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.
Can I add chopped jalapeños for a little spice?
Yes! I think that would be awesome!
Can I replace butter with nut butter like tahni or something?
No you can’t, you ‘may’ be able to switch it for coconut oil, but I’m not entirely certain since I haven’t tested it that way.
THIS WAS AH-MAZING!!!! I used Sweetened vanilla almond milk and suagr free syrup. It was moist and flavorful. This is SURELY in the rotation of recipes!
Awesome! Thanks Janine!
Can this recipe be made without corn
Yes!
It says to use yellow corn flour but I only have white. Will that be alright?
Hi Katherine, I’m not sure! I haven’t ever used white cornmeal but from what I can find out online I ‘think’ they may be interchangeable, but I’m not certain.
Hi! This looks amazing and I’d love to try it soon. Just a quick question though, can I use chia instead of flaxseed? If so, what would be the proportions be? Thanks a bunch x
Hi Simone, yes you can, and you make a chia egg the exact same way you make a flax egg, same proportions.
Hello, and thank you. Has anyone tried this in a bread machine?
This turned out really good and so moist.
Since I’m gluten free, I used King Arthur’s Gluten Free all-purpose baking mix. I also used coconut oil instead of vegan butter and honey instead of sugar. I didn’t use maple syrup.
I’m definitely making this again. Thanks so much for sharing!
So glad it was a success! Thanks so much Ifeoma!
I love this muffins, oops!! I make this cornmeal recipes into muffins they get gobble up faster. I use a can of peaches and cream niblet corn very good actually very yummy!! ????
Looks divine. Hesitating making this however, as I think there might be a typo in the ingredients list.
It states:
1 cup (160g) + 2 Tbsp (16g) Yellow Cornmeal*
1 cup + 3 Tbsp (150g) All Purpose Flour
What is meant to be the total amount of each flour in the recipe?! Hope I’m not just being slow. Thanks in advance!
Hi Sofia, sorry if it’s not clear. The cornmeal is 176g in total and the all purpose is 150g.
Hi
Made the most divine mielie cupcakes. Substituted flaxseed with chia seeds and used semolina for the cornflower. Texture moist. Amazing recipe
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Brenda!
Yes, I’m not supposed to eat much wheat, so I used spelt instead like I have for all your other recipes that I have tried up to now.
I think that will be the reason then. It might work as a swap on other recipes but won’t necessarily work on all, the cornmeal is quite crumbly so the recipe relies on the other flour for structure. This was never tested with spelt flour so any substitution like that will carry a risk of not working out.
Hi Alison,
I tried this recipe and made it in a loaf pan. Unfortunately it’s so crumbly, I can hardly cut any slices out of it. I didn’t have enough vegan butter, so I partly used coconut oil. Since soya milk doesn’t agree with me and can get soya yoghurt here, I thinned that down with water to get „buttermilk“, but still added the 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar. Could any of these changes have caused the super crumbly texture?
Hi Jamuna, I’m not sure what happened to cause that. Did you make any change to the flour?
Love this recipe, it taste perfect, and I make this recipe with my muffin pan. I find my family eats them up faster.
YUM, YUM….????
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Deb! xo
Hi there!
Thanks for all your great recipes.
I tried it and it turned out great. I omitted the syrup because I thought it would be too sweet.
I wanted to ask you: what is the secret that it rises so well? The combination of vinegar and milk?
Hi Diana, so happy it worked out great! Yes, the baking soda/vinegar combo works great to give it rise in this recipe!