Why you’ll love this dairy free cornbread
I’ve always had a thing for cornbread, and lately I’ve been craving it constantly. The other night when I made us some chili, cornbread immediately popped into my brain, but we didn’t have any dairy free butter on hand.
So, I decided to use olive oil instead. It’s the perfect fat for this recipe and makes the process even simpler since you only need a whisk and a bowl. The cornbread was literally in the oven 10 minutes later.
Plus, it’s so versatile. Serve it alongside chili, soup, or barbecue, or enjoy it warm with dairy free butter and honey.
More dairy free side dishes: dairy free scalloped potatoes / dairy free garlic naan bread / dairy free green bean casserole
Ingredient notes:
- Dairy free milk – We normally use unsweetened oat milk for baking, but any dairy free milk that is unsweetened and plain will do. Canned coconut milk is probably bit too thick for this, but will work in a pinch.
- Egg – You’ll need one large egg. To make this recipe vegan, substitute 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for the egg.
- Olive oil – This is our butter swap, but you can also use melted dairy free butter or another liquid oil.
- Cornmeal – I normally use yellow cornmeal for this recipe, but you can use whichever you prefer.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Melissa’s tips + tricks:
- Don’t over mix the batter. Over-mixing can make the cornbread tough. Make sure you only stir the ingredients until they are just combined and mostly smooth. It’s ok if there are some small lumps!
- Make it ahead. You can make the cornbread up to 2 days in advance and store it well covered in the refrigerator. Reheat before serving.
- Test for doneness. The cornbread is done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the top is lightly golden.
- Freeze for later. Once cooled completely, cut into serving pieces and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 2 months.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, absolutely! I recommend avoiding the flavored ones and sticking with unsweetened, but if you want to use your favorite nondairy milk in this recipe, go for it. Then, you won’t feel like you’re wasting the rest of the carton after only taking out a small amount for this recipe.
Yes! After your cornbread has cooled completely, cut them into serving pieces and individually wrap in plastic wrap before placing in the freezer for up to 2 months. thaw, reheat and enjoy!
Making and baking it up to two days in advance and keeping it stored in the fridge is a great idea for reducing time in the kitchen on a busy day. Simply make sure that the cornbread is well covered so that it doesn’t dry out.
Yes. By filling up your muffin tin to about half to 2/3rds full, and baking you can reduce the baking time and get nice cornbread muffins to enjoy. Bake for about 12-15 minutes and then test for doneness, adding more time if necessary.
More dairy free recipes you’ll love: vegan oatmeal cookies / easy drop biscuits / cornbread pancakes with cinnamon syrup / dairy free white chicken chili
Try it in a cast iron skillet!
Preheat a 10-inch cast iron skillet in the oven while it comes to temperature. Then, grease it with a little extra olive oil and add the batter and bake for 25 – 30 minutes. The hot pan gives the cornbread a crispier, golden crust on the bottom.
Dairy Free Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cornmeal, 250g
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, 60g
- 6 tablespoons sugar, 75g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 ¼ cups unsweetened, plain dairy free milk
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large egg, or 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
Instructions
- Mise en place. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease an 8-inch square baking pan or line it with parchment paper. Then, measure all of your ingredients before you begin.
- Mix the dry ingredients. Add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Add the wet ingredients. Create a small well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the egg, milk and olive oil and stir until combined. Be careful not to over mix. The batter will not be completely smooth.
- Bake the cornbread. Transfer the batter to your prepared baking dish and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the top is lightly golden.
- Cool and serve. Allow the cornbread to cool for 5 – 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve warm with dairy free butter and honey if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
I am so into cornbread right now! Olive oil and cornmeal are perfect for each other. This would be great both with a little jam, or served alongside chili–love the versatility! 🙂
Oh yeah, bring it on! This cornbread looks so, SO good. I bet it tastes especially good with a bowl of chili 🙂
This cornbread looks delicious – love the olive oil in there! I’ve been wanting to make cornbread for a while, and this gorgeous recipe is making me want it even more! Pinned.
Mmm…Cornbread and chili are a match made in heaven! Glad you found a way to have some with your chili after all. Such a great idea to use olive oil.
I really wanted cornbread but didn’t have any butter in the fridge, so I looked for a recipe that used olive oil and this one came up. It worked just fine. It’s true that it wasn’t necessary to grease the pan (I was skeptical, but it didn’t stick a bit!) . I do think it’s funny that the recipe title is “SWEET olive oil cornbread” but then when you explain the use of olive oil you say “and since I didn’t want the cornbread to actually taste sweet…” Hmmm… Anyway, I think the title “Olive oil cornbread” is more accurate. The cornbread is a bit more dense than my regular butter-based skillet recipe, but it was very good. So, a nice and simple recipe. And if there are any others out there who do not have a problem with dairy (remember I just happened to be out of butter today), I didn’t have almond milk on hand, so I used regular milk but on a hunch added 1/8 tsp almond extract and it worked really well.
So, the really only added the “sweet” to the title because there is a heated debate in the world of cornbread about whether or not cornbread should contain sugar. Since my recipe uses sugar, it’s “technically” considered a sweet cornbread, even if I don’t like it that sweet. Does that makes sense?
I’m glad it worked out with regular milk! It always nice to know for readers who aren’t avoiding dairy. Thanks so much for the review!
Growing up in a Sicilian home, my family mostly maintained a more Mediterranean type diet. We only used butter for baking cookies, a few types of cake and besciamella sauce. Mostly we had Olive Oil cake, sometimes orange, lemon, and even chocolate. While corn bread is not on my list of favorite things to eat, this recipe caught my eye. My son asked if I could make corn bread because he gets it when he goes to KFC. Blech!
Anyway, I searched and searched, then I found your recipe. I always have almond milk in the house, and 3 types of good olive oil, which one is specifically for baking.
I did not deviate from your ingredients, but added some black olives, roasted red pepper, rosemary, cracked black pepper and to balance the saltiness of the olives, I uses unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
My son said” it’s really delicious mama, but I thought I asked for corn bread, not baked polenta. Lol Next time I will shake off the Italian for just an hour, and make your recipe without adding any extras. Ricetta fantastica. Grazie!
I found the corn bread to bit quite dry. While I really like the idea of using olive oil and having less dairy in my diet, I believe it might need just a little more fat, to relieve the dryness. Maybe along with the 1 1/4c almond milk, 1/4 – 1/2 c of fat free greek yogurt might help, or maybe one more tbsp of olive oil. I’m going to experiment with it, but as a whole, I like this recipe, just needs some tweaking to make it less dry. Good work!
Hi,
What kind of cornmeal do you use? Is is fine, ground etc? And what brand do you use? I’ve never bought cornmeal before so I don’t know how it comes.
Thanks!
I use Quaker cornmeal, but really any medium ground cornmeal should work.
An additional ingredient makes these over the top. Add a 1/2 Haas avocado ti the wet ingredients and blend well before adding to the dry
Well that’s an interesting addition, but I’m really glad you enjoyed it. I bet the extra fats from the avocado make the cornbread really decadent and rich. Thanks for sharing!
Can I use a gluten free flour? Any suggestions?
I haven’t tried it with a gluten free flour, but I’m sure it would work if you use a 1:1 gluten free flour blend!