Fluffy and crumbly gluten-free cornbread made with cornmeal and no flour! This recipe is super simple to make with minimal ingredients, easy prep, and even a way to sneak in extra veggies. Use your cast iron skillet, or a baking pan, or make kid-friendly corn muffins- You can’t go wrong! Drizzle with melted butter and honey for the BEST sweet and savory side dish.
What Makes this Recipe Great
I’m a HUGE fan of cornbread, but it has to be the perfect texture and flavor: crumbly, fluffy, and moist, with just the right amount of sweetness. When made right, cornbread is the perfect side dish for soups and stews like chili, BBQ (love it with this grilled chicken), and so much more.
With super simple ingredients, this gluten-free cornbread recipe is an easy side dish to make, and even easier to share, eat, and repeat! Make it dairy-free, egg-free, turn it into muffins, and/or sneak in hidden veggies. This recipe seamlessly adapts!
Looking for a grain-free version? I’ve got you covered! Check out my “corn” bread recipe here.
Ingredient Notes
For a full list of ingredients, please see the recipe card below.
Cornmeal: Cornmeal is naturally gluten-free. You’ll want medium-ground or coarse-ground cornmeal for this recipe. Bob’s Red Mill makes one that is easy to find in most grocery stores.
Plain Yogurt: I usually use yogurt, but sour cream will also work! If you are making dairy-free gluten-free cornbread, you can just use dairy-free yogurt like coconut yogurt.
Honey: I include honey in the cornbread batter for a subtle sweetness. For extra sweet cornbread, serve with drizzled honey on top as well.
Ghee: I love the deep buttery flavor of ghee, and it’s well-tolerated but most people with dairy intolerance like myself. I like to make my own, but you can also purchase it pre-made. However, melted butter or coconut oil can be used instead.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F, and grease an 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, honey, ghee, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
- OPTIONAL: If adding zucchini, wrap the shreds in a tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Fold into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then slice and serve. You can serve it with butter and more honey.
Tips & Tricks
Toddler-Friendly: I often add shredded zucchini to the batter to sneak in veggies for my toddler who gobbles it up every time. See the recipe below!
Zucchini Cornbread: If you want to make zucchini cornbread, you can just shred a whole zucchini finely and add it to the batter. Make sure the squeeze out as much moisture from it as possible after wrapping it with a tea towel prior to adding it.
If you have picky eaters, this is a great way to hide veggies in the cornbread. You can even peel the zucchini prior to shredding if you want to hide the green specks in the cornbread!
Storage: Wrap your leftover gluten-free cornbread in plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Heat for 20 seconds in the microwave and serve with honey and melted butter. You can also freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQs
To make dairy-free cornbread, you simply need to make 2 easy substitutions. Use dairy-free yogurt like coconut yogurt instead of regular yogurt. If you are extra sensitive to dairy, you may want to replace ghee with coconut oil as well.
I personally haven’t tried so you may have to play around with it a bit, but I think it may work well with a chia egg or flax egg. Just mix 3 tablespoons of water with 1 tbsp of flaxseed meal or chia seeds. Allow sitting for about 10 minutes so the mixture can thicken, then add to the recipe as a replacement for an egg.
Properly stored in the fridge in an airtight container, leftover gluten-free cornbread will last up to a week. You can also freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
I personally like to reheat cornbread in the air fryer at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes. If using the oven, bake at the same temperature for 10-15 minutes. Of course, you can always just microwave, or toast on a greased pan on the stovetop as well.
To make gluten-free corn muffins:
1. Make the batter.
2. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners.
3. Divide the batter into the muffin tin filling about 2/3 of the way up.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Yes! Cornmeal is made by grinding yellow corn into a coarse, crumbly mixture. Corn does not contain gluten, which makes cornmeal gluten-free also. Perfect for gluten free baking!
However, sometimes different brands of cornmeal have cross-contamination in the manufacturing process. This can be so frustrating for people on a gluten-free diet. As with all gluten-free products, be sure to check the labels! This is especially important if you have celiac or a severe allergy.
You’ll Love These Gluten-Free Recipes…
Grain Free Zucchini Cornbread Without Corn (Nut Free)
Paleo Pumpkin Cornbread (With No Corn)
Healthy Pumpkin Banana Bread (Paleo, Gluten Free)
The BEST Gluten Free Cornbread | No Flour!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cornmeal medium ground or coarse ground
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1½ cup yogurt or sour cream (can use dairy free)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup ghee or butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- OPTIONAL: 1 medium zucchini grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper, or grease generously. See Notes for how to bake these into muffins.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, honey, ghee, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
- OPTIONAL: If adding zucchini, wrap the shreds in a tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Fold into the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- OPTIONAL: If you want a nice, shiny top to the cornbread, spread some butter or ghee on top when it's fresh out of the oven.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then slice into 16 squares. You can serve with butter and more honey.
Video
Notes
- Line a muffin tin with muffin liners.
- Divide the batter into the muffin tin filling about 2/3 of the way up.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
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Thanks for the best gluten free cornbread recipe.
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Wow! These were so moist! I made them with dairy-free sour cream and they turned out delicious. Unfortunately, I only had coarse cornmeal on hand – next time it’ll be even better with finer meal. Thanks for this!
Excellent! I included the optional zucchini – it was so moist and full of flavor. Can’t wait to try in muffin form.
Thank you so much!!1
Delicious!! I included the optional zucchini and used 5% fat greek yogurt. It was so moist and flavorful! My husband raved about it, too.
Amazing!! Thank you so much for leaving a review.
Made with yellow squash in a muffin pan. Excellent and easy.
Thanks so much!
DELECTABLY delicious recipe! I baked them in muffin tins and served them with chili. This will be my go-to cornbread recipe now. LOVE your blog. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much!! This made my day. 🙂
I’ve made a few different cornbread recipes before and this one wins! I used my Wondermill for the first time and ground popcorn seeds for the fresh corn meal, used Chobani zero sugar vanilla yogurt, coconut oil, vanilla paste, and just a small zucchini that I had on hand. Moist with the crisp and beautiful texture. Thank you so much it made a great dessert for dinner tonight, and was able to whip it up and on the table in such a short time.
Thank you so much!! So glad you enjoyed it. And I didn’t know you can make fresh cornmeal that way! Definitely need to try that.