Vegan cornbread is an easy, quick bread recipe that uses cornmeal, flour, sugar, almond milk, olive oil, and baking powder.
You’ll love this recipe because it’s delicious and perfect for holiday meals and cozy family dinners.
Flavorwise, there’s no difference with regular cornbread. You can bake cornbread in the oven for minimal effort.
Why you’ll love vegan cornbread!
Vegan cornbread is not that much different from regular cornbread, a staple of American, especially Southern, cuisine.
It’s perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas; you’ll love the soft, moist texture and bold corn flavor.
The same batter can be used to make cornbread muffins, and leftovers can be used for cornbread stuffing.
Vegan cornbread goes so well with anything Tex-Mex, such as vegetarian chili, lentil chili, sweet potato chili, sweet potato hash, and refried beans.
But to be honest, you can have it with most of our easy soups (I personally recommend sweet potato and butternut squash soup) because it’s too comforting to resist.
Its distinct corn flavor will remind you of corn tortillas, tamales, and arepas, all Native American recipes made from corn.
Ingredients for cornbread
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
- Cornmeal: Any will work. We tested P.A.N. Cornmeal, Bob’s Red Mill, or Goya. If you like a deep golden color, go for yellow cornmeal.
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar: You can use white or brown sugar. You can substitute maple syrup for sugar.
- Milk: We use almond milk. You can substitute any other milk for almond milk.
- Olive oil: You can substitute avocado oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, or melted vegan butter for olive oil.
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Add-ins: Add-ins are optional. We like to add corn kernels (canned or frozen) for more corn flavor and a nice texture. You can also add jalapeños, chopped pecans or walnuts, caramelized onions, chives, rosemary, or diced bell pepper.
How to make cornbread
Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line your 8×8-inch (20×20 cm) baking pan with parchment paper, or brush it with oil.
Combine cornmeal, all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
Pour in the milk and the olive oil and whisk until combined.
Now, you can fold in the corn kernels or your favorite add-ins.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry.
Tip: Depending on your oven, it can take up to 35 minutes.
Let it cool down for at least 15 minutes before slicing it. We recommend cutting it into squares.
Serving suggestions
Cornbread is excellent for barbecues and Thanksgiving.
It’s also delicious with anything Tex-Mex, with orange starchy vegetables, squashes, and soups.
THANKSGIVING SPREAD: Vegetarian lasagna, stuffed butternut squash, sautéed green beans, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprout salad, cauliflower mashed potatoes, green bean salad, red cabbage slaw, mushroom wellington and gravy.
TEX-MEX: vegetarian chili, sweet potato chili, lentil chili, pico de gallo, refried beans, black bean salad, and black bean soup.
SOUPS: Butternut squash soup, sweet potato soup, carrot ginger soup, lentil soup, chickpea soup, and broccoli soup.
Also, a common way of serving cornbread is with butter and honey. You can easily use non-dairy butter and maple syrup to keep it vegan. Delicious for a corny breakfast!
Variations
Think of cornbread as a blank canvas to which you can add your favorite flavors. Some of the most commons add ins are:
SAVORY ADD-INS
- Caramelized onions
- Corn kernels (fresh cut off a cob, canned, frozen)
- Jalapeños (diced)
- Bell peppers (diced)
- Scallions (thinly sliced)
- Creamed corn (it adds a ton of extra moisture)
- Pecans or walnuts (chopped)
- Taco seasoning, smoked paprika, cumin, and black pepper.
- Chives
- Rosemary
SWEET ADD-INS
- Candied walnuts
- Apples (diced)
- Blueberries
- Pears (diced)
Questions
Traditional Southern cornbread is usually made without all-purpose flour, sugar, and more fat, usually pork or bacon fat. It’s cooked in a hot, sizzling cast iron skillet that’s first preheated and then put back in the oven. The resulting cornbread is denser, crumblier, and has a thin crust at the bottom.
Norther cornbread is simpler to make, it has a lighter and more cohesive crumb thanks to the added wheat flour. It’s also on the sweeter side and more moist.
You can use both. Milk makes a lighter cornbread; buttermilk makes it richer and a little heavier.
Cornmeal doesn’t have gluten, so cornbread made with 100% cornmeal tends to crumble. Cutting cornmeal with all-purpose flour prevents the cornbread from crumbling and gives it a lighter and more cake-like texture.
You can make traditional cornbread in a cast-iron skillet. To do so, preheat some fat in the skillet in the oven at 400°F. When the skillet is hot, pour in the cornbread batter and put it back in the oven for about 30 minutes.
You can use our recipe for skillet cornbread, but we recommend doubling the quantities.
Storage
Make ahead: Cornbread is excellent for meal prepping because it stays moist for several days.
Room temp: Store it in a plastic bag for a week.
Freezer: Cut it into single portions, transfer it to a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze for 3 months.
Thaw: Defrost it at room temperature. Reheat it for a few seconds in the microwave to make it moist again.
Similar recipes
QUICK BREADS: Apple bread, healthy banana bread, vegan pumpkin bread, banana zucchini bread, vegan zucchini bread.
CORNMEAL: Tostadas and corn tortillas.
Vegan Cornbread
Equipment
- 1 baking pan 8×8-inches or 20×20 cm
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal use yellow cornmeal for golden color
- ¼ cup sugar you can add as little as 1 tablespoon of sugar or as much as 3/4 cups.
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1¼ cup almond milk unsweetened
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 cup corn kernels Optional. Canned, fresh, or frozen.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line your 8×8-inch (20×20 cm) baking pan with parchment paper, or brush it with oil.Combine 1¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup cornmeal, ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoons salt, and 1 tablespoon baking powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Pour in 1¼ cup almond milk and ⅓ cup olive oil and whisk until combined.Fold in the 1 cup corn kernels or your favorite add-ins.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry.Let it cool down for at least 15 minutes before slicing it. We recommend cutting it into squares.
Oh wow you guys! We just made this and it was ready in a jiffy. Love how moist the bread is and the added corn makes a big difference in flavor. My husband loved it.
Thank you so much Katy! We are so happy you liked the cornbread. Yeah added corn is the best 🙂