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There’s no need to miss out on cornbread this Thanksgiving if you are dairy-free or following a plant based lifestyle. Made with almond milk and maple syrup, this homemade vegan cornbread is wonderfully soft and fluffy and is so easy to make.
Skip the box mix this year and make your vegan cornbread from scratch. As well as being so much more flavorful, it also doesn’t contain the preservatives and hydrogenated fats that are often found in store bought mixes. It takes about the same time to make your own with natural ingredients, and the results are so good!
How to make vegan cornbread
- Add the dry ingredients to a bowl.
- Whisk together to combine,
- Add the wet ingredients to another bowl and whisk together.
- Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet. Feel free to add turmeric for a bright yellow color!
- Pour the cornbread batter into a prepared baking pan.
- Bake until done.
Tips for making homemade cornbread
- Switch out the milk to any plant-based milk of your choice. Cashew or other nut milk is preferable, but oat milk also works to keep the cornbread vegan.
- Make the cornbread more savory by adding more paprika or sweeter with more maple syrup. I recommend increasing the paprika to one teaspoon for a more savory quality or increasing the maple syrup to two to three tablespoons for a sweeter bread.
- Use fine ground cornmeal if you can find it. If you use fine cornmeal, you can reduce the milk by ¼ cup and you don’t need to let it sit and absorb. The medium ground can be coarse so letting is set before baking creates a softer texture.
- Allow the cornbread to cool in the pan before removing and slicing it. If you cut it into squares too early, it will likely fall apart.
Frequently asked questions
Cornmeal itself is gluten-free, but we do use flour in this recipe. I would wager that you can use a 1:1 gluten-free flour in the place of the all purpose flour, but I haven’t ried it myself. If you do, I would love to hear in the comments below!
Traditional cornbread is made in a cast iron skillet, but I know not everyone has one. The cornbread baked in a pan came out wonderfully! If you have a cast iron skillet, you can of course use that. Spray the skillet with cooking spray and pre heat it in the oven. Once your batter is ready you can pour it in.
This vegan cornbread is perfect to serve as a side for your Thanksgiving meal, and it’s amazing to serve with soups, chilis and stews. try it with:
Sweet Potato Chili
White Chicken Chili
Easy Beef Stew
This delicious vegan cornbread is such a wonderful accompaniment to your Thanksgiving meal, and you won’t miss the buttermilk or eggs for sure! Wonderfully soft and fluffy and it’s so simple to make, and I can’t wait for you all to try it!
More baked goods to try:
- Zucchini Bread Muffins
- Almond Joy Cookies
- Lemon Bread
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Cranberry Lemon Pound Cake
- Vegan Peppermint Brownies
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Vegan Cornbread recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
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Vegan Cornbread
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup medium grind cornmeal
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric optional
- 1 ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Grease an 8” x 8” pan. For extra easy removal, add strip of parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine corn meal, flour, baking powder, salt and paprika. Whisk to evenly distribute everything.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the almond milk, water, avocado oil and maple syrup. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, whisking until everything is smooth. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.
- Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 33-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing and cutting.
Notes
- Instead of almond milk, you can use any other plant-based milk or regular milk.
- Instead of maple syrup, you can use another liquid sweetener or granulated sugar.
- Instead of vegetable oil, you can use coconut oil, butter or plant-based butter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Can I bake it in muffin cups?
I have yet to try that, but I think it could!