Name: Gluten-free Vegan Cornbread with Puréed Corn Kernels
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 16-oz package frozen corn (2 cups), defrosted; ¼ cup water; ¼ cup olive oil*; ¼ cup maple syrup or honey*; 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar; ⅓ cup ground flax (flaxmeal); 1 cup flour*; 1 cup cornmeal (preferably stone ground); 2 teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

Ingredients and Substitutions

Corn: Shocking, I know…but there is actual corn in this cornbread recipe! Use frozen, but not canned corn.

Cornmeal: Stone ground will provide a bit more texture, but if all you have is fine ground, use it!

Flour: Use whatever kind of all purpose flour you have and know you tolerate well. I used King Arthur Gluten-free measure for measure flour in these photos resulting in a gluten-free vegan cornbread with perfect texture and taste.

Ground flax: Will help this vegan cornbread hold together. You can substitute chia seeds, but make sure to grind them first.

Maple syrup: Honey is a good substitute, if you use it.

Apple Cider Vinegar: this acidic ingredient combines with the ground flax as a binder extraordinaire.

How to make this recipe

The secret to the best cornbread you’ve ever tasted? Corn. Yeah, you heard that right. The secret ingredient to this delicious recipe is corn!

Step 1: Place defrosted frozen corn along with water and olive oil into the pitcher of a blender or bowl of a food processor. Easy hack: there’s no need for eggs or butter when you can blend defrosted frozen corn, water and olive oil to achieve the perfect texture in this vegan cornbread. See notes in recipe card to omit oil.

Step 2: Blend until corn has completely broken down. It will be super thick, just make sure it’s well blended before moving on.

Blender with corn mixture plus ground flax and maple syrup.

Step 3: A little apple cider vinegar plus ground flax helps this vegan cornbread rise and provide the texture you’re used to in cornbread. I don’t like my cornbread more savory than sweet so ¼ cup maple syrup or honey is enough for me. If you like a sweet cornbread add another 1-2 Tablespoons.

Cornbread wet ingredients mixed together along with flax in a blender.

Step 4: Blend until everything is well incorporated and then let it sit for 10 minutes. Use the time to preheat the oven, prep your pan and gather the dry ingredients.

Large bowl with dry ingredients like flour, cornmeal, salt, baking soda and powder.

Step 5: Mix Dry ingredients: Use a large bowl to stir together gf-flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Step 6: Pour corn mixture into bowl with dry ingredients and mix until well–BUT DO NOT OVER MIX. You’ll want to mix the wet and dry ingredients until JUST COMBINED. Be sure to incorporate all the dry ingredients from the bottom of the bowl, and then stop mixing. Batter will be super thick and pasty.

Cornbread batter dumped into square baking pan lined with parchment.

Step 7: Dump batter into prepared pan. Use an 8 x 8″ square pan, lined with unbleached parchment paper. OR, use a cast iron skillet, greased with olive oil for a more crispy edge.

Square pan with cornbread batter being smoothed with offset spatula.

Step 8: use an offset spatula to spread batter evenly into prepared pan.

Step 9: Bake in 375 oven for 35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean and top is golden and cracked.

Square cornbread cut into large squares.

Cut into squares and enjoy. Cool completely before wrapping to store. Gluten-free Vegan Cornbread will stay good in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 days, in the refrigerator for a week or frozen for up to 3 months.

Debra’s Pro Tips

Mix batter until just incorporated…do not over-mix.
Too much cornmeal with make your cornbread dry….that is why it’s important to have a combination of cornmeal and flour for a moist cornbread.
If you cut cornbread into pieces right when it comes out of the oven, it may fall apart. Give it about 15 minutes to cool and it will hold together better.
For a crispier outside, bake in a cast iron pan greased with olive oil.
If you didn’t leave your corn out to defrost, it’s OK! The answer is to pour corn into a colander and rinse with warm water until it comes to room temperature.

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📖 Recipe

Comments

5 from 16 votes (5 ratings without comment)