Take a walk down memory lane with these comforting pan-fried corn cakes!
Hoecakes have several names depending on what region you are in. You may have also heard the name Johnny cakes, corn cakes or fried cornbread. Growing up as a kid I just called them cornbread pancakes.
The inspiration behind this recipe is wanting to create a hoecake with less salt. As a dietitian and lover of food, I enjoy helping people to modify recipes they love.
Johnny cakes go with anything Southern! Here are some dishes to eat corn cakes with:
- Slow-Cooker Cabbage
- Black-Eyed Peas And Rice (easy, meatless)
- Instant Pot Lima Beans (stove-top recipe available too)
- Cajun Green Beans
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Ingredients - Hoecake recipe with less salt
When using a buttermilk cornmeal mix with self-rising flour, it can have as much as 500mg of sodium for 1 hoecake. Of course this depends on the brand because it varies, but that's a lot!
- Cornmeal
- Cornmeal naturally has no salt
- There is fine, medium grind and coarse grind. Coarse cornmeal gives it a texture and a bit of crunch. If you don't think you'll like that go for the fine cornmeal.
- All-purpose flour
- All-purpose flour naturally has no salt
- Eggs
- Milk
- Olive oil for baking
- It is important to buy the olive oil used for baking. You'll see it written on the front of the label.
- Sugar
- I like a little sugar in my cornbread. If it's your preference, you can leave it out.
- Salt
- A minimal amount of salt is added to make this recipe work well
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Hoecakes
Most recipes will tell you to use a cast-iron pan. Totally fine if you already have one. Can you make fried cornbread without a cast-iron pan? Yes, you can! A non-stick pan works just as well.
Mix all dry ingredient. Make a hole to start adding wet ingredients.
Flip hoecake once you see bubbles. Pictured here is when you are using a 8-inch non-stick pan.
Hint: Once you flip the cornbread it'll only need to cook another minute at the most. It can burn easily.
Hoecakes Without Buttermilk
Typical recipes for Southern hoe cakes use buttermilk. Sure, that is the traditional way, but it isn’t the only way. Especially if you don’t regularly buy buttermilk in the first place, but still want to enjoy hoecakes (Johnny cakes).
Who really wants to buy 1 ingredient that they don’t use often? Whole milk works great for this recipe. See below for more substitutions.
Substitutions
- Milk
- Dairy-free: Unsweetened soymilk can be used. Unsweetened almond milk may work, but I have not tried it myself.
- Butter
- If you prefer to not use butter at all you can use all olive oil.
What is the Difference Between Hoecakes and Pancakes?
Hoecakes are pan-fried corn cakes. It’s like the pancake form of cornbread. The biggest difference is that pancakes do not have cornmeal, and are fluffier.
Now, growing up in my family, hoecakes are for lunch/dinner and pancakes are for breakfast.
Storage
Good for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Visit Leftovers and Food Safety for more information.
Can you freeze hoecakes (Johnny cakes)?
Yes! Place them in-between wax paper, then put inside a freezer bag. Label the bag with the name and date. For best quality enjoy within 3 months.
You can also freeze them on a sheet pan layered with wax paper. After it's frozen, then you can individually add the hoecakes to a freezer bag with a label. The top suggestion is faster though.
Mom Tip
If you want to save time, use a 12-inch non-stick pan instead of the smaller size pan where you can only cook one at a time.
Doing this will shave off 5 minutes of cooking time! Imagine what you could do with those extra 5 minutes 🙂
Hoecake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup corn meal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 tablespoon olive oil use olive oil for baking
Instructions
- Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl
- Make a "hole' in the middle of the dry ingredients. Crack 2 eggs in the middle. Add melted butter and olive oil. Mix with a whisk. Slowly add milk to the eggs, mixing as you are pouring.*If this sounds too complicated you can just mix all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl for this step.
- Mix dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until it is combined.
When using a 8 inch non-stick pan on medium high heat
- Start with 1 teaspoon of olive oil for the pan, then pour batter in the pan. Flip hoecake when bubbles start to appear. Once flipped it should only need to cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Continue until all the batter is gone. Only add oil to the pan as needed.
When using a 12-inch non-stick pan on medium high heat
- *Using a larger pan will shave off 5 minutes of cooking time.Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Pour enough batter to make 3 hoecakes. Flip hoecake when bubbles start to appear. Once flipped it should only need to cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Continue until all the batter is gone. Only add oil to the pan as needed.
Notes
- To reduce cholesterol, use egg whites instead of the whole egg
- I prefer to add 3 hoecakes to a larger pan, but some people go ahead and squeeze in 4 hoecakes. The preference is yours!
- There is fine, medium grind and coarse grind. Coarse cornmeal gives it a texture and a bit of crunch. If you don't think you'll like that go for the fine cornmeal.
Julia
These were the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and FLUFF! Thank you for perfecting and sharing- twas a great addition to our New Years Day dinner. Many blessings,
Julia
KeyVion Miller RDN, LD/N
Thanks Julia! Many blessings to you as well!