We eat a lot of cornbread around the Blind Pig house-but sometimes we don’t eat the entire cake of cornbread before it gets a little stale. When that happens-I either feed it to my chickens-or make cornbread salad with it.
The recipe for cornbread salad couldn’t be easier. The ingredients can be changed up according to what you have on hand-or what you prefer. The amounts can be adjusted to fit the amount of cornbread you have as well. First-crumble up some cornbread in a bowl. Some folks layer all the ingredients-so you can see the different items-but I think it tastes a whole lot better if you mix them all together.
Chop up onion and tomato and add that to the bowl. Add a can (or partial can) of beans. I’ve used pinto beans as well as kidney beans and both work great.
Add a handful or so of shredded cheese-we like sharp cheddar.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Dress the salad with Ranch dressing-some recipes call for an entire bottle of dressing-but I’ve found it easier to add a good amount and then taste to see if it needs more.
Stir all the ingredients up well-and that’s it! The salad is better after it ‘marries’ in the frig for a while or even overnight. Sometimes I add peppers if I have plenty on hand-and I’m sure you could add in other items as well. The salad is really quiet tasty and makes a perfect lunch for The Deer Hunter to take to work-it goes pretty good with a hamburger too.
Ever had cornbread salad?
Tipper
I have eaten this salad in a layered form. It was almost always a vinaigrette dressing. That’s a Missouri thing I think. Oh my goodness was it delish. I’ve never made it myself because my husband is a little bit picky about salads. When I was working we ate a lot of pot luck meals together for many occasions and once in a while this kind of salad was served. Thanks again for sharing and bringing back wonderful memories. Love to all. Hug’s to Granny, Little Bit and all. How’s the move going today? Have a great week. Jennifer
Jennifer-glad you enjoyed the post! The moving related work went well today đŸ™‚
From my Ky Appalachian roots I never heard of cornbread salad, but I lived and worked in southeastern WV in the 1990’s and this was one of the secrets I learned from them that I had never heard of (this, slaw dogs, and ramps).
I’ve never had this with cornbread, but our family heritage on my mom’s side is Italian and we eat and still do, a salad with stale Italian bread, tomatoes, onions, and olives. Sometimes I add cannelloni beans or chickpeas and dress it with red wine vinegar and olive oil, seasoned with salt, basil, and oregano. This is traditionally known as Panzanella and there are lots of variations. It’s a real favorite of mine, however we are cornbread fiends so…. cornbread, tomatoes, and ranch dressing? Oh yes, we will be eating this!!! Yum!
Tipper,I was raised in the country but never heard of cornbread salad ,I made it last night and it is WONDERFUL I put some black olives in it. It was so good that I had a bowlful for breakfast. Thank you so much for all the wonderful ideas on new and forgotten things that you write in the Blind Pig !! Keep up the good work. We enjoy it every day.
Never had it, but I’m sure gonna try it. Sounds like a southern version of Italian Panzanella which I LOVE.
God bless.
RB
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You know I love me some left over cornbread crumbled up in a glass or a bowl and some cold sweet milk poured over it. Its even better with a little onion cut up in it. But if the cow has been eating wild onions and has flavored her milk with it, that’s a different story. That stuff is nauseous. I remember when our cow was dry and we would get milk from the neighbors, it was bad enough because they were not so clean when they handled it, but if it tasted like wild onions I could not stomach it and had to swear off milk until our cow came in. That was tough for a big milk drinker like me.
Tipper,
I built my shop back in ’87 and I
had a neighbor from the thumb part
of Michigan. We became friends and
one day I put in a stove with an
oven. (Got tired of eating out all
the time) I asked him to eat dinner
with me the first meal I had. And
when he saw the cake of bread come
out of the oven, he said “Oh My,
Journey Cake.” It was cornbread,
no sugar tho…Ken
That recipe sounds really easy to do, but the thoughts of it make my mouth water. This is definitely one to try. Thanks!
Tipper,
Sounds like Quinn was making Northern Sweet Cornbread, not Appalachian Cornbread.
In our family cornbread was made several different ways. Depending on the ingredients at hand. If times were poor and short…Just water, cornmeal and maybe an egg, and lard. etc. or drop in some chitlins…
If times were better, eggs, self risin’ meal, buttermilk and oil..
Never ever used sugar in the cornbread…unless the cow had been eatin’ green onions and it was not tasty! LOL
Thanks Tipper,
everything goes better with cornbread! My husband and used to end our meals with it — mine would have buttermilk and his would have honey. I’ve had this salad many times in different variations. Haven’t had it with Ranch Dressing though — mostly with vineger and oil and with onions, tomato and green pepper.
Tipper,
I had forgotten all about that
stuff. It’s delicious! For letting
her dad eat supper with me all
those years and listening to him
re-tell stories about his Tunnel
years, Jesse’s oldest daughter made this for me a few
times and I loved it. Cornbread is
something I fix alot, and usually
have leftovers. Last year, after
our Garden Party, I noticed my
youngest granddaughter, Annabelle
with a piece in each hand…Ken
Tipper, my daughter makes a version of the cornbread salad and it is really good. I thought she was crazy when I first heard about it. I discovered a new(old) recipe when I came here to the Florida panhandle for left over cornbread. Here, it is called “Dressing” and is a local favorite. Just mix up your cornbread and add veg’s like when you make Stuffing, only add meat of some sort and a little gravy to serve up. It’s a great main dish all year long. Now that I have seen your salad recipe, I am going to try it for sure. Have a great day!
