This Sweet Dairy-Free Cornbread is another longtime staple in our home. It’s an easy and delicious recipe for cornbread without milk. My son loved it so much that I made it almost weekly as my kids grew up (and he isn’t even the one who is allergic to dairy).
Why You Will Love This Dairy-Free Cornbread Recipe
“I’ve been looking for a good dairy free cornbread for 6 years. I found your recipe last week, and I’ve already made it 2 times. It is a family favorite already. Thank you so much! I cannot wait to try more of your recipes.“
~ Katie, a reader who made this recipe & Left this comment
- It’s the BEST! This is the best dairy-free cornbread recipe. Who says so? Me, my children, my grandchildren and a lot of readers over the past 8 years.
- Quick and Easy! You can hand-wisk this quick bread together in just minutes.
- Affordable! You can’t get much more affordable than cornbread! And this recipe uses just a small amount of a neutral oil and water (instead of a milk substitute), making it even less expensive.
- Simple Pantry Ingredients! No “weird” or hard-to-find ingredients needed.
- Year-Round Comfort Food! We eat this corn bread year-round. It’s perfect for breakfast, a snack or served with chili (like my vegetable turkey chili) or bean with bacon soup.
Ingredient Notes
You only need simple pantry ingredients to make this recipe.
- Cornmeal. You can use any kind of cornmeal. Cornmeal is different than corn flour, so make sure you use cornmeal (regular or organic). If you like a coarser and slightly nuttier texture and your budget allows for it, I recommend trying organic cornmeal.
- Water!? Yes. I promise it works really well in this recipe!
- Oil. Use a neutral option like canola oil, vegetable oil or avocado oil.
- Sugar, all-purpose flour, baking powder, eggs and salt.
Can You Make Cornbread Without Milk? Really!?
YES! I usually put FAQs at the end of my posts, but this is everyone’s first question, so I’m putting it front and center.
Only my daughter and I have issues with milk (no one else in my family does), and they all prefer this sweet dairy-free cornbread over the traditional buttermilk or other, drier options.
This cornbread is moist, sweet and cake-like (more like cornbread from Boston Market, if you’ve ever had that).
How to Make This Delicious Cornbread
- STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease the bottom of a 9×9 baking dish, then mix all of your dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- STEP 2: Add your wet ingredients and hand-mix until combined.
- STEP 3: Pour into your baking dish.
- STEP 4: Bake, let cool a little … then enjoy!
It’s best enjoyed fresh out of the oven with a little dairy-free or vegan butter, honey or jelly. We also love to top it with my homemade jalapeno cinnamon plum jam.
My Story: This Cornbread Is Just What the Dr. Ordered
While I was pregnant with my daughter (25+ years ago), I had a lot of sinus problems and, after she was born, I suffered from a severe sinus infection for 6 months.
Antibiotic after antibiotic was prescribed, and the sinus infection not only held on, but it intensified. After x-rays and a CT scan offered no clues as to the root cause, my doctor finally referred me to an allergy specialist.
A skin prick allergy test resulted in several raised bumps, but none as significant as one. Dairy! The kind allergy doctor delivered the bad news: I was really allergic to cow’s milk. And then he handed me a long list of everything I could no longer eat. I cried.
Long story short, THIS delicious cornbread recipe I developed back then was manna from heaven for someone new to going dairy-free! It continues to be one of my all-time favorite comfort foods!
Want the longer story? Read my going dairy-free story.
Make Jalapeno Cornbread or Cornbread Muffins
Looking for cornbread in a portable muffin form? You’ll love my dairy-free corn muffins recipe. They bake in 15 minutes and are easy to transport when you or your family are on the go!
Want to spice up your cornbread? You can also add some finely chopped jalapenos to your batter to make jalapeno cornbread (or jalapeno cornbread muffins).
Watch My Video!
Check out how easy it is to make this homemade dairy-free cornbread! 🙂
Looking for More Dairy-Free Bread Recipes?
Try one of these:
If you tried this Sweet Dairy-Free Cornbread or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thank you! 🙂
Sweet Dairy-Free Cornbread
Equipment
- 1 9×9 baking dish
- 1 Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp canola oil (plus a little to grease the bottom of pan)
- 3/4 cup yellow corn meal (regular or organic)
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease the bottom of a 9×9 glass baking dish
- Mix all of the dry ingredients
- Add the water, oil and eggs; mix well
- Add to the baking dish and bake for 25 minutes (15 minutes if you’re making muffins)
- Let it cool a little, cut and enjoy!
My family LOVES this dairy-free cornbread recipe. I make it at least once per month (sometimes more)!
Found this recipe in a search dairy free corn bread. I was skeptical when I saw just 2 tablespoons of oil (LOL) it just felt off. I gave it a try and it’s really good! I will definitely come back to this recipe again and again!
Side note I used Oatmilk instead of water because I had it on hand it is tastes great!
Trying a variation of this with limited ingredients since I’m out of milk apparently. Used veggie oil instead of canola. Out of sugar as well so I used the last of brown sugar I had (There wasn’t much so I added powdered sugar also). All other ingredients match recipe. Since I’m making this on Easter I mixed in food coloring. It looks cool baking, just not sure how it’s going to turn out taste wise. Used bread flour.
I am so glad to hear that! Thank you so much for letting me know. You made my day. 🙂
Found your recipe yesterday and made half of it. There are only 2 of us, and the half recipe made 6 muffins. We enjoyed them. They stayed yellow, so I let them bake a little longer. I think that’s why they were a little less moist than I would have preferred. But we both enjoyed the taste and texture and felt it was the perfect “dessert” for our 2 person Thanksgiving meal. We’ll eat 2 more tonight and freeze the other 2 for a while.
I especially appreciated that there was not much oil and not too much sugar and yet it was plenty sweet.
Thank you for this recipe.
Came out Great ❣️
I’ve been looking for a good dairy free cornbread for 6 years. I found your recipe last week and I’ve already made it 2 times. It is a family favorite already. Thank you so much! I cannot wait to try more of your recipes.
Hi Helena – great question! You can definitely make this the night before and serve the next morning. Because it is fresh with no preservatives, this cornbread recipe is best served/eaten within the first 2 days after it is made. I find that when made as muffins they stay fresh a tad longer than when made in a pan. Enjoy!
Hi Kelly! Is this recipe only good for fresh out of the oven cornbread, or do you think i can prepare it the night before to serve the next day?
Thank you!
Hi Amy – yes, you can make this cornbread in a cast iron pan. I have made it in my 10-inch cast iron skillet and my 12-inch. It is thinner in the 12-inch (and takes less time to bake). I prefer it in my 10-inch cast iron skillet. Even there, I shave a few minutes off the bake time and check it often toward the end.