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
New to a Plant-Based Diet? Grab my Plant-Based Diet Beginner’s Guide for FREE! Just fill out the form below to have it zoomed to your email, plus my weekly newsletter chocked full of new recipes & plant based eating tips.
