Name: Vegan Oil-Free Cornbread
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 28 min
Total time: 33 min
Ingredients: 1 ⅓ cups medium grind cornmeal; ⅔ cup flour of choice such as GF 1:1 blend, white whole wheat, all-purpose, or oat flour; 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, optional; 2 teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt; 1 ¼ cups plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk (I prefer almond or soy for cornbread.); 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; 3 tablespoons maple syrup; ⅓ cup applesauce

Looking for the best oil-free cornbread, one that's low-fat (only 1 gram), tender, moist, and the perfect balance of salty and sweet? You've found it! With just 5 minutes of prep time, it's also ridiculously easy to make. Choose your favorite flour to pair with the cornmeal, whether it's a whole-grain variety, all-purpose, or a gluten-free blend. This vegan no-oil cornbread turns out delicious every time!

This healthy cornbread recipe also contains no refined sugar and is easily made nut-free, soy-free, and/or gluten-free!

overhead view of sliced open pieces of cornbread topped with almond butter and jelly. — Pro tip: slice open a piece of cornbread and enjoy with strawberry jelly and almond butter. So good!

A good old fashioned buttery southern-style vegan cornbread was one of the first recipes I shared here on the blog. Considering how much I enjoy cornbread and cooking without oil, I honestly don't know why it took me two years to share this oil-free version. Better late than never!

Update: I now have TWO oil-free cornbread recipes. Don't miss these festive Cranberry Cornbread Muffins!

I grew up in Alabama, and we love our savory, gritty, stoneground cornbread. And though my love for it hasn't faded, I have opened my mind a bit to the fact that slightly sweeter cornbread is also pretty awesome! Let me explain...

Why This Recipe Works

When I started testing this recipe, I quickly realized that when you remove all of the fat from cornbread, a really high cornmeal-to-flour ratio just doesn't cut it (READ: bitter and one-dimensional).

close up with bite taken out to show texture.

So I tested the recipe a few more times to really dial in the moisture, sweetness, and saltiness to get it juuuuuust right. And now I can't stop eating it! This cornbread is:

Tender
Moist
Fluffy
Lightly sweet
Salty enough
So quick and easy
Full of southern-inspired, stone-ground texture
Pantry-friendly
With no added fat and just 73 calories per piece!

Ingredients

You'll need just 9 ingredients plus salt to whip up a batch.

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medium-grind cornmeal - sometimes called whole-grain or stone-ground
your choice of flour, such as unbleached all-purpose, whole wheat, oat, or a 1:1 gluten-free blend
nutritional yeast - optional, but highly recommended for added depth of flavor
baking powder
baking soda
fine sea salt
maple syrup
unsweetened non-dairy milk of your choice - it's a good idea to taste it first to make extra sure it's not flavored
apple cider vinegar
unsweetened, plain applesauce

batter poured into a parchment-lined pan

Substitutions and Options

Flour - most recently I've tested this recipe with oat flour, a combination of all-purpose and white whole-wheat, and King Arthur's 1:1 gluten-free blend. All of them turned out great and held together perfectly. But...

The oat flour produced an obviously whole-grain texture and was my least favorite of the bunch, which is surprising since I'm such a huge fan of baking with oat flour. But it makes perfect sense that coarse cornmeal needs something a little finer to balance out the texture and bring softness. So considering those things, feel free to use your favorite flour based on flavor and texture or just whatever you have on hand.

Fat replacement - I tested both pureed pumpkin and applesauce as a replacement for oil or butter, and the applesauce was definitely our favorite. In a pinch, if you're out of applesauce but have pureed pumpkin or sweet potato on hand, absolutely go for it! Honestly, the cornbread was still good, just not quite as smooth or moist as the test batches made with applesauce.

Milk - I've tested soy and almond milk, and I have a feeling oat milk would also be great. Use what you have.

Optional Nutritional Yeast - If you dislike nooch or have an allergy, don't be discouraged to see it in the list. It's not commonly in cornbread, and you can definitely omit it without any problems. I like to include it for a little more depth of flavor and savoriness.

sliced batch of cornbread on a cutting board — The test batch pictured above was made with oat flour.

Perfect pairings for oil-free cornbread:

Best Vegan Black Eyed Peas (Instant Pot or Stovetop)
45-Minute Lentil Chili (reader favorite!)
Instant Pot Red Lentil Curry
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Roasted Sweet Potato Spinach Salad
BBQ Soy Curls
Vegan Tahini Caesar Salad

open face cornbread on a plate topped with strawberry jelly — This healthy cornbread also pairs well with nut butter and jelly.

I've already tested this oil-free version in my Vegan Cornbread Dressing, and it was absolutely delicious! So be sure to give that a try for Thanksgiving this year.

I hope you love this healthy cornbread recipe as much as we do! If you give it a try, be sure to comment below and let everyone know how it turned out!