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
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
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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.
Yasemin
I am surprised at how wonderful a bread can be without oil! For the flour portion, I used up what flours a had on hand--wholewheat, spelt, and unbleached white. I also used fine grind cornmeal (which I also had on hand) instead of coarser grind. The only addition of my own were chili pepper flakes (also, less maple syrup and salt). The result is moist and delicious! Great recipe.
Margaret
I long thought I had to say good-bye to cornbread with my vegan chilli. Not anymore. Not just put my SECOND batch in the oven! I made this with no maple syrup and it was fantastic!! It's really good with my no fat vegan chilli. And I used regular, yellow cornmeal! This has no guilt and tons of taste! And makes a perfect protein when combined with the kidney beans in chilli.
Bonnie
Excellent results with this recipe! I like the dry to wet ratio, which I think is the most important reason it produces excellent results. I am so appreciative of the healthy ingredients, as well as the option to use metric or US customary measures. I used this recipe to bake 12 muffins, with modifications:
1. Perhaps it is just the nutritional yeast product that I buy, but it already contains Himalayan sea salt, ordinary salt, and apple cider vinegar; so when I added two tablespoons of the nutrition yeast with the 1.25 teaspoons of salt, the muffins were inedibly salty. I made a second batch and added 3/4 of a teaspoon of nutritional yeast and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the muffins were delicious. I made a third batch, and this time I added only 3/4 teaspoon of the nutritional yeast and no other salt, and the muffins were again delicious.
2. I also substituted sweeteners: In the second batch, I used one tablespoon of blackstrap molasses and two tablespoons of honey; in the third batch I used 81 grams of blackstrap molasses. Both worked very well.
3. As for flours, in the second batch I used all-purpose flour, and in the third batch I used whole wheat flour. Great results both times.
4. I baked both batches at 400 degrees F in a silicone muffin pan, for about 24 minutes. A thermometer inserted in the center of a muffin rose to about 200 degrees, showing they were done.
Thank you for creating a great recipe that produces wholesome and delicious baked goods.
Sheri Anne
Hi Lori! I would like to make this tomorrow but I dont have any medium grind cornmeal....just regular fine grind. Would that work in this recipe or do I need to go shopping? Thank you.
Lori Rasmussen
Hi Sheri Anne - I think fine cornmeal will be fine. Ha. The cornbread will have less texture, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing and probably preferred by some people. When you mix the batter together if it seems too thick just add a splash of liquid. Hope it turns out great!
Sheri Anne
Hi Lori! Thank you for your reply. I did not see it before I just had to make it last night. lol! I wanted it to taste savory not sweet...so I left out the maple syrup. I added lots of pickled jalapeños . I thought the regular cornmeal worked out great. The next time I make it I will add 3TB of cream corn to replace the moisture the syrup gave the recipe. Winner recipe as always!! :))
Lexi
Oh my goodness!!! This. Was. Sooooo. Good!! I eat gluten free and vegan, and also like to avoid vegan butters and saturated fats, so this recipe was perfect. I was skeptical at first with the combo of ACV, nooch, maple syrup, etc, but it was PERFECT!! Thanks!
Susan Marshall
I just made this today with the add-in ideas from your Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins and it turned out delicious. I left the seeds in my jalapenos because I like it extra spicy. This was so good. I am eager to try some of your other recipes as I am new to your site.
leslie
Once I found this cornbread recipe, I stopped my search! I like savory cornbread so I leave out the maple syrup and sometimes add paprika and a 4 oz. can of diced green chilis. I especially like the texture - it's holds its shape after cutting, unlike other recipes that were very crumbly.
sadie
Hello,
This looks lovely.
Quick question:
Any suggestions for adjusting bake time/temp if I were to make this recipe for muffins? I think freezing muffins might be easier.
Thoughts?
Many thanks!!!
Lori
Hi Sadie,
Yes, for muffins the bake time is closer to 15 minutes. I'll update the recipe shortly to include that info. If you think there's any chance your oven runs hot you may want to drop the temp 10 to 15 degrees just to be on the safe side. Otherwise, 400 is fine. Hope you enjoy them!
KC
I followed this recipe exact the only thing is I used agave instead of maple syrup and it really turned out bad. Too salty, not sweet and not enough flavor. The texture was also weird. I’ve tried gluten free cornbread before that tasted great so idk what went wrong. Sad because I spent a lot of time and money on ingredients.
Lori
Hi KC, sounds like you're not a fan of Southern-style savory cornbread, which is what this is (in addition to being oil-free). This type of cornbread is definitely its own style and different from cornbread enjoyed in other regions. I'm sorry to hear you didn't enjoy it.
Ron
Love this recipe. I have made it at least 15 times. Not a fan of nutritional yeast so I omit it. I love adding a cup of frozen blueberries. I slice strawberries over it and sprinkle with sugar. Amazing dessert with no guilt.
leslie
Ron, your comment just blew my mind! I can't wait to make cornbread with blueberries!
Serena
This cornbread is delicious! Thank you for this amazing recipe. I loved it.
Theresa
This came out moist and delicious with a great texture. We used white spelt flour and homemade almond milk. I waffled on the nutritional yeast because I couldn't imagine it would be delicious, but it was. I did not taste that flavor, just found that it was a full-flavored cornbread better than the previous oil-free recipe I was using. Will definitely make this again.
Janet
I made it with nutritional yeast and did not care for it. The yeast over powered the corn flavor. The bread was moist so I might try again without the yeast. I also baked it in a preheated cat iron skillet, no oil , no parchment and it worked well. I love the crisp bottom it makes.
Lori
I'm surprised 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast tasted that strong over all the other ingredients. Glad you enjoyed it otherwise!