Dry, Crumbly Cornbread? Head To Your Pantry For This Popular Canned Ingredient

Whether it's the dead of winter or a warm summer evening, the chili-cornbread combo is timelessly satisfying. Warm, filling, savory chili and sweet cornbread slathered in butter and honey are a match made in heaven. But if your cornbread falls apart the second you try to spread butter on it, or crumbles into your chili unbidden, the combo of sticky fingers and, if you're serving kids, a crumb-covered floor might spoil your otherwise perfect meal. So, how do you take cornbread, a dish made to be light and flaky, and make sure it's moist enough to stay together?

There are all sorts of hacks for making your boxed cornbread the best it can be, but one of the most effective is stirring in one simple pantry ingredient that adds not just moisture, but flavor as well: creamed corn. Half a can of this combination of sweetcorn and a milky liquid mixed into your batter will transform cornbread that falls apart into a more cake-like dish. As an added bonus, it can add a new texture with some added crunch and creaminess — and rest assured, you (and maybe even your toddler?) can spread butter on the bread successfully with minimal crumbling.

Don't typically stock creamed corn in your pantry and looking for a last-minute alternative? The good news is there are plenty of potential swaps. They all rely on the same basic principle: Getting more moisture into your cornbread. Adding sour cream or an egg to your recipe, increasing the amount of butter or oil used, or swapping a dry sweetener like white sugar for a moist one like honey are all viable ways to help your batter stick together better without jeopardizing its texture and flavor.

Alternatively, you can try mixing up the shape of your cornbread. Making mini cornbread muffins, for example, can help each muffin to better hold its shape without being overcooked to dryness. Similarly, frying cornbread into pancakes results in a wider crispy surface area, and therefore gives it less potential to fall apart from a thinner moist interior. Or, make one big cornbread pancake in a cast iron skillet, first adding a generous amount of oil or butter to the bottom for a similar wide surface area and a moist crust. The result? A crispy, buttery, elevated version of cornbread that you can serve almost like a cake.