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I’m so excited about this plant-based cornbread recipe! It’s soft and buttery, but there’s no butter, no oil, and no sugar. I’ve eaten a LOT of cornbread, and this is by far my favorite recipe. What’s my secret? I use full-fat canned coconut milk for fluffy, rich, and buttery cornbread. Don’t worry, it won’t taste like coconut.
The coconut gives it a hint of sweetness without the added sugar and a buttery texture without the butter or oil. The slight sweetness is not intended to give it an overall sweet taste, so if you're in the sweet cornbread camp this may not be the recipe for you.
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Tips for vegan cornbread with coconut milk
- For this recipe, use a can of full-fat coconut milk, not the carton stuff, and not just coconut cream. The cans of coconut milk have a higher fat content that will give the cornbread a buttery taste.
- Choose a brand of coconut milk that you like and that tastes delicious on its own.
- The batter shouldn’t be too thick or too runny, it should be able to roll out of the bowl with help from a spoon or silicone spatula when pouring it into the glass baking dish.
- When I microwave leftover cornbread I like to use a damp paper towel draped over the piece to reintroduce moisture.
- If you've ever tried pouring dough into a pan lined with parchment paper and it moves, you can try using wooden clothespins at the corners to hold the parchment paper in place. Just make sure you remove them before the tray goes into the oven.
How to make vegan cornbread from scratch
First, preheat your oven to 400 F (200 C). Make your flax egg by mixing the ground flaxseed with ⅓ cup of water and let it sit for 5-10 minutes to gel. Use parchment paper or grease an 8-inch by 8-inch glass baking dish so the cornbread doesn’t stick. Then whisk together the cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
When the flax egg has gelled, add it to the dry ingredients along with the entire can of coconut milk and the other dairy-free milk. Mix everything until it’s just combined and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
- Soup (white bean potato soup)
- Baked beans or black-eyed peas
- Sauteed greens
- BBQ jack fruit
- Slow cooker quinoa chili
- Vegan red lentil chili (instant pot and stovetop instructions)
This recipe was a huge hit with my family, everyone wanted seconds! I think my little chickpea would have just eaten cornbread for dinner if I let him. I hope you enjoy this vegan oil-free cornbread too!
Originally posted on October 10, 2019, updated on August 1, 2021.
Recipe
Cornbread with Coconut Milk
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Simple, fluffy, buttery vegan cornbread with coconut milk. No butter, no oil, and no added sugar are needed!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) water
- 1 cup (155 g) cornmeal
- 1 cup (125 g) whole-wheat flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 can ((13.5 ounces) 403 ml) unsweetened full-fat coconut milk(about 1 ⅔ cups)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) unsweetened dairy-free milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C).
- Mix the ground flaxseed with ⅓ cup of water and let sit for 5-10 minutes to gel.
- Use a parchment paper-lined or grease an 8-inch by 8-inch glass baking dish.
- Whisk together cornmeal, whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
- When the flax egg has gelled add it to the dry ingredients along with the entire can of coconut milk and dairy-free milk. Mix everything until it's just combined.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Once cooled store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.
Notes
The can coconut milk is a replacement for the sugar and oil in the recipe so it can't be substituted with the carton of coconut milk (usually found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Katie
I love the texture and it turned out great. It wasn’t that sweet, which we prefer! Thanks for the recipe.
Allie
I'm glad you liked the recipe and thanks for commenting!
Ella
Texture is fantastic but taste is not at all sweet, even a little bitter. If the coconut milk replaces sugar, shouldn't it be sweetened instead of unsweetened?
Allie
It's not supposed to be overall sweet, but a slight sweetness naturally found in coconut milk. I wouldn't use sweetened coconut milk because I'm not a fan of super sweet cornbread, but some people do enjoy sweet cornbread. What brand of coconut milk did you use?
Sadie Davis
Loved it will make cornbread like that for ever. Thanks
Allie
I'm glad you enjoyed the cornbread recipe!
Lester
I’m eager to try your cornbread recipe. What do you think of using reduced fat coconut milk?
13.5 oz for can of coconut milk + 1/2 C (4oz) plant milk= more than 2 C liquid (not counting 1/3 C water for flax meal). Do I have that right? Just checking because that’s well more liquid than any other cornbread recipe I have used.
Thanks very much for all you generously provide here. I’m happy to have discovered your blog.
LESTER
Allie
Hi Lester,
I responded to your email, I hope you received the response. I originally was thinking to reduce the plant-based milk by a couple of tablespoons, but instead, try leaving out the plant-based milk and add 1-2 tablespoons at a time if the mixture is too dry. Reduced fat coconut milk is thinner than full fat, so it won't be as buttery and it probably won't need as much liquid. I retested the recipe with 1/4 cup of plant-based milk, and I liked the consistency so I updated the recipe with the adjustment. I hope that helps!
Sara
So delicious!
Allie
Thanks, I'm glad you like the recipe.