A deliciously homemade sweet cornbread with adaptations to make it gluten, dairy, and egg free, as well as vegan! Great for just about any occasion!
There are conflicting opinions of what makes a good cornbread. Sweet or not sweet, with flour or without. My southern grandmother grew up in small town in North Carolina and she taught me how to make cornbread the way she grew up eating it—not sweet and made with all cornmeal. Although I appreciated the taste of this southern style cornbread, I would eat it with some butter and honey, to give it the sweetness I love. Sometimes we would go to a country style restaurant which served sweet cornbread muffins. They tasted like yellow cupcakes and I couldn’t get enough of those things! (Of course, anything which resembles the taste of dessert would be my favorite:)
This homemade sweet cornbread isn’t quite that bad. It’s a happy medium between traditional cornbread and cake. I mean, although I like cake I don’t really want to eat it with my chili! I included different ingredient options to make this gluten-free or regular, with eggs or without. It can also be made totally vegan by using non-dairy butter or coconut oil and flax meal for the eggs. It’s still totally delicious:) Hope you enjoy it, friends!
So where are you on the big cornbread debate? Do you like it sweetened or not?

Sweet Yellow Cornbread
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 16 squares 1x
Description
A deliciously sweet cornbread with adaptations to make it gluten, dairy, and egg free, as well as vegan!
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup gluten-free cup for cup flour blend (regular all-purpose flour will work also)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup melted grass-fed/dairy-free butter or coconut oil, or other oil of choice (use refined coconut oil to eliminate the coconut flavor)
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup honey, pure maple syrup, or agave (depending on how sweet you want it)
- 1 cup plain almond milk, or other milk
- 1 egg (for egg-free use flax egg: 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with 2 tablespoons water)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in melted butter, sweetener, milk, and eggs/flax egg and mix just until incorporated with the dry ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 9×9 pan and bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Bread, Side
Use this cornbread recipe to make this easy and delicious Slow Cooker Cornbread Stuffing!
Hi J,
Thanks for this recipe! I have a few questions regarding the cornbread recipe, is cornmeal the same as polenta? Can you use EVOO instead of the butter/coconut oil (I don’t have enough butter in my fridge atm) and my last question s how long will this loaf keep for? Can I put it in an airtight container and store it for a few days? Can this be frozen like muffins? If you were to reheat would you just throw it back in the oven for a bit? Thanks again!
Thanks, Noellia! You can use the same cornmeal for this recipe as you do in polenta. Polenta cornmeal is more coarsely ground, but it should still work. Any oil will do as well. It will keep for several days at a cool room temperature, but will be less fresh after the first day. It freezes well too, just thaw at room temperature before eating. Pop it in the toaster or oven for a few minutes to warm it back up. Hope you enjoy it!
Yum!!
Thanks, Ruth! It was really yum…I love sweet cornbread:)