Favorite Vegan Cornbread
My favorite Vegan Cornbread is an easy, everyday cornbread recipe made with pantry staples and bakes up perfectly sweet, moist, and tender!
Are you ready for the best vegan cornbread ever?! It may even be better than my Sweet Chia Cornbread recipe which I have loved forever!
This classic cornbread recipe is made with simple everyday whole food plant based ingredients and is ready in under 30 minutes!
It’s a perfect side for vegan soups, stews, and chilies and is just as delicious on its own smeared with vegan butter or this yummy Triple Berry Chia Seed Jam!
So without further ado, let’s make a fresh batch of homemade vegan cornbread!
Ingredient Notes
Here is everything you will need, plus a few tips and suggestions for the best vegan cornbread:
- Flour: Use a ratio of 1 to 1 yellow cornmeal and flour is best for the ultimate cornbread flavor. Use unbleached all-purpose, light spelt, and even whole-wheat pastry flour with great results. I haven’t tried gluten-free flour, but I’m sure this 1-to-1 GF flour blend will do wonderfully!
- Sugar: My favorite sugars to use are organic pure cane sugar (white or brown) and coconut sugar. For a more caramelized sugar flavor, use brown or coconut sugars. Feel free to adjust the sugar, up or down, to your liking.
- Milk: We’ll be making vegan buttermilk by adding a little lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to the milk and letting it rest while the oven preheats, or at least 10 minutes. The acid will add a little sour note and make your cornbread even better!
- Oil: My favorite oil is light flavored olive oil, but feel free to use your favorite neutral-flavored oil. Coconut oil is delicious too! Using oil will ensure a moist and tender cornbread that isn’t crumbly. If you prefer a buttery corn muffin recipe, replace the oil with melted butter (I recommend Miyoko’s Vegan Butter), but they may be a bit crumbly.
- Optional add-ins: Try changing it up using 1 – 2 chopped jalapeno peppers, 1 cup corn (fresh, canned, or frozen), 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen), 1 cup dried cranberries, 1 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese, or 1/2 cup crumbled coconut bacon. Feel free to mix and match using your best judgment.
What Is The Best Kind of Cornmeal to Use for Cornbread?
For a nice golden color and punch of corn flavor, stone-ground yellow cornmeal is best. Plus, it’s rich in beta carotene! We use this Bob Red Mills Yellow Cornmeal (affiliate link). When making traditional southern cornbread, white is the preferred cornmeal. And when it comes to texture, we stick with medium-grind cornmeal. Fine-grind can be used as well, but it is slightly less sweet and will yield a more cakelike cornbread.
How To Make Vegan Cornbread
Making homemade cornbread only requires a few simple steps:
- Prep: Set the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease an 8 or 9-inch baking dish (round or rectangular).
- Mix wet: I like to start with mixing the liquids with the sugar in a 2 cup measuring cup, and giving a good stir every few minutes . The reason for this is that I use pure cane sugar which tends to be courser than regular sugar, so mixing it with the liquids first helps to dissolve the larger granules a bit before mixing.
- Mix dry: While the sugar mixture is resting. Mix together the flour and baking powder.
- When the oven is ready: Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until combined. Don’t overmix! Pour the batter into the baking dish.
- Bake: Place in the oven for 25 minutes. Let cool a few minutes and slice.
Now all you have to do is enjoy!
How To Make Skillet Cornbread
For a crunchier crust, try baking cornbread in a cast-iron skillet, using a 9 or 10-greased skillet. Use the same directions as listed above and in the recipe card, replacing the baking dish with a skillet, and cook at the same temperature and same amount of time.
Can I make Cornbread Muffins?
Yes, you sure can. Take a look at this easy vegan cornbread muffin recipe!
How To Store Leftovers
Leftovers can be stored on the counter, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer, and reheat well.
- On the counter: Leftovers can be stored, covered, on the counter for 3 – 4 days.
- Refrigerator: Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 – 6 days.
- In the freezer: For longer storage, freeze cornbread for up to 2 – 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before eating.
- To reheat: Heat up your cornbread in the microwave or bake in a preheated oven set at 300 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
Finally, the best part about making cornbread is eating it! Here are a few great recipes that go well with cornbread:
- Easy Three Bean Chili
- Instant Pot Red Beans and Rice
- Vegan Minestrone
- Vegetable Chili
- Quinoa Verde Chili
- Sweet Potato and Quinoa Chili
- Vegan Collard Greens
- and it’s great smeared with this Triple Berry Chia Jam!
If you try this vegan 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.
PrintFAVORITE VEGAN CORNBREAD
My favorite vegan cornbread is the best everyday cornbread recipe that’s easy to make and perfectly sweet, moist, and tender!
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Makes 9 slices 1x
- Category: Bread, Side
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan, American
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal (stone-ground pref.)
