16 Ways To Upgrade Jiffy Cornbread Mix

You'd be hard-pressed to find an American who's not familiar with the long-standing pantry staple that is Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. A creation of the Chelsea Milling Co., founded in 1907, Jiffy is not a brand you'll see advertised on television or in cooking magazines, though. Jiffy doesn't advertise at all — because it doesn't have to. Everyone knows Jiffy.

At its heart, Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix is incredibly simple. It takes the already basic ingredients needed to make up a batch of cornbread and condenses them down into a three-ingredient recipe that anyone can follow at home. All you need for a batch of cornbread or corn muffins is a box of Jiffy mix, eggs, and milk. The mix already contains all your dry ingredients, including flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt.

However, what if you want something more than straightforward cornbread? In that case, Jiffy is a blank canvas on which you can paint a cornucopia of flavors. It's moldable clay out of which you can fashion near-endless other dishes. Not really seeing it yet? Here are some of our favorite ways to upgrade a box of Jiffy cornbread mix.

If you're still planning on making cornbread or corn muffins, and you just want to give them a little oomph, consider adding a few dollops of sour cream to your Jiffy mix. The sour cream adds a touch of tang to the cornbread's otherwise mild flavor profile while also providing some of the other benefits that come from using sour cream in your baking. Sour cream adds moisture to baked items, but because the sour cream is thick, it provides moisture without thinning out your batter or dough. It also adds fat, richness, and acid.

So, if you want to add some tang to your Jiffy cornbread, grab that container of sour cream from the fridge and measure out half a cup. Combine that sour cream with four tablespoons of melted butter and two eggs. Then add in your Jiffy mix. Yes, you'll be leaving out the milk that the box calls for, but the sour cream and melted butter will add the moisture, fat, and richness that the milk might otherwise provide.

Sour cream isn't the only thing you can add to the mix if you want to give your Jiffy corn muffins a little tang. Instead, you can use Greek yogurt in much the same way. Combine half a cup of Greek yogurt with four tablespoons of melted butter to substitute milk. Add the eggs and cornbread mix to the yogurt and butter and bake.

You'll notice a difference when using Greek yogurt in place of sour cream – and that all comes down to the protein. You probably already know that Greek yogurt has a higher protein content than sour cream, but that protein doesn't just translate to health benefits. It makes for lighter, airier cornbread.

If you've never cooked up a batch of spicy cornbread before, you're seriously missing out. It's an excellent accompaniment for chili or similar hearty soups and stews, and it plays well with southern and southwestern comfort food. You don't need to go digging around for a recipe for jalapeño cornbread, though. Just make your Jiffy cornbread with a spicy twist.

You have a few options here. Go ahead and prepare your Jiffy cornbread batter as the box instructs. Then, if you have them on hand, add in a mix of diced jalapeño and chopped green chiles. If you don't have anything fresh (or even canned) at the ready, you can reach for whatever's lurking on your spice rack. Chili powder and smoked paprika can both give your cornbread a bit of smoky heat. For something a little hotter, add chipotle peppers in adobo sauce or cayenne pepper to taste.

While you're busy spicing up your Jiffy cornbread, go ahead and take things up another notch by adding some cheese to the cornbread batter as well. A classic pairing with jalapeños is a simple shredded cheddar, but you can really follow your heart here and go with any shreddable cheese. Pepper jack will continue the spicy theme, while muenster can add a slight nutty flavor. Parmesan is a good choice if you're not leaning into the spicy elements but still want a bold flavor.

Whatever your cheese of choice, you have three main ways of adding. Mix the shredded cheese into the batter before baking, for thoroughly distributed cheesy goodness; wait until the final moments of cooking and add the cheese to the top of your cornbread for a melty topping; or do a mix of both, for the best of both worlds. Whichever way you go, the result is delicious cornbread.

If you follow the directions on a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix, you definitely shouldn't end up with overly dry cornbread, but you can extra moisture and delicious flavor by adding a bit of bacon fat to the mix.

This is a cornbread hack that comes straight from Tina Turner. Before you mix up your cornbread batter, you're going to fry up some bacon, preferably in a cast iron skillet. Reserve the bacon fat and pour into a container once it's cool enough to handle. Add two tablespoons of the cooled bacon fat to your cornbread batter and, after mixing, pour the cornbread batter into the same (uncleaned!) cast iron skillet, for baking.

