Just the best vegan cornbread, perfect for serving with chili. It’s wonderfully moist, perfectly sweet and only requires one bowl!
Every time we have chili, I have to make some cornbread to go along with it. The whole family loves it, and it makes a pot of chili go a lot further! My kids have recently decided that they love chili, and demand it often. I’ve tried several vegan cornbread recipes out there, and haven’t been perfectly happy until this one!
Now, I know people like to get all picky about their cornbread. So let me tell you what this one is all about.
It’s quite sweet, but not overly so. If you don’t like sweet cornbread, you may want to look elsewhere, or just lower the amount of sugar called for. It’s not a savory cornbread though, that’s not what I’m used to, and it’s not my preference!
It’s very moist, with the perfect amount of cornbread texture. I’ve made some cornbreads that have too much “grit” in them. I don’t like that. This one is just perfect in texture, in my opinion. Not totally cake like, but not super gritty either.
It’s made with just one bowl! This is a super easy recipe: dump, mix & bake! Perfect every time.
Serve cornbread with this Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili , Instant Pot Baked Beans, or Ultimate Vegan Chili for optimal results! 🙂
The Best Vegan Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/3 cup canola oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a 8 x 8 pan, or a 9 inch round cake pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder and stir.
- Now pour in the almond milk and canola oil. Stir until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Video
Notes
- Whole grain or gluten free - You may use white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour in place of all purpose flour if you wish. A quality gluten free flour mix works as well.
- For oil-free - replace the canola oil with applesauce.
- Make cornbread muffins - Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a muffin pan with oil (or use liners) and fill 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Less sweet - This a sweet cornbread, but feel free to make it less sweet if you want. You can cut the sugar in half, or even use just a few tablespoons of sugar for a barely sweet cornbread.
- Adapted from allrecipes.
Will this work with Soy Milk?
Yes, works great with any non dairy milk that is unsweetened and unflavored.
This is the best cornbread I’ve ever had, vegan or not! I use vanilla soy milk when I make it and cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup since the milk is sweetened and it’s amazing. Definitely a staple in my house now and I don’t usually right reviews but it’s that good! 🙂
Hi Sierra! Thanks so much for sharing your review and comments! I’m glad you’re loving the cornbread!
This corn bread reminds me of the kind my mom made when I was a kid, and it turns out perfect every time!
I have to say, I love all of your recipes that I have tried!!
For anyone looking at the recipes on this site for the first time, I definitely recommend them! All of the recipes I have tried have turned out really well; the ratios and substitutions in the baking recipes especially are spot on.
Thanks Nora for figuring out and sharing how to make these basic recipes vegan!
Hi Jo. I so appreciate your kind words! They mean a lot to me! Thank you for using my recipes, and for taking your time to share your review and comments! Happy cooking!
This is the best cornbread EVER!!! I had forgotten to print the recipe and then couldn’t remember which cornbread one it was but I finally found it. I love your recipes Nora!!!
Thank you, Angie! I am so thrilled that you are loving my recipes! I appreciate you taking your time to share your review and comments about my cornbread…glad you love it!
This reminded me so much of what my grandma used to make! I absolutely loved it!
Thanks for sharing your review and comments! I’m glad you loved the cornbread!
Really good. This will be a staple in my house
Tried some of your other recipes before Nora and yet again, this is a winner!! Served with TVP chilli and salad ooh mama!! Deliciously moorish (as more please)?
I’m counting my calories at the moment and my Fitness Pal came back with 187 calories per slice (1/12) Very happy bunny here. Thanks Nora!!
Hi Marie. Thanks for sharing your review and comments! I’m glad you enjoyed the cornbread!
I made this with alterations to suite my preferences, and because you described so well why you chose these exact ingredients it was easy to know what to change. (I have no doubt it is delicious in the original form too).
So, I added only one tsp of sugar, because we’re not used to sweet cornbread. I had no almond milk at home, but I made some plantmilk out of oat, sunflower seeds, oil, salt and sugar. (It’s just blend and and strain so not much effort). I turned it into “buttermilk” through adding a few drops of apple cider vinegar. I also exchanged the oil for margarine. I usually don’t do that. I prefer oil, but I’m feeding omnivores today and I wanted to get as close to butter as I could. We’re also used to the gritty kind of cornbread so I used polenta of the finer kind they make here in Croatia. It actually wasn’t gritty at all, but had the exact texture you described. Not quite like cake, but almost. Very pleasant. Very good. Thank you for the useful recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe even with all the changes! Thanks!
