This healthy cornbread is completely flourless!
Southern Comfort Food
If you were to peek inside the kitchen pantry of my childhood, I guarantee you’d find at least one box of Jiffy corn muffin mix. Although we rarely ate packaged foods (my mom preferred to cook from scratch), the Jiffy mix was an exception.
Now that I’m grown up and living on my own, I haven’t bought Jiffy in years. The mix is neither healthy nor vegan. (One of the main ingredients is hydrogenated lard!)
However, I craved it when I made my Sweet Potato Chili.
With temperatures dipping into the 20s, last week was a perfect time to experiment and create a healthy cornbread recipe. I went through three trials before coming up with the recipe below, which was a huge hit. My roommate describes it as being “totally, totally addictive. The best cornbread recipe ever.”
If you make this healthy cornbread, I hope you’ll feel the same way!
You know you want me…
Totally Addictive Healthy Cornbread
(gluten-free!)
- 1 cup milk of choice (I used almond milk.)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 2 cups fine or medium cornmeal (I used whole-grain, but regular is ok.)
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 cup evaporated cane juice or regular sugar (I like my cornbread southern-style, with zero sweetness, so I like to omit this. But everyone else who tried the recipe preferred the sweetened version. I’d recommend leaving it in, especially if you’re making this recipe for the first time.)
- 1 and 1/2 packets NuNaturals stevia (or 2 more tbsp sugar)
- 11-oz can corn, drained (not unsalted)
- 2 tbsp coconut or canola/veg oil (see nutrition link below, for a fat-free option)
- 1/4 cup applesauce
Healthy Cornbread Recipe: Mix the vinegar with the milk, and set aside. Combine dry ingredients and mix very well. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, applesauce, corn (pulverized if you wish), and milk-vinegar. Then pour the wet into dry and mix until just mixed. Pour into a greased 8×8 dish and cook at 420 F (preheated) for about 25 minutes. Let cool at least 15 minutes before trying to cut, or it will crumble. (Side note: true southern cornbread is supposed to be crumbly. If you prefer cake-like cornbread, click the “calories and nutrition facts” link below, as I’ve posted my non-crumbly healthy cornbread recipe on the linked page.)
View Healthy Cornbread Nutrition Facts
What do you like to eat when it’s cold out?
One of my favorites: 5 Minute Chocolate Oatmeal.
I also love chili, hot soup or stew, and caramelized roast veggies. Oh, and anything chocolate. Chocolate is a year-round thing!
🙂 yum
Yummmm!! 🙂 Looks delish, Katie! I love to eat chilli too whn it’s cold. Also, warm cookies or maple baked beans 🙂 Comfort foods for sure! Thnx for the recipe.
So the texture will be fine if I completely omit that 1/4 cup of sugar? I made a great gluten free recipe that I found in a cookbook using agave for the sweetener!
The texture will be fine, but I really would recommend keeping the sweetener in. None of my friends liked it without. (I actually used evaporated cane juice.)
They (medical folks, etc.) say that sugar-is-sugar …. whatever form it comes in. Your body does not know the difference.
So, I suppose it all adds up to the same thing ….. sugar = very bad. Eeeek.
We are having a special birthday party this weekend ….. all goodies (preordered) from Vanille Patisserie. They have the best sugar-loaded treats …… ever. Yikes to me.
Oh. I LOVE REAL SUGAR ….. everyday! Need to loose it though. ::sigh::
You can use Xylitol instead of Sugar as an alternative “sugar free” sweetener that is diabetes/candida friendly. It’s a natural birch sugar that barely effects blood sugar levels, if at all. It doesn’t taste as funky as stevia, etc. – although it does have a slightly different aftertaste.
I was sugar-free on a Candida Detox Cleanse for 3+ months last summer and used Xylitol in a Candida friendly/Allergen-free cake for my boyfriend’s birthday party – it was a success that had everyone coming back for seconds (even those who have no dietary restrictions)!
They (the people in those sweet little “sugar-is-sugar” commercials) are representing the corn industry. It says so right there at the bottom. Truth is, our bodies can’t break down HFCS and have difficulty with the white stuff. Stevia is extracted from the stevia plant and you can even make it at home. If you’re having a hard time kicking the sugar habit, you might want to consider this natural, unrefined, and mostly calorie-free option! 🙂
“sugar is sugar” doesn’t come from the medical community. The source for that phrase is the corn lobby.
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/
Hi Katie. I really love how you made a healthified delicious cornbread! Just what I’ve been craving in this cold weather. Wondering if you could replace the 1/4 cup sugar with honey and leave out the extra 2 Tbs of sweetener? Thanks for the recipe!
I haven’t tried it, so I don’t know. But report back if you do try it!
I plan to make it tonight or tomorrow, so I’ll let you know!
Honey is not vegan.
I know it is not vegan. Neither am I.