As for what to do with the bacon you set aside, that's up to you — but having bacon on hand is never a bad thing. You can crumble and add into your cornbread, eat it on the side, or save it for another recipe.

While some prefer their cornbread savory, spicy, or cheesy, others like their cornbread on the sweet side. If you find yourself in the sweeter cornbread camp, then this Jiffy hack is for you.

Originally a firefighter's trick for delicious cornbread, this method calls for mixing one box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix with one box of yellow cake mix (you can keep the Jiffy trend going by buying Jiffy's golden yellow cake mix). Add in the ingredients that both boxes call for, such as oil, eggs, water, and milk, and then bake the mixture in a greased, preheated, cast iron skillet. After about a half-hour of baking, you'll be left with a result that is a sweet take on cornbread that's as easy as it gets — and a perfect complement to a spicy entrée. You can even take this little trick a few steps further by experimenting with different types of cake mixes.

Historically, one ingredient was often used in baking for its fatty, rich, moisture-enhancing properties, but it eventually fell out of favor. While our grandparents may have used it in their cakes on a regular basis, you might get an odd look, raised eyebrow, or even disgusted grimace if you ask someone if they included it in their chocolate cake recipe today. We're talking about mayonnaise of course.

Once a favorite baking ingredient, this condiment has since been relegated to topping burgers and fries. As such, you've probably never tried adding mayo to your cornbread — but don't knock it until you give it a go. This might just be the extra ingredient that'll save your cornbread from a dry fate. In addition to adding moisture and richness to your cornbread, mayonnaise also adds a zippy tang, much like sour cream or Greek yogurt. Just make your Jiffy cornbread batter according to the instructions on the blue box and add about a half of a cup of mayonnaise.

You may already serve your piping hot Jiffy cornbread with a side of butter, but don't settle for just plain butter the next time you make this comfort food. A sweet and salty batch of honey butter is easy to make and makes a very big impact.

To make salty honey butter corn muffins, prepare the cornbread as directed on the box. After baking, mix a few tablespoons of melted butter, a few tablespoons of honey, and one teaspoon of salt (or more to taste). Combine together and brush the mixture onto your corn muffins while they're still warm from the oven. Serve the excess with the muffins for finger-licking goodness.

And why stop there? When compound butter (butter plus anything delicious in the world equals compound butter) is so easy to make, you can create any sort of variation on this trick and still be greeted with nearly always delicious results. To make it, simply soften butter, thoroughly mix in your ingredients of choice, and let the concoction harden in the fridge. Portion it onto your hot corn muffins, letting all that flavor melt into the nooks and crannies.

Yes, chili and cornbread are often served together. Many times, the cornbread is sliced into squares or triangles and placed right in the bowl alongside the chili; however, why not go a step further and make the ultimate comfort food mashup: chili pot pie.

To make, follow your favorite chili recipe (a chili that's on the thicker side works best). Once cooked, pour the chili into a large, deep casserole dish or spoon it into individual oven-safe bowls. Prepare the Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix according to the directions on the box and spread the batter over the top of your chili. Bake the cornbread-topped chili until the corn muffin batter is cooked all the way through. Start by following the baking time suggested on the Jiffy box, but test the cornbread topping for doneness before pulling it completely from the oven.

You don't actually have to use Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix to make corn muffins or cornbread. It's far more versatile. Rather than making a thick batter that's best for baking, consider making a thinner batter that's great for, say, frying in a pan on the stovetop or pressing into a waffle iron.

Yes, that's right, you can use corn muffin mix to make pancakes or waffles. To make this thinner batter, blend the full, 8.5-ounce box of dry mix with two eggs and a three-quarter cup of milk. This will result in a much thinner batter than your standard Jiffy corn muffin batter, as the box only calls for one egg and only a third-cup of milk. Cook the batter just as you would any batter for pancakes or waffles.

Prefer your pancakes or waffles with tasty add-ins? Consider using one of Jiffy's corn muffin mixes beyond the original, such as the apple cinnamon, banana, blueberry, or raspberry corn muffin mixes.

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix and chili go together in more ways than just one. Beyond using it to make cornbread to eat alongside your chili or as a pot pie-style topping for a baked chili dish, you can also use it to thicken otherwise watery chili.

