This is seriously the Best Vegan Cornbread! It’s wonderfully moist, perfectly sweet, and easy to make in one bowl. Perfect for pairing with chili!
If you love serving bread with dinner, then you’ll also want to check out my Vegan Dinner Rolls, Vegan Cheddar Bay Biscuits, and Vegan Garlic Bread recipes!
“This! It’s better than non-vegan cornbread. I’m using it in a dressing for Thanksgiving and it’s the best cornbread recipe! So good!” – Susan
I simply cannot make a batch of my Ultimate Vegan Chili without a side of this Easy Vegan Cornbread. The whole family loves it, and it makes a pot of chili go a lot further!
I’ve tried a bunch of vegan cornbread recipes over the years, and none have made my kids smile quite as much as this one. It’s on the sweeter side, but if you’re a savory cornbread fan, feel free to reduce the sugar or fold corn kernels or vegan cheese into the batter. Most importantly, it’s very moist, as classic cornbread should be.
And the best part? It’s super easy to make with 7 ingredients in only 1 bowl! Just dump, mix, bake, and enjoy your perfect cornbread.
Why this is the best vegan cornbread
- Chili’s best friend – Sweet, fluffy, and soft, there’s nothing better than dunking a big slice of vegan cornbread into a steaming hot bowl of this Veggie Chili or this Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili.
- Better than boxed cornbread – This cornbread will remind you of the cornbread that comes from the boxed mix, except it tastes sooo much better! Plus, it’s easy to make with less than 10 ingredients and in one bowl.
- Over 600 reviews – Don’t just take my word for it. This recipe has over 600 reviews from happy readers! Give it a try yourself and you’ll understand why it’s the best.
If you end up loving this vegan cornbread as much as I do, then you’ll want to save my Vegan Cornbread Stuffing recipe for the holiday season. It’s a perfect Thanksgiving side dish!
How to make vegan cornbread
Find the complete recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
Stir the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a large bowl. Pour in the almond milk and canola oil and stir until well combined.
Pour the smooth batter into your prepared pan. Bake the cornbread until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Set the bread aside to cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve with vegan butter, red pepper jelly, maple syrup, or vegan honey on top.
Frequently asked questions
You can fold up to 1/2 cup of corn kernels, canned green chilis, diced jalapenos, or shredded vegan cheddar cheese into the batter. I’ll even sprinkle extras over the top of the batter before baking the cornbread for extra pops of color and flavor.
After testing this recipe countless times, I found that using fine-ground cornmeal always gave me the best, never-gritty results. Medium and coarse cornmeal sometimes work, but they make the cornbread more grainy.
Absolutely! Make the batter as normal, pour it into a lined muffin tin (3/4 of the way full), and bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes at 350ºF.
Yes, a quality gluten-free flour mix will work as a replacement for the all-purpose flour here.
Yes, you can cut the sugar in half for less-sweet cornbread or use just a few tablespoons of sugar for a barely sweet cornbread.
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.
Hi Nora! I was going to make this recipe for a Friendsgiving this weekend and I was wondering if I could substitute the almond milk for regular dairy milk? My friend is allergic to nuts
That’s fine, or another non dairy milk would work, like soy. Thanks!
I love all your recipes, so now that I have to make my first Thanksgiving, and we’re vegans, this was where I came!
Question about this recipe. I don’t like using canola oil for anything. If I substitute with applesauce, does it still taste like corn bread? LOL I don’t want it to taste like apple bread. Also, if I use gluten free corn meal (it’s all they had) does it affect the taste?
Thank you! I can’t wait to taste all the recipes I chose for my Thanksgiving!
One other question! Can I use vegan butter instead of canola oil? If so, how much do I use. Thank you again!
Thanks so much! I’m so glad to hear it. 🙂 For the cornbread, melted vegan butter would be a great choice, use the same amount (it’s just oil anyhow). You could also use another oil, such as melted coconut oil, grapeseed oil, even olive oil would work. It definitely tastes better with some kind of oil instead of applesauce, in my opinion, because without it, it’s a fat free bread. As long as you use a finely ground cornmeal, it will be just fine. I think all cornmeal is gluten free anyhow? Anyways, I hope that helps and you have a wonderful vegan Thanksgiving!
I love this recipe. Im always looking for new vegan recipes and this is my favorite so far. I can’t stop going back in the fridge to get more! Thank you Nora!
You’re welcome!!
