As soon as I posted my recipe for The Best Vegan Chili Ever, I started getting requests for my vegan cornbread recipe, but I didn’t have a cornbread recipe… yet. Writing this food blog is like sharing my food adventures with you guys. I think sometimes people think I have this never ending notebook of recipes ready to be photographed and added to the blog (I wish). Whether you know it or not, you’re totally on a vegan food adventure with me. Woot woot for adventures!!!
I’m constantly testing and experimenting. I just have food in my fridge and cupboards, and I mess with it until I’m able to produce something I consider blog worthy. So when I get requests, sometimes it takes a bit of time (especially when it’s a baked good), to nail the recipe just so. But I finally nailed the cornbread recipe! High-five friends, this leg of the adventure is complete.
As I have been blogging for almost 4 years now, over time I’ve gotten very specific about the recipes I like to post on my blog. My requirements for a blog worthy recipe are as follows:
- Is it easy to make?
- Does it use easy to find ingredients?
- Is it totally and utterly scrumptious?
If the answer is yes to all three of those questions, then I consider it a blog-worthy recipe. Boom.
So this vegan cornbread recipe, is it easy to make? Does it use easy to find ingredients? And is it totally and utterly scrumptious? You bettcha!!!
The Easiest (and most delicious) Vegan Cornbread is sweet, tender, moist, and full of corn flavour. For an extra bump in corniness… not in the funny kind of way but in the actual corn kind of way, you can optionally add in some fresh or frozen corn kernels. At book club the other day, my friends were fighting over the pieces with corn kernels in it… no shame book club!
Oh, and of course this vegan cornbread didn’t just make the delicious requirement, this is SUPER easy too. Just one bowl, 7- 8 ingredients, stir, pour into pan, bake, done. Yep. Cornbread here you come.
To make The Easiest (and most delicious) Vegan Cornbread: Add everything (except for the corn kernels if you are using them) to a bowl.
Stir until just combined. Don’t over mix it. If you are adding corn kernels, add those in now, and give two or three more stirs to mix them in.
Pour the batter into a lightly greased baking pan, and spread around evenly with a spatula. Bake. Then enjoy.
Sweet, tender, moist, full of corn flavour, and you can optionally add in corn kernels. Perfect paired with chili.
- 1 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 5 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen (optional)
- Preheat your oven to 400F (200C), and lightly grease a 8" x 8" pan.
In a large bowl, add everything together except for the corn kernels. Stir until just combined. Don't over mix it. If you are adding corn kernels, add those in now, and give two or three more stirs to mix them in. Pour into the greased pan, and spread evenly with a spatula.
Bake 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
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This is the first recipe of yours I ever made, and I love it! I make it regularly to go with bean soup, which is one of my favorites.
On a whim, I used coconut oil instead of vegan butter yesterday. It worked well. I will probably do it that way in the future.
Awesome!! SO happy you are enjoying so many recipes, Steve 🙂
Hi! I’ve made this recipe a few times and love it!! Thank you! I’ve always used almond milk….wondering if you have ever made it with coconut milk (the kind from a can)? I have some I need to use up. Do you think the coconut flavor will overpower the corn flavor??
Hi Kait, so happy you love it!! Coconut milk is very rich so I would water it down a bit, maybe 3/4 cup coconut milk, 1/4 cup water. I think the flavour would be nice. Enjoy!
I make this all the time and have forgotten to say Thank you for a wonderful vegan recipe!!! It is so delicious and definitely a staple on bean and chili days….lol…. thanks again ❤
Wonderful! So happy you love it so much, Wendy 🙂
I had tofu once. It was in a TV dinner. It was rubbery. So now I see your recipe and all the positive comments.
I am trying this soon.
Oh no! That’s the worst tofu experience ever. I guarantee that any tofu recipe on this blog will be lightyears better than a TV dinner tofu! Haha.
