This vegan cornbread is seriously the BEST. It’s perfectly sweet, moist and tender and makes a perfect side. Ideal comfort food!
This vegan cornbread fits perfectly into the category of vegan comfort food!
If you wanted to make it at the same time as other vegan comfort foods like a nice big bowl of vegan chili well that would be just fine!
I wanted it to be a little bit sweet so there is some brown sugar added which adds just the right amount of sweetness. It’s perfectly sweet but not overly sweet.
I mean it is cornbread after all. And cornbread isn’t a totally savory thing, it is meant to be slightly sweet.
How To Make Homemade Vegan Cornbread
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add some yellow cornmeal (also called Polenta in some parts of the world like Australia and South Africa) to a mixing bowl along with some all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add apple cider vinegar and soy milk to a measuring jug and let them curdle together. Then prepare a flax egg (a simple mix of ground flaxseed meal and water) and let it sit for a minute.
- Add some vegan butter to a pot on the stove and let it melt and then add in some brown sugar and whisk it up with the melted vegan butter until the brown sugar has dissolved.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add some maple syrup along with the soy milk and apple cider vinegar mix and whisk it up together.
- Now add your wet ingredients in with your dry and mix them together. Add the flax egg.
- Lastly add in your whole corn pieces and stir in.
Square Dish Or Loaf Pan
There are two ways to make this cornbread and the recipe is the same either way, the only thing that changes is the baking time. You can either make it in a 9×9 square dish, or you can make it in a loaf pan.
The more usual way to make cornbread is to make it in a square dish and then cut it into squares. But I also like it as a loaf, so you can do whatever you prefer.
If you bake it in a square dish the baking time is a bit shorter, so if you’re wanting to make it as quick as possible, then a square dish is going to be the best bet. Instructions for both methods can be found in the recipe card below.
Spread with vegan butter and drizzled with maple syrup or vegan honey, or just eaten as is (as Jaye preferred it), this cornbread is fabulous all ways.
Vegan Cornbread Q&A
Yes! This recipe adapts wonderfully to 12 delicious cornbread muffins. Or check out our vegan cornbread muffins recipe.
I’m not entirely sure since I haven’t tried it yet. Your best bet would be to use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend that can be used as a direct replacement for wheat flour in baking. If you do that, it will likely work out fine.
Vegan butter is just a way of referring to a vegan ‘buttery’ product. This could be a brand like Earth Balance in the USA or Nuttelex in Australia or Vitalite in the UK. You might not have a product like this available but might still have a brand of margarine that isn’t labeled vegan but is vegan by ingredient. Alternatively you can make your own homemade vegan butter using our recipe, it works great in baking.
Storing and Freezing
Keep leftover cornbread stored in an airtight container where it will stay fresh for 2-3 days. It is at its absolute best though when fresh from the oven.
It is also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze it. Let it cool completely before freezing and then freeze for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge and then heat up in the microwave or in the oven at 300°F for 10 minutes.
More Delicious Vegan Breads
- Our vegan zucchini bread is so fluffy and moist you’ll never suspect it’s hiding some green vegetables in there!
- Our vegan chocolate chip banana bread is so decadent you’ll hardly believe it and our vegan chocolate banana bread is for chocolate lovers everywhere.
- Our vegan pumpkin bread is deliciously spiced, packed with pumpkin flavor and topped with pumpkin seeds. A must try.
- Also check out our whole wheat bread, the easiest white bread and our vegan soda bread.
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp Yellow Cornmeal (176g)
- 1 cup + 3 Tbsp All Purpose Flour (150g)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 cup Soy Milk (240ml) or Almond Milk
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar (100g)
- 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
- 1 ½ cups Whole Sweet Corn Kernels Canned, Drained
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and spray a 9×9 inch square dish with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.*
- Add the yellow cornmeal to a mixing bowl and sift in the all purpose flour. Add the baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Add the apple cider vinegar to the soy milk and set aside.
- Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal with 3 Tbsp Hot Water and allowing to sit for a minute.
- Melt the vegan butter in a pot on the stove and then add the brown sugar and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
- When the sugar is dissolved into the butter, remove from the heat and whisk in the maple syrup, and then add in the soy milk and apple cider vinegar mix. Add the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients. Then add in the flax egg. Use a hand whisk briefly to remove any lumps.
- Lastly add the whole sweet corn pieces and mix in.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish.
- Cook for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Video
Notes
- Yellow cornmeal is also called Polenta in Australia and South Africa.
- For the best accuracy in this recipe – weigh your flour and yellow cornmeal using a food scale.
- Canned corn – 1 and ½ cups is the amount you’d get from one 15-ounce (425g) can of drained corn.
- You can make this in a 9×5 loaf pan for a loaf of cornbread that you can cut into slices. All the directions stay exactly the same, just spray your loaf pan with non-stick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Bake for around 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- This recipe was first published in February 2016 but has been updated with new photos and text.
Elie Mironidou says
Hi, can I replace the flaxseed with something else or omit it?