Hi Nora! I love your recipes!! If I wanted to use vegan butter instead of canola oil in the vegan cornbread would it come out right? I want a buttery taste.
That would be perfectly fine! Enjoy!
Delicious and SO easy! No sugar on hand so I subbed in date syrup that I added with the wet ingredients.
Thank you!
We love this recipe, it quickly became a family staple. Thank you Nora.
You’re welcome!!
This was delicious. My kids loved it. Great flavor.
How would I prevent the cornbread from being so crumbly? It was falling apart very easily.
It’s more crumbly hot out of the oven, but much less so as it cools. Did you make any substitutions? If made as written, it won’t be very crumbly. You could also make muffins, especially for kids. They are easier to hold and will crumble even less. Thanks!
I got the cornbread (which was delicious) to become almost completely non-crumbly by adding some cream style sweet corn to the batter. It was super moist and the corn kernels add a bit of a pop of flavor.
Lily, how much creamed corn did you put into the cornbread?
I think this recipe is great with one caveat: watch the sugar, you people who don’t want very sweet cornbread. I held back a little, but I should’ve only put about a tablespoon of sugar, gauging my personal preference. I intend to make cornbread dressing with this, so I can adjust.
Yes, for sure you can always adjust the sweetness here. 🙂 Thank you!
What can I use instead of sugar in this cornbread recipe?
Coconut sugar, date sugar, reduce it or perhaps even leave it out but then of course it won’t be sweet at all.
This recipe was perfect. The only thing I did differently was heat a cast iron skillet with some margarine then cook in that. It was delicious and had the perfect sweetness. I’ll be making this again and again. 🙂
That’s so great to hear!
Does anyone know if oatmilk would work?
Yes, oatmilk is fine to use. Thanks!
Hello!
Thanks for this recipe. I used it as the base inspiration. I modified it based on what I have on hand (Covid times!) and to increase the nutritional value.
Instead of APF, I used 1/2c rice flour, 1/2c quinoa flakes, 1/4c coconut flour, 1 tsp psyllium husk.
I added 2 tbsp ground flaxseed and 6 tbsp water. This would normally be an egg substitute.
Finally, because I have no milk, I added 1/2c Greek yogurt and 1c water. I had to add more liquid because of coconut flour.
400F x 25 min… it came out with the perfect texture! I can taste a mix of corn and quinoa (I can’t taste the coconut), and it’s delicious for me.
I cut the sugar down to 2 tbs. Was plenty sweet. Thanks for a great recipe.
Wow- amazed at how easy and yummy this was! Best eaten fresh the first day.
Perfect!
Do you think this recipe work well for corn bread muffins or would you recommend any modifications?
Yes, I make muffins all the time with this recipe. The muffins won’t need to bake as long, 15-20 minutes until done.
Oh my god this cornbread is DELICIOUS, the best I’ve ever had for sure and I was born in New Orleans!
Thank you so much, I will be making this a LOT over the years I am positive.
Thank you so much, I’m happy to hear that!
What do you think about substituting. Cream corn for oil?
It might work, I haven’t tried it though. Good idea!
lately your recipes have been my go to and this one will fall into that category as well.
Changes: I used plain soy milk as that is what I had and it worked perfectly.
I grew up with sweet cornbread as well as this hit the spot! I cook for other non vegans in my household and this was met with rave reviews.
Thank you!
I’m glad it got rave reviews! Thanks so much!
This was really great cornbread, you can’t even tell it’s vegan! My family loved it and it was so easy to make. We didn’t have almond milk so we used soy milk, and it was delicious.
My partner and I make this AT LEAST twice a week. Seriously…this recipe is the best vegan cornbread that exists. It is super fluffy, slightly sweet, and oh so good!
That’s so great to hear!
Absolutely delicious!! My husband could not stop eating it!!
So good, my go to corn bread. Have made it with all purpose and gluten free flour (since my mother is gluten sensitive) both turn out wonderfully. I always cook it in my 9″ cast iron, heating up a tablespoon of butter on the stove top before putting the mix in the cast iron and placing it in the preheated oven. So yummy ?
Best
This is the 2nd time I have made it and it’s my go-to for cornbread. Both times I made oil-free by using applesauce instead. I used Bob’s Red Mill polenta before which tasted better than these ones made with Quaker Oats corn meal ? Thanks Nora! I love your recipes!
Almost forgot to mention that both times, I made muffins with the batter. I prefer the easy, single serving
You’re so welcome!