, 2021 at 2:13 pm

      Made this tonight. I'm Seattle WA, today has been cold, gray and raining. I made a super hearty chili and this bread was just fantastic! So good asked will be fantastic tomorrow with just honey and butter. Great recipe. Followed exact and we opted to cut the cheddar cheese into small squares. And I used maple syrup instead of sugar.

      Reply
      • Mary-Lou says

        September 27, 2021 at 3:05 pm

        Hi Joan!

        Thank you so much for this great comment. It has really made my Monday afternoon! And has given me a craving for chili and bread 🙂

        Kind Regards,
        Mary-Lou

        Reply

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