Vegan Cornbread –The BEST Easy Recipe!

Soft, buttery, and consistently delicious every time, this is the only vegan cornbread recipe you will ever need.

Easy vegan cornbread recipe

Say hello to your new favorite cornbread.

The recipe is incredibly easy to make and calls for just a few basic ingredients you can always keep on hand.

Unlike many other traditional cornbread recipes, it needs no eggs, no milk or butter, and no flax seeds or expensive specialty flours.

It is the perfect plant based healthy comfort food to serve at Thanksgiving dinner or alongside a bowl of homemade tortilla soup or vegetarian bean chili.

If you want the best vegan cornbread that will wow all of your non vegan guests, this is the recipe you should try.

Also try this Vegan Mac and Cheese

The sweet homemade cornbread is suitable for multiple special diets, as it can be made egg free, dairy free, vegan, gluten free, sugar free, and oil free.

The recipe reminds me of the famous Jiffy cornbread mix I grew up on, just without all the preservatives and hydrogenated lard.

With a tender and moist texture and rich buttery flavor, it has all the homestyle goodness of the classic Jiffy version.

Yet this one is secretly vegan and much healthier for you at the same time.

Readers also love these Vegan Brownies

What do you eat with cornbread?

Vegan cornbread is the perfect side for a main dish of Vegan Chili or a thick and hearty soup or stew, such as my favorite Lentil Soup Recipe.

It is also delicious smothered in gravy (like this Mushroom Gravy) or served alongside roasted vegetables, Sweet Potato Salad, baked beans, or Avocado Salad.

Crumble the naturally sweet cornbread into dairy free milk and top with berries or sliced banana and peanut butter for a filling, healthy breakfast.

Or top it with your favorite vegan butter spread, peanut or almond butter, or strawberry jam and melted Coconut Butter.

And of course it is a fantastic recipe for any holiday party or big event.

Serve the dish on Christmas, Easter, or at a vegan Thanksgiving dinner feast. On New Years Day, cornbread is traditionally thought to represent good luck and prosperity thanks to its golden color.

I brought a pan to Super Bowl Sunday one year along with Buffalo Cauliflower Wings and people could not get enough!

Vegan cornbread recipe video

Watch the step by step video, above.

Healthy cornbread ingredients

This simple cornbread is made with pantry staple ingredients, including flour, cornmeal, white or apple cider vinegar, salt, baking powder, and sweetener of choice.

Plant based milk – Use almost any milk in your refrigerator.

Cashew and almond milk are good low calorie options, while coconut milk yields a rich and almost creamy result. Oat milk and soymilk work too.

The only nondairy milk choice I do not recommend is rice milk, because it does not contain enough fat to properly turn into buttermilk when combined with vinegar.

Corn – This ingredient adds texture and a distinctive cornbread flavor.

You may use canned, frozen thawed, or fresh cooked corn kernels. If choosing canned corn, drain the can fully before measuring out one and a third cup.

Applesauce – The applesauce adds natural sweetness and moisture. If you prefer, substitute nondairy yogurt, sweet potato, or pumpkin puree.

Vegan butter – Thankfully, plant based butter alternatives are widely available at many grocery stores, including Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Walmart, Costco, and Kroger.

You can swap out the butter for coconut oil or almond butter. Or use additional applesauce for a fat free version. It will not be quite as soft and buttery but is still tasty in its own right.

Flour – I like whole grain spelt flour for this bread, because it is healthier than all purpose flour and yields less tough results than whole wheat flour.

White flour, oat flour, and some brands of gluten free all purpose flour (like Bob’s Red Mill) all work for the recipe.

Coconut flour, pastry flour, rice flour, or almond flour are not recommended here.

Sugar – This can be granulated sugar, brown sugar, unrefined coconut sugar or date sugar, or pure maple syrup or agave.

For added sugar free cornbread, go with xylitol or granulated erythritol.

What type of cornmeal is best?

Typically, cornbread from scratch is made with either fine or medium ground cornmeal.

Course cornmeal, which is the kind used to make polenta, technically works here too. However, the texture of the finished product will be somewhat gritty.

For this recipe, feel free to use either white or yellow cornmeal.

Regular cornmeal should be available at grocery stores in the flour section. Or find whole grain cornmeal in the bulk aisle of your local health food store.

How to make vegan cornbread

The first step is to whisk together the milk, vinegar, applesauce, butter, and corn in a large mixing bowl.

Let this mixture sit for at least ten minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease an eight inch square baking pan with oil, or line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.

Stir the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the liquid ingredients. To avoid a dense, gummy texture, do not overmix the batter.

Pour into the prepared pan, and smooth out with a spoon or spatula. Bake on the center rack of the oven for twenty five minutes.

Carefully remove the pan, and let it cool before slicing and serving.

The texture is softer and flavor is sweeter the second day. So I like to very loosely cover the cooled pan with a cloth towel and let it sit overnight before serving.

After a day, leftovers should be covered and refrigerated for optimal freshness. The recipe should stay good for about three to four days in the refrigerator.

Or freeze sliced cornbread in an airtight covered container for up to three months. Thaw the frozen cornbread and reheat each slice in the microwave or in a nonstick pan on the stove top before enjoying.

Recipe variations

For a fun flavor twist, try carefully stirring a handful of fresh blueberries or raspberries into the batter just before baking.

You can make a spicy jalapeño cornbread by adding half a cup of chopped jalapeños when you add the other liquid ingredients.

Or throw in some raisins, dried figs or cranberries, or mini chocolate chips.

The recipe is wonderful in stuffing recipes or as a base for savory southern style cornbread casseroles. It is also great for meal prep.

Cook it in an eight inch baking pan to make cornbread squares, or use a round pan or cast iron skillet and cut pie shaped slices.

Vegan corn muffins

To turn the quick bread recipe into muffins, line a muffin pan with paper liners or grease each individual tin well.

Portion the vegan cornbread muffin mix into the prepared pan.

Follow the instructions in the recipe box below, shortening the baking time to just seventeen minutes.

More Vegan Bread Recipes

Pumpkin Banana Bread

Vegan Lemon Bread

Healthy Banana Bread – with an oil free option

Chocolate Banana Bread

Pineapple Bread

Cranberry Orange Bread

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Bread

(Recipe from my breakfast ebook)