The Best Southern Cornbread Salad

Southern Cornbread Salad is going to be your new favorite potluck side! Tender, homemade cornbread is topped with fresh vegetables and crisp, crumbled bacon, and dressed in a rich Ranch-based dressing for layers of flavor!

close up image of a spoonful of southern cornbread salad.

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Looking for a crowd-pleasing side dish to bring to a weekend BBQ or family gathering? Look no further than this Southern Cornbread Salad recipe! Packed with savory flavor, it features an amazing combination of ingredients ranging from freshly baked cornbread to bacon, cheese, crunchy corn, onions, sour cream, and Ranch.

The end result is an explosion of tastes and textures even the pickiest eaters will love. Served alongside all your favorites like baked beans, broccoli salad, hot dogs, and burgers, it’s guaranteed to disappear fast!

close up image of a white plate of southern cornbread salad.

Southern Cornbread Salad Recipe

If you haven’t tried a layered salad before, I hope you’ll give this one a try! This old-fashioned potluck side salad is essentially a savory trifle, with cornbread serving as the “cake” component. It’s packed with vegetables like grape tomatoes, red bell pepper, and green onion plus black-eyed peas for southern flair. Then, you finish the salad with a creamy Ranch-infused dressing for even more flavor!

You can make this recipe as written, or if you have leftover cornbread, this is a great way to use it up. Play around with the vegetables you throw in, too – other crunchy veggies like cucumber or celery would add a nice texture contrast. Or, use fresh corn rather than frozen when it’s in season.

I love that this salad is served cold – it’s so refreshing on a hot summer afternoon and it also means you can easily make it in advance! To keep your prep easy, make a box of Jif cornbread mix as the recipe suggests. Or, you can make a batch of homemade cornbread. However you make this cornbread salad recipe, it’s sure to be a hit!

Ingredients for Southern Cornbread Salad

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Cornbread

Nonstick cooking spray
Jiffy cornbread mix – Or, you can make cornbread from scratch.
Salt – I use kosher salt.
Butter – I typically use unsalted butter in this recipe, but you can use salted butter.
Buttermilk – Buttermilk in cornbread is a must! It gives it a wonderful lightness.
Eggs – To bind the batter and form structure in the cornbread.

Assembly

Cherry tomatoes – Or, substitute grape tomatoes.
Red bell pepper – For color and crunch.
Black-eyed peas – Use canned black-eyed peas to speed up your prep time.
Olive oil – I use extra virgin olive oil.
Red wine vinegar – You can find red wine vinegar in the vinegar aisle at the grocery store.
Ranch dressing – Store-bought or homemade Ranch.
Sour cream – Use full-fat sour cream for the ultimate richness.
Green onions – For a hint of tang and a little extra crunch.
Frozen corn – You can substitute fresh or canned corn if you wish.
Bacon
Mexican-style cheese

Variations

As noted, you can add other vegetables, such as cubed cucumber or diced celery. Try fresh corn from a cob rather than frozen corn. You can substitute the black-eyed peas for other canned beans, like navy beans or black beans. Or swap the bacon for ham.

large glass bowl of cubed homemade cornbread.

large glass bowl of black-eyed peas and halved cherry tomatoes.

How to Make Southern Cornbread Salad

Heat the oven and prepare the pan: Preheat the oven to 400℉. Coat a 13×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and set it aside.
Make the cornbread: In a mixing bowl, mix together the cornbread ingredients until combined, it is okay if a few small lumps remain. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
Bake the cornbread: Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the dish is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Let the cornbread cool completely, and cut it into 1 ½ to 2-inch cubes.
Toss together the salad ingredients: In a mixing bowl, toss together the tomatoes, bell pepper, black-eyed peas, olive oil, vinegar, and salt.
Make the dressing: In a separate bowl, mix together the Ranch dressing, sour cream, and green onions.
Assemble the salad: To assemble, spread the cornbread pieces evenly along the bottom of a large glass serving bowl. Layer over the tomato mixture, followed by the corn, and the crumbled bacon. Gently spread the dressing mixture over the top, and sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

serving of southern cornbread salad sitting in a shallow white round plate.

Quick Tip

You can bake the cornbread a day or two in advance to save yourself time when assembling your salad!

How to Store Southern Cornbread Salad

Store leftover cornbread salad in an airtight container or tightly covered in a bowl, for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Serving Suggestions

Southern cornbread salad is perfect on the potluck table or at a barbecue. Here are a few of my suggestions for what to serve with it:

Other cold salads. Southern corn salad is a good companion to other potluck cold salads, like my Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, and Easy Pasta Salad recipe.
Hamburgers. Serve southern corn salad with burgers! If you feel like going a little lighter, skip the hamburger bun.
Ham. This southern cornbread salad would be a wonderful side to a ham. Or, serve it alongside my Ham and Swiss Cheese Sliders.

FAQs

What is the difference between northern and Southern cornbread?

Northern cornbread is slightly less sweet than other varieties and is made with yellow cornmeal and fewer eggs. Southern-style cornbread can be made with white or yellow cornmeal, has a buttery finish, and calls for more eggs, which produces a cakelike texture.

What is the difference between Johnny Cake and cornbread?

Cornbread is more of a cake or bread, while Johnny Cakes are cornmeal pancakes fried on the stove.

What does adding an extra egg to cornbread do?

If you add an extra egg to your cornbread recipe, the end result will be denser and have an eggier flavor than if you stick to the amount called for in the ingredients list.