Corn makes me super sick, so I tentatively tried regular Cream of Wheat in place of cornmeal. Totally works! I’ve made it several times and it’s a keeper! Delicious! Yay!
Awesome, and what a great idea!
This is the best thing ever. We made the vegan chili and had this cornbread with it and what can I say? It’s absolutely freaking delicious *_* The first time I only had sweetened soy milk so it turned out almost like cake but the second time (with unsweetened milk) it was perfect. I’m actually craving some right now….<3
Yay! So happy you loved it so much, Johanna! 😀
Easy and delicious! My wife loves cornbread with corn kernels mixed in. I made the first batch for her, we both loved it. It turned out excellent. The next attempt I replaced the corn kernels with blueberries. Out of this world! Thank you so much for sharing these recipes. I may try the Irish Stew for dinner.
Glad you enjoyed, Don 🙂
Hi Sam, just recently found your site when searching for a vegan corn bread recipe. It was so delicious!! Then yesterday I made your Tofu Ricotta to go in a lasagna. Again, delicious!! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes and buy your cook book. Rebecca
That’s awesome!! Thank you, Rebbeca! Thrilled you are enjoying my recipes so much 😀
What can i substitute the corn meal with? Would almond flour or flaxseed meal work? I have cornstarch as well.
Cornmeal is really the key to this recipe as that’s what makes it cornbread, so if you don’t have that on hand, I would recommend waiting until you do 🙂
Mine did not come out as well but it was moist because I used the wrong cornmeal. I used a more fine cornmeal which I like better so I needed to add more milk but I was not aware until started reading the reviews. I will do over and see what happens.
Enjoy!
I can’t even handle how delicious this Cornbread is. So perfect and satisfying, and I appreciate the simplicity. Baking scares me, but the results made me feel like a pro. Any thoughts on how to turn these into pancakes?!
Aww that’s awesome, Sara! Hmm… I bet if you just poured the batter into think pancakes in a pan they might work, I haven’t tried it myself tho.
This recipe is delicious! So glad that I found it and thank you for sharing it with everyone. I made it for my parents and their friends, who had never even thought about trying vegan recipes out. The closest they’ve come is vegetarian. I made this with a chili recipe and they wanted the recipes. Lol. The husband said it was better than “regular” cornbread. This is definitely a repeat recipe.
Woohoo!! Can’t get a better review than people asking for the recipes. Thank you Marissa!
Hi Sam, I’m a huge fan of your blog! This looks super tasty, would it work as the corn part for vegan corndogs?? thanks!!
Hi Lauren! Thanks so much!!! Hmmm I don’t know, I have never actually made corn dogs before so I am not sure what the batter is supposed to be like. Interesting idea, I will have to give it a try!
FINALLY! A corn bread recipe that works!! I’ve tried so many – deleting them!! This is now my go to!! Thanks Sam!!!
Yay!! Thrilled you love it so much, and for your new go-to, Suzy! 🙂
Hello Sam… Can you use creamed corn instead of whole corn kernals?
Hi April, I think creamed corn would add too much extra moisture to the bread, so I would recommend sticking to just plain corn kernels. Enjoy!
I used creamed corn this weekend 16 oz it was a bit on the moist side, but I used it in a soup so it didn’t matter. I also replaced the oil with half a cup of apple sauce so that might have played a role in it too.
Will masa harina work instead of corn meal? I have a surplus.
Hi Amanda, I haven’t tried it myself, but according to this article, it might work. You may need to add a little more liquid. Hope that helps!
I have organic cane sugar, would that work the same as the white sugar?
Yep!
I made your recipe today and it was delicious! the cornmeal i used was Bob’s redmill organic medium grind, hubby said it was a little bit crunchy but was good, next time i will grind up the cornmeal a little bit in the coffee grinder to satisfy the hubby.. Thank you so much for a great recipe!
