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.
The cornbread was delicious. My fam loved it!
I’m happy your family loved the cornbread! Thanks for sharing!
can I double the recipe ? how much longer would it take in a 9X13 pan?
Yes, the recipe can be doubled! It will probably take around 30-35 minutes. Hope that helps!
I made this before and got good reviews. I am making again with honey, coconut oil and coconut milk in place of sugar, canola oil and almond milk. We shall see how it tastes.
Thank you for sharing!
So excited to try this recipe?
Can I use oat milk instead of almond milk?
Thanks!
Hi Joanne. Yes, oat milk works! Enjoy the cornbread!
This is a great vegan cornbread recipe. I make it every time we have chili night. We love all of your recipes, thank you!
Hi Paul. Your kind and positive words make me happy! I am glad you all love the cornbread, and all of my recipes! I appreciate you using them. Thanks for your uplifting feedback!
I absolutely love this recipe. I’m not vegan, just allergic to eggs, as well as I have a severe anaphylactic allergy to almonds so just use regular milk and it still tastes awesome and so easy
I’m so glad you are able to enjoy this cornbread! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
How long should you bake for if you only have a loaf pan?
Hi Selena. Bake 35-40 minutes.
I use this recipe all the time! It’s on point. Chili with this corn bread is fantastic. I add a can of sweet corn to this too. Thank you for the great recipe.
Hi Sarah. I’m glad you are loving the cornbread! Your addition of corn sounds delicious! Thanks for your great feedback and review!
I am allergic to nuts. Would soy milk work? Or what do you suggest? Thank you! Can’t wait to make this!
Yes, soy milk is fine to use. Happy baking!
So good! Used date sugar and unsweetened apple sauce instead of oil and it came out tasting excellent!
Hi Sonya. How wonderful that the cornbread turned out delicious for you! Thanks for your great feedback and ideas!
What type of corn meal did you use? I have seen several with different grinds
Hi Sheryl. I used fine corn meal, but medium grind will work just as well. Hope this helps!
This is the absolutely the best plant based cornbread I’ve ever eaten! I did use whole wheat pastry flour and olive oil (the only oil I had). This will be a regular item on the table. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes. I’ve never been disappointed with any I’ve tried.
Hi Nancy. I’m so thrilled you love the cornbread, and that it will become part of your meal rotation! Thank you for sharing your fabulous feedback and review! Happy cooking
AMAZING!!
I made this twice, so sooo good.
The second time I put it in a loaf pan and baked it at the same temp for 35-40 mina. Really freaking delicious !
This is fantastic cornbread! I don’t even notice it is vegan. Fabulous. I’m from the South so I reduced the sugar by half. I’ll probably reduce even more next time. My family couldn’t get over how great it was. I’m so excited to have found this!
I make this cornbread regularly! It’s so easy and delicious and actually stays together, opposed to falling apart like so many other recipes. I sub applesauce for oil and stevia for sugar and I always get compliments!
This was delicious! It’s a bit on the sweeter side. I like a sweet corn bread but I could maybe even do just a little less sugar next time. I made it as muffins and cooked around 15 minutes.
I seriously cannot get over the deliciousness of this cornbread! I only had vanilla unsweetened almond milk on hand and had to use it for my most recent batch. It added such a wonderful flavor. I served this with maple butter and my goodness it was heavenly! Thank you Nora for always being my go to for amazing vegan recipes!
Hi Nerissa. I’m glad your cornbread turned out wonderful with the items you had on hand! I love it when that happens! Thank you for your fantastic feedback, and for using my recipes! It makes my day to know you rely on my recipes for deliciousness!
Nerissa, glad to hear you liked it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk because that is what I have in the house and I want to make this in the morning!!
Once again another winner. Although I reduced the sugar a bit- I think I will reduce it even more next time. Also, I added about 1/2 cup of frozen white corn.
Hi Nina. Your cornbread must have been so delicious with the added corn! Yumm! Thanks for your fantastic feedback, ideas, and review! Happy cooking!
The best cornbread I’ve ever had and egg free!
Thanks! I’m so glad you love it! Thank you for sharing!
What do you think about leaving the oil out and putting more plant milk?
I think that would make the bread overly moist and dense. Applesauce is the best substitute for the oil because it still adds moisture and enhances the texture without weighing down the dough. I hope this helps!
Would this recipe work to make cornbread muffins?
You can definitely make the cornbread into muffins! I do it quite often. They will need about 15-20 minutes in the oven at the temperature indicated in the instructions. It will make about 12 muffins. Happy cooking!
Can this be made gluten free with rice flour?
Hi Ana. I have never tried this recipe with rice flour, so I am not sure how it would work. I have received 2 or 3 comments from people who did did try it with rice flour, and they said that it worked for them. One comment specifically stated using Bob’s rice flour. I hope this helps!
Corn meal IS gluten free. And using rice flour would make it rice bread, not corn bread.
Can I make this in a 9 x 13 inch pan?
You will need to double the batch for a 9 x 13 inch pan. The cornbread might be a bit taller and need to bake an extra 5-15 minutes. Hope this helps!
Absolutely delicious!!! I did modify it a bit. Sorry. I reduced the sugar to 1/3C and used vanilla almond milk. I do put vanilla in my cornbread anyway so… everyone loved it! My husband asked me to make it again!! Excellent corn bread! Highly recommended
Hi Theresa. I’m so glad you all loved the cornbread! It’s great that you adjusted the sugar amount to your liking! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback and review!
This was delicious! My daughter is allergic to milk and eggs and this was a great find! Very moist and easy to make, definitely a keeper!!
Hi Emily. I’m glad you guys are loving the cornbread! Thanks for your wonderful feedback!
Can I bake day before ?
Yes, you can bake the day before. The cornbread stays good for 3-4 days. Happy cooking!