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! Can you freeze these?
Yes, the cornbread freezes very well.
Hi! Can you sub coconut oil for the canola? Also, If I wanted to cut some of the sugar out, how low would you recommend going so it still turns out?
I’d suggest cutting the sugar in half, you might be able to lower it even more than that but I haven’t tried it. You can sub coconut oil, but realize that if it’s not refined coconut oil, the cornbread will taste a bit coconut-like. And I would warm the milk to room temperature because with coconut oil, if the milk is cold, the coconut oil will firm up when you mix it all up. Hope that helps!
This is the best Cornbread I have had. Absolutely delicious!
My non-vegan family loves this cornbread!
Came out fluffy and moist. This is my favorite plant based cornbread I’ve tried yet. None of my family could tell that it was vegan.
Thanks for your fabulous review and feedback! Glad you are loving he cornbread!
did anymore experience a gritty taste? or is that normal? if not, any suggestions to fix?
I’ve had it turn out gritty when using coarse cornmeal, which is not my favorite. Use a fine cornmeal and there will be no grit whatsoever.
I have made this cornbread multiple times, the recipe works great and it always comes out delicious. Thank you!
You’re so welcome, Conor! And thank you for your wonderful review!
Hi Nora! We’re having a chili cook off at work and I’m making vegan chili and this cornbread…for the first time. How long would I cook mini muffins? Maybe 10 minutes or so?
We’re also having a breast cancer fundraising bake-off and I can’t decide which of your amazing desserts to make! I’m sure to win with whatever I make of yours. I’m thinking kitchen sink cookies. 🙂
Thanks!
Sounds like fun! Yes, you can bake the mini cornbread muffins for 10 to 15 minutes instead. Good luck with your cook and bake-off’s! I’m sure you’ll do amazing!
I love this recipe. The texture and flavor are terrific. I always add just a bit less sugar (about 100g) and cook a few minutes longer to get it more browned. My kids love it too, which makes this an automatic staple!
I’m glad you and your family are loving the cornbread! Thank you for sharing your baking experience and ideas! I appreciate you and your fabulous review!
This recipe is so delicious and easily workshopped. I have tried dozens of vegan cornbread recipes but this one is KING. I make this on a regular basis and share the recipe constantly! I have made this with dairy milk, coconut milk, and oat milk- I have also tried it with real butter (melted), coconut oil, and vegetable oil – and of course, we’ve at times made it gluten-free as well. It’s never not turned out.
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Hi Crystal. I’m so excited to see your feedback! Thank you for sharing your awesome comments and review! Happy cooking!
Hi Nora,
I’ve never made vegan cornbread before. This recipe was easy and it tased good. The texture was good too. I used about 1/3 the sugar and for my taste it was good.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your wonderful review and feedback!
Really enjoyed this recipe. I swapped the sugar for Splenda Monk Fruit sweetener. I used less than recipe called for and still found it just on the edge of being too sweet. Next time I will half the sugar. This will definitely be in the rotation. I also used spelt flour.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Carla! Thanks for sharing your feedback and review 🙂
As a Southern, I’ve eaten a lot of cornbread but never made it from scratch. This cornbread recipe was so good. I served it with homemade chili. The chili was ok but I could have eaten to whole pan of cornbread by myself. Now, I’m looking up other meals to serve with cornbread just so I can make it again. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
You are welcome, Laura! I’m so glad you loved my cornbread! Thanks for taking time to share your terrific review and comments! Happy cooking!
Hey thank you so much for your easy recipe. I have been struggling with making vegan cornbread either too cornmealy, too dry, too something where it sticks to the pan. I have one question, do I need to put an egg replacement or will the baking powder and self-rising flour do the trick?
Hi Cee. I can’t tell you exactly why but this recipe just works without an egg substitute! I hope you enjoy the cornbread!
I use a glass 8×8 casserole and grease it with butter (trader Joe’s vegan butter usually) and the cornbread never sticks to the pan.
Best cornbread of my life! I used oat milk as that’s just what I had on hand and it’s amazing! Thank you for such a fabulous recipe
You bet, Julie! I’m thrilled you loved the cornbread! Thank you for sharing your terrific review and feedback!
I’m not sure if I have ever left a review for this cornbread recipe but in case I have it deserves another 5 stars rating! This is the only cornbread recipe I use! I can always count on Nora for delicious recipes! I made this today to go with some pinto bean soup. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!
Sounds like the perfect pairing for your soup, Shannon! Thank you so much for your fantastic review!
This looks wonderful! Thank you, Nora. May I use pea milk and honey instead of almond milk and sugar?
Yes, pea milk will work instead of almond milk. I haven’t tested this without the granulated sugar but other commenters have had luck using liquid sweeteners, so it’s worth a try!
Thank you, Nora!
Can vegetable oil be used in place of canola?
Absolutely 🙂
I need to limit my salt intake. Is this much salt needed by the recipe? I know some baking recipes require salt to work properly.
You can easily cut the salt down to 1/2 teaspoon if you want. It helps balance the flavors in the bread but doesn’t affect the structure much.
Thank you very much ! !
You are welcome, Rick!
This has been a staple in my house since 2020. I pair it with my winning vegan Chili recipe (thehamptonsvegan.com). It honestly is THE best recipe and when I forget to buy ground flax, it is perfect because this recipe simply calls for oil as the egg replacer. I’ve made it gf too btw. I used the Redhill all purpose gf flour. Not as good as original recipe, but still very tasty!! Thank you for sharing this gem!
You are welcome Alecia! I’m thrilled you guys are enjoying the cornbread! I appreciate your stellar review and feedback! Thank you!
You are my go to for vegan baking, Nora, and I’ve been making this cornbread for a year or two now. I think it’s one of my family’s favorite things I make. The only modification I’ve made is to turn it a little more savory by adding a can of diced green chilies and about a cup of vegan cheddar shreds (I prefer Follow Your Heart). Thanks so much for sharing your recipes!
Hi Katie. You are welcome! Your additions to the cornbread sounds delicious! I’m glad you are loving the recipe! It is encouraging to hear you are enjoying many of my recipes! Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback. Happy cooking!
I made this today to go with some lovely Mexican, flavored bean soup. I substituted cornmeal with corn grits, all purpose flour with cake flour, canola oil with avocado oil, and sugar with date syrup. Even with all the subs it turned out delicious, although kind of a dark color because of the date surup. It’s a keeper.
I have tried many vegan cornbread recipes in the past and I keep coming back to your recipe, Nora. It’s definitely the best I have made. Tried, tested and true! A winner, once again!
Hi Kay. I’m so glad you are loving my cornbread recipe! Thank you for your fabulous review and feedback!
This cornbread is absolutely DELICIOUS!! I made a double batch and added about a 1/4 cup or organic raw honey for added sweetness. This recipe offers flavor and moist-moist scrumptious cornbread that melts in the mouth. Thank you Chef Nora from cornbread connoisseur!!
Hi Yvonne. I appreciate your fun and upbeat feedback! Thank you for sharing your awesome review! Wishing you happy cooking!
Can I make these in a muffin pan for easy grabbing?
Yes you can! Muffins will need to cook 18-20 minutes. Enjoy!
Another fantastic recipe, Nora! So incredibly easy….unbelievably easy when you take into account how delicious it turns out. I served it with vegan chili and agave vegan butter. Thank you so much for sharing.
I’m so glad you loved the cornbread, Emily! I appreciate you using my recipes! Thank you for your amazing review and feedback!