Edited February 26, 2017 with new photos and additional links.
These #TexFest inspired Jalapeño Johnnycakes are light and spicy corn-filled pancakes all cooled down with an Avocado & Cilantro Cream Sauce — a savory meal fit for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Have I mentioned lately that I love living in Texas? The food here is amazing — I’m constantly inspired by all the ingredients, local products, and Texan flavors that rarely made an appearance in meals while growing up in upstate New York.
Back home in New York, TexMex meant Old El Paso tacos made with ground beef and a packet of taco seasoning loaded into a white tortilla with cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, black olives and a dab of Tostitos Salsa! Sounds delicious, right? It really was delicious but that was pretty much the extent of my Texas & Mexican flavor experiences until I was 22 years old and moved to Austin.
Now that I’ve lived in Texas for about 4 years, I’m obsessed with all the Texas flavors like avocados, fresh cilantro, jalapeños, and specialty salsas! I’m also obsessed with the fact that I can find all these locally-sourced products at my neighborhood HEB and this month, HEB is highlighting local Texas products and producers with their #TexFest celebration from February 22nd – March 7th.
Looking for this cute Texas cutting board? Find it at HEB
Inspired by my love for TexMex flavors and HEB’s #TexFest, these Jalapeño Johnnycakes with Avocado & Cilantro Cream Sauce wrap all my favorite Texas ingredients plus a few local products like Dom’s Chop Salsa from Buda and a dab of Kelley’s Natural Honey from Chicota, into one amazing, TexFest inspired meal that’s fit for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
If you aren’t familiar with Johnnycakes, they’re cornmeal based flatbreads. Personally, I like to think of them as a cross between cornbread and a pancake, as they’re usually rather flat and round like a pancake, but a little fluffier with more texture, similar cornbread. I’ve loaded my Johnnycakes with spicy jalapeño, green onions, corn, and a dab of honey which brings out the sweetness in the corn, then cooked them until they’re golden brown in a skillet.
To compliment the heat of my Jalapeño Johnnycakes, they’re topped with a cool Avocado & Cilantro Cream Sauce that has just a hint of lime. When spooned over the top of the Jalapeño Johnnycake along with some of Dom’s Chop Salsa, which is made with grilled vegetables for an added smokey flavor, this Johnnycake becomes a loaded bite of #TexFest deliciousness.
These Jalapeño Johnnycakes were everything I imagined them to be when I took my first bite. They were slightly crisp on the outside but light and fluffy with speckled bits of corn and spicy hints of jalapeño inside.
Goregous blue plate via Cocinaware at HEB
The Johnnycakes were kicked up a notch with Dom’s smokey, grilled salsa and immediately cooled down again by the Avocado & Cilantro Cream Sauce. I silently did a little happy dance while eating these as I was in my own little Texas-flavored heaven!
<3M and I enjoyed the Jalapeño Johnnycakes for dinner one night then again the following day for breakfast. I can even see topping them with a runny egg, a side of bacon or fried chicken if you’re looking to make these into a heartier meal for lunch or dinner.
However you choose to eat them, I hope you enjoy this bite of Texas and swing by your neighborhood HEB for a few locally produced products!
This is recipe is a sponsored post, created by me on behalf of H-E-B. I was compensated for my time and ingredients but all options are my own.
- 1½ cups flour
- 1½ cups yellow cornmeal
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tbsp Kelley's Natural Honey
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 2 cups 2% or whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup melted butter
- 1 cup corn, cooked — either frozen or fresh
- 1 jalapeno finely diced*
- 2-5 green onions, minced, about ⅓ cup
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 3 ounces avocado, about half of a large avocado
- ½ cup cilantro
- 1 small clove garlic
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- ¼ cup vegetable broth or water
- ½ tsp salt, more to taste
- Pinch of pepper
- Dom's Chop Salsa
- additional scallions for serving, optional
- In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl whisk the two eggs, Lonestar Honey, and milk together. Pour the milk, honey & eggs into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined using a wooden spoon. Add in the melted butter until fully incorporated. Gently fold in the corn, scallions, and jalapeños.
- Set the mixture aside for 10-15 minutes before cooking, which will allow the baking powder to activate. In the meantime, make the Avocado & Cilantro Cream Sauce.
- In a food processor, add the sour cream, avocado, cilantro, and garlic. Pulse 5-6 times until the cilantro is coarsely chopped. Add the lime juice, vegetable broth, and salt and pepper. Process on high until smooth. Taste and add more salt if desired. If you’d like a thinner sauce, mix it again with an additional 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable broth until your desired consistency is reached.
