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.
dry, crumbly, and wildly salty. Baked 2 minutes under the recommended time and they were still very very done. This is one of the most consistent blogs I use so it isn’t the end of the world but I did do a double batch for an event and had to toss all of it. The only change I made was the notes option about scaling way back on sugar. Maybe if they’d had gobs of sugar the salt wouldn’t have been so bad and they would have been more moist? 1 tsp of salt was truly overpowering.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the cornbread! I wonder if by any chance it could be a problem of bad or old baking powder? This has happened to me before with this recipe, I’ve gotten a bad batch of baking powder that tastes really off – salty and bitter. A new batch should fix it right up. That said, you can always lower the salt if you want. I make it with a lot less sugar sometimes and it turns out fine, so I don’t think that’s the issue. Anyhow, hope that helps a bit and you can enjoy the cornbread another time. It really is my favorite and I make it all the time. 🙂 Thanks!
Made as directed, adding half a cup of fresh corn. The batter was pretty thick for me, but I was using homemade nutmilk that was possibly a closer to cream than milk so I just added a little water to the batter.
I baked it in a well oiled, 9-in round preheated cast iron skillet for that beautiful golden crust. 😋
It turned out fluffy, moist, delicious, and perfect! It’s been a long time since we had cornbread that we enjoyed. Thank you, Nora!
I made this for my son who is allergic to dairy and eggs and it was a hit!! The flavor was absolutely amazing, but the corn bread was pretty dry and I didn’t over cook it. Is there anything I can do to combat that dryness to give it a little more fluff? I ended up doing a salted honey butter glaze on top and that helped, but I’d rather have the corn bread itself less dry?
I make this cornbread all the time and have never had it be dry; are you sure you aren’t over baking it? What milk are you using? Are you using regular flour (not gluten free or whole wheat)? Use a richer milk perhaps, be careful not to over bake as ovens can vary. You can add a little extra oil I suppose but I never do and it’s always perfectly moist.
The BEST cornbread I’ve ever made or eaten!
Fantastic cornbread recipe! Went perfectly with the pumpkin chili I made for a family cooking baking party. Thank you. All of your recipes are winners. Thank you for all the amazing vegan recipes that turn out well and taste amazing!
You are welcome, Julia! Thank you for loving my recipes and for your support! That really means a lot to me! I appreciate your glowing review and feedback. Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
I just made this with gluten free flour and it was great. I would add chia seeds or ground flax seeds next time to make it less crumbly. Another thing, I only put 1/2 the sugar in and it’s more than sweet enough for me. Great recipe. Thank you!
Hi Nora, can this be frozen?
Yes, it freezes very well. I freeze it often!
So easy to make and delicious! Made it several times already
Hi Nora
I made this for Thanksgiving this year. It turned out delicious it was the best cornbread Ive ever made perfectly moist. Thank you so much for this recipe. I might change up and use vegan butter or applesauce in lieu of the oil just for variations in the future but the recipe is absolutely perfect. Thank you so much for sharing your culinary gifts with the world.
Is it supposed to be 1 tablespoon or 1 teaspoon of baking powder? Because mine turned out tasting like baking powder
1 tablespoon. You might want to start with a new container of baking powder if it came out tasting sour, this happens when I get a bad batch of baking powder.
Can’t wait to make! All of your recipes are so good. What about storage? Should I make it ahead or the day-of?
Thank you so much! You can make it a day ahead of time if you want. I just cover and keep at room temperature.
Hi Nora,
What type of Cornmeal should I purchase? Medium coarse? Fine?
Thank you
Fine cornmeal is best, enjoy!
Great recipe as always, so simple but delicious! Mine turned out a bit crumbly, do you think adding a flax egg or something else would be helpful?
Make sure you aren’t over baking the cornbread, as that can make it crumbly. You can always add a flax egg or something, but I never do and my cornbread doesn’t turn out crumbly. It should be very easy to cut and hold a square in your hand.
I used coconut cream rather than almond milk and coconut oil rather than the canola oil. Less sugar.
This recipe is by far the most delicious.
Thank you Nora!! 🩷
My new go-to recipe. I made it with applesauce instead of the oil and used gluten free 1-1 flour. Delicious with some coconut oil melted on top and a little bit of agave 😍 soooo lovely to have vegan recipes that’re vegan, AND gluten-free AND so so delicious!!! Thank you 🥰
I’m thrilled that you love the cornbread recipe, Naomi! Thank YOU for taking time to share your recipe experience, as well as your terrific review! Wish wishing you happy cooking!
Best vegan cornbread and sooo easy to make. I added diced Serrano chili. Definitely a 5 star recipe.
Thank you for making this vegan! I read your note about sugar. I’d like to reduce it to 1Tbs (savory like my great grandmother always made). Will reducing the sugar that much change the texture/consistency of the bread? I’m serving these as muffins with chili the night before Thanksgiving:)
Omitting most of the sugar may affect the overall texture of the cornbread, however, you could reduce the sugar to your taste. I hope this helps! Let me know how it turns out for you! Sounds like a delicious meal!
Half the sugar. Plus a whole can of corn kernels. My go to for chili and tomato-based soups.
Thank you for sharing your recipe ideas and terrific review! I’m glad that you are loving the cornbread recipe! Happy cooking!
Hi Nora,
Love this recipe very much. I would like to add maybe spinach and sundried tomatoes. How much would you suggest?. Thank you.
I’ve never tried that so I can’t say for sure, perhaps 1/4-1/2 cup of each, I’d just throw in what you want and it will work out. Thanks!
This is by far the best cornbread recipe! I use the leftovers to enjoy with my afternoon coffee with a little honey drizzled on the top. I used the applesauce instead of oil and it’s so rich and moist! Thank you for this delicious recipe!
You are welcome, Donna! Your afternoon idea coffee and cornbread sounds so cozy and amazing! Thank you for your terrific review and feedback! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
My lil nephew has a nut allergy can i use oatmilk instead of almond milk?
Yes, any plant based milk will work! Enjoy!
Hi! I love all your recipes! You are my go-to for accessible and delicious, perfect vegan recipes. For this cornbread: I don’t have almond milk! Can I substitute Oat Milk?
Hi Melissa. Thank you for your wonderful support, and for loving my recipes! Yes, you can substitute any plant-based milk! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Always delicious!
Thank you for sharing your awesome review, Jennifer! I’m glad you are loving the cornbread!
This is the BEST cornbread. Keep up the good work.
Hello, How could I adapt this recipe using self-rising cornmeal?
I’ve never tried that so I’m not sure exactly, but perhaps using less baking powder would work.
Great recipe!
Can avocado oil or any other nonseed oil be substituted for canola?
Hi Janet. I’m glad you are loving the recipe! Other oils such as vegetable, olive, and avocado oils work as well. Enjoy!
I love this recipe and bake it often. Everyone loves it especially my mom. My one issue is that it doesn’t rise very much. I wish it were twice the height. Not sure what I’m doing wrong!
Interesting, because my cornbread always rise a lot and is pretty tall! Are you using fine cornmeal (not coarse)? Regular flour and the correct amount of baking powder? What size pan are you using?
You might check how fresh your leavening is.
Hi! Vegan baking is somewhat new to me due to health concerns, and your recipes have all been so delicious and easy to follow! Thank you!
For the cornbread, I always use coconut milk and half the sugar and even my kids love it! Would this recipe work with a can of cream style corn? Thank you!
That’s great to hear Ashley, thank you! I’ve never tried adding cream style corn in it, but I think it could work.