Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Dog Taco Boats
The flavor of corn dogs is the flavor of summertime, baseball, and state fairs. Unfortunately making corn dogs in your kitchen can be a big smelly mess. Cheesy jalapeno corn dog taco boats are here to the rescue! This recipe lets you keep the flavors without all the work. You might even say BETTER FLAVORS! I love jalapeno, honey, and cheese in my cornbread, so you know I added lots of those. Because this was a hot dog, I also spiked it with mustard. The bread itself was perfectly sweet and spicy and balanced great with the savory hot dogs. Make these for a cookout or baseball game and all your friends will ask you for the recipe!
Inspiration for this recipe
I wanted to do a baked version of corn dogs, and I saw these “stand up” soft taco shells at the store. Quickly I realized they would be a perfect place to bake the cornbread and make hand held corn dog taco boats!
I used a soft corn bread recipe so that these would be moist, tender, and delicious all the way through! I was worried the ratio of cornbread to hot dog would be wrong, but because of the softer cornbread that is loaded with cheese and jalapeno, it works perfectly!
Making the cornbread batter
Cut the jalapenos and grate the cheese! I wanted this to be really cheesy and have a nice spice to it! Don’t worry though, they have a lot of sweetness and fat content that really helps balance the heat and not make them seem too spicy.
Cornbread batter ingredients
- cornmeal
- flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- buttermilk
- eggs
- butter
- mustard
- honey
- jalapenos
- pepperjack
This starts like a normal cornbread but then gets weird when you get to the mustard! MUSTARD?!? in cornbread? yes! I wanted to add the mustard cause it is my favorite hot dog topping and a little mustard flavor running through the cornbread goes a long way! We want to match the flavors to be perfect in a corn dog taco boat.
Can you use store bought cornbread mix?
YES! It will be a little denser but it will still come out great! Many people have told me they made this with cornbread mix and it worked for them. Make the cornbread batter according to the package, then stir in the mustard, jalapenos, and cheese!
Baking the Corn Dog Taco Boats
Notice how they are lined up nicely in the photo below? You need to do this on the baking sheet as well. Use a sheet or a baking dish that fits them perfectly and make sure they are pressed up against each other. If you are using a baking sheet that doesn’t have tall edges, you can use foil to prop them up – that’s what I do. If you do not do this step, the tortilla will soften as it cooks and the filling is expanding and the corn dog taco boats will overflow and get everywhere.
All lined up and ready for the oven! Bake them at 400 for about 20 minutes! After the first 10 minutes when the cornbread had mostly set, I rearranged them in the oven a bit so they would get brown evenly.
When these corn dog taco boats come out of the oven, put plenty of butter, jalapenos, and honey on top. So good! One thing you will notice at first with these corn dog taco boats is they are lighter than you might expect. That’s cause the bread is light and airy! These are unbelievable. The subtle honey and mustard in the mix really helps the cornbread pair perfectly with the hot dogs. The jalapeno gives it a nice kick.
Variations on corn bread taco boats
As I mentioned above, you could make these corn dog taco boats with store bought cornbread mix. You could also do a vegetarian hot dog if you want! If you don’t want the heat, you could omit the jalapenos, and use cheddar or jack cheese instead of pepperjack.
If you want to make actual fried corn dogs, check out my elote style corn dogs!
A great new way to serve hot dogs. And don’t skimp on the honey!
Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Dog Taco Boats
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 jalapenos diced plus one more sliced
- 8 ounces pepperjack cheese grated
- 8 Old El Paso Taco Boats
- 8 hot dogs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400
- Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Season heavily with salt and pepper.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk with the eggs, butter, mustard, and honey.
- Mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add in the jalapenos and cheese and stir to combine.
- Line up the taco boats and fill them evenly with the cornbread mixture. Place the hot dogs into each taco boat.
- Put the taco boats onto a baking sheet and place them close together so that the sides of the boats hold each other up.
- Bake for 20 minutes, rearranging them on the pan after 10 minutes to promote even browning.
- Remove from heat and top with butter, honey, and sliced jalapenos. Serve hot.
Hi stranger. I want hotdogs. Please host a grilling party soon.
Made this without the jalapenos, so freaking good and very easy. My end result wasn’t as beautiful as yours, but damn these are tasty.
Can you use corn tortillas?
For what this is a cornbread recipe?
I am making the recipe and I don’t see an oven temperature? I am assuming it 375 or 400?
This may have disappeared when I updated my website. It’s 400, and I am adding it to the instructions now. Thank you!!
Has anybody tried making this with the box of corn muffin mix?
Just made this with a box of Jiffy cornbread instead of making cornbread bc that’s what I had in the pantry.
It turned out really good!! I just followed the box introductions for he corn bread then added the mustard, honey and peppers as
Directed.
Ohhh I’m definitely making this but I’m adding chili 🤤
Omg, game changer!! I used some spicey pork and qusil brats. I have never been so happy with a recipe! Your friends and family will love it!!!
What about using a jalepeno cheese sausage?
Do they reheat well?