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.
This came out great, even after i substituted oat milk for almond milk since that what I had. Delicious!
Perfect!! Easy!! Delicious! Thank you Nora!
You did it again!
I make this cornbread all the time. Both my vegans and my non-vegans love it!
I’ve made this cornbread a few times now, and it comes out so moist and delicious every time. Sometimes, I reduce the sugar to 1/2 or to 1/3 cup and then add fresh jalapeño slices. My boyfriend is allergic to eggs, and so I was looking for a promising cornbread recipe. This has become my go-to for any upcoming occasion. Thanks!
You’re welcome!
It’s no lie that this is the best vegan cornbread. I’m keeping this recipe in my holiday book… will definitely be using for thanksgiving this year!
That’s great!
Crumbly and delicious! I cut the sugar in half and added a TB of honey and TB of maple syrup. I also used white whole bread bread. Sweet but not too sweet as a result. Kid-approved too! Awesome served warm.
I always make 12 cornbread muffins out of this recipe (using 1/2 the sugar). Always perfect and delicious!
So easy and so yummy! I doubled the recipe, using two 8 inch cake pans, and sprinkled the top with blueberries and raspberries before pressing them into the batter. Delish!
A family favourite!! The best cornbread we ever had.
This is such a great recipe. We switched out canola for coconut oil. They are much sweeter. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
This is so delicious!! My grandson has many food allergies… he can East this and loves it!! I can’t believe how good it tastes, considering how easyit is to make!!
To the person reading through comments trying to decide if you should make this – yes! Go make this delicious cornbread.
Your recipe uses an 8×8 or 9” round pan, but your picture looks like it was made in a 9×13. Did you double the recipe?
You’re right, that does look like a 9×13 inch pan, but it’s actually much smaller, I think 7×11. But I have doubled the recipe and made it in an 9×13. Usually I use a square pan though. Thanks!
Another perfect tasting recipe. Yup not just delicious but PERFECT! I’ve tried other vegan cornbread recipes and this is a winner. The first time I made it, I may have used too much flour. Not doing the scoop and sweep method. I also baked it for 25min. Taste was good but it was too dry and crumbly and would fall apart. Second attempt, I did scoop and sweep method for flour and baked it for less time 20min and it came out PERFECT. Exactly how I wanted it to be. Perfect texture. It was so soft and moist. No dryness or crumbling. I don’t usually leave reviews but when I do, it’s because it’s that damn good!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Love your recipes as always. Thank you so much.
One question! When measuring flour in volume do you use the method where you spoon flour into your measuring cup? Or do you scoop flour with the measuring cup? I know it can produce very different results and I want to make sure I’m doing what you do.
Thank you!
Thank you! I spoon the flour into the measuring cup, then level it off.
My go to cornbread. I use pumpkin purée instead of oil and cut the sugar in half.
Thank you thank you for the pumpkin purée idea!!! I need oil free and I don’t have applesauce but I do have pumpkin purée!! Genius!
Made this with coconut oil and soy milk and used a lil less than 2/3 c sugar and it came out perfect! Best vegan cornbread I’ve ever made. Served with roasted brocco & bbq tofu >:]
I forgot to mention I also cooked it in my cast iron skillet!
I’m so glad it was good!
Moist. Perfect texture. I added some organic canned green chili peppers to the top before I baked it to add flavor and visual appeal. My kids and company loved this!!
Meant to add that I swapped out the canola oil for light olive oil instead. I might attempt to play around with this though and use half applesauce/half oil for better health and reduce sugar a bit. So glad I found this recipe!!
I’m so glad to hear that!
I made this with root vegetable stew. So delicious. I did sub a 1-1 gluten free flour, doubled the recipe and baked in a 9×13 for 30 minutes. Came out sweet and light, crumbly which is great in the stew. Will make again, absolutely amazing.
EXCELLENT! I had the perfect cornbread recipe that I used for years before going plant based and was looking for a recipe that wouldn’t disappoint. This one tastes exactly like my original! I am so please. I will reduce the sugar next time for my liking, but my whole family devoured this. Thank you!!
You’re welcome!
Made tonight to go alongside our veggie chili Total winner! I added flaky salt to the top too ?
Can cornbread be made without oil?
Yes, I have subbed applesauce before with good results.
Tried for the first time — took a gamble and doubled the amount just for fun!
Substituted AP flour with a GF blend that I threw together at home because I do a lot of baking and had the needed components. If I had it, I’d probably use a packaged GF 1-to-1 blend.
Also substituted melted coconut oil for canola oil because it’s what I had in the pantry.
Love the outcome! Definitely using this as a foundation for cornbread variations.
Thanks for the great comment!
This is very tasty, but quite sweet and a bit crumbly. I might want to try again with an additional binding agent.
This was fantastic! I made the recipe true to form, but added a bit more salt and bit of Maple syrup with less sugar. It was flavourful, moist and a great side dish. My daughter who is has an egg allergy, loved it. Two thumbs up!