Quinn-thank you for the comment! You can go here to see how I make cornbread:https://blindpigandtheacorn.com/blind_pig_the_acorn/2010/01/making-cornbread.html
Blind Pig The Acorn
Celebrating and Preserving the
Culture of Appalachia
http://www.blindpigandtheacorn.com
This sounds and looks so good! Tipper, I’d love to know how you make your cornbread, too. I tried one recipe and it came out tasting like a sweet muffin instead of a what I think of as cornbread. I’d love to try your version – bet it’s tasty! đŸ™‚
Tipper,
Love me some cornbread sallet!
Yep, I’ve made it. I used to layer mine. Used blackbeans and corn and like you stated just about anything that’s good in a regular salad! I pour the dressing spread over the top and refrigerate and let the dressing seep down into the salad. This was made in a truffle bowl, sooo’s I could show it off at a
“take to” holiday dinner!
I like yours much better! Easier and for just us ’round hyar, you don’t haft to admyar, just jump in and et it up!
Thanks ever so Tipper!
It looks good, I’ve never had it, but something similar to a bread salad that I heard about a few months ago.
That’s how I make mine; sometimes I add corn and crumbled bacon bits.
Oh yes, I’ve eaten cornbread salad. Your recipe is very like mine only I sometimes use blue cheese dressing instead of ranch.
I love this salad. In fact I made a big bowl full for the Fourth of July. I add corn and black beans along with pinto beans. It’s so easy and good, as you say.
I would also like to thank you for recommending the book “It’s Not My Mountain Anymore” by Barbara Taylor Woodall. Having a KindleFire makes it easy to get books really fast and I am so glad I got this one. It’s an excellent book and I highly recommend it. Hope you are getting some sunshine, we did get a little rain the other night. I am sure it’s what you sent this way!! Lol… (Any other book recommendations would be appreciated).
Never even heard of that, Tipper, but it sounds delicious. I know my hubby would love it. We had our first new beans and taters last night, cooked with a hambone. Ambrosia! Esp with fried chicken, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, watermelon and cantalope.
I make cornbread salad, also. I love it! It is so easy to make and the longer it stays in the refrigerator, the better it tastes. I always add a can of creamed corn to mine which makes the salad moister.
Ummm, I have never heard of that. I love new recipes.
The cornbread salad sounds good. Of course, I will have to try it. I grew up eating leftover cornbread in a bowl with buttermilk poured over it, but never had a cornbread salad.
I’ll have to show this to my husband. He’s always making cornbread and it doesn’t all get eaten. He loves pinto beans. Thanks!
I’ve never had it but I’m about to.
It looks and sounds very good. I love cornbread especially the toasty brown edges created by a well seasoned iron skillet.
Tipper you should think about doing food photography. Those photos were excellent!
I love cornbread salad! Yours looks really good this morning. I also like to take left over cornbread and slice it up and fry it in bacon drippings or butter. I notice that you say a cake of cornbread. I grew up calling it a pone of cornbread. Whatever you call it you can’t beat it.
How terrific! Never heard of cornbread salad, but will sure be trying it! There are only two of us and my hubs loves bean soup and cornbread and there is always “extra” cornbread so woohoo, can’t wait to try this.
Have a happy day.
P.S. loved the bluebird video,although it did bring a few tears. Memories……..
Can’t say that I have ever had it or even heard of it, but I think it is a GREAT idea. I will be making some up some time.
Thanks!
I do something similar except I won’t eat canned beans. If I have leftover cornbread, I usually have leftover pintos too. I mix the beans with a can (yes) of chili without beans and heat it. When it is hot I mix it into the crumbled cornbread and top it hot taco sauce followed by shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Next it goes in the microwave for a minute to heat it all back up. Now I put on chopped onion, tomato, cucumber and shredded lettuce. Sprinkle the whole thing with crumbled bacon and more cheese. Now salt and pepper and a big tablespoon of sour cream or ranch dressing. Serves one person, Me!
All you need with that is somebody to help you get up from the table.
Nope, never had it, never even heard of it. It couldn’t help but be good with all those wonderful ingredients.
My family used to love cornbread with cream of chicken soup stirred up together. I didn’t particularly like it that way but your salad sounds good.
Yes! It used to be an “item” I would take to Wednesday night church suppers “back in the day” when we had to take our own dishes to help feed the children and young people (and of course, adults, too, who furnished the meal!). It was easy to mix up, and could be done in advance, saving some last-minute time. I had not thought about “Cornbread Salad” in a long time. Thanks for the reminder. I’m sure I’ll be making it again (when and if I make cornbread and have enough left over; cooking for one has taken its “down-sizing” turn for me for the last several years; and for one who loves to cook, that bespeaks not preparing a lot of items I used to do!). All of you, have an excellent day! And for you who like cornbread, I hope you enjoy the pungent odor of its baking, and make enough to try Tipper’s Cornbread Salad! Have an excellent day!