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!
Sounds delicious. