This vegan cornbread recipe is the best ever! It's easy to make, gluten-free and perfectly moist and delicious.
This cornbread is the perfect side to any fall recipe with it's rich maple flavor. Made with whole foods and no added butter or oil, but you'd never guess!
Cornbread is an essential recipe to have on hand, especially when chilis and soups are on the regular menu rotation. It also makes a great afternoon snack slathered in vegan maple butter! Plus, it's so quick and easy to make, just 30 minutes from start to finish!
Ingredients
The ingredients you need to make vegan cornbread are as follows:
- Cornmeal
- Almond flour
- Tapioca flour
- Lite coconut milk
- Apple cider vinegar
- Maple syrup
- Baking powder
How To Make Gluten-Free Vegan Cornbread
This cornbread is too easy to put together! Here are the steps to take:
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Add in the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Put in pan and bake.
- Enjoy!
Topping ideas
There are so many yummy things that can go with cornbread, here are some traditional toppings with ways to keep them vegan, and also some non traditional things we like!
- Honey butter- I love using Miyoko's Cultured vegan Butter and mixing it with maple syrup. I still use honey, but the flavor of a whipped maple butter is one of my faves! You can also use an Earth Balance spread Earth Balance spread.
- Sriracha butter- just mix butter with your favorite hot sauce.
- Jalapeños- I like to bake fresh slices right on top!
- Drizzle of warm maple syrup.
Mix in ideas
While my family tends to like their cornbread plain and simple, I like to add in some yumminess for that extra level. Here are some of my favorite mix in ideas:
- Chopped jalapeños
- Whole corn
- Chopped peppers
- Herbs- I love thyme
- Chopped green chiles
- Chopped garlic
- Scallions
- Any veggie type bacon pieces like this Vegan Coconut Bacon
- Any chopped veggie!
Preparation tips
Make the best gluten-free cornbread by keeping in mind the following suggestions:
- While fine grain cornmeal is ideal, medium grain will work and give you a more moist bread. If you do, start with ½ cup of milk and add 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s a thick batter.
- You can use cashew or almond milk instead of coconut, but the end result won’t be as rich and moist.
- If you'd like a less sweet bread, reduce the maple syrup to 6 Tablespoons.
- Either use oil spray, rub some oil on the pan, or use parchment paper to prepare your pan.
- I bake this in a loaf pan, but you can always double the recipe to make a square pan. You can also pour into muffin tins!
- To make this in a square pan, double the recipe. The cook time will be about 5 minutes longer.
- When baking, start checking in at 25 minutes. It's done when a toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs on it and the edges should be lightly brown and pulling away from the pan.
- Allow to cool completely, as it sets more while it cools. If you cut too soon it will fall apart and mush in the middle.
Tips for prepping ahead
This vegan cornbread is best made fresh. Because it takes only 5 minutes to prep, it's quick and easy! However, if you want to add any optional mix ins, make sure those are prepped.
You could also have the dry ingredients mixed and ready to go.
Storing tips
The first thing you want to make sure is that you let the cornbread cool completely before storing it. Once it is cool, wrap in plastic or foil and store at room temperature for 2-3 days.
You can either cover the pan, or take it out of the pan and wrap it on it's own.
Common Questions
Traditionally cornbread does include eggs, but the great thing about me and my love for creating things made from all plants, this recipe is egg free!
There are other binding agents that help hold this cornbread together and prevent it from crumbling into nothing. Part of what I love about baking is the science behind it and finding other ways to get the perfect end result!
Let the bread cool completely then wrap and store at room temperature for 2-3 days.
You sure can! Take the cornbread out of the pan, wrap it tightly in freezer plastic wrap or foil, then put it in a freezer bag or other airtight container. This will keep for 2-3 months at good quality in the freezer.
You can also cut it into servings. This makes it easy to prep ahead of time and pull out later to defrost and use.
More Vegan Side Dish Recipes
Pairing your entrees with the perfect sides can really take a meal to the next level. Try these plant based recipes with your favorites:
- Baked Oven Fries
- Easy Broccoli Casserole
- Healthy Baked Onion Rings
- Greek Farro Salad
- Fasolakia (Greek Green Beans)
- Broccoli Cauliflower Tots
Best Vegan Gluten-Free Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup fine grain cornmeal , see note
- 1 ½ cups fine grain almond flour
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup maple syrup , reduce to 6 T for less sweet maple flavor
- ¾ cup lite coconut milk , from the can (see note)
- 4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Optional toppings (see post for more):
- maple or honey butter
- sriracha butter
- jalapenos , can mix these in as well
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 175 C
- Mix the cornmeal, almond flour, tapioca, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Make a little well in the middle and add the maple syrup, milk and vinegar. Mix until everything is just mixed.
- Pour into a prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes. Start checking at 25, a toothpick should come out clean with a few crumbs on it and the edges should be lightly brown and pulling away from the pan.
- Allow to cool completely, as it sets more while it cools. If you cut too soon it will fall apart and mush in the middle.
Notes
- You can use medium grain cornmeal but you will need to reduce the milk (start with ½ cup and add 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s a thick batter). Medium grain cornmeal gives a moister result. I tried it but it was much better with fine grain.
- You can use cashew or almond milk but the end result won’t be as rich and moist.
- To make this in a square pan, double the recipe. The cook time will be about 5 minutes more.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Esther
I only had corn flour on hand so I went ahead and just used a little less. It looks and smells wonderful! Freezing it for a gluten free dinner guest next week!
veggiesdontbite
So happy it worked out! Thanks for letting us know!
Sarah
This was the PERFECT side for veggie chili! Will definitely be making again.
Sara
Thank you for sharing this recipe; it was DELICIOUS! I followed the recipe as is (oh…I added some diced jalepeno) and it was perfect. Thank you!!!
veggiesdontbite
Yay! So happy you liked it Sara! I love adding jalapenos to mine too, my family not so much LOL!
Nikita
Thanks for this recipe; I can't wait to try it! I had a question about the coconut milk: does it specifically have to be lite/light? I have a tin of full fat and am wondering if it will greatly affect the texture or if was just for health reasons to use the lite/light form.
veggiesdontbite
You can use the full fat but when I trialed it with full it was too moist and sticky. The flavor was good though!
Sally
It's interesting the other commenter said this was too sweet. Ours was too salty. But I give it 5 stars because of the consistency and likenesses to the SAD version. I'll definitely make it again, but next time I'll try 1/4 tsp of salt. Thank you for another great recipe!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Sally! Thanks so much for the great review! Cornbread is an interesting recipe because it seems to be so specific to what people like. Definitely add less salt if that's what you prefer! Glad you liked it overall! Consistency was my main key to nail!
Wendy I Lokteff
I tried this and it fell and it is way too sweet. I followed the directions exactly- any advice? Is the maple syrup measurement correct?
Thanks,
Wendy
veggiesdontbite
Hi Wendy! Sorry to hear that it didn't work out. This recipe was made with so many trials to try and get the texture and flavor my family liked. Some cornbread is definitely sweeter than others, this has a rich flavor with some sweetness but it shouldn't be cake sweet. Did you use fine grain cornmeal and fine grain almond flour? Also, did you weigh the dry ingredients or just use measuring cups? With baking even a small amount of inaccuracy can create an issue with the end result. The top of this isn't super puffy, but it shouldn't totally dip a lot either. Also was your coconut milk the lite kind from the can?