Easy Vegan Cornbread (With Gluten Free Option)

Easy vegan cornbread – this eggless and dairy-free cornbread recipe is so quick and easy to make using storecupboard ingredients and just one bowl! It is soft, fluffy, moist, tender and buttery and can also easily be made gluten-free. Perfect for serving alongside chilli or as a snack.

This easy vegan cornbread is so quick and simple to make, you can have it ready to eat in just 40 minutes! It also uses mainly basic storecupboard ingredients – no weird egg substitutions here!

It has a lovely soft, moist and tender texture and a lightly sweet, buttery corn flavour. I love to serve it alongside vegan chilli instead of rice, but it is also great as a snack and can easily be adapted to be sweet or savoury as you prefer.

What Is Cornbread?:

Cornbread isn’t very common here in the UK. It is a a quickbread made with cornmeal (often labelled as polenta). It has a texture more akin to cake than that of a yeasted bread and is often served as a side dish.

It is a staple of American cuisine but there are a few different varieties and a big difference between Northern and Southern cornbread. Northern cornbread is sweetened and contains more flour so has a more ‘cakey’ texture.

Southern cornbread does not contain sugar and is often made using less or no flour, giving it a more rustic texture.

This easy vegan cornbread recipe is a Northern style cornbread, with a lightly sweet, cake-like texture.

How To Make Vegan Cornbread:

(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)

This recipe is so quick to throw together and you only need one bowl (plus a pan to melt the butter).

Place fine cornmeal (also often labelled as polenta) in a large bowl along with plain flour (or gluten-free plain flour), baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and light brown soft sugar (you can use white sugar instead but the flavour isn’t as good).

Give it a good whisk to combine.

Add unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best but any variety will work), cider or white wine vinegar and melted vegan butter or oil.

Whisk with a balloon whisk until no dry lumps remain. If you are using regular flour rather than gluten free make sure that you don’t over-beat the batter as that can make the bread tough.

Pour the batter into a greased and lined square tin and bake until golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Tips And Substitutions:

For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.

This cornbread is lightly sweetened, if you prefer yours sweet then you can increase the sugar to about 100g. Alternatively, if you like your cornbread more savoury then you can decrease the sugar.

I like the flavour of this cornbread made with melted vegan butter best (I use Naturli Vegan Block), but you can also use oil instead – sunflower, vegetable or canola would be best but melted coconut oil should work too.

This recipe also works well gluten-free, the cornbread in the photos is actually the gluten-free version as I had some GF flour that needed using up. Simply use the same weight of a gluten-free plain flour blend, and add in a 1/4 tsp xanthan gum if the flour blend doesn’t already include it.

I kept my cornbread plain but you can add mix-ins as you like – well-drained tinned sweetcorn, chopped jalapeños, spring onions or even blueberries.

Can I Freeze It?:

Yes this vegan cornbread freezes well, either in an airtight container or well wrapped. Allow to defrost at room temperature then refresh in a low oven to serve.

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Easy Vegan Cornbread

Easy vegan cornbread - this eggless and dairy-free cornbread recipe is so quick and easy to make using storecupboard ingredients and just one bowl! It is soft, fluffy, moist, tender and buttery and can also easily be made gluten-free. Perfect for serving alongside chilli or as a snack.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword bread

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

• 175 g (1 cup + 2 Tbsp) fine cornmeal (polenta)
• 150 g (1 ¼ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour (or a plain gluten-free flour blend plus 1/4 tsp xanthan gum IF the flour blend doesn't include it)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 60 g (⅓ cup) light brown soft sugar
• 330 ml (1 ¼ cups + 2 Tbsp) unsweetened non-dairy milk (soy is best but any will work)
• 2 tsp cider or white wine vinegar
• 120 g (1/2 cup) vegan butter/margarine melted (or use 120ml (1/2 cup) neutral oil)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6. Grease a 20cm/8 inch square cake tin and line with baking parchment.

2. Place the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl and whisk well to combine.

3. Add the milk, vinegar and melted butter and whisk until no dry lumps remain.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread level. Bake for 20-30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

5. Leave to cool in the tin then slice into squares and serve. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to five days.

Recipe Notes

• For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.
• This cornbread is lightly sweetened, if you prefer yours sweet then you can increase the sugar to about 100g. Alternatively, if you like your cornbread more savoury then you can decrease the sugar.
• I like the flavour of this cornbread made with melted vegan butter best (I use Naturli Vegan Block), but you can also use oil instead - sunflower, vegetable or canola would be best but melted coconut oil should work too.
• This recipe also works well gluten-free, the cornbread in the photos is actually the gluten-free version as I had some GF flour that needed using up. Simply use the same weight of a gluten-free plain flour blend, and add in a 1/4 tsp xanthan gum if the flour blend doesn't already include it.
• I kept my cornbread plain but you can add mix-ins as you like - well-drained tinned sweetcorn, chopped jalapeños, spring onions or even blueberries.