The perfect vegan cornbread! Enjoy this cornbread with warm chili, a hearty kale salad, or your favorite holiday meals. It's quick to throw together for a classic bread that the whole family will love.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Since it's almost Thanksgiving...what?!...the next couple of weeks are going to be filled with delicious vegan Thanksgiving and holiday recipes. Earlier this week I shared the recipe for these 3-Ingredient Pecan Pie Tartlets (that's right, 3 ingredients!) and later this month I have all kinds of pies, salads, and Thanksgiving entrees. Did someone say Wild Rice Stuffed Squash?
But today, I have a classic holiday bread that you can really enjoy all year round - classic vegan cornbread. It's sweet, hearty, deliciously soft, and the perfect pairing for your favorite soups and chilis.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
This vegan cornbread is adapted from an earlier cornbread recipe I published a couple of years ago. I have since adapted it to make it fluffier, sweeter, and softer. This new and improved version is rich, moist, and nearly fail-proof.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Non-Dairy Milk – I recommend soy milk because it curdles the best. Almond milk will often curdle but not as well. This may affect the overall texture of the muffin.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – This is my vinegar of choice when making vegan buttermilk (vinegar + soymilk) but white vinegar, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice are great alternatives.
- Cornmeal
- All-Purpose Flour – For healthier flour options, you can use 1:1 gluten-free flour blends, buckwheat, or spelt flour. You can also make this recipe with 50% whole wheat flour without compromising on texture.
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Granulated Sugar – Check out my guide to vegan sugars and alternative sugar replacements. For a healthier sugar alternative, I recommend coconut sugar.
- Oil – This recipe calls for olive or avocado oil because it creates the best texture without unwanted flavor. You could also use melted coconut oil or vegetable oil.
Recommended Equipment
For this recipe, you will nee an 8x8 (or similarly sized) baking pan, a mixing bowl, measuring cups, and basic kitchen utensils. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
How to Make Vegan Cornbread
Step One – Make the Buttermilk
In a liquid measuring cup combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar. I prefer soy because, when combined with vinegar, it curdles well giving it a similar taste, texture, and rise of buttermilk.
If you don't like using soy milk, I suggest oat or cashew milk as good alternatives.
Step Two - Combine the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to whisk the dry ingredients together to prevent the baking powder from clumping together.
Pro Tip: Make sure to whisk the dry ingredients together well. I had a few issues when I first made this recipe with my baking powder clumping together. This is not only a nasty surprise to bite into but when the baking soda is not fully incorporated, the bread cannot rise as full and evenly.
Step Three –Combine Ingredients
Add the sugar and oil to the vegan buttermilk and whisk together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently fold together until the batter is uniformly hydrated.
Be careful not to over-mix as this will make your cornbread dense and gummy. Because the cornmeal already adds heaviness to the batter, this is even more important to keep in mind.
Step Four – Pour and Bake
Pour the batter into a prepared baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes at 400 F. The baking time will vary slightly depending on your oven. After 20 minutes, check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the middle of the bread. If it comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, your cornbread is done.
Serving and storing
Serving - Serve this cornbread warm with some vegan butter and agave nectar or Bee Free Honee (<<affiliate link). Serve with your favorite vegan chili or as part of your holiday meal.
Storing - Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days. For best results, double wrap the cornbread by first wrapping in plastic wrap and then placing it in a large ziplock bag. This bread can also be frozen. To thaw, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Thawed cornbread should be eaten within 3 days.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure not to over-mix your batter. When the batter is over-mixed, it allows gluten stands to form which leads to gummy dense bread. We’re looking for light and fluffy!
- Spray your baking pan well to prevent the bread from sticking to the pan.
- Depending on your oven, the top of the bread might start to brown before the center is done. If this is the case, cover the bread in tin foil the final 10-15 minutes.
- Let your bread cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Variations of Cornbread
Want variety? Here are a few of my favorite mix-ins.
