The Absolute Best Store-Bought Mix For Flavorful And Fluffy Cornbread

It's hard to beat most homemade cornbread recipes, especially when they're paired with barbecued meats or a bowl of hearty chili. Sometimes, however, even the most committed home cooks need a hack to help get a meal on the table faster — and store-bought cornbread mix can certainly make that happen. There are many brands on the grocery store shelves to choose from so Tasting Table did some prep work with a ranking of 10 boxed cornbread mixes so you (and your dinner guests) aren't disappointed with the cornbread on the table.

Out of the 10 brands, Bob's Red Mill Golden Cornbread Mix is the one our researcher thinks you should try, with the caveat that taste tests are always a bit subjective. However, there are a handful of convincing reasons why you might want to try Bob's Red Mill instead of other popular brands like Jiffy, which came in sixth place. One reason our researcher gave the coveted number one spot to Bob's Red Mill was its "impressive, domed rise and a beautiful yellow color" straight out of the oven. Its flavor, moisture, and quality also made the boxed cornbread stand out from the other brands included in the ranking.

It's important to note this review is specifically about Bob's Red Mill Golden Cornbread Mix because the brand's stone ground cornbread mix has landed at the bottom of other taste tests. As for our ranking, the ingredients shine some light on why it took the number one spot. It's partly made of what the brand calls Bob's Signature Blends, a blend of four high-quality flours for a made-from-scratch taste and texture. The brand also uses high-quality ingredients and skips any fillers or preservatives. If you can't find it at your local grocery store, it's available on Amazon, where it has a 4.8-star rating based on customer reviews — so we aren't the only ones with this opinion.

In case you're wondering what other brands made it to the top of our ranking, Fleischmann's Simply Homemade Cornbread Baking Mix took the second spot because it wasn't too sweet and had hints of buttermilk. Meanwhile, our researcher found Martha White Yellow Cornbread & Muffin Mix was the worst out of the bunch. No matter what brand you find in the back of your pantry, there is an array of ingredients that elevate any cornbread. You can stir in corn kernels to add more texture, mix in diced jalapeño for a touch of heat, or add fresh herbs — just in case you aren't quite as impressed with Bob's Red Mill cornbread mixture.