Dolly Parton's Skillet Cornbread Recipe, Plus Dolly's Thoughts On Cast Iron Skillets (5 Ingredients) Bread/Muffins High Protein Recipes Budget Recipes Southern Recipes Cookbooks Low Sugar Recipes Side Dishes

"Everyone needs a good cast-iron skillet. In the South, it's not uncommon for a bride to receive one as a wedding gift – and not always a new one! One of the best traditions we enjoy is when a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet is handed down through the generations, like our Mama's were. We both still have – and use – skillets of hers that have made cornbread more times than we'll ever know." That's what Dolly and her sister say in their cookbook Good Lookin' Cookin': A Year of Meals.

I agree. I use my cast-iron skillets all the time, and plan to hand them down one day to my kids. I hope they'll make delicious recipes in them like Dolly Parton's skillet cornbread.

Dolly starts with a self-rising cornmeal mix and adds her own special ingredients to it. Here is your shopping list for this budget-friendly skillet cornbread recipe: self-rising white cornmeal mix, buttermilk (here's how to make homemade buttermilk in minutes), bacon grease or shortening, salt and black pepper. The cornbread bakes up in about 25 minutes to moist, delicious golden brown. All you need now is some butter!

Pro Tip: I pour my bacon grease into a bowl and keep it in the freezer for recipes like this and for cooking eggs, beans, vegetables or whatever needs some bacon flavor.

Serve slabs of the high-protein southern cornbread as a side dish with dinner. You can slather the cornbread with butter or drizzle some sweet honey over it. Either way, this cornbread is divine.

Rest in my, Dolly. You will not be forgotten.

Cuisine: American / Southern
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons bacon grease or shortening
• 2 cups Martha White or White Lily self-rising buttermilk-enriched white cornmeal mix
• 1 1/2 cups whole buttermilk, well shaken
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Here's how to make it: 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Heat the bacon grease or shortening on the stovetop in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium heat until smoking hot. Remove from the burner.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal mix, buttermilk, salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of the hot grease or shortening to the batter and mix well. Pour the batter into the hot skillet – it will sizzle a bit on the side, but that's good! Place the skillet in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and let the cornbread cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Slice and serve.

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