This Gluten-Free Vegan Cornbread is sweet and "buttery", moist and fluffy and has a nutty flavour! It's made in one bowl using simple ingredients and is yeast-free and refined sugar free too.

Yes, you can make this cornbread corn-free by replacing the cornmeal with chickpea flour!
How to make this recipe
Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.
- Measure out the plant-based milk in a measuring jug and stir in the vinegar – set aside for at least 5 minutes to leave it to curdle (this creates a vegan “buttermilk”).
- Mix together with all the other ingredients in a glass mixing bowl.
Note: The batter is much runnier than traditional cornbread batter, so don’t worry if your batter looks runnier than expected, it will be fine when baked!
- Transfer the mixture to a square baking tin.
Tip: Line the baking tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove the cornbread afterwards.
- Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Leave to cool slightly before cutting.
Substitutions you can make
- You can use any type of oil: coconut oil, vegetable oil, olive oil etc.
- You can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, soy milk, rice milk etc.
- You can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc.
- You can omit the maple syrup entirely.
- To make it corn-free, you can replace the cornmeal with chickpea flour.
Ingredients you can add to the batter
You can customise this recipe by adding any of the following sweet or savoury ingredients:
- Nutritional yeast.
- Grated vegan cheese.
- Chopped jalapeños.
- Sweetcorn.
- Dried cranberries.
- Chopped apple pieces.
- Fresh or frozen blueberries.
How long does this Cornbread keep for?
Not only does this cornbread taste amazing fresh out of the oven, but it also keeps well in the fridge for up to a few days, and freezes well too. It reheats especially well in the toaster.
Serving suggestions
This cornbread tastes delicious drizzled with a little maple syrup, but also works as a great side dish, satisfying snack or healthy dessert. It's also delicious for breakfast, and tastes amazing topped with some fruity jam!
More gluten-free vegan quick-bread recipes
- Gluten-Free Vegan Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Blueberry Banana Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Seeded Buckwheat Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Irish Soda Bread
- Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.
Watch how to make this recipe
Gluten-Free Vegan Cornbread
Ingredients
- 600 ml (2 ½ cups) unsweetened almond milk (or any other plant-based milk)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- 100 g (½ cup) coconut oil (or sub olive or vegetable oil)
- 8 tablespoons maple syrup *(or sub any other sweetener)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 280 g (1 ¾ cup) fine cornmeal **
- 180 g (1 ½ cup) gluten-free flour blend (or sub plain flour if not gluten-free)
- 6 teaspoons baking powder (ensure gluten-free if necessary)
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
- Measure out the milk and stir in the vinegar - set aside for at least 5 minutes to leave it to curdle.
- Place the coconut oil in a large bowl and melt over a saucepan of boiling water or in the microwave (skip this step if using any other oil).
- Add the maple syrup, salt and cornmeal.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
- Add the milk and vinegar mixture and mix well, adding some extra milk or water if too dry - the batter is much runnier than traditional cornbread batter, so don't worry if your batter looks runnier than expected, it will be fine when baked!
- Transfer the mixture to a square baking tin (I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin) lined with greased baking paper and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Leave to cool slightly before cutting.
- Keeps well covered in the fridge for up to a few days, and freezes well too - delicious reheated in the toaster.
Video
Notes
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you purchase any of these products, a small percentage will come to me with no extra cost to you! This income will go towards the running of this blog – thank you.
Chrystal Bernard
I just made this with olive oil, organic cane sugar, and oat flour as that is what was in my pantry.
Like others stated, the batter was very liquid and I thought it was going to be a disaster. To my surprise, it was absolutely AMAZING! The best cornbread ever!
This is my go to cornbread recipe now! Thank you so much! ❤️
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!!
Bree
Just made this last night to make into stuffing- I of course had to “sample” it several times, so delicious with a bit of vegan butter melted in!
Rhian Williams
Thank you so much, so happy to hear that!
Bryan
This is the best vegan and gluten free cornbread recipe I’ve encountered. I halved the sweetener but otherwise followed the recipe exactly and it turned out fluffy, moist and delicious. My wife made a non-vegan and non-gluten-free version from another recipe at the same time and everyone preferred this one even though it was meant to cater to a couple people with dietary restrictions.
Rhian Williams
Wow thank you so much, so happy to hear that!