When you find yourself faced with thinner-than-expected chili, reach for a box of Jiffy muffin mix instead of going through the multiple steps to make a roux. The ingredients both thicken and absorb while also adding more flavor than you'd get from flour. Don't just open the box and toss all the mix in your chili pot, though. Work slowly, whisking in a few tablespoons of the mix at a time. Alternatively, you can combine the mix with water to form a slurry before adding it to your chili. Gradually add more mix until you've reached your desired consistency.

You've heard of burrito bowls. You've heard of bread bowls. But what about a cornbread bowl? This invention is exactly what it sounds like. It's a bowl made from cornbread, and it is perfect for holding all the soups, stews, and other foods that go so well with fresh-baked cornbread.

To make a cornbread bowl, prepare your Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix as normal. Instead of pouring the batter into a muffin tray or cast iron skillet, pour it into a deep pie pan or cake pan. Once the cornbread is done, let it cool, and then carefully cut a hole in the middle of the cornbread, being careful to leave enough bread around the periphery to hold in the bowl's contents. Fill the hollowed out section with the filling of your choice (chili, red beans and rice, et cetera) and serve.

You can use just about anything to create a pizza crust these days. Beyond the typical wheat-based pizza dough, cauliflower and chickpeas are go-to options among the gluten-free crowd, but you'll also see pizzas with crusts fashioned from zucchini, spaghetti squash, sweet potatoes, and more.

If all that's a little too vegetable-forward for your tastes, consider creating a pizza crust using your beloved box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. After making your mix according to the box directions, spread a very thin layer of the batter onto a greased casserole dish or rimmed baking sheet. Partially bake the cornbread before pulling it from the oven and topping with your desired pizza toppings. Toss it back into the oven to finish baking. When done, the result is a hearty pizza crust with a slightly sweet flavor that works well with the fatty richness of many pizza toppings.

Sure, you can sweeten your Jiffy cornbread with sugar, honey butter, or cake mix, but consider adding a real big hit of sweet goodness along with some moisture by mixing in some sweetened condensed milk. An evaporation process removes about 60% of the liquid from condensed milk and then sugar is added. As such, it's a whole lot of sweetness packed into a very thick product — and that heavy sweetness and moisture will translate to your cornbread. Combining a half can of sweetened condensed milk mixed with a little bit of milk to thin, one egg, and an 8-ounce box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix will result in a cornbread that's practically all dessert.

If you're not really feeling that level of sweet, you can always ditch the condensed milk and go with condensed milk's unsweetened sibling instead: evaporated milk. Evaporated milk and condensed milk are made the exact same way, except for one key difference: Evaporated milk does not include any added sugar.

You can buy Jiffy boxed mixes that are already fruit-flavored, including Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, and Raspberry corn muffin mixes, but these flavorings aren't really fruit. The blueberry muffin mix, for example, contains what the brand calls "blueberry-flavored bits." The raspberry? "Raspberry-flavored bits." Other than the Banana Muffin Mix, which is made with dried banana flakes, you can expect fruit flavorings.

Ditch the bits for real fruit by adding your own to the classic, OG Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. Fresh blueberries can add moisture, flavor, and texture to corn muffins, and you can keep the berries from sinking in the batter by coating them in flour before incorporating. Mashed bananas added at a ratio of one large banana per box of mix makes for an almost banana bread-esque corn muffin. Canned pumpkin puree is also a great option.

If you are a cornbread purest, you may balk at adding a bunch of excess ingredients to your cornbread mix. If that's the case, dip your toe into the world of possibilities with a very small, very safe change. Make your Jiffy cornbread just as you have been, but add in some extra corn. That's it.

You can't go wrong whether you choose canned corn, frozen corn, creamed corn, or fresh corn. That said, how you incorporate your corn will differ depending on which type of corn you choose, as you don't want to inadvertently add too much moisture to your Jiffy batter. A cup of corn per standard box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix makes for a good ratio, and fresh corn can be added with no additional adaptations. If you plan to use frozen corn, be sure to thaw and drain the excess moisture before adding it to your batter. Similarly, you should drain canned corn before adding. You can use creamed corn without draining for a rich cornbread pudding texture.