Warm homemade gluten free cornbread smothered with butter and honey…mmhmm! What could be better on a cold fall day? I know, enjoy it with a bowl of vegetarian chili! I love fall for many reasons, but the food elements are a big one. Summer is great, with all of the fresh produce, but the turn of fall always gets me excited for soups, stews, and breads.
Two Misconceptions
Apparently, up until a couple of years ago, I didn’t make cornbread very often and when I did I only made it from a box. When I went gluten-free there were two misconceptions I had about cornbread.
- It’s just corn meal, right? Wrong.
- I thought cornbread was always gluten-free. Also wrong.
When I think about it, I don’t know why cornbread would get light and fluffy with just cornmeal. Alas, cornbread is not always gluten-free but it is easy to make gluten-free. It’s just a few simple substitutions and there is room to get creative with substitutions.
Don’t worry, you recipe rule followers out there. You know who you are! The recipe card below has the exact recipe. However, if you are looking to get creative and have fun you can make a few substitutions. I like to think of a recipe as a license to get creative, not a legal document that needs to be followed to the T.
What variations could I make?
I will be the first to admit that I am an ideas person and have not made all these varieties, but I sure think it would be fun!
- Jalapenos and Cheddar Cheese (mix shredded cheese in with batter along with a minced jalapeno)
- Pimento Cheese (as a transplant from the north, I still don’t get the pimento cheese craze, but it would sure be gooey and moist in cornbread)
- Make as it, but top with homemade cinnamon-sugar butter and honey
- Vary your flour choice. You could use all gluten-free baking flour and no almond flour, or instead of almond flour, you could use coconut flour (add a little additional oil and milk), oat flour, or chickpea flour for more protein.
- Chunky cheese (once batter is poured into the pan, press square chunks of cheese into the batter from the top)
- Goat or Feta cheese (similar to chunky cheese, ad clumps of goat cheese pressed down into batter)
- Mix in herbs like chives or parsley
- So many options! You have permission to get creative.
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What do I need?
Like most baking recipes, you have your wet ingredients and dry ingredients.
Wet Ingredients:
- Milk (dairy or plant-based)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Olive oil (or melted butter)
- Eggs
Dry Ingredients:
- Gluten-Free 1-to-1 baking flour (like Bob’s Red Mill)
- Almond Flour (not Almond Meal)
- Cornmeal
- Coconut sugar (or cane or brown sugar; I try to stay away from cane sugar and find that although not as sweet to the taste, coconut sugar is a good substitute)
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Sea Salt
How do I make it?
An important part of this recipe is curdling the milk with the apple cider vinegar so that in the baking process when it combines with the baking powder and soda it gives a lift to the bread making it lighter and not as dense.
First, you want to make mix together the milk and vinegar in a liquid measuring cup and set it aside to curdle (about 3-5 minutes) while you get the other ingredients out, preheat the oven, and line your pan. An 8 or 9-inch square pan works great. You can do without parchment paper just make sure to grease the pan. Parchment paper makes clean up a lot easier!
Then beat together the eggs and oil in a mixing bowl and add in the curdled milk mixture.
For the milk, you can use dairy or plant-based milk. The only dairy milk I ever have in the house is powdered milk for some baking, but my almond milk was vanilla flavored which didn’t seem ideal, so I went with the powdered milk.
Next, add the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture and whisk until all the ingredients are mixed well. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
What should I serve it with?
My go-to is to serve this homemade gluten free cornbread with my Simple and Delicious Vegetarian Chili. Try out my chili recipe and let me know what you think!
It will also go well with any warm thick soup/stew or baked casserole.
What are you having with your homemade gluten free cornbread? Did you try any variations? Let me know below in the comments!
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Homemade Gluten Free Cornbread {Dairy Free}
This cornbread recipe is simple, adaptable, and is a great side for chili or any hearty soup. It is easy to make gluten-free or gluten-filled!
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup milk (plant-based or dairy)
- 1 1/2 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup Olive Oil (Olive Oil or Sunflower seed oil works well; can sub butter)
- 1/2 cup Almond Flour (fine ground, not almond meal)
- 1 cup Gluten-Free baking flour
- 1 1/2 cup Cornmeal
- 2 Tbs Coconut Sugar (or cane sugar)
- 1 Tbs Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 to 2 tsp Sea Salt
Instructions
- Mix together the milk and vinegar in a liquid measuring cup and set aside to curdle while you get other ingredients out (3-5 minutes)
- Preheat your oven to 375 F and line a 9-inch or 8-inch square pan with parchment paper or grease with coconut oil or butter
- Beat the eggs and oil in a mixing bowl and add in milk mixture
- Add your dry ingredients into the liquid mixture and whisk until all ingredients are mixed well
- Scrape the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is a golden brown
- Slice and enjoy! Serve it with my Simple and Delicious Vegetarian Chili
Notes
- If you don't have almond flour, just use all GF baking flour
- You can use cane sugar if you don't have coconut sugar on hand. Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index and is less processed making it a little healthier for you. It's still sugar.
- Experiment by adding in shredded cheese and jalapeno, goat cheese, pimento cheese, or other chunks of cheese. See my variations section of my post.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 217Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 796mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 6g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate. It is an estimation and not a guarantee. The info will change based on ingredients used and serving size.
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