Take Boxed Cornbread To New Heights With One Canned Addition

Boxed cornbread is perhaps one of the most useful, yet underestimated baking mixes you can buy in stores. It's extremely versatile, since you can bake the batter in a muffin tin or loaf pan as a savory accompaniment for vegetarian chili, or add some honey to the batter to give the bread a little caramelized sweetness. But there's one canned ingredient you can add to cornbread mix to take it to new heights altogether: black beans. Though it might sound strange at first, adding canned black beans to cornbread mix is an easy way to make the bake extra moist and flavorful.

When adding black beans to boxed cornbread, the options are pretty expansive. For instance, you can give your cornbread a Tex-Mix twist by taking a page from your favorite cowboy caviar recipe, layering black beans, corn, chopped veggies, and cheese beneath prepared cornbread batter in a baking dish. The baked cornbread will soak up all the juices from the mix-ins, adding depth of flavor, moisture, and heartiness to the simple boxed mix. You can also fold in cooked meat, such as ground beef, sausage, or pulled pork, with the black beans before layering with cheese and cornbread batter for a black bean chili-inspired one-pan dish suitable for a main or tasty side. You could also simply cook and season beans with spices like cumin and smoked paprika. Then, fold them into the cornbread batter to create textural intrigue, depth of flavor, plus added protein and fiber.

There are many hacks for making boxed cornbread moist and fluffy, like mixing in canned corn, pouring in tangy buttermilk, or folding in Greek yogurt or sour cream for extra tenderness. Black beans are also a great way to add moisture to baked goods like cornbread, especially if you retain a bit of the juices from the can before simmering the legumes with spices and mixing them into the batter before baking. Just be sure to drain off most of the liquid — reserving just a tablespoon or two — since excess moisture could make the bread overly salty or soggy. 

Once you try adding black beans to your boxed cornbread mix, you can feel free to let your mind run wild and get creative with other boxed cornbread mix-ins. Continue building upon the Tex-Mex influence of black beans and veggies by stirring in pickled or diced jalapeños, spices like chili powder or cayenne for heat, and of course, plenty of cheese. Add bacon bits and bake off the batter in muffin tins for the perfect breakfast carbohydrate to serve with eggs. Or simply give your cornbread a flavor boost by cooking sage or rosemary in oil, then folding the herbs in along with the black beans. Trust us, no one will ever know the bread wasn't scratch-made.