You’re most welcome, Jen! So happy you enjoyed it!
do you think corn flour would be ok
Sometimes cornstarch is referred to as corn flour, if it’s that, it will not work. If however, your cornflour is a more finely ground cornmeal, it should work ok. The resulting texture will be different and you may have to add a bit more moisture. Enjoy!
I haven’t made cornbread in years but this was better then whatever I made before. Mine didn’t come out fluffy but a little more cakey, which is just the way I like it. I wonder if it’s because I mixed all the dry ingredients first, made a well in the center and then added in the wet ingredients (old trick that I learned last century.) Also my edges had a nice chew to them. Perfection!
BTW, I only have a 9″ x 9″ metal pan. An internet search taught me that that’s about 25% bigger then an 8″ x 8″ pan so the ingredient calculations were easy.
Thanks for a great recipe, Sam!
Awesome! So happy you loved it, Sue 🙂
I made this last night and it was AWESOME
Yay!! So happy you loved it, Dana 🙂
OMG-this is the BEST cornbread EVER (vegan or otherwise). My daughter and I can’t stop eating it. Honestly, I rarely leave comments but this is SOOOOO good, I just had to leave one. This is now my go-to cornbread recipe. And it’s so easy too!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
YAAAAYYYYYY!!! so thrilled you loved it so much, Jackie! Thanks for leaving a fab comment 🙂
I doubled the recipe and made the cornbread in the 8×8 and also in the muffin tin. They both came out fabulous. The muffins were done only about 5 minutes before the pan. After 10 minutes I just started to keep a close eye and check with a toothpick every 2-3 minutes. They are delicious. I also highly recommend the chili.
Awesome!! So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
Now, I never… EVER review basically anything and recently I went vegan (once again) a few days ago and I decided to make some cornbread and chili for dinner this week as a form of meal prep since I love chili so much. After a few minutes of looking for the perfect cornbread recipe I decided on this one and am I so glad I did! I have to say… THIS CORNBREAD IS SPOT ON! You know this recipe is so good that I have to comment on it! I never thought I would have been able to make vegan cornbread that is good as my moms (even though her’s is simple and made from a box but everyone loved it) and I was able to achieve it with this recipe! I loved this cornbread so much and I wish I could have ate the entire pan. Not only was it easy to make, but it cooked perfectly too! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful and delicious recipe with us!
Wow!!! So thrilled you loved it so very much, Lauren!! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. Let me know if there are any other recipes you wish were veganized 🙂
Aloha: Making fresh black eyed peas and cornbread for tomorrow. Will use coconut milk for the cornbread. Looking forward to enjoying in the new year. Blessings, Anne
Enjoy!
This is so good! I prepared it exactly as written and it’s perfect, and got the seal of approval from my extremely picky daughter. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
You’re most welcome, Susan! Thrilled you love it so much 🙂
AND it’s good the next day!
Just made it with minor tweaks- I added taco seasoning and cilantro to give it a Spanish taste.
Fun additions!! Glad you enjoyed it, Monica 🙂
I forgot to mention the nutritional yeast. I finally had some- it was absolutely delicious and so nice and moist even fooled all the meat eaters
Wish I could give more than 5 stars
Hahaha! Awesome 🙂
Hi Sam! Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes <3 I was wondering if these can be made into muffins? Also, how long do they stay fresh? I am making these for my kids grandparents day at school and we are vegan 🙂
Hi Nadya, you’re most welcome! They sure can, but of course, will require less baking time. So keep an eye on them when baking. I would say they stay fresh for 2-3 days. Enjoy!
Hi
My son is vegan and I’m trying to make vegan dishes for him.
Interested in knowing the meal that you used as well as the butter. Thank you. Have a rest day. Amazing
Hi Rosa, welcome!
Cornmeal is always vegan so you don’t have to worry about that, I believe I used Unico brand. For the vegan butter, my favourite brand is Earth Balance. Enjoy!