Thanks.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Elie, I think you could also use a chia egg, which is made the same way as a flax egg just with chia seeds instead. Alternatively, you could just use extra (3 Tbsp extra) vegan butter. 🙂
TJ says
So funny receiving this today…. as last night I was just thinking about cornbread, and wondering if you had a recipe for it…. and today…. voila! Brilliant and will be making this soon! Huge thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Hope you like it! 🙂
Isabelle says
Hi Alison. Is it possible to make this recipe but in a savoury version? Thank you for your answer. Isabelle
Alison Andrews says
Hi Isabelle, you can probably try reducing the sugar by half and see how it goes!
Tina says
I can’t tell you how many times I have made this cornbread. When it gets eaten up I usually make more. What a great recipe!!! I cook it in my cast iron skillet and it cones out wonderful. Pair it with some vegan chili or soup. Thank you for all of your great recipes.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear that Tina! Thanks for the wonderful review! xo
Paula says
Can I use ground flaxseed instead of flaxseed meal?
Alison Andrews says
Yes!
Kate says
Can you use creamed corn instead of kernels?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kate, I don’t think so, as that would add extra moisture to the recipe and would unbalance it, you can leave out the corn though. 🙂
Karen Rubio says
This looks great! I didn’t see this question in the comments: Is it possible to make with gluten free flour? I have Celiac disease. I’ll just go ahead and try it, just wondering if you had any experience with that. thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Karen, I think if you use a gluten free all purpose flour blend that it would work great! All the best! 🙂
DIANNA MIGNOTT says
Is there a substitute for baking powder/soda?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Dianna, there isn’t really, this is what makes it rise. 🙂
Diane says
Thank you for this really nice recipe! I just tried it and it is so light with a wonderful texture! I must say that I made a few small changes. I replaced the all purpose flour by Khorasan flour (Kamut) and instead of flax seeds, I used tapioca flour (personal preference to replace eggs). I cut the butter quantity to only 1/4 cup. I replaced the brown sugar by a tablespoon of date sugar, but increased the maple syrup to 1/4 cup (I did not pre-mix my tapioca starch with any water, so I figured a little more syrup wouldn’t hurt the liquid balance). I still found it a little too sweet to my taste. Next time, I might not add any sweetener. But I’ll make it again for sure! 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Thanks for sharing Diane! 🙂
Terri says
Lovely cornbread! I substituted applesauce for the vegan butter, left out maple syrup and added plenty of jalapeños! Yummy!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Terri! 🙂
Carla says
Here in southeast Tennessee it is a sin to put sugar ( or any sweetener) in your cornbread. After all we are a bunch of hillbillies lol. This is great without any sweetner. If it weren’t vegan we would put bacon grease in if. Oh clog my arteries. Also wonderful with some diced jalpenos & a little onion. Bam— some great Mexican cornbread.
Betty says
Thanks Carla for answering my question. Texans don’t like sweet cornbread, either. I was concerned that it would affect the outcome to change it.
Cate Reinig says
I made this recipe and it is delicious. I have never put corn in my cornbread. I forgot the egg substitute which I had some in my pantry. And I used coconut oil instead of butter because I did not have any of that in my pantry. I think next time I will even try coconut flour and see how that goes. I really like this recipe. It was very moist and I did not miss the egg substitute at all.
Alison Andrews says
So glad it worked out great Cate! Thanks for the awesome review! 🙂
Jennifer says
I thought this would be too sweet but it’s perfect! I think I found my go-to cornbread recipe. Approved by 2 southern friends!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So happy to hear that, thanks a million Jennifer! xo
Hecho says
This recipe is my favorite base for a vegan corn bread recipe!! I didn’t use corn kernels, and swapped soy for coconut milk, and coconut oil melted for margarine. It. Is. Divine.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful to hear that! Thanks so much for the awesome review. 🙂
V says
Used less butter and sugar, added a slop of aquafaba, worked out really well!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Veggiemama says
Wow! This recipe is spot on! Best cornbread I’ve ever made and will be my go-to from now on. I’m not vegan (at least yet), but raised my kids vegetarian. My son went vegan in January, and came home from university today for Spring Break. This was my first venture into vegan baking. I used Bob’s Red Mill vegan egg replacement, unsweetened coconut milk beverage, frozen corn and Earth’s Balance vegan butter. I’ve never used an egg replacement and didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t want to wait for a big loaf to bake because the soup was ready to serve, so I made cornbread sticks in a cast aluminum pan that I have that looks like little cobs of corn, and the rest of the batter I split between two small (half-sized) pie pans. I was so pleasantly surprised to see it raise in the oven and the end product was a delicious crumbly, but moist cornbread that was a hit with both of us. We will be having it for breakfast tomorrow morning, and I look forward to trying some more of your recipes! Knowing I can make good vegan baked goods makes going vegan feel much more doable for me. Thank you!!
Alison Andrews says
SO happy to hear this! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review! 🙂