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.
Very easy recipe to follow (even for a sub par baker like myself). Delicious and cruelty free. Thanks Nora for posting this!
You’re welcome!
Perfect as described! So easy and was done in 25 min. No mods except reduced sugar to 1/3 cup. Thank you.
Thank you for this recipe, I’ve been looking for a recipe that does not incorporate vegan butter and/or apple sauce, I really enjoyed it. I did make a few modifications/additions and it turned out great. I made a vegan rosemary cheddar.
I subbed:
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour -> 1 1/4 c King Arthur white whole wheat flour
1 cup yellow corn meal -> 1 c masa harina
2/3 cup granulated sugar -> 1/3 c unpacked brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/3 cup canola oil -> 1/4 c safflower oil + 1/4 c vegetable broth
And I added:
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Excellent recipe. We are not eat vegan but we need to bake without milk and eggs due to allergies. Everyone loved it.
So glad to hear that!
I’m going to make this today. Is there anything I could use instead of canola oil? We are trying to use no oil!
Applesauce works well!
You could try to replace the oil with vegetable broth.
Hi there! Do you think I could use caster sugar instead of granulated? I rarely buy sugar as use coconut sugar syrup, maple syrup, agave nectar or black strap molasses if sweet is needed. Thanks
I’m not totally sure but probably. Coconut sugar is fine, too, or you could likely add just a little maple syrup or agave.
Wow… this recipe is super sweet. It was like eating cake. It worked perfectly other than that.
LOVE this recipe! I have been making it for my non vegan boyfriend for a while and he only just realized there was no dairy or eggs in it at all, only because he saw me making it 🙂
Wow! The BEST cornbread I’ve ever had, vegan or not. My fiancee and I aren’t vegan, but we’re trying to cut dairy out of our diets, which is how I came upon this recipe. Super easy and absolutely delicious! No one could believe it was vegan. Thank you for sharing!
You’re so welcome!
This looks wonderful! What keeps the cornbread together or from breaking apart?
It is the best! 🙂 It’s like magic, it just doesn’t fall apart. No need for eggs or other binders. Just the combo of flour, oil and milk.
Awesome recipe! Great taste! We prefer reversing the corn meal and flour amounts. I had a hard time getting it out of the pan without crumbling, so I added 2 flax eggs and it sticks together perfectly. (1 flax egg = 1 TBSP ground flax seed stirred into 2 TBSP water, then soaked 5mins). Thanks for all your recipes, Nora! I started plant-based cooking for our family of 6 (4 teen boys) 1 month ago, and your site has been a life saver!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you’re finding recipes that work well for you!
This recipe is fantastic! I take my cornbread seriously. I was previously veganizing the recipe from a famous local BBQ restaurant, but this recipe is so much easier and just as good. I double the recipe and cook in a 13×9 pan for about 30 minutes, then I brush a little maple syrup on top when it first comes out of the oven. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoy it!
I have had trouble finding a cornbread recipe I liked, but this one fits the bill! Perfect sweetness, moistness and flavor. I haven’t had a bad recipe from your recipes yet, Thanks Nora!
Well that is just fantastic to hear, thank you!
Love how easy and tasty this recipe is! It’s become a regular in our house with a couple of little adjustments: I use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose and just 1/4 cup of sugar. It still has plenty of sweetness. And I add a heaping tablespoon of ground flax seed when I have it.
That’s so great to hear!
Fantastic, just made it today. Cut down to just 75% of suggested sugar n it’s perfect!
Glad it was good!
Being Australian I’m not familiar with corn bread but have always wanted to try it. I made it with polenta instead of cornmeal. About 3/4 of a cup and made up the rest with flour. It was delicious. I love that it is a bit sweet and so easy to make. Thanks!
You’re welcome! Glad it was good!
SO GLAD I found this recipe. Just made it last night and it was delicious. Easy, simple, fast. Thank you so much.
You’re welcome!
I have used this recipe before could not figure out what was different tonight. Then I realized that I usually use the sugar in the raw turbinado cane sugar and this time I used just plain regular sugar.
I only have white corn meal, do you think that will that still work for this recipe and are there any modifications I should make? thank you!
I think it should work, though I’ve never tried it myself. No modifications needed.
We started a whole food/plant based diet recently, and I was looking for a vegan cornbread recipe to accompany a bean chili I was making. This recipe was PERFECT.
In order to stay as whole grain as possible, I modified the 1.25 cup of white flour to 1 cup whole wheat flour and .25 cup white flour (for lightness). I also reduced the sugar amount in half from 2/3 cup to 1/3 a cup.
Even with these modifications, the recipe worked beautifully, and I had a rich tasting cornbread that baked beautifully. Next time I will try adding some fresh corn kernels and diced jalapenos.
Thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into this website and its recipes.
You’re welcome! Glad it was good!
Fantastic recipe. Thx so much- deeelish!
You’re welcome!
Very yummy! I did make a technical glitch though. I’d mistakenly put water in where I should of put the nut milk. To compinsate, I threw in 1/2 cup coconut yoghurt for the creaminess. Wow! Superb.
Glad it worked out!
Just wanted to thank you for putting together such a simple recipe for vegan cornbread! My fiancé has never liked cornbread but I made your version and he was hooked! Today Im going to try a variation by adding green chiles.
Thanks again, Nora!
I’m so glad you like the cornbread! Your version sounds delicious with the green chiles.
This is absolutely delicious!! My family loves it!! Can hardly wait to try more of your recipes ?
Glad you all love it!
Delicious, thank you!
Are they suitable for freezing? Or how long will they keep fresh?
Yes, the cornbread freezes very well. It will only keep for a few days at room temperature.
I just made this tonight for dinner and it came out just as moist as promised, and it was a hit! I didn’t have almond milk for canola oil so I substituted them for oat milk and olive oil and it still worked out! I’m going to try this with gluten free flour next. New fan and new follower. 🙂
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
VERY easy and delicious. I chopped up about a quarter cup of pickled jalepeno slices (like you’d put on nachos) and added it. The moisture required a couple more minutes of cooking, but really yummy. You could probably use fresh jalepenos if you wanted more heat. I’ve started mixing the dry ingredients to this recipe when I prep in the morning. It’s super easy to add the liquids as you are fixing dinner.
So glad it was delicious!
Thank-you for this wonderful recipe. My wife and three-year-old daughter loved it. I substituted some brown rice syrup for the sugar and therefore used a little less milk (actually soy milk instead of almond milk) and this recipe was fogiving enough to tolerated these adaptations without sacrificing consistency or taste.
So glad you enjoyed it!
New to vegan cooking. Just baked and it turned out delicious, I used coconut milk only because I am allergic to almond milk. So easy to mix up. Taste as good as a non vegan version.
So glad to hear it!