Thanks for the great recipe. I need to make a cornbread for my son’s Thanksgiving at school and he is being raised vegan, so this is a life saver. One question – what flavor of non-dairy milk do you recommend? Soy?
Perfect! My go-to for baking is always unsweetened soy milk.
Went great with vegan chili! It was quick and easy, just as advertised. I cut the sugar in half and used half whole wheat half white flour- still tastes great. Thanks!
Wonderful! SO happy it was enjoyed 🙂
I don’t know what I did wrong – but these were terrible. I’m relatively new to vegan cooking and was really excited to try this recipe due to the positive reviews. My cornbread was so dry, so, so dry. It was basically like gumming floury cornmeal. I tried it again to ensure that I didn’t do something wrong the first time and was met with the same sad, and very dry, results.
Oh no! So sorry you didn’t enjoy it, Lisa. I’m not sure what could have gone wrong for you 🙁
Same. The batter was totally dry and didnt look anything like the image. I triple checked the ingredients and all. Used PAN corn meal, redpath sugar, five roses flour, blue diamond almond coconut milk, becel vegan margarine (maybe that was the kicker)?
Huh, that’s so weird, I just made this the other day again and it was wonderful. Did it come together once baked?
It was edible once baked – boyfriend who has never tried cornbread thought it was good – but very dry, crumbly, and lumpy. The texture was similar to a biscuit rather than cornbread, and still far too sweet despite using half the sugar (1/4 cup)
Oh there’s the problem, sugar actually keeps baked goods soft and moist, so reducing it will affect the texture for sure. Better try a different recipe to suit your tastes for next time. Glad we solved the problem! 🙂
Mine barely came together once baked. It was solid, but just a lump. I followed the recipe and didn’t cut any ingredients ;-(
Huh, I really have no idea why it would come out so differently for both of you. I have tried this recipe many times and it always comes out perfectly. My last guess is that maybe your cornmeal is somehow more absorbent, closer to corn flour in texture? If not, I’m not sure what else to suggest. Sorry, I can’t be more help!
Are you at a higher elevation? If so, baked goods need tweaking!
I am not ;-(
I love this recipe, it’s my Go-To recipe cornbread!
Yay! So happy to hear that 🙂
How can it possibly have 7 grams of saturated fat in one serving? Looking at the ingredients, I just don’t see it. I try to keep my total daily saturated fat intake to 15 grams or less.
Most of it comes from the vegan butter, depending on what brand you use.
I agree. When I calculate the amount of saturated fat, which I can assume is only coming from the vegan butter, I get less than 2 grams per serving. The total saturated fat for the whole recipe is 17.5. Maybe the nutritional info calculator used on this recipe was faulty? Either way, this is a delicious recipe, and I imagine you could sub out the butter with some oil or applesauce instead to reduce the saturated fat.
Hmm interesting. I am actually in the process of switching to a new nutrition calculator, so perhaps it will be more accurate soon 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it, Amelia 🙂
Made this tonight! Delish! Thanks!!
So happy you enjoyed it, Sharon 🙂
I just made this for my little girls 2nd birthday this weekend! She’s having a “farm” theme so of course corn bread is perfect! I just doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9×13 pan.. although it is for the party, we couldn’t resist a taste. It is awesome!! Husband and babies loved it. So yummy and so quick and easy to make. I know it’ll be a hit this weekend. Thanks, Sam! Love all of your recipes! 🙂
Aww so cute. You’re most welcome, Stephanie! So happy you enjoyed. Happy birthday to your girls 🙂
My wife and I made this today… hands down my favorite version yet. It was amazing, and went great with our 10 bean soup 😀
Yay! So happy you and your wife enjoyed it so much! Thanks for the comment, James 🙂
This is fantastic! I’ve just convinced my husband to try a plant-based diet, so I was happy to find this recipe to have with our veggie chili. Thanks for posting!
