These delicious and cheddar cornmeal biscuits are sort of a mash-up of biscuits and cornbread. They are perfect alongside a bowl of chili or your favourite soup or stew.
Why you’ll love these cornmeal biscuits!
These easy cornmeal cheddar biscuits are the perfect side-kick for just about any soup or stew, but they are especially nice with Chili or any Tex-Mex type of soup or stew. They also mix up quickly in one bowl and need only a few minutes in the oven.
I love that these biscuits are just a little bit different from the usual. The cornmeal adds great texture and flavour and the bit of cheese is always welcome in a biscuit, in my opinion. Throw in touch of cayenne pepper and a handful of green onion and you have of a wonderful kind of cornbread/biscuit mash-up.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Cornmeal – Any cornmeal is fine here, from a finer ground cornmeal to a more coarse one.
Butter – While unsalted butter is specified in the recipe, you can use salted butter if you like. Simply reduce the added salt by half.
Milk or buttermilk – If you have buttermilk on hand, it would probably be the first choice for these biscuits. If not, regular milk of any variety is fine.
Cayenne pepper – A pinch of cayenne is added to the biscuits, but since it’s such a small amount, it doesn’t make the spicy at all. If you prefer, you can use a pinch of paprika instead.
Cheddar Cheese – You can use any cheddar, white or orange, or a mixture of both. I like to use white cheddar, if I have it, as I think they make for better looking biscuits. But that’s just me :)
Green onions – Green onion adds great flavour to these biscuits and also goes well with the cornmeal flavour. If you don’t have green onion on hand, a bit of chopped parsley can be added for a bit of colour.
Step-by-Step Photos
This is a summary of the steps to make these biscuits. Always refer to the complete instructions in the Recipe Card below.
1. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt and cayenne. Add the cubed butter and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or just use your fingertips, until you have an even mix with about pea-sized butter pieces. Add the green onion and shredded cheddar cheese and stir it around to evenly coat with flour.
2. Add about half of the buttermilk/milk to the bowl and stir in. Begin adding the last part of the milk a bit at a time, stirring between additions, until the mixture is moist, but not sticky. There shouldn’t be any dry flour visible in the bowl, especially on the bottom of the bowl. You may not need all of the milk. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 1-inch thick round. Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and cut into 8 even wedges. Use a spatula to get under the biscuits and pull them apart, so there is some space between the wedges. Brush the top of the biscuits with more buttermilk or milk and sprinkle with a little coarse salt, if you like. Bake and enjoy!
Cook’s Notes
- As I am only cooking for two these days, I’ve taken to making a mini-batch of biscuits – just enough to be enjoyed warm with dinner. So while this makes 8 biscuits, they are small biscuits. If you are feeding more or you want left-overs for breakfast sandwiches (never a bad idea!), you may wish to go straight to doubling the recipe.
- When it comes to biscuit making, the amount of milk you add is always “as needed”, so don’t pour the whole amount into the bowl at once. Add about half, then stir. Add a bit more and stir again. Keep adding a bit at a time, until you don’t see any more dry flour at the bottom of the bowl and the dough comes together. The dough should be moist but not too sticky. You may not need to use the full amount of milk.
- You can also cut these biscuits into rounds with a 2 1/2-inch cutter. For cutting rounds, you’ll want to pat the dough out a bit thinner, about 1/2-inch thick.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
These biscuits are best enjoyed freshly baked, but stored in an airtight container, are fine made a bit ahead.
These biscuits will also freeze well up to 2 months.
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Get the Recipe: Cheddar Cornmeal Biscuits
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, reduce in half if using salted butter
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed or salted butter, reducing added salt
- 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
- 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded, orange or white
- 2 Tablespoons green onions, finely diced
For topping:
- 1 Tablespoon milk or buttermilk
- Coarse or flaked salt, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F (regular bake/not fan-assisted).
- In large bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt and cayenne pepper. Add the cubed, cold butter. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly, with about pea-sized pieces of butter. Add the green onion and shredded cheese and stir to coat with flour. Pour about half of the milk into the bowl and stir in. Begin adding the remaining milk, adding it a bit at a time and stirring between additions, adding only as much milk as is needed until the dough comes together in a moist, but not sticky dough. There should be any dry flour visible in the bowl, especially on the bottom. You may not need all the milk (or you may need a splash more). Just use what you need.
- Turn the dough out onto floured surface and with lightly floured hands, knead gently a couple of time, then pat into a round about 1-inch thick.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle with a little cornmeal. Transfer the round of dough onto the parchment. Using a sharp knife, cut the round into 8 equal-sized wedges, then use a spatula to move the wedges apart, so there is some space between each wedge. Brush the top of the biscuits with buttermilk or milk and sprinkle with a bit of coarse salt, if using. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden.
Notes
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Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
These turned out great!! I had some leftover grated butter in the freezer so I used that instead of cubed. It didn’t look exactly like the picture so I was a bit worried it wouldn’t turn out, but it did wonderfully! I doubled the recipe but still made 8 biscuits (they’re a good size). Super quick and easy to make, I’ll definitely make them again. :)
So glad to hear, Allie! I really enjoy the added flavour of cornmeal in these ones, too. Thanks :)
Nothing like a good, homemade biscuit and these look awesome, Jennifer! Love the twist with cornmeal. Plus, who doesn’t love cheddar in their biscuits?! They look buttery and delicious and just perfect with a bowl of soup for lunch today!
Thanks Dawn and yes, the cornmeal adds great flavour and texture in these biscuits. Perfect with soup :)
Bet these would be perfect with chili the next time I make it! I know Tom would LOVE them! On my baking list Jennifer!
Thanks Mary Ann and yes, they are a nice change from the usual and so easy to whip up anytime :)