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.
I added 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar using soy milk. Also, I ground, to desired consistency, 1 1/8 cup of Bob Mills yellow corn grits (polenta) instead of cornmeal. Made muffins instead.
Sounds delicious!
Made this to pair with chili for our Meatless Monday. I baked the batter in muffin tins for easy portioning. I used applesauce and had only 1-2 tbsp left APF so I made this gluten free throwing together a bunch of grain-free flours like oats and potato starch and the leftover gluten-free APF bag that I got at Trader Joe’s. This cornbread is sooooo good, super moist and fluffy and I’m sure I’ll be making it again. Thanks for your wonderful recipes, Nora!
You’re welcome! Glad you liked it!
I’ve made this twice in two weeks and everyone loves it. Even a picky three year old! I did make as muffins in silicone liners. First time I sprayed them with oil, the second time I didn’t and they popped right out. Kids like the muffins they can pick up and eat easily. I did use less sugar and the first time I used applesauce as half the oil. The second time I used almost the whole portion of oil as I had no applesauce. Great either way, I couldn’t tell the difference. I’m a long time cornbread maker (as all southern cooks are) but since going vegan half a year ago, I was struggling with a workable recipe and thanks to you I have it! I think in cast iron pan I’d get that crispy crust I crave. I’ll definitely try that.
Thanks for the great comment and review! I’m glad everyone loves it!
Hi Nora, cornbread is not really a thing in Australia, but I’ve always been fascinated with the idea. I’ve not long gone vegan, (best choice ever!) but have been cooking much more since then. I didn’t think someone like me, (big burly bloke who looks like Shrek), could ever make something as beautiful as this!
So a very big thank you, currently cooking chili to go with it.
You’re so welcome! Thanks for the wonderful comment! 🙂
Very yummy and easy to make, thank you! I used a cupcake tray and the batter stuck to the cupcake cups. Any tips to prevent this?
I’m glad you enjoyed the cornbread! Do you mean you used paper liners and the cornbread stuck to that? If so, spray the insides of the liners with oil beforehand, that will help. It’s a good trick for muffins and cupcakes, too.
Made it with raw sugar and avocado oil instead and it turned out great! I wonder if it would work with oat flour. I’ll try that next time. Love it!
So glad you liked it!
Hello there…
Have you ever substituted Pam’s gluten free flour (one to one ratio store bought) into this recipe ?
I haven’t tried it, but it will probably work!
It was moist and delicious as promised! I used cocunut sugar and cut it in half and it was still plenty sweet. I will definitely make it again!
Good I’m so glad you liked the cornbread. Thank you!
This recipe was perfect! I love it. I decided to add some cooked corn and it was de-lish. I plan to make this again but with some charred corn and charred jalapeno to create a vegan cornbread dressing. Thank you so much, I loved it!!!
You’re welcome! Great additions! 🙂
This cornbread was delicious! Thank you for this easy recipe. If I wanted to add blueberries, would I need to do anything different or just toss them in?
Nope just toss them in! Thank you!
This recipe is THE BEST. No exaggerating. I have searched for so long and this is the ONE. Thank you, thank you for sharing, and making my family’s bellies incredibly happy tonightl. ? Love your Instagram and website. You’ve won is over. We will definitely be following you. ?
Thank you so much, I’m glad you love the cornbread so much! I make it ALL THE TIME. 🙂
Delicious! I used water instead of almond milk, coconut oil, and brown sugar because I was out of white! Great!
I’m so glad it came out great!
This cornbread is moist and tastes FANTASTIC! Mine, though, came out very, very crumbly. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Did you make any substitutions? It’s a bit crumbly when made without oil, but I’m not sure why else it would come out so crumbly, mine always holds together very well so you can pick up a piece no problem.
Tested two corn bread recipes for thanksgiving, one sweet (this one) and one savory (from another blog) and this recipe was not only easier, it was also DRASTICALLY better. I’m bringing this one to a Friendsgiving tonight and going to make another one for thanksgiving in a few weeks! Thanks for the great recipe, I’m so excited to have cornbread after years of having no vegan options.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you like it, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday!
Hi Nora- just started following your site and boy, am I enjoying your recipes! I’ve made this cornbread recipe a few times now and it is tasty! I use rice milk instead of almond milk and havent seen any difference. Have played with replacing some of the white flour with brown rice flour and liked the texture, but the recipe as it stands is great. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Welcome to the site, and I hope you find more recipes you love. 🙂
I made these into muffins tonight and added chili pepper sauce and corn into the batter. So delicious! I also greased the muffin tin instead of using baking paper and it gave a lovely crispy edge to the muffins- I highly recommend trying it!
Sounds yummy!
I have made this cornbread several times. It is beyond good! We have a mixed family of vegan and non-vegan. This is a cornbread that everyone loves. I will be using it in my thanksgiving stuffing this year.
I love it when a vegan recipe is loved by everyone! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Do you think it will be okay to use soy milk instead of almond milk?
Yes, I use them interchangeably.
Sounds delicious! Can you replace the oil with coconut oil or another type?
Yes, coconut oil or another oil is fine, I’ve even used olive oil with good results. Thanks!
How about not using sugar?
I think it will be fine with not sugar, just not sweet at all obviously.
I made this for a group of college kids on a retreat. I doubled the recipe and it worked perfectly. They LOVED it! Thank you for this recipe!!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad everyone loved it!
Just made this and this is delicious! It’s the best. It’s like Jiffy without the animal fat. Good job. And thanks.
You’re welcome, and thanks! 🙂 Glad you like it.
Thanks for your comment! I’ve been looking for a Jiffy-like cornbread recipe that is vegan. I’ll be trying this for a BYO chili and fixin’s event I’m going to.
I have made this recipe several times and this is our ultimate favorite! I have tried numerous others in between and always regret doing that…no more!..this really is “The best”! Thank you Nora.?
You’re so welcome. I’m so glad you like this recipe is a winner for you!
I made your recipe today and my cornbread tastes really nice. Thank you for sharing.
!!! Soooo good!!! Super quick and perfect chewiness 😀 I subbed unsweetened applesauce for all the oil and used Splenda equivalent for a bit less than 2/3c sugar. Still super sweet and amazingly delicious with a perfect crust!! I recently made cornbread from a NYT recipe and was disappointed with the dryness. My bf and I are hooked on your banana bread, and your pumpkin bread again knocked it out of the park – adding cornbread to the list!!
I’m so glad you like the cornbread as well as the banana and pumpkin bread! It makes me happy when recipes work out well for people. 🙂
I’m not a cook by any stretch of imagination, but I made the best vegan cornbread following this recipe. Thanks for making my night (and my chili beans).
This cornbread was so good and sweet (which I like) it almost tasted like cake. I subbed applesauce for some of the oil, and it didn’t seem to make a difference. It had the perfect texture and taste. Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the sweet cornbread! Thank you.
Perfect recipe. Easy to make. I made it as is and I also made a batch in which I added jalapenos, vegan mozzarella, and corn. It was delicious.
The special batch sounds delicious!
This cornbread was amazing! I was surprised by how moist and light it was. Tip: I added about 3/4 cup sweet corn kernels and it was great. Drizzle with honey to make it super delish.
Sounds great, so glad you enjoyed it!