Considering the thermometer dipped to -32C today (-44C wind-chill), warm comfort food is definitely on the menu! Your cornbread recipe looks different from mine and I’ll definitely give it a try tonight – with some hearty and warm chilli on the side. We prefer unsweetened cornbread too – the sweet stuff tastes more like cake to me.
More comfort foods for cold days: lentil soup, vegetable noodle soup, hot chocolate, chilli and cornbread, hot broth, squash soup (butternut = yummy) and lots and lots of tea. Add a fireplace, lots of warm blankets, and some cats to cuddle with, and those cold days become quite cosy!
Keep warm!
Looks GREAT! Matt loves cornbread, so I’m totally pinning this.
I love soups, stews, and the crockpot when the weather is cold. My BF is in Austin this week and said it’s gorgeous in TX. I woke up to 2 degrees and wind. Brr
This looks awesome, love that it’s flour-free. Can’t wait to try!!
Oh boo to Austin. They get all the nice weather and fun restaurants! Here in Dallas it’s 28 degrees!
I love a good cornbread recipe for any hearty stew or chili this time of year. I actually usually make my cornbread pretty similar to this but I’ve never added whole/real corn. Love that idea!
I’ll have to try this next time I make your sweet potato chili (which I found to be delish).
Ooh that looks good. There’s nothing better than a nice warm slab of cornbread. Bring it on!
I love to eat a spicy soup or chili that warms my belly. 🙂
Looks like this cornbread recipe is a keeper. Can’t wait to try it out!
In the cold, its always nice to have warm rice drenched in soup. And hot chocolate with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!
cornbread is my favorite thing on this earth! I am making this asap!
I’ll eat just about anything on cold days (that includes ice cream) but a mug of microwave cake is also great too!
It’s snowing outside as I type and I’m eating apple slices. Keep warm Katie!!
http://daily-iPhoneography.posterous.com
Perfect timing! I already have chili ready for tonight. This is in the oven now 🙂
Hi there Katie!
I do understand that you’re having problems with your site configuration and such, but…. I would have really expected you to say something about the PIPA/SOPA thing… you know, just a couple of words.
I know this is a cooking blog, but this is a issue which would very deeply affect the net in every aspect… so you know, I think you could have spent a couple of words about the topic.
In my humble opinion, of course!
Anyway, awesome recipe as usual…
Hi Gi,
As I said, I know very little about technology. To be honest with you, I had no idea what PIPA/SOPA even stood for until your comment. I had to google it a few seconds ago.
Ok, realizing now that this makes me sound very naive. I usually do keep up with the news… 😕
Oh, well, I understand that sometime everyone can miss some information… I guess?
I had just thought that you would have wanted to talk about it because you are a USA-based blogger, and also a quite smart one – seeing how nicely you deal with some very difficult-to-deal-with-topics.
…but I can see you had big problem issues to solve, instead of blacking-out your web site. (:
I’m leaving you a link to a very nice video… you know, just in case you have 5 minutes to watch it… it also has a very nice graphic, which is always nice, isn’t it? It’s quite famous on the net, but I dare to link it to you, in case you haven’t still stumbled upon this one.
http://www.universalsubtitles.org/en/videos/5A31ep7v6HFd/info/PROTECT%20IP%20Act%20Breaks%20The%20Internet/
On a side note, I still can’t understand how a person can create such good recipes from just ideas while I still have problems in deciding how much salt my salad need… just wondering, ya’ know! 🙂
(ps: this is not trying to flatter you or anything… it’s something I always think when I help my granma cooking, for example!)
I really appreciate that you brought it up! When I read about it, I was very surprised I hadn’t heard about it before… but obviously I heard about it A LOT yesterday ;).
Corn Bread is one of my favorites! I’ve never made it from scratch. Can’t wait to try this one
This sounds awesome. Too bad we’re having one of the first warm+sunny days here in a long, loooong time!
And definitely soup, or orange pekoe tea (it’s not food but oh well)
I love a good cornbread! Yum!
Ewww! I didn’t know Jiffy has hydrogenated lard, thats so gross! I love cornbread and your recipe looks wonderful!! I would add some jalapenos! Yum!!
Jennifer ….. added note ….
Many of the Jiffy products also contain beef-suet. Also, those horrid dinner rolls …. you slap em on your counter are made with yucky fats. Ugh. I do not like them. The last time I had a bite was a century ago. They are all oversalted, sugared, terrible fats and tons of fake ingredients. Not rolls or bread in my book. So easy to prepare your own w/3-4 ingredients.
Perhaps manufacturers have changed-up ingredients. Not sure. Going to check it out next shopping trip. Got to always read labels! That really makes a huge difference in our choices for better health.
Rachael Ray uses Jiffy mixes. Ick. Not liking how she often does that. Well, she’s a cook …… doesn’t bake from scratch.
OMG! I love cornbread! Since I was a child my parents have made cornbread. I’m excited to try out this recipe on my next chili night.
5/5
5/5
I sometimes like to use creamed corn to replace the milk when I make cornbread.