- Fresh corn kernels
- Seeded and diced jalapeños
- Shredded zucchini
- Chopped hazelnuts and maple syrup
Or, skip the squares and turn them into muffins instead.
More Vegan Quick Bread Recipes
Best Ever Vegan Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup unsweetened soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ cups cornmeal
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup olive or avocado oil melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Generously spray an 8x8 cooking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a small bowl, make your "buttermilk" by whisking together soy milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside to allow milk to curdle.
- Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl combine "buttermilk", sugar, and oil. Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined and the batter is evenly hydrated. Don't over-mix.
- Transfer to the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden brown and edges have baked away from the pan. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
- Make sure not to over-mix your batter. When the batter is over-mixed, it allows gluten stands to form which leads to gummy dense bread. We’re looking for light and fluffy!
- Spray your baking pan well to prevent the bread from sticking to the pan.
- Depending on your oven, the top of the bread might start to brown before the center is done. If this is the case, cover the bread in tin foil the final 10-15 minutes.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Colleen Nelson says
Great corn bread! We were looking for a recipe to go with some chili we were making, and this was perfect.
Jill says
Hello,
Thank you for your recipe! I am excited to try it for this weekend. I was wondering if you think I could substitute a non-dairy sour cream instead of the buttermilk mixture, and if so how much sour cream? We don't drink soy milk and I can't find anything less than 64oz. It would be such a waste to only use 10oz of it.
Jenn says
Love this cornbread. Perfect rise. Perfect texture. Perfect flavor. Better than any other, vegan or not. Thank you!
Jane Newton says
Could you use sweetened soy milk and then just omit the sugar or cut down on the sugar?
Sarah McMinn says
You could cut down on the sugar.Try cutting in half. The bread will be less tender then as sugar adds tenderness but it should still be tasty.
Suzana says
Hello. This sounds great! I am breastfeeding and my little one has a dairy/soy allergy so wondering if another type of milk can be used like oat?
Sarah McMinn says
Yes, you could use any other non-dairy milk.
Maribel says
I just finished making the cornbread & it was delicious. The only milk I had was vegan eggnog so I used it along with a can of corn, gluten free flour & the rest of the ingredients minus the salt since I cannot have it. Thanks for the recipe, it was great with my five beans vegan soup.
Moraima says
Hi! Can I bake them in a muffin pan?
Sarah says
Yes, they won't take as long to bake. I would check them after 15 minutes.
Joshua Howard says
This cornbread is really the best! It was really easy to make! Thank you for the share and clear instructions!
Kymm says
How much shredded zucchini would you add in to this?
Sarah says
I would add about a cup and make sure to strain it through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer to get rid of any excess liquid.
Karen Rubio says
This looks amazing! Will it work as well with gluten free flour? thank you!
Sarah says
Yes, I think a 1:1 gf mix would work just fine!
Nancy says
I made it with gluten free flour yesterday and turned out great.
diane says
Would this work with almond milk instead of soy? And could I cook in a regular pan? (I dont have cast iron - it's on my xmas lust!)
Sarah says
Yes, almond milk should work. It won't curdle as much but that's okay. And yes, a regular pan will be fine.
Brenda says
Does it have to be chickpea flour?
Sarah says
I haven't tried it with another egg replacer (binder) because I think chickpea flour is the best for this recipe but you could try it with flax seed egg or commercial egg replacer for a similar texture and taste.
Karen Mack says
Where is there chickpea flour in the recipe? I don't see any mention of it, or any mention of using an egg replacer.
Sarah says
There used to be chickpea flour in the recipe. I've reworked the recipe so it doesn't need any kind of egg replacer. 🙂
Jennifer Bliss says
This looks great! I have always shy-ed away from making breads at home because of my lack of baking ability. But this is tempting me to try again!
Jennifer Bliss says
Oops! Sorry! Didn't link my website in previous comment