Would you recommend making these the day of a party or could I get away with making them a day before with sacrificing flavor/texture.
You could make it the day before, no problem. It stays good for 3-4 days.
Just made this, it came out super dense. I used apple sauce instead of oil and half amount of sugar. Not sure why it came out so heavy…
Hey there! So, you changed the recipe enough that it made it different than the original. While it technically works to replace the oil with applesauce, I don’t love it that way, though many people don’t seem to mind that fat free taste and texture. Reducing the sugar also affects the overall texture of the cornbread. When made as written, it’s pretty light, just as cornbread should be. Also make sure you didn’t use coarse cornmeal. And did you substitute the all purpose flour? Whole wheat or other flours will also affect the outcome. Hope that helps.
Gluten free all purpose flour worked great! Had to use polenta as my corn meal and it did come out kind of gritty. I’m thinking I’ll try letting the batter sit for a little while before baking in the hope it will soften. Great flavours ?
Thanks for sharing your review and comments! I’m glad the loved the flavors!
My boyfriend asks me to make this recipe nearly every week! I make them into muffins though, reduce the sugar just slightly, and add dark chocolate chips (his request). I thought it sounded like a weird addition at first but it’s actually pretty darn good!
Hi Veronica! I’m glad you guys are loving the cornbread! I’ll have to try it with chocolate chips sometime. Thank you or sharing your review and comments!
I make these as corn bread muffins at least once a week using the exact same instructions but in a muffin tin. Love them! Getting addicted to this website!
Thanks Emily! I am glad you are loving my recipes! I appreciate you taking your time to share your review and comments!
How long do you cook the muffins for?
Love! Better than an non vegan cornbread I’ve made
So glad you loved it! Thanks for the wonderful review!
This recipe is delicious. Is it possible to use Splenda instead of sugar?
Hmm I’m not sure, it might work okay! Thanks.
Great recipe. I had to reduce the sugar used.
Thanks for sharing your review! I’m glad you love the cornbread!
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve eaten cornbread for the first time during a trip in NY in 2013. I love it. Quick & Simple!
I’m so glad you love the cornbread! Thank you for sharing your review!
Great recipe! I’ve made it a million times. I use gluten free flour, coconut oil, and cut back on the sugar by at least half. It’s delicious!
Tried this recipe two days ago. It’s by far the best quick-to-make bread I’ve eaten. My only issue is that the baking powder created a slightly bitter taste. I’d recommend using less baking powder, maybe two thirds of a tablespoon.
This can happen when you have a bad batch of baking powder. With good baking powder, you can’t taste it. One time I had a bad batch and it made everything so sour and bitter!
I used it with Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour. It is delicious.
I make this almost once a week. It’s so good and my very picky toddler loves it!
I did these as muffins with a gluten-free flour and oat milk (didn’t have any almond milk handy) and tossed in 1/3 cup salsa for the Tex-Mex vibe. Very fluffy and got good reviews from the recipients!
Oh, that sounds so good! Thanks for sharing your fabulous review and for sharing your ideas!
Great recipe! I’ve made it several times including a version made with a gluten free flour blend. Friends raved!
Hi! Any chance the oil can be replaced with something else, maybe apple sauce? What do you think?
Hi Andrea. You can sub applesauce for the oil, it’s a 1:1 sub. Hope you enjoy it!
This recipe is delicious. I made muffins instead of a loaf and I will use this recipe from now on. I followed the recipe exactly, plus added a drained can of corn and 1 minced fresh jalapeño. They were a big hit in my home.
I love your additions! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review and comments! I’m thrilled this will be your go to recipe for cornbread!
So good!!! I used about 1/2 cup of sugar, and it was sweet enough for me. I had it with your black bean and sweet potato chili. Huge hit! Even my non-vegan partner enjoyed it, and he’s a tough sell. 🙂
Your meal sounds delicious! I’m so glad you love the cornbread! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments!
Can this be made with oat flour instead of all purpose flour?
I’ve never tried using oat flour here, so I’m not sure. I think it will likely work okay though.