Cheddar and green chile spoon bread is about the softest, richest thing you can set on a table next to a bowl of stew. It's cornmeal, milk and eggs with six ounces of sharp cheddar and half a cup of roasted Hatch green chile folded through it, baked until it puffs and sets, and then you serve it hot out of the dish with a spoon. That's where the name comes from. It's a Southern dish, much closer to a savory soufflé than to anything you'd slice.

It serves six and it's on the table in about forty minutes, which makes it one of the easiest ways to turn a pot of beans into a real meal. The one thing worth knowing before you start is that you judge this one by the wobble instead of by a skewer, and there's a whole section on that below!

What spoon bread actually is

Traditional spoon bread is cornmeal, milk and eggs, sometimes with the eggs separated and the whites whipped, baked until it puffs and sets into something between a pudding and a bread. You eat it hot, out of the dish, with a spoon.

This version is a practical middle ground. It uses more flour than a strict spoon bread would, which gives it enough structure to carry a lot of cheese and chile and still stand up, and it skips the whipped whites entirely. What you end up with is softer and moister than cornbread, sturdier than a soufflé, and it behaves itself every time, which the traditional version does not always do.

If you'd rather have it closer to the original, drop the flour to half a cup and take the cornmeal up to a cup. It'll be looser and more custardy and you'll be spooning it straight out of the dish it baked in, which is the version I like better when it's just us at the table.

The jiggle test

Twenty five to thirty minutes at 375°F, and then you judge it by movement instead of by a skewer. Nudge the dish with a towel and watch the middle. When the center wobbles as one piece, the way a set custard does, it's ready to come out of the oven.

It'll sink a little as it cools, which is exactly what it's supposed to do. The texture is at its best within about twenty minutes of coming out, so bake it last, carry it straight to the table, and let everybody spoon it onto their own plate.

The chile and the cheese

Half a cup of roasted green chile in a dish that serves six is a real presence, and six ounces of cheddar is generous on purpose. A soft, mild, eggy base wants assertive things in it, so both of those numbers are right where they should be.

Drain the chile. This batter is wet by design and roasted chile carries its own liquid, so a minute in a sieve keeps the center where you want it. If you're using frozen chile, thaw it and drain it harder.

Shred the cheddar yourself while you're at it. Pre-shredded cheese comes coated in starch, which can go grainy in a batter this wet, and grating six ounces takes about a minute. Then fold the cheese and the chile in last, gently, once the batter is already mixed, because working it at that stage develops the flour and you lose some of the softness that makes this dish what it is.

Medium chile is the default here and it's what I'd use. The recipe note suggests Hot if you want more, and all that dairy buffers it more than you'd think!

Storing and reheating

Leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, which is the USDA figure for cooked leftovers, covered and cold within two hours. It also reheats better than most egg dishes do: cover it with foil, warm it at 325°F for about 15 minutes, and it comes back close to new. The microwave is fine for a single portion, though it does go a little rubbery.

Don't freeze it. The egg and milk structure goes weepy and grainy on thawing and it won't come back. It also doesn't sit well on a buffet, so this is a dish you bring straight to the table rather than one you park under a warming lamp.

If it didn't set in the middle

If the center is still wet or actually sloshing when you nudge the dish, it simply needs more time. Give it five more minutes and look again, and keep going like that until the wobble firms up into one piece.

The usual reason it's taking longer is undrained chile, which adds liquid to a batter that was already wet to begin with. A sieve takes care of that next time around.

And if there's no movement at all when you nudge it, you've gone past spoon bread and landed on a dense cornbread. It's still good, it's just a different dish, so cut it in squares and nobody at the table will complain. Pull it five minutes earlier next time.

What to serve it with

Spoon bread is a side, and it belongs next to anything with sauce, which is most of what we cook around here: green chile stew above all, plus posole, carne adovada, a pot of pintos, or anything you'd otherwise serve with cornbread. It's also very good at breakfast with a fried egg on top.

If you want actual bread on the same table, green chile cheddar biscuits cover that, and cheesy artichoke and green chile bread is the appetizer version of the same flavors.

The chile in here is our 16 oz jars of flame roasted Hatch green chile, Medium or Hot, four ingredients: Hatch chile, salt, garlic, lime juice. Half a cup per batch means one jar makes four of these. The recipe archive is free, and the substitutions guide covers what to reach for if you can't get Hatch chile where you live.

Common questions

What's the difference between spoon bread and cornbread?

Cornbread is a bread you cut into squares. Spoon bread is a soft, custardy Southern dish closer to a savory soufflé, served hot out of the dish with a spoon.

How do I know when spoon bread is done?

Nudge the dish. The center should wobble as one piece, like a set custard. Wet or sloshing means it needs more time, and no movement at all means you've baked it into cornbread.

Why didn't my spoon bread set in the middle?

Usually undrained chile adding liquid to an already wet batter, or it simply needed another five minutes. Drain the chile in a sieve first.

How much green chile goes in spoon bread?

Half a cup for a dish that serves six, drained. Medium is the default, and the dairy buffers Hot more than you'd expect.

Can I make spoon bread ahead?

It's best straight from the oven and it sinks slightly as it cools. Leftovers keep 3 to 4 days and reheat covered at 325°F for about 15 minutes.

Can I freeze spoon bread?

No, the egg and milk structure goes weepy and grainy when thawed.

How do I make it more like traditional spoon bread?

Drop the flour to half a cup and take the cornmeal up to a cup. It'll be looser and more custardy.

The short version

375°F for 25 to 30 minutes, and judge it by the wobble rather than by a skewer. Drain the chile, shred your own cheddar, fold both in at the end. Then serve it hot out of the dish with a spoon, because that's exactly what it's for.