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 cornbread several times now, and the whole family loves it! I have a question, though- I am wondering if it can be frozen? As much as we love it, we just haven’t been able to get through it fast enough. Thank you!
Hi Julie. I’m happy to hear you and your family are loving the cornbread! Yes, cool and then freeze the cornbread. It freezes well! Thank you for your fantastic feedback and review!
This is a delicious easy recipe. I followed the recipe exactly as written, but added in some defrosted frozen corn. Took 25 minutes to cook. Have made it twice and both times it turns out perfectly!!
Hi Nicola. I’m glad you are loving the cornbread! Thanks for your terrific feedback!
can you use oat milk instead of almond milk?
Yes, oat milk works fine!
Just made this cornbread and had a piece, warm out of the oven with vegan butter. So moist and delicious!
Hi Becky. Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback! I’m glad you loved the cornbread!
This truly is the best cornbread, not just vegan. I’m not vegan, but my daughter is, and I wanted to share a batch with her. This is SO great! Easy to make, easy to make, and good texture from the cornmeal. It is on the sweet side, but we like it that way. I just toasted some for breakfast, and it was even better! Thank you so much!
You are welcome! Oh Yumm…toasted cornbread! That sounds delicious! I’m thrilled you loved the cornbread, Anne! Thanks for your fabulous feedback!
The best cornbread ever!
Thank you for your wonderful feedback! I am happy you love the cornbread!
Can I add a can of corn kernels also?
Hi Teresa. I have never added corn to my cornbread, however, other people have commented that they have added corn and that it was quite delicious! I hope this helps
My family loves this cornbread. Will it work as mini muffins? any tips? thanks!
Another commenter made the cornbread in a regular muffin tin and it turned out quite well! For mini muffins, just bake them for 12-15 minutes instead.
I want to try this vegan cornmeal bread. I will let you know how will it go.
I hope you enjoy!
Replaced oil with applesauce and used gluten free oat flour (1 + 1/4 cup). Turned out great. Might be just my oven, but this modified recipe needed to bake 30 minutes. I’ll use this easy recipe again because it checked all my boxes: vegan, gluten free (with oat flour) and virtually oil free except for light coat of olive oil on pan. Moist and tasty, too!
I’m glad you liked the cornbread! Thank you for sharing your feedback and ideas. Happy cooking!
I love this cornbread! I have made this recipe several times, and it is awesome! I believe I have perfected it for my taste. I don’t add the sugar, and I add a little more baking soda as I put them in muffin tins because I love the peaks and portion control. This recipe has all the texture of regular cornbread, but it’s not as heavy. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for old-school cornbread your Mom use to make!
Hi Karen! This is great recipe to adjust to your liking, and I’m glad you found yours! Thanks for your beautiful feedback! I can see your muffins in my head!
I have self rising cornmeal….do you still add the flour and baking powder?
I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure, but I think you would at least add the flour.
This is the best vegan cornbread we’ve ever had! I made one slight adjustment/experiment –I replaced a third cup of the sugar with 2T maple syrup and it was soooooo good. Everyone loved it. Baked 25 minutes. Thanks for all the great recipes, Nora! Love your blog so much.
This is the best cornbread ever!
I substituted fine white cornmeal because that is what I had. It was tasty, though it was still a bit undercooked even with a clean toothpick test. It was less done towards the outsides of my iron skillet so I will test there next time. My PITA kids yelled at me for cooking something new but then we’re SHOCKED it was basically cake when they finally tried it.
Great taste and easy/quick to make. I found it a bit too sweet and have reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup.
Hi Gayle. I’m so glad you find the cornbread easy and delicious! It does adapt well to sweetness preferences. Thank you for sharing!
I baked this in my 10 1/2 inch iron skillet and it turned out perfectly! I’m not a “sweet” cornbread fan so was hesitant about the sugar but the flavor of this cornbread is fabulous! 😋 My husband said he’ll never eat another cornbread. 🙂 Thank you so much for the superb recipe!
Can you sub coconut oil or melted butter for the canola oil?
Sure, either will work.
Oh my goodness, this cornbread is delicious! I made it today for our Thanksgiving cornbread dressing that we’ll have tomorrow, and I snuck a taste. I love it! I reduced the sugar by half, which was perfect for my taste. Also, I’m the only vegan in my family, and my husband swears he can tell when certain things are vegan; I made the cornbread while he was gone on a duck hunt so that he wouldn’t see the ingredients. When he got home, he tasted the cornbread and couldn’t even tell it was vegan! 😆👏 Score!
Can vegetable oil be swapped for canola oil?
Yes, vegetable oil works!
Hi Nora – The recipe seems perfect for the occasion. Was wondering if I am able to swap out the almond for Soy milk? My grandaughter has a milk/eggs/peanut allergy and has just been given the okay to introduce soy into her diet.
Hi LaVerne. Yes, plain, unsweetened soy milk work work great! Happy cooking!
This is the fluffiest cornbread I ever made, I don’t eat much cornbread, I wanted to make some for this dressing I’m about to make.
The only thing I did different was I got white cornmeal instead of yellow
I’m glad you love the cornbread, and chose this recipe for your dressing! Thanks for your great feedback and review! Happy cooking!
Is sugar optional for the recipe. I prefer unsweet cornbread.
I think you could leave it out, but I haven’t tried it. Thanks!
Hi, Nora! Love your creativity. 🙂 Can you suggest the best wheat and rice-free alternative to the all-purpose flour in this recipe? I have family members who can’t eat those, so I have almond flour, oat flour, spelt flour, chickpea flour… (ha ha!)
Hi there! Thank you so much. I’d suggest trying spelt flour or maybe oat flour. Hope that helps!
This is my go-to cornbread recipe. Doesn’t need any butter at all! Today I played with it by adding some lemon zest and fresh blueberries. Soo gooood. Thanks for such a great fuss-free recipe!!
Can you use regular milk instead of almond?
Though I have not tested it, I think regular milk should work.