- 1 cup flour (spelt, unbleached all-purpose, 1-to-1 gluten-free flour)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon mineral salt
- 1/3 cup organic sugar (pure cane white/brown or coconut)
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/3 cup light flavored olive oil (or your favorite neutral oil)
- juice of 1 small lemon or 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan.
Wet & Sugar: In a medium bowl (or 2 cup measuring cup), mix together the milk, lemon juice, sugar, and oil, mix well. Set aside, stirring occasionally, for 5 – 7 minutes.
Dry: In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt together.
Mix: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Avoid over-mixing.
Pour & Bake: Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Place baking dish into the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top and the center is cooked through. Use a toothpick to test for doneness, should come out clean when stuck in the center. Once done, cool a few minutes before slicing and serving.
Serve cornbread with vegan butter, homemade chia jam, on the side with chili, soups, or stews.
Store: Wrap leftovers up tightly and store them on the counter for up to 3 – 4 days. To keep longer, freeze baked cornbread for up to 2 – 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat up in the microwave or bake in a 300 degrees F oven for 10 minutes.
Notes
If you prefer a buttery corn muffin recipe, replace the oil with melted butter (I recommend Miyoko’s Vegan Butter). They will be a little crumbly, but still delicious!
Optional add-ins: 1 – 2 chopped jalapeno peppers, 1 cup corn (fresh, canned or frozen), 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, 1 cup dried cranberries, 1 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese, or 1/2 cup crumbled coconut bacon. Feel free to mix and match using your best judgement.
Skillet Cornbread: Baking cornbread in a skillet gives it an even heartier, crunchy crust. Bake this cornbread in a 9-inch or 10-inch oven safe greased skillet at the same temperature for the same amount of time.
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Thank you for providing a simple recipe with easy ingredients to find and use.. (i.e. no flax seeds to grind.)
It sounds delicious.
I’ve been looking for a cornbread recipe with a can of drained red beans or other beans stirred in.
Has anyone tried this, please? It would make for a quick, easy breakfast with protein. Or perhaps walnuts or cashews stirred in.
Thanks again.
The ingredient amounts are off. The notes say 1:1 ratio of flour/corn meal. The ingredient list states 1 cup of each
It should be ½ cup of each for a total of 1 cup, otherwise you end up with a bowl of corn cookie dough. We followed the instructions to the letter and had that issue. We threw it out and started over, but we needed a larger amount, so we left it at 1 cup each, then doubled the liquids.
Came out with a perfect batter.
Hope that helps!
Sorry, you had an issue, Mark! I’m so glad the adjustments worked out for you. The recipe is correct, and it is equal parts of flour and cornmeal, using 1 cup of each (which is very typical with all cornbread recipes, vegan or not). Not sure why your batter was so crumbly the first time. I may give your measurements a try and see how it goes. Thanks for sharing, Mark!
Excellent. I used white spelt flour in this recipe and Next time I’ll try white einkorn. I was excited about freezing it, because I usually have leftovers when I bake cornbread…but my family left only a few crumbs.
Thank you for this quick and easy recipe.
Served with Blackened Tofu which was also simple and delicious.
Super easy! I used half whole wheat and all purpose, and dates sugar. Yummy!
Amazing!! Super light and fluffy!
Wondering if you have tried to make this with maple syrup? I am going to try it today….thank you for sharing this recipe!
I have not, but it should be fine without making any other adjustments. Do let us know how it goes, as it is super helpful to others as well!
I have made it with maple syrup many times and it always turns out! 1 to 1 – replacing the coconut sugar for maple syrup!
Love this cornbread! By far the best one out there!
I made corn bread for the first time and it turned out well :) I eliminated sugar a little bit as I always prefer less sweet and it was slightly sweet and perfect. Moist but also light. It’s perfect for snack! It became one of my favourite recipes. Thanks!
I am not the sure what happened when I made it the first time. Since then I have made it many times! This is the best cornbread ever! My whole family partakes. Thank you you for helping me along in my “Vegan” journey.
I’m so glad you gave it another shot and are enjoying the recipe! Thanks for sharing, Audrey!
Came out sweet and delicious, but a bit crumbly. I used Myoko Butter but melted it first. It’s vegetable oil, after all. Also, I didn’t have apple cider vinegar but I had super-dense Fig Vinegar, which is very sweet. The taste was delicious. I wonder if I could add a tbsp of cornstarch to the liquid ingredients to make it stick together better?
I love Miyoko’s butter! I have not tried adding cornstarch, but suppose you can add it to the liquids to help it stick if yours is not. Would love to know how it goes for you and if it helps!
Hmm, did you use a certain flour? It sounds like there wasn’t enough liquids.
I used unbleached all purpose flour. I followed the recipe. I used the amount of liquid in recipe. I will try again using less flour maybe?