SWEET CHIA CORNBREAD (VEGAN + HEALTHY)
Sweet Chia Cornbread features the classic flavor of cornbread with a dose of chia seeds thrown in for extra nutrition and texture. It’s an easy vegan recipe and great with soups, stews and chilis!
Sweet Chia Cornbread
The vegan sweet chia cornbread has lots of texture, is moist and tender, and completes any chili dish perfectly!
The chia seeds give this a little bit of a crunchy texture so those who don’t like little bits of crunchiness this may not be for you. But for those willing to explore new things, I highly recommend giving this vegan cornbread a try!
The chia seeds add some good extra dose of nutrition to this cornbread recipe. Per serving, they contain six times more calcium than milk and six times more iron than spinach. These little seeds contain almost half your daily fiber requirements in a single serving, 2 tablespoons.
Adding them is a nice healthy mix up to traditional cornbread. I enjoy it best by breaking it up and eating it in my chili barely noticing the bits. It was so good!
This easy vegan cornbread bakes up in about 30 minutes and stores well on the counter for 4 – 5 days.
What To Serve With Cornbread
- Easy Three Bean Chili (shown below)
- Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
- Vegan Minestrone
- Vegetable Chili
- Quinoa Verde Chili
- or this fan favorite Sweet Potato and Quinoa Chili
- and it’s great smeared with this Triple Berry Chia Jam!
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Vegan Naan
- Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins
- Socca (flatbread)
- Artisan Bread
If you try this chia cornbread recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintSWEET CHIA CORNBREAD
A terrific vegan cornbread using chia seeds as a binder in place of eggs. If you don’t mind little bits of chia seeds in your bread than you’ll love this!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Makes 9 slices 1x
- Category: Side, Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan, American
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic cornmeal (fine, medium or course grind)*
- 1 cup flour (spelt, whole wheat pastry, or all-purpose gluten-free flour)
- 1/3 cup pure cane sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 6 tablespoons water
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup oil (coconut oil, melted or extra light flavored olive oil)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan.
Prepare a vegan buttermilk by mixing the almond milk with the lemon or vinegar and set aside.
Mix the chia seeds with the water, set aside. Let these set for 10 minutes.
Combine all dry ingredients in medium size bowl. Add milk, oil, chia seed mixture and combine making sure to break up any lumps of chia seeds. Pour batter into greased baking pan or dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick, if it comes out clean it’s ready.
Makes 9 slices
NOTES:
*All grinds of cornmeal work great here. I’ve tried them all and they all hold up well. For maximum texture use course grind.
You could also add in 1 cup canned, fresh or thawed corn to the mix.
For a spicy kick, add 1 diced jalapeno, leave a few seeds for extra heat.
UPDATED: This Sweet Chia Cornbread was originally posted in January 2012, and has been updated with new photos and helpful tips in September 2019.
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Hello! Just wondering if you can use almond flour as a gluten-free flour replacement as well?
Thanks :)
Hi Shay, I’ve never tried using almond flour with this cornbread and I’m just not sure enough to give advice. Although I’ve heard you can use almond flour in place of all purpose, I’m not sure it will work in this particular recipe. Sorry I couldn’t be more help.
This recipe is so simple, and came out perfectly. There were no eggs at the store due to hoarding because of the COVID 19 Virus crisis, but I did have chia seeds …yay. I’m not vegan yet, so I did use dairy buttermilk, and instead of oil, I used plant based butter. Next time, I will try the original recipe. My family devoured most of the pan.
Thank you so much for making your recipe available.
Great, so glad it was a hit! Thank you so much for sharing, Ashleigh!
Yummy! This is now my go to cornbread recipe!
Made this with the Texas Chili as suggested. It was a wonderful complement. I hadn’t realized that Chia seeds could be used as an egg replacer like flax. So nice to have another option if needed. I’m loving chia seeds and this recipe. It turned out perfect and just like the picture which doesn’t always happen. Thanks again for another winner!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Janis, glad you loved it! We love using chia seeds too. Cheers :)
Loved the cornbread and we aren’t even vegan!
★★★★★
Yay, love that!
I’m slowly working through you recipes and loving every minute! This recipe was amazing! I did it with gluten free flour and turned out really well. This is probably the best cornbread I have ever had hands down gluten free or not. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
★★★★★
Thanks fo much Jill, makes my day! Cheers :)
I just made this but I halved the recipe and it still turned out great! I love it. I’m trying not to eat the whole thing while our vegan chili is cooking.
Thanks for all the recipes! This is a keeper!
★★★★★
Perfect, thanks for the inspiration of making a smaller portion!
Made this with the Texas Chili as suggested. It was a wonderful complement. I hadn’t realized that Chia seeds could be used as an egg replacer like flax. So nice to have another option if needed. I’m loving chia seeds and this recipe. It turned out perfect and just like the picture which doesn’t always happen. Thanks again for another winner!
★★★★★
i’ve tried many vegan cornbread recipes & been disappointed by them, but this one will definitely now be my go-to recipe. thank you! the only modification i made was that i replaced the chia w/1 T of ground flax mixed w/the water. it still held together nicely. great flavor & texture!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Julie! We love this cornbread recipe too, it’s so customizable. Cheers :)
This looks fabulous. Gotta love a bread that is egg (and egg replacer) free! I wonder if the chia seeds also help to bind it?
★★★★★
Hi Jenny ! Yes, chia seeds make for a great binder and work well in this recipe.