You’re most welcome, Laura!! 🙂
I’ve made this before with your chili recipe and the whole family loves it! Just realized I miss out of flour though. Would another type of flour work? Arrowroot flour perhaps? THanks!
So happy you love it, Christina! I don’t normally cook with any flour other than traditional wheat. If you have an all-purpose gluten-free blend, that might work.
What would be the best best subsistute for vegan butter?
Coconut oil might work ok, but I would stick with vegan butter it at all possible.
This recipe was AMAZING! I have been vegan for about 4 days lol. Whenever I have a craving, I research a recipe that is the same except vegan friendly. I followed the recipe and the only change I made was adding a little honey. This didn’t disappoint AT ALL. My husband who is fussing about changing our diet tried a piece and said “This taste just like my grandma’s.” I have never heard those words come from his mouth and who would’ve thought it would’ve been a vegan recipe that made him say it. I’ll definitely be trying more of your recipes!
Congrats on your new veganism, Allison! So happy you enjoyed my recipe, and I hope you enjoy many more to come! Let me know if you ever have and questions or need any support 🙂
Despite the fact that Honey isn’t vegan by any means, it’s good to see that this is a recipe that worked for someone. I’ve seen recipes for sooo many vegan foods in the last year that have just bombed on my end or another’s end for one reason or another but since I’ve seen quite a few good reviews for this cornbread, I’m definitely considering giving it a go.
Hi Sursie, I think if you have a look around my blog you will find that there are rave review everywhere 🙂 I always test my recipes well before posting them to ensure they work for everyone. Enjoy!
This was amazing. My boyfriend did his amazing chili with vegan ground beef and chorizo in the crockpot and I made this cornbread! I subbed coconut sugar for the sugar because it was all I had, and I added the corn, jalapeños, and vegan cheddar cheese and it was just amazing. A little vegan butter and some maple syrup on top (if that’s your thing) and we had ourselves a really amazing meal that didn’t take hardly anything to prepare.
Perfect! So happy you enjoyed it. That sounds like a truly amazing meal, you made me hungry!
Hi there. I was excited to create this vegan corn bread but you listed WHITE SUGAR as one of the ingredients. WHITE SUGAR IS NOT VEGAN. Perhaps you and others substituted the white sugar with cane or brown but it’s important not to include white sugar in a vegan recipe. Here’s an article explaining how white sugar is not vegan. It’s made from bleached animal bones. Hope this helps. http://www.collective-evolution.com/2016/10/13/how-refined-sugar-is-made-and-why-its-not-vegan-friendly/
Thanks,
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne,
Actually, a lot of brands of white sugar are totally vegan. Using bone char to refine sugar isn’t very common anywhere other than the US as far as I know, but I do check the sugar I buy to make sure. The standard brand I use here in Canada is Redpath and they say on their site that the sugar is indeed vegan-friendly. So you just want to check the brand you’re purchasing. The article you linked also includes a list of vegan-friendly sugar brands. And a helpful tip is that all organic sugar is always vegan-friendly. You should also be aware that just because sugar is brown, it doesn’t necessarily make it vegan. Brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses added to it. Hope that helps!
Thank you for the response. It was very informative as I am still learning about veganism. I didn’t even consider looking up the brand in order to find out if their white sugar is organic. Also, the tip on brown sugar has helped. Thanks 🙂
No problem! Happy I could help 🙂
This was absolutely delicious!!! Been experimenting with vegan recipes and sooo glad I tried this one!!! Thanks for a great recipe!!
You’re most welcome, Wendy! So happy you love it 🙂
Best recipe for cornbread I have tried. This will be my favorite. Thanks for sharing!
Woohoo! SO happy you love it, AJ!
Would it make a difference if I use brown sugar?! That’s all I have!
Yes, it would. It would be the same sweetness, but brown sugar holds more moisture which may affect the texture of the cornbread, it also may make your cornbread a brown colour.
