The Right Way To Store Leftover Cornbread To Make It Last Longer

Hot out of the oven, served alongside a hearty bowl of spicy chili, few things top a good cornbread. Still thought of as a Southern dish, though with Native American roots that run much deeper, the moist, crumbly, cakey treat's popularity long ago expanded beyond any such geographical constraints. Like many carby treats, cornbread is indisputably delicious hot out of the oven — but with the passage of time, things tend to go downhill. Lest you find yourself tossing stale bricks of day-old cornbread into the trash, a few preservation tips are all you need to extend its lifetime for multiple meals' worth of enjoyment. 

The bread-meets-cake dish is made with a short list of humble ingredients like cornmeal, water, maybe some flour, and perhaps sugar depending on who you ask — even fewer if you're baking cornbread from a boxed mix. Like most baked goods, your primary causes of destruction of cornbread's just-baked, fresh texture and taste are oxygen and humidity. Unlike plain old white or wheat bread, which should never be stored in the fridge, you have several options for storing cornbread — including keeping it on the countertop but tightly wrapped to keep air out, or stashed in either the fridge or freezer for longer storage times.Without proper storage, you'll be biting into a super crumbly, dry, slice that no amount of butter or reheating can correct. 

Good cornbread storage is a bit of a choose-your-own adventure, all depending on how soon you plan to eat up leftovers. If you're only trying to stretch the goodness until tomorrow's dinner, your best bet is to wait until the cornbread fully cools, then wrap in plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or a tightly zipped-up plastic bag — making sure to squeeze out all air. This method will keep the bread fresh on the countertop for two to three days.

If you're trying to save it for more than just a few days' time, keeping the cornbread cold in the fridge is the wise approach. Follow the same basic storage steps as you would if left at room temp — keeping your leftover slices or whole loaf tightly wrapped in plastic or foil, then transfer to the fridge. This approach will keep it fresh for around five days, as long as the bread is still safely swaddled in your storage method of choice.

To give it an even longer lifespan: freeze it. Keep the cornbread (either pre-sliced, or still whole) tightly wrapped and store in a freezer-safe container like a zippable plastic bag or food container. With this double layer of protection keeping it safe from freezer burn, it'll stay good while frozen for around three months. When it's chili night once again, just give the frozen loaf a head start to thaw back to its former glory either in the fridge on the countertop.