What to Do With Leftover Cornbread? 20 Great Ideas

Cornbread is an exceptionally delicious bread you can combine with many other ingredients making it a side or the main star. Its spongy and grainy consistency makes it perfect for dunking or crumbling, so you can use it with many dishes, from soup to meat, to salad. So, what to do with leftover cornbread? 

You can combine cornbread in your breakfast, dinner, or lunch and use it to make a snack. You can pair it with bacon or scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast. For lunch, you can make cornbread stuffed chicken or chili con carne. For dinner -beef cornbread casserole or cornbread and tuna salad. 

Since cornbread is so versatile, it would be a shame to use it the same way over and over. Not that a simple cornbread and butter combo wouldn’t do the trick, but in the sea of options, it is a great idea to try at least some of them. Therefore, I will share some cornbread breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack ideas in the following paragraphs. 

What to Do With Leftover Cornbread for Breakfast? 

Cornbread for breakfast is a great idea. The carbs will fuel you for the rest of the day, and you don’t have to feel guilty for having a little more as you have the entire day to spend them. Make yourself an excellent, nutritious, and satiating breakfast using your leftover cornbread. 

Bacon and Eggs

Bacon and eggs, better known as “the breakfast of champions,” is the perfect way to start your day. Delicious, caloric, and energizing will give you the boost you need for a productive day. Now, add cornbread to this equation, and see miracles happen. 

You can have cornbread on the side or crumble it over the eggs and let it soak up in the juicy plate of deliciousness. You can also crumble up your leftover cornbread and sizzle it along with the bacon in the pan.

Scrambled Eggs and Sausage

If it is a gloomy Monday and you are sad the weekend is over, fire up the pan and make yourself some comfort food. Breakfast sausage and scrambled eggs are a dish made to lift your spirits. The cornbread is the jewel of this meal. 

Crumble some cornbread inside the egg bowl and scramble the eggs together with the cornbread crumbles. The mixture will thicken, and when you pour it over the already-sizzled sausages in the pan, it will turn into a delicious pancake interspersed with sausages.  

Breakfast Casserole 

Breakfast casserole, or in other words, the leftover meal, is the perfect way to use up whatever leftovers you have lying around. From chicken to deli meats, everything goes in the breakfast casserole. 

Crumble the cornbread in a deep bowl and add some meaty ingredients, such as shredded leftover chicken or pork; throw in some veggies like peppers, tomatoes, and onions, and pop the mixture in a baking pan. 

Grate some cheese on top to give the casserole an excellent crispy and cheesy crust. Bake for ten to 15 minutes and enjoy the day’s most important meal. 

Cornbread Muffins 

Cornbread muffins are another excellent use of leftover cornbread. Crumble the cornbread in a big mixing bowl and add some cheese and heavy cream. You can also add chopped deli meats, olives, mushrooms, or any other ingredient you love. 

Add some baking powder for our cornbread muffins to rise. 

Fill the muffin molds with the cornbread mixture and pop them in the oven. Let them bake for about 10 to fifteen minutes, and feast yourself on the delicious and quick breakfast muffins.

Cornbread Breakfast Pizza

If you don’t know what to do with your leftover cornbread, a cornbread breakfast pizza is always a slam dunk idea to have a delicious meal. Crumble your cornbread in a deep mixing bowl and add an egg to make it softer and easier to spread on a pan. 

Press the mixture on a baking tray, and from that point on, the sky is the limit. Add whatever ingredients you would put on a regular pizza, deli meats, veggies, cheeses, mushrooms, and sauces, and let the pizza bake. 

Ten minutes later, you will enjoy an excellent meal, perfect to start your day with.

What to Do With Leftover Cornbread for Lunch? 

Since lunch is usually a heavier meal, introducing your leftover cornbread as an ingredient to your lunch is a great idea. It will soak in the extra fat and will also enrich your meal. Look at the ideas below to find the best work for you. 

Cornbread Filled Chicken

If you plan on making chicken for lunch, your cornbread leftovers fall right into place. Crumble the cornbread in a mixing bowl and add herbal spices to up the flavor. You can also chop some garlic and scallions and add them to the mixture. 

Stuff the chicken with cornbread and spices mixture and let it bake. Don’t worry about dryness, as the chicken’s juices will sufficiently moisten the stuffing. In the end, top the cornbread and spices mixed with butter, mix well and let it sit for a few minutes. 

The cornbread stuffed chicken is a meal and a side dish all in one, so you need nothing more than a glass of your favorite drink to enjoy your meal. 

Chili Con Carne

If you like moderately spicy food, the cornbread chili con carne is the perfect option for you. Regular chili is hot and spicy, but cornbread chili is spicy enough to open your appetite but not so much as to make your eyes water. 

The cornbread mildens down the spiciness of the chili, but it also makes it creamier and richer. You don’t have to make any significant changes in the making procedure; just add crumbled cornbread to the chili pot while making it, and you are done. 

Cornbread Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are the jewel of Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine, growing in popularity worldwide. The peppers are traditionally filled with ground meat and rice, but in this case, replace the rice with cornbread. 

This idea also works for vegetarian and vegan solutions because you can also replace meat with soy or mushrooms. You can add finely chopped vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, carrots, or potatoes. 

Mix the cornbread with the ingredients you chose to use and sauté everything in a pot for about seven minutes. Remove the peppers’ stems and seeds and stuff them with the mixture. Pop them in a baking pan and add one glass of water. 

Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy your rich meal. 