Hello! I tried this today and I didn’t know I was out of vegan butter until the time to incorporate it came (I know =, I’m a mess) but I used pumpkin puree that I had left in the fridge and it came out real good, too! Can;t wait to try it with the vegan butter!… but I recommend you give a try to the pumpkin puree version! It was GOLDEN!
Haha! That’s so interesting! So happy it worked out anyways, and I must keep that in mind for next time 😉
This is definitely my favorite cornbread recipe although I did make some adjustments. I substituted the plant milk and melted vegan butter with vegetable oil and water. It still came out very moist and delicious. 🙂
Woohoo! Thrilled that you loved it and that your substitutions worked well Aliya! 🙂
I made this cornbread recipe as a side to the chilli recipe on here and it stole the show at my dinner party! It was just incredible! I keep getting messages from my guests about the recipe. I still can’t believe cornbread would taste so good! DEFINITELY add the corn. It adds texture and and incredible corn flavour. Seriously, make this. you won’t regret it and will be making it again after the first time.
Wow!! That’s awesome. So happy you and all of your guests loved it so much! Thanks for the lovely comment, Rob 🙂
Can I use coconut milk?
What kind did you use?
You could use the kind of coconut milk in a carton, but the kind in a can would be too thick. I used soy milk. Enjoy!
Oh no! I thought this would be a perfect recipe to try making with my twin 2 year olds since it’s so simple but we forgot the melted butter! -_-
It’s in the oven now! Here’s to hoping it’s not a disaster 🙁
Alright so I’m a terrible judge, never having had cornbread before! But even with my screw up, the flavour is amazing! Is it supposed to have a bit of a crunch? I’m not sure if that’s the corn meal I used (it had the germ still on it?), or that I used raw sugar. My boys are loving it anyways though! Thank you so much!
Woohoo! So happy you enjoyed it, Kayla! No, there shouldn’t be any crunch, my guess is it’s from the cornmeal you used. Glad you enjoyed it! 😀
I’ve never made cornbread, but my favourite vegan restaurant in Montreal makes the best Mexican brunch featuring polenta and cornbread. I might have to try your recipe, thanks Sam!
Oups the comment left with my infos all wrong 🙂
Hope you have a lovely day!
I hope you like the recipe when you try it 🙂
You’re completely right, Sam––this was definitely the most delicious and easiest cornbread. Thanks for the recipe!
Woohoo! Can’t get a much better review than that. Thanks, Erin!
I love finding your posts in my inbox. Cornbread – perfect.
Yay! I love seeing your name in the comments 🙂
Wow, it looks so fluffy 🙂
So fluffy! Hahaha
Would you say this is a sweet cornbread? Not growing up in the US I never had it until I married my US husband. There seem to be two sorts of cornbread – a sweet one and a not very sweet one. I have a cornbread muffin recipe that only has 2 Tbs sugar in it. Could I reduce the sugar in this do you think? I would like to make something in a pan and yours looks very delicious :).
This is on the sweeter side, but not the cake mix kind. (Some US cornbread recipes are literally made with cake mix). This is lightly sweet. I wouldn’t suggest reducing the sugar as a lot of the moisture comes from the sugar and without it, they will get dry. Hope that helps!
You are my hero. I already had a chili recipe I liked a lot. Yours is way better. I have a cornbread recipe that’s pretty good, but only while it’s fresh. Your recipe looks much easier! Will it also be yummier? We’ll see after I try it–immediately! I swear, your recipes speak straight to my heart. I’m so thankful for you and for this blog!
Aww wow! I’m so flattered, what a lovely comment, you totally made my day, Kerry. I hope this cornbread wins the race! 😀
It was super easy to make, delicious with supper, and still just as delicious this morning. It’s a winner for sure! I liked it better than my other recipe, and hubby did too. Baby didn’t have a strong opinion, but she’ll come around. 🙂
Woohoo!!! So glad it was a hit 😀