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.
I’ve made this a couple times. It’s now my official go-to cornbread recipe.
Hi Lori! I’m thrilled this is your official go-to cornbread! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review!
I love this recipe! I always replace the oil with applesauce because I don’t like the taste of oil in bread. So delicious and moist. Hard to not eat the whole pan!
Substituted King Arthur GF flour and it was amazing! After discovering I had an egg allergy, I could no longer make the cornbread I’ve been making for years. This is just as delicious! My family calls it crackbread lol. I doubled the recipe and only did 1c of sugar. Perfection!
Hi Nora,
We downloaded this recipe 3/30/20 and have been making it quite frequently. You’re right – it goes so well with chili.
Have you ever made it with blueberries or cranberries? I want to make some tomorrow and wanted to know how to adjust the recipe.
Thank you!
I’m so glad you are enjoying the cornbread recipe! I haven’t tried it but I would just fold some into the batter without making any other changes. Thanks!
Would this work using almond flour? Thanks!
Don’t use almond flour here, but a gluten free mix works great.
If I double the recipe would I bake it in a 9x 13 dish?
Thank you!
Yes, and bake for a bit longer, more like 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Hope this helps!
Just made this and I substituted a few things but it still came out great! I used oat flour in place of wheat flour and maple syrup in place of the sugar, I used way less though, about a 1/4 of what was called for. I also used olive oil in place of canola. I’m going to make your stuffing recipe using this and I think it’s a great base. I would’ve made it more sweet but all I had on hand was a little maple syrup, and I still think it came out really tasty!
Thank you for sharing your comments! I’m glad the cornbread turned out tasty for you! Happy holiday cooking!
I will like to make this for my cornbread dressing. If I double the recipe would I use the 9×13 pan you show in the picture?
Yes, and bake for a bit longer, more like 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
I just made the recipe for my cornbread stuffing and the only substitution i used was GF flour 1:1 and oat milk instead of almond. It did not rise and my baking powder is not expired. Can you tell me what might have gone wrong for next time?
Thanks so much.
I’m not sure, I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour and it worked well, though the texture isn’t as fluffy. Are you sure your baking powder works well? What kind of GF flour did you use? The likely culprit is the gluten free flour. Some work better than others.
May I substitute corn flour for the corn meal?
You can but the texture will be a bit different.
Good morning! How far ahead/how many days can I make this for Thanksgiving without making it taste stale?
The night before would be okay, but I wouldn’t go for more than 24 hours unless you really need to. The other option is the make it a few days ahead of time (or a few weeks even!) and then cool and freeze. I don’t feel like the cornbread tastes as good after even a day on the counter.
Does this recipe hold up well for cubing and toasting it for stuffing?? I’ve tried a few other vegan cornbreads and although they’re good, they crumble too easily!!
Yes, I even have a recipe for Vegan Cornbread Stuffing.
I need to make vegan cornbread dressing for my daughter for Thanksgiving. This sounds perfect except I don’t want sweet cornbread though. How much sugar would you recommend to make it not sweet? Or should I forego the sugar completely?
Omitting the sugar may affect the overall texture of the cornbread, however, you could leave it out. You could also reduce the sugar to your taste. I hope this helps!
I was so happy to find your site. i have alpha gal with mast cell, which means i am no-gmo, low histimine, organic, vegan no beef or pork , no carnageenan and many more things related to these diseases. thankyou again
Hi Nora, thank you for the recipe. I appreciate that it is super simple and really good. I made it twice and both times it came out a bit dry. Any suggestions? Thanks.
It sounds like you are overbaking it. It should be pretty dang moist, just make sure to take it out when it’s done in the middle.
Can you use olive oil, and if not, we do have some salted butter. We only keep soymilk. Will that work? Craig anf Frances
Olive oil works and soy milk is fine to use. Thanks!
Just accidentally forgot to add the oil and it us surprisingly good! FYI lol
When I still ate eggs, I once made cornbread and forgot the baking powder. I pretty much ended up with a corn brownie, but it was still quite tasty. Sometimes cooking accidents are happy ones :).
Note: given that this has no eggs and more than the usual amount of baking powder, I’d be hesitant to try my accident with this recipe, lol.
This recipe is heavenly!! It’s moist, the perfect amount of SWEET. My first time making it, I spooned and leveled my flour like any cook should. I admire how easy and simple this recipe is. No need for an egg replacer either! I would like to ask how many grams should be in one serving? Thank you!
So simple to make and delish
I only added a quarter of the sugar
And replaced the milk with oat milk…
The best cornbread I’ve ever made …
Thanks
I baked using soy milk and an 8 x 8 pan. Used canola oil, and followed all the other directions exactly. At 25 minutes it wasn’t fully cooked. Added 10 additional minutes, it baked fully (and tastes fantastic) but the top is harder than I’d like. Any advice on this and best storage and reheating methods?
Thank You!!!
This is a delicious recipe. I added some whole kernel corn and my family loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Yum, sounds delicious with the corn! I’m glad it was a hit with the family! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and comments!
Dear Nora,
I have to say I held my breath on this one!
not through any fault of your recipe, but because when I started to make it I realized I had no cornflour!
So I improvised, I had corn tortillas white and yellow in the fridge and some corn tortillas ( crispy) in the pantry, so I blitzed them all up to make my own “cornflour “.
I followed your directions opting to use
“Not Milk “ plant milk, light olive oil and veg oil,. I ended up adding 2 TBSPS flour as the batter was a bit runny…
I baked it as directed then put it under broil for several minutes to brown….
Oh my goodness ! It was perfect ! So crispy outside and soft moist and flavorful inside!!
Thank you for the recipe, I’ll be using it from now on!!
Hi Suzanne! I am thrilled that the cornbread turned out great, especially using your homemade cornflour! I’m so glad this will be your go to recipe! Thank you for taking time to share your wonderful review! Happy cooking!
Made this cornbread without the sugar and it was incredible! I will be eating it all week, it is so good! I can’t wait to share it during the Holidays and use it in the stuffing!
Glad you loved the cornbread! Cornbread stuffing is so good! Thank you for sharing your great review and comments! Happy holiday cooking!
Hi Nora. The liquids were absorbed too quickly by the flour when I mixed them together.. so my batter did not look the same as yours.. Can I add more of the milk or oil to it, before pouring in the pan? Or leave it as is? Thank you. I love all your recipes btw!
That’s odd, make sure to measure everything correctly. Are you substituting any ingredients? I probably would not add more milk or oil at this point, I’m afraid it will throw off the recipe. Hope it turns out okay!