- Pre-heat the oven to 250* and place a large baking sheet on the center rack, you’ll use this to keep the johnnycakes warm while the others cook.
- To cook the johnnycakes, place a large non-stick skillet over medium heat*. Once warm, pour a ¼ cup of batter into the middle and spread it evenly into a large circle, much like a pancake. Cook for about 1-2 minutes or until small bubbles become visible on top of the johnnycake. Flip the johnnycake, cooking another 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Place the johnnycake in the oven to keep warm while you finish the remaining johnnycakes using the same cooking method.
- To serve, stack 2-3 warm johnnycakes on a plate, top with the Avocado & Cilantro Cream Sauce, salsa, and more scallions if desired.
- Leftover johnnycakes can be frozen then thawed and reheated in the oven as needed at 350* for 5-7 minutes.
** If you do not have a non-stick skillet, melt a bit of butter in the pan prior to cooking the Johnnycakes
These look so amazing! They are pretty easy to make, too, so it’s a great pick for a quick fix.
Sorry about the rating! I clicked 5 stars, but it showed as two stars. 🙁
These cakes look superb! Love the avocado and cilantro cream sauce!
Ooo I haven’t heard of Johnnycakes but they look sublime! I love sweetcorn and I lurrrrve pancakes so what’s not to love? I have a friend who emigrated to Texas from England – I’ll have to go visit her and sample some of these Texan delights 😀
Love learning new things, had never come across Johnnycakes before! Sweetcorn is a favourite for me too, so this is a recipe for me to try soon!
I would love to be presented with a stack of these Johnnycakes. They look so tempting and I love the flavours you have going on. I’d say that these Johnnycakes alone make your move to Texas worthwhile 🙂
These cakes look really yum!!
I think Johnnycakes have a different meaning depending on where you’re located. These johnnycakes look fabulous, but when I was in the Caribbean, Johnnycakes was a deep fried flatbread that they served with everything and they were so good I would snatch more than my fill from the basket. But I’m an open-minded person and I’m willing to try all the versions available!
I agree completely — I did a bit of research around Johnnycakes before committing to the ‘cornmeal flatbread’ description because yes, they do come in a few different forms depending on where you’re eating them. I also know them to be referred to as Hoecakes
Now I want to go explore food in Texas! :-). What. tasty sounding recipe this is!
Haha – your idea of Tex Mex when you lived in Upstate NY sounds a lot like my idea of Tex Mex during my college years! 🙂
By the way, my sis used to live in Dallas and every time we ate out when I visited her, the food was freaking amazing! And speaking of amazing – these johnnycakes sure sound so wonderfully tasty!
I did love the Old El Paso tacos my parents made but more in a nostalgic way. Today, I much prefer the flavors of true Texas cuisine much more!
These look delicious and fun! They’re like dinner pancakes! Yum!
Yes, exactly like dinner pancakes! I’m not a fan of sweet for dinner so this savory version is the best of both worlds.
These look really good and I like the sound of the flavor profile. But I have to admit it does give me a slight mental block because they look like pancakes! Maybe I need to try them to get over that. #bloggingboost
I am a Texas girl, and these look right up my alley! I love anything with a cilantro and avocado! Will be trying these soon.
Those are some ‘slammen photos of johnny cakes. They look sooooo delicious. This recipe is a keeper, for me!
These look fantastic, they’d be great for a weekend brunch.
I’ve never heard of Johnny Cakes but they sound amazing! I’ve definitely got to make it to Texas some day to try the food…it does sound incredible!
Yum! I love the flavors in these johnnycakes! This would be perfect for breakfast-for-dinner kinds of nights because it’s kind of a cross between both!
The avocado cream sauce looks like it pairs perfectly with this. Looks so yummy!
I prefer a savory breakfast to a sweet one and these jalapeno and corn pancakes are right up my alley! Excellent!
I was not familiar with Johnnycakes so glad you explained that. They would be great for brunch! 🙂
TexMex is literally my favourite cuisine (well, on par with Chinese!) and Texas is on our list of places to go when we do our honeymoon road trip around the US. I cannot wait to try all the authentic food!! But before that, I’m going to make these because they look amazing!!
Love the cream sauce! These sound too good to be true!
These sound like so much fun! I love your Texas cutting board as well. And that Avocado & Cilantro Cream Sauce sounds amazing!