Looking for the best oil-free cornbread, one that's 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 recipe is vegan and contains no oil, coconut, or refined sugar; can also be nut-free, soy-free, and gluten-free.
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 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).
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.
- 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
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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 when 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.
Perfect pairings for oil-free cornbread:
45-Minute Lentil Chili
EASY Instant Pot Red Lentil Curry
Tuscan White Bean Soup
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Slow Cooker BBQ Soy Curls
Vegan Caesar With Roasted Chickpeas
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.
Recipe
Vegan Oil-Free Cornbread
Equipment
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
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C), and line an 8x8 inch baking pan with parchment (or use a silicone pan).
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a small bowl whisk together the milk, vinegar, maple syrup, and apple sauce.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry, and stir to combine. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 27 to 29 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow cornbread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack for another 15 to 20 minutes before slicing into 16 squares.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
JParadice
My husband and I were very excited to find your recipe. I made it with all purpose flour, since I was out of whole wheat. The applesauce was homemade, out of it, too, but proved a great dessert for Rod, afterward. 😃 The bread was dense, but tasted great. He’s been having one or two a day since I made them.
Note: I did make muffins, instead. They had cooked 15 1/2 minutes when it hit me I hadn’t adjusted for the size. Thought they still thought they came out great. Checking another recipe (not fat free), they recommended 10-12 minutes. So you might want to check timing starting at 12 minutes.
Jan Warren
This worked out well and allowed me to feel free of oil (hard to do with bread recipes. On my second attempt, I added a pinch of tumeric to tweak the color. Delicious side to a lot of my meals. Thx.
Chilimama
I wonder if I could add some creamed corn in place of the applesauce? I really am looking for a savory jalapeno cornbread. Has anyone tried this recipe but made it savory rather than slightly sweet?
Lori
I haven't tried creamed corn in it but I love corn in everything. Sounds good to me haha! The applesauce doesn't really add any sweetness but helps with the overall moisture and texture since there's no added fat. I think if you added jalapeño and a bit more nutritional yeast that might do the trick. Hope that helps!
leslie
I remove maple syrup and add smoked paprika & diced green chilis. I also use 3 T nooch (or more!) for a cheesier flavor.
Kym
Wondering if I can use oat milk without an issue? Thanks!
Lori
Hi Kym,
I'm struggling to remember now whether I've tried it with oat milk... I think I have! And yes, it should work fine.
Mandy
Just made w oat flour (need gf here)
Excellent
Thanks for another great oil free gluten free recipe
Mel
Easy and delicious. My friends and I love it with chili. I've made it several times, always with white whole wheat, and it turns out great every time. So happy to have found a site with so many oil-free recipes.
Capri
Is there a substitute for maple syrup that isn’t syrup
Lori
Hi Capri, not that I've tested. It adds a bit of moisture and sweetness to balance the flavor. You could possibly use a granulated sweetener and increase the applesauce.
Sophie Storey
Hi Lori!
This looks delicious and I plan to make it. Two questions:
Can this be made into muffins? If so, how long would I cook them for?
Can the maple syrup be ommitted?
Thank you in advance!
Sophie
Lori
Hi Sophie,
I can't recommend omitting the maple syrup completely because it balances out the flavor of the cornmeal. If it's that you want less sugar, you could probably cut it in half. Or if it's that you don't have any maple syrup, agave nectar is an easy substitute. You can also use a couple of tablespoons of granulated sweetener plus 1 tablespoon of milk.
Yes, you can definitely make muffins! Unfortunately, I didn't make a note of the time (will re-test and update the recipe with that, so thank you). Cook time will be much less, around 16 min. Insert a knife or toothpick to check for doneness. Hope you enjoy!
Sophie Storey
Lori,
Thank you for your prompt response! I was looking to cut the sugar. I wonder if stevia or monk fruit could be used? I will experiment and let you know!
Sophie
Magy
Fantastic cornbread, Lori! My whole family couldn't stop raving about it, including some non plant based people. It really was the perfect combination of sweet and salty! I made it at a high elevation of around 3800 ft., which can usually alter baking a lot, but I decided to dive right in with no changes to the batter whatsoever and it worked really well. The only difference was that I had to cook it for around 5 extra minutes. This will be my go-to cornbread from now on, thank you so much, Lori!
Susie
A mighty fine cornbread! I have tried quite a few plant based recipes and this one is now my keeper! Woohoo! thank you Lori 🙂
Karen Ricketts
This is delicious and the perfect texture and taste. I'll be making this often!
Lori
Excellent! Thanks, Karen!! 😀
Adi
Delicious! Non-vegans loved it! I used soy milk, nootch, and sweet potato. Great recipe just in time for Thanksgiving!
Lori
Fantastic, Adi. Always happy when the non-vegans love it, too. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Patti Goldstein
Adi - did you add the sweet potato to the recipe above or did you add it to the recipe as a sub?
Lori
Hi Patti,
In case Adi doesn't get a notification, I'll chime in.... I'm pretty sure she meant that she used sweet potato instead of applesauce. That should work well.
Let us know how you like it!
Jennifer Margopulos-Kelenske
This was surprisingly really good! I know I shouldn't have doubted. 😉 I forgot to get the stone ground cornmeal and I had leftover full fat coconut milk so I used 1/2 cup of this and the rest w/whole milk. Otherwise I stuck to the recipe and DID use some nutritional yeast I had on hand. Will be trying it again with stone ground cornmeal. Thanks Lori!
Lori
Oh that's good to hear! Glad you enjoyed it and that even with a few swaps it still turned out. 🙂 Thanks, Jennifer!