I LOVE cornbread. It’s a great Southern food that takes me back to when I was growing up. And with some simple substitutions, cornbread is easy to make whole food plant based and this Vegan Southern Cornbread is delicious!
Whole Food Plant Based Cornbread
To make my Best Southern Cornbread whole food plant based, I used yellow cornmeal and a little whole wheat flour to help find it together. You can also use oat flour instead of whole wheat flour to keep this gluten-free.
How to Make Fluffy Cornbread
To make this vegan cornbread fluffy, I like to use a little baking soda & apple cider vinegar. The reaction of the baking soda & vinegar (remember those volcano science experiments?) creates a fizzing reaction to fluff up the batter. After adding the vinegar, don’t let the batter sit long before baking or you will lose some of the air bubbles.
Use Aquafaba Instead of Eggs
Have you heard of aquafaba? It’s the liquid from canned chickpeas. Technically, it’s the liquid from any canned beans, but I like chickpeas because it’s clear. You can also use any white bean.
The liquid is a great replacement for oil & even eggs! It has a binding quality, and I use it in my cornbread recipe to replace both.
Just be sure to use BPA-free cans and low sodium. I prefer to use organic to avoid pesticides – especially glyphosate (Roundup), commonly found in conventional beans.
WFPB Recipes that Go Great with Vegan Southern Cornbread
Cornbread goes great with some 3 Bean Vegan Chili or even black-eyed peas & cabbage on New Year’s day for good luck, health, & wealth!
Another good recipe to have with this cornbread is Southern-style greens! Check out the recipe for Instant Pot Turnip Greens – delicious!
Best Southern Cornbread (oil free)
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour oat flour for gluten free
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt optional
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened plant milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup aquafaba liquid from canned chickpeas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a 8X8 baking pan with parchment paper or use a silicone pan mold.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the rest of the wet ingredients & stir until there are no lumps. Pour batter into baking pan.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes on middle rack or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool & then cut in to 9 squares and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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There are chunks of corn in it? Can you leave that out? I don’t like mixing textures, lol. Unwholesome surprises.
Yes you can definitely just leave out the chunks of corn!
We have but allergies, any other kind of milk or flour you’d use? Cornbread is one of the things we really miss.
There are many types of plant-based milks out there. Oat milk is really popular with people who have allergies!
This sounds amazing! I’m wondering though, what could be used in the place of the ground flax seed? Applesauce maybe?
No the ground flax seed is really for the health benefits of the omega-3s and to kind of hold it together like an egg would. If you don’t have any, you could just try leaving it out. Ground chia seeds could work too.
Would Almond Four and Almond milk work as well instead of Coconut Flour and Coconut Milk?
We haven’t tried it but I don’t see why it wouldn’t.
I made this and it was delicious! Do you think it would work to mix it a few hours ahead and bake it just before time to eat? Thank you!
We are glad to hear that you enjoyed it! I don’t think it would be a problem to mix it a few hours ahead and then bake it just before it’s time to eat.
I am confused. I do not see Flax seeds or corn in the recipe. They are mentioned in the comment section as part of the recipe. Are they supposed to be a part of the recipe? Thank you
I’m sorry, there is no mention of flax or corn in the recipe.