Cornbread Shepherds’ Pie

The cornbread shepherd’s pie is just like regular shepherd’s pie but with cornbread instead of mashed potatoes. The rest of the ingredients remain the same, as well as the making process. You will need to soften the cornbread, so I recommend crumbling it and mixing it with milk. 

Bake it as you would usually bake shepherd’s pie and enjoy this shepherd’s pie variation. Top the meat layer with the cornbread and grate cheese over it. If you like the regular dish, chances are you will like this version even more.

French Onion Soup With Cornbread

French onion soup is usually an entrée but combined with cornbread, it makes a full meal, and all you need is a side salad. French onion soup usually has croutons, but replacing the croutons with cornbread gives this soup a whole new dimension. 

All you need to do is put cornbread crumbles directly in your bowl and let them soak in. They will make the soup even creamier and will absorb the excess fat. Also, the cornbread crumbles will milden the onion dominance, which is excellent if you get heartburn after eating onions.   

What to Do With Leftover Cornbread for Dinner? 

As the last meal of the day, dinner is supposed to be lighter, but lighter doesn’t mean boring or without substance, so adding your leftover cornbread to your dinner might just be the perfect day to end your day.

Beef Cornbread Casserole

A beef casserole is a frequent dinner idea. Beef isn’t fatty meat, it is full of protein, and you can add vegetables to your casserole, making it healthier. The cornbread here enriches the meal, gives it body, and makes it more satiating.

Crumble your leftover cornbread and add it to the baking pan, along with the ingredients of the casserole. Bake the casserole as you usually would, and enjoy your dinner.

Cornbread and Tuna Salad

Cornbread and tuna salad might be your answer if you are looking for something light yet delicious. Make the salad as you normally would and set it for a few minutes. Meanwhile, pop the cornbread crumbles in a frying pan and add herbal spices such as basil and rosemary. 

Once the cornbread crumbles have browned up, take them off the stove and sprinkle them on your tuna salad. You will love the sudden crunch when you stumble upon a bite of sizzled cornbread. 

Cheesy Cornbread 

Cheesy cornbread is a great lazy dinner idea, curled up under a blanket while watching your favorite movie. Crumble up your leftover cornbread directly inside the baking tray and press them with your palms. Melt some butter and smear it to bond the crumbles. 

Grate your favorite cheese over the cornbread and let it bake for about 10-15 minutes. Take it out of the oven and cut the cornbread into squares. You can have the cheesy cornbread as it is or make some dip to enrich it.

Sloppy Joes 

Cornbread sloppy Joes are an absolute delight and have significantly fewer carbs than regular white bread you would typically use for sloppy Joes. 

The downside is that cornbread is pretty crumbly, so your sloppy Joe may be even sloppier. However, you can wrap them in plastic or aluminum foil to maintain their consistency. If that doesn’t work, you can always pour the sloppy Joe filling into a bowl, crumble the cornbread, and have a Bolognese cornbread kind of dinner. 

Grilled Cornbread With Garlic-butter Spread

Easy to make, requiring only three ingredients, and done in a few short minutes, this is a great dinner idea and a snack option. All you need is cornbread, garlic, and butter. Melt the butter and mix it with grated garlic and herbs.

Slice the cornbread into medium-thick pieces, smear the garlic and butter, and pop them on a skillet to sizzle for a few minutes, or put them in the oven to bake for 10 minutes.

Leftover Cornbread Snack Ideas

You don’t have to make your leftover cornbread a part of a meal to make the most of it. Instead, you can make snacks using your leftover cornbread and nibble on them whenever possible.

Cornbread Jalapeno Cheddar 

If you like these hot and tiny guys, you can fill them with a cheddar and cornbread filling and enjoy the flavor bomb. Crumble your leftover cornbread in a bowl and mix it with the cheddar. 

Cut the jalapeno in halves and remove the seeds. Fill the peppers with the cheddar and cornbread filling and pop them in the oven for 15 minutes. Let them cool and set and enjoy these bad boys with a glass of beer.

Mini Cornbread Bites 

This is a delicious snack, and the best thing about it is that you can make it using whatever you have in your fridge, from cucumbers to olives, to lettuce, to deli meats and cheeses. All you need to do is cut the cornbread into small squares and layer the ingredients on top of each other.

For example, you can put cheese, ham, and cucumber on a piece of cornbread and top them with another one. Place a toothpick in the middle of the sandwich to hold everything together, and you are ready for your next get-together with your favorite people.

Cornbread and Jam Muffins 

In addition to savory, you can also use your leftover cornbread for sweet delights. Crumble up the cornbread in a large mixing bowl, and add some cream, powdered sugar, and baking soda. Mix everything well and scoop the mixture placing it into muffin molds. 

Bake the muffins for about 15 minutes and take them out of the oven. Smear your favorite jam over the muffins, and have fun.

Cornbread Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cornbread chocolate chips are an absolute delight, and even more so since they are very simple to make, requiring only basic cooking skills and very little of your time. Crumble your cornbread in a large mixing bowl and add some eggs and milk. 

Do the milk and eggs according to the number of cornbread crumbs. Knead the mixture and transfer it onto a baking tray. Use a wider glass to cut out the cookies. 

Add the chocolate chips to the cut-out cornbread cookies and pop them in the oven for about 15 minutes. You will get soft and moist cookies you will want to make again.

Cornbread Bruschetta

To make this snack, you must cut the cornbread into medium-thick slices and pop them in the oven for about ten minutes. When you take them out while they are still hot, smear butter over them and layer your favorite ingredients. 

You can chop cherry tomatoes and place them on top of the cornbread slices. Place some arugula over them and top them with balsamic crème and parmesan. You can also top the cornbread slices with olives, cheese, or your favorite pate.