Oil-Free Vegan Cornbread

Three pieces of cornbread in a stack on top of a wire cooling rack.

5 from 1 vote

This healthy oil-free vegan cornbread is gluten-free and made with whole grain flour. It's moist and just sweet enough. Perfect with a bowl of chili or drizzled with maple syrup for a sweet treat.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cornbread, gluten free, oil free, vegan, wfpb, whole food plant based

Diet: gluten-free, nut-free, oil-free, vegan, wfpb

Servings: servings

Calories: 146.4kcal

Author: Amber Asakura

Ingredients

Flax “Egg”

2 Tablespoons ground flax
6 Tablespoons water

Vegan Buttermilk

1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Dry Ingredients

1 cup cornmeal
½ cup oat flour
½ cup brown rice flour
1 Tablespoon tapioca starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce see notes
2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup see notes

Optional Add-ins:

1 cup corn see notes
1 small jalapeño, finely chopped (remove seeds for less spiciness)

Volume - Weight

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine the ground flax and water and set it aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the plant milk and apple cider vinegar. Give it a quick stir and set it aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set them aside.
Add the flax/water mixture, applesauce, and maple syrup to the milk and vinegar mixture and stir well.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until no large lumps remain. Fold in the corn and/or jalapeño, if using.
Pour the batter into the parchment-lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few dry crumbs are okay, just not wet batter).
Cool the cornbread in the pan on a wire rack for 10-20 minutes before serving. Store leftovers covered at room temperature or in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Notes

Applesauce subs: You can use ¼ cup canned pumpkin puree (this will make a darker cornbread with a slight pumpkin flavor) or ¼ cup cooked/canned, drained, and rinsed white beans, mashed and mixed with 2 tablespoon water (any bean will do, but darker beans will be visible in the cornbread). You can also use ¼ cup of a mild tasting oil or melted vegan butter if you're not avoiding oil.

Sweetness tweaks: For a sweeter cornbread, you can add up to two additional tablespoons of maple syrup without having to do anything else to the recipe. If you want to add even more sweetness, you'll need to subtract one tablespoon of plant milk for every additional tablespoon of maple syrup. If you like a more savory cornbread, just leave the maple syrup out.

Corn: You can use fresh corn cut off the cob, canned corn (drained well before measuring), or frozen corn (make sure to thaw and drain before using).

Nutrition