One-Bowl Golden Cornbread – Vegan and Gluten-Free
Easy one-bowl recipe using simple vegan and gluten-free ingredients, resulting in a fluffy, delicious, and golden batch of cornbread.
I grew up making cornbread from those little blue Jiffy corn muffin mixes. The ones where you just add a few wet ingredients to the dry mix, and stick it in the oven for foolproof corn muffins – anyone know what I’m talking about? Most of my childhood baking experience involved working from these boxed mixes. I always thought baking from scratch was a magical art form far above my skills.
It turns out baking doesn’t have to be complicated; in fact, it can be downright easy. That’s the kind of baking I do now, the easy kind. And I would argue that it’s cheaper than box mixes – because you can buy ingredients in bulk that live in your cupboard; and it is definitely healthier because you can use wholesome and nourishing plant-based ingredients!
The Recipe
This cornbread is one of my favourite recipes ever. It was the first time I really dove into (light, let’s be real here) recipe experimentation, and it was so fun! It felt like conducting a science experiment, putting together different combinations of ingredients, adjusting one variable per batch to try to achieve the fluffiest, tastiest, and easiest combination possible. This recipe is the result, and I’m so proud of it. It can be done and dusted in just three easy steps:
1. Chuck all the wet ingredients in a bowl
2. Fold in the dry ingredients (into the same bowl)
3. Bake in a baking pan
Et voilà – you are left with a neat bowl and a few utensils to wash up, and half an hour later an amazing smelling batch of golden cornbread. Now that’s my kind of baking!
You would think after batches of recipe testing that I might get tired of cornbread, but I genuinely haven’t! It’s such a comforting and hearty snack, or addition to any meal. I find it goes perfectly with a bowl of chilli or soup, and on days when I’m running around like mad I’ll pack a couple of slices for snacking to get me through a long afternoon.
How do you feel about baking from scratch? Have you ever used box mixes before? Let me know in a comment below!
This recipe was inspired by Caitlin at @frommybowl, who has an amazing cornbread recipe on her blog!
Fast Five Reasons to Try: One-Bowl Golden Cornbread – Vegan and Gluten-Free
- Can you imagine biting into a fluffy, golden piece of warm cornbread?! I think that’s reason enough, but if you’re looking for more:
- Made in one bowl, with super easy clean up
- Cupboard ingredients that you can buy in bulk so that you always have them on hand to whip up a batch
- Quite flexible (for baking at least), with the ability to swap out ingredients for what you prefer/have on hand (look at my recipes notes for more info)
- Get in an extra punch of protein from the gram flour, and extra health from the turmeric powder
If you end up trying out this recipe, let me know how you get on with it – take a photo and tag me on Instagram @bitesbybekah. I’d love to connect with you and it always makes me so happy to see your creations!
One-Bowl Vegan and Gluten-Free Golden Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flax, 6 tablespoons warm water)
- 1 cup plain non-dairy milk (I like unsweetened almond milk)
- 1/4 cup apple sauce
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (add more if you’d like it sweeter)
- 1/2 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (I use Freee by Doves Farm)
- 1/2 cup garbanzo bean/gram flour
- 1 cup ground cornmeal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (more if you'd like an even brighter yellow colour)
- 1 pinch sea salt and black pepper⠀
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 175C/350F. Make the flax egg in a mixing bowl by mixing 2 tbsp ground flax with 6 tbsp water, and letting it sit until it thickens.
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Then add the rest of the wet ingredients into the bowl (plant mylk, apple sauce, acv, maple syrup) and mix.
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Add all dry ingredients into the bowl and mix until well combined.
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Pour into a greased pan and bake for about 30mins or until top is firm and a toothpick comes out clean.
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Wait until cool, cut into slices, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*Chia seeds also work in place of flax seeds
*Using oat flour in place of gluten-free flour also works and tastes good, but isn’t quite as light and fluffy
*I imagine regular flour would work as well, but haven't tried it myself - so if you do, please let me know how it goes!
*Originally published Aug 19, 2018, updated on Jan 4, 2023
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