You could serve up some cornbread at the next tailgating party, or you can serve up something fun like these cornbread pancakes (aka hoecakes) with bacon. Perfect with game day chili or pulled pork. Sponsored by Krusteaz.

I don’t claim to be a Southerner. I may have grown up in Texas, but we are Texans first then possibly, a Southerner. Arizona was all about Mexican food and Desert culture. California is well, California.
Cornmeal grew in popularity in the South because it was a crude substitution for wheat flour. And thus, hoecakes, cornbread and the South’s love for all things corn was born. The first cornbreads were cooked as pancakes in the pan and not baked into the thick chunks we now know and love.
Jump to:
Recipe highlights
- A Fun Twist: If you are serving cornbread at your next tailgating party, then these cornbread pancakes are a fun new way of serving it up!
- Ridiculously Easy: Thanks to cornbread mixes, it has never been so easy to whip up hoe cakes likes these.
- Make anywhere: You can make these cornbread pancakes anywhere, even in a grill in the middle of your stadium’s parking lot! All you need is fire and a cast iron skillet.
- Texture: These hoecakes aren’t the fluffy pancakes you are serving for breakfast. They do give you all the golden crispy edges of cornbread, which makes me really love these hoecakes.

Ingredients you need

- 1-11.25 oz box of Krusteaz Fire Roasted Cornbread: You can use any variety of cornbread mix for this recipe.
- Water, mayonnaise, melted butter: These are the ingredients needed and listed on the the back of the box. I reduced the amount of water listed for these pancakes.
- Cooked bacon: Because what goes better with cornbread pancakes than bacon? You can use regular bacon or turkey bacon.
- Extra virgin olive oil: You will need some oil for the pan. I use extra virgin olive oil but you can also use any vegetable oil or butter.
Step-by-step directions

- Mix the batter. Mix cornbread mix, contents of cheese packet, bacon, mayonnaise and butter until combined. Slowly add water and mix in. You do not want a watery batter.
- Rest the batter. Let cornbread mix sit for 5-10 minutes until cornmeal mix absorbs water and batter thickens.
- Heat skillet. Lightly oil your cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, scoop ¼ cup of batter onto skillet. The hoecake will puff up slightly while it cooks.
- Flip and finish. When top edges of hoecake is no longer wet or glossy, flip pancake over and cook until done.
Want to save this recipe?
Recipe tips and FAQs
For this particular recipe, I used their Fire Roasted Cornbread Mix, but you can use this technique for any of their mixes. For this version, you add mayonnaise, butter and water to cornmeal mix. The only modification I made from their instructions was to reduce the amount of water by 1 Tablespoon.
By reducing the water, I had a nice thick batter, not a watery one. You don’t want the batter to spread when you scoop it into your hot skillet. A watery batter will produce a flimsy cornbread pancake, and it will fall apart. So whichever Krusteaz cornbread mix you use, reduce the water by 1 Tablespoon to make these hoecakes.
And if you are making hoecakes to go with your campfire chili or pulled pork, then they are already portion sized and ready for dunking. You can add any other favorite fixings in hoecakes, besides bacon, too, like green onions, bell peppers or jalapeños.
Storing/Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: Store any leftover hoecakes in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
TO FREEZE: You can also freeze leftovers. Transfer to a resealable bag or freezer safe container and freeze for up to 4 months.


If you are enjoying my recipes, please sign up for my newsletter and get my free 28-day meal plan! You can also follow me on Instagram or Facebook.

Cornbread Pancakes (Hoecakes) with Bacon
Ingredients
- 11.25 oz box of Krusteaz Fire Roasted Cornbread
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- 4 strips cooked bacon crumbled (¼ cup)
- 1-2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together cornbread mix, contents of cheese packet, bacon, mayonnaise and butter until combined.
- Slowly add water and mix in. You do not want a watery batter.
- Let cornbread mix sit for 5-10 minutes until cornmeal mix absorbs water and batter thickens.
- Heat your cast iron skillet over medium heat. Dampen paper towel with a little oil and rub down skillet.
- Once hot, scoop ¼ cup of batter onto skillet. The hoecake will puff up slightly while it cooks.
- When top edges of hoecake is no longer wet or glossy, approximately 5 minutes carefully flip pancake over.
- Cook for another 3 minutes and transfer to serving plate.
- Cook remaining batter this same way until done.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.
You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my eMail list, too!
Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Disclosure: I did receive product and a gift card from Krusteaz to develop a recipe. The story I have written is all true, and the opinions are truly mine. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t blog about it.

























I really like cornmeal pancakes, and you’ve taken them to a whole ‘nother level! Really. Good. Stuff. 🙂 I lived in Texas for a few years, and I agree — ;it’s really not Southern at all (although parts of East Texas might be). Anyway, nice recipe — thanks.
I have never made cornbread pancakes – this has to change. Between the ecookbook and this recipe, I am ready to try this.
Lord, these hoe cakes look so good, and yes to the bacon. Duh! Thanks so much for giving a shoutout to our eCookbook fundraiser, too! I was able to send a payment of almost $500 to the NCCF today thanks to sales so far!
Sorry they took your football team away. Hmph. 🙁
xo