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Tender and moist, Vegan Gluten-Free Cornbread is the best of both worlds! Made with almond flour and no eggs or dairy, this sweet homestyle cornbread is allergy-friendly and perfect for pairing with chilis, soups, stews, and comfort food meals.
This recipe was originally published on February 20, 2014. It was updated with new recipe information and photos on November 25, 2024.
Growing up in the South, cornbread was one of my favorite soul food side dishes. Served warm with a pat of butter, it was rich, sweet, buttery, and comforting. When I transitioned to the vegan lifestyle, it was one of the first vegan recipe adaptations I took on, and I was so excited by the results. Suffice it to say that its success helped seal the deal on the vegan diet. You really can make plant-based recipe adaptations that taste great!
I first published this recipe in February 2014, and I still love and make this gluten-free and vegan cornbread regularly. It’s easy to prep, crispy on the outside, tender and moist on the inside (and—let’s not forget—buttery and sweet!) while containing no eggs, butter, or dairy!
I could wax on about it all day, but I think you get the point! Let’s start cooking, shall we?
Ingredients
Cornmeal: Choose fine-ground cornmeal for this recipe. I usually use yellow cornmeal, but blue or white cornmeal also works.
Sugar: I prefer organic cane sugar, but you can use white granulated sugar if it fits your vegan lifestyle.
Almonds: Use blanched or skin-on raw whole almonds to make the almond flour. Toasted or roasted almonds are more firm, making them harder to pulverize.
Oil: This adds moisture to the bread, giving it a tender crumb. I recommend olive or avocado oil, though neutral oils like grapeseed or melted refined coconut oil can also work.
Apple Cider Vinegar: This acid helps the vegan gf cornbread’s leavening process and also makes the bread ultra tender.
Baking Powder: You will need 1 tablespoon of this leavening agent to help the bread rise. Use aluminum-free baking powder for the best flavor.
Cornstarch or Arrowroot Powder: These ingredients contribute fluffiness to the gluten and dairy-free cornbread without interfering with its flavor. You will need 1 tablespoon of either.
How to Make Vegan Gluten-Free Cornbread
- Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. You can spray an 8×8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray if desired, but you don’t need to.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cornstarch or arrowroot powder until combined.
- Make almond flour. Add the almonds to a high-speed blender and blend until they are powder.
- Add warm water to the blender and blend until smooth.
- Combine dry and wet ingredients. Pour the almond mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Add the oil and apple cider vinegar and stir to combine.
- Bake. Pour the cornbread mixture into the baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool and enjoy. Cool the pan of cornbread on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Jenné’s Recipe Pro-Tips
- Preparing the pan. Because of its cornmeal and almond flour base, this gluten-free vegan cornbread doesn’t usually stick to the baking dish, but you can spray yours with non-stick cooking spray for extra assurance if desired.
- Blend almonds until pulverized. Run the nuts in a high-speed blender until they have an ultra-fine powder consistency. Blend raw almonds; they are softer than toasted and blend more easily. Finally, you can substitute a heaping 3/4 cup premade almond flour if you don’t have a high-speed blender.
- Don’t overmix. Stir the dry ingredients with the wet until combined and no streaks of dry cornmeal remain. Overmixing the gluten-free, dairy-free cornbread can result in dense or tough bread.
Recipe Variations
This vegan gluten-free cornbread recipe is versatile! Switch it up with any of the following swaps and adjustments:
- Blue Corn: I love making this recipe with fine ground blue cornmeal when I have it on hand! Just swap the same amount of it for yellow cornmeal and follow the directions as listed.
- Corn Kernels: For extra texture, stir in 1 cup of frozen or canned corn before baking.
- Chiles. Add a touch of Southwest flair by stirring in 1-2 tablespoons of chopped canned green chiles before baking.
Serving Suggestions
If you ask me, cornbread was just made to enjoy with a warm bowl of soup, chowder, or chili, and this gluten-free vegan cornbread recipe is no exception! Make the dream pairing by serving it with any of these recipes:
Storage Directions
- Storage: Leftover gf df cornbread keeps cover in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. For longer storage, keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Transfer the cooled bread to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost it at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until thawed.
Frequently Asked Questions
I did not develop or test this recipe for gluten-free all-purpose flour, so I do not recommend swapping it for almond flour. A suitable, more convenient substitution for it would be using pre-ground almond flour.
Yes, it’s super simple to make muffins with this gluten-free dairy-free cornbread recipe. Prepare a muffin tin with non-stick spray and divide the batter between the cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
This quick bread is best prepared to serve, but you can mix up the dry ingredients and blend the almonds in advance. Once combined, store the dry ingredients and almond flour separately in airtight containers for up to 3 days. Blend the almond flour with the warm water and mix it with the rest of the ingredients before baking.
More Gluten-Free and Vegan Recipes
- Vegan Almond Flour Pancakes
- Gluten-Free Vegan Crepes
- Vegan Rice Crispy Treats
- Oat Bran Muffins with Sweet Potato
Vegan Gluten-Free Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fine ground cornmeal, yellow, blue, or white
- 1/2 cup sugar, organic cane sugar or white
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder, or cornstarch
- 1 cup raw almonds, skin-on or blanched (or 1 1/2 cups almond flour or meal)
- 1 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup olive or avocado oil
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. You can spray an 8×8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray if desired, but you don’t need to.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cornstarch or arrowroot powder until combined.
- Add the almonds to a high-speed blender and blend until they are powder. Add the warm water to the blender and blend until smooth.
- Pour the almond mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Add the oil and apple cider vinegar and stir to combine. Be careful to not overmix it, or the bread can get dense and tough.
- Pour the cornbread mixture into the baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the pan of cornbread on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: Leftover gf df cornbread keeps cover in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days. For longer storage, keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Transfer the cooled bread to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost it at room temperature for 1-2 hours or until thawed.
- Preparing the pan. Because of its cornmeal and almond flour base, this gluten-free vegan cornbread doesn’t usually stick to the baking dish, but you can spray yours with non-stick cooking spray for extra assurance if desired.
- Blend almonds until pulverized. Run the nuts in a high-speed blender until they have an ultra-fine powder consistency. Blend raw almonds; they are softer than toasted and blend more easily. Finally, you can substitute a heaping 3/4 cup premade almond flour if you don’t have a high-speed blender.
- Don’t overmix. Stir the dry ingredients with the wet until combined and no streaks of dry cornmeal remain. Overmixing the gluten-free, dairy-free cornbread can result in dense or tough bread.
Well it’s been exactly ten minutes since it came out of the oven and wow this is super delicious! It’s a really really pretty color, great texture (that almond flour is brilliant) and the “crust” where the bread touches the edge of the pan is a little chewy like a perfect brownie. I didn’t have white sugar, but found some turbinado raw sugar in the pantry which added even one more teeny layer of balanced flavor I think. Thank you for creating this and sharing with us, Jenné! It’s been a few minutes since I swallowed the last bite, and the aftertaste is still so good. I can imagine that it’s good not only with the savory dishes suggested in the recipe, but also good as a dessert maybe with a fresh blueberry sauce. But really, just as it is without anything accompanying it, is simple perfection.
Thanks a million for sharing! I am so happy that you liked it. You’ve got me craving some now 🙂
Thank you for this fabulous Vegan Cornbread recipe. I have a bag of blue corn meal and can’t wait to make this recipe. I have plenty of lentils on hand. I am sure the lentils will go well with the cornbread. I love your blog!
Oh Gina! I think the lentils will go perfectly with that cornbread. Enjoy 🙂 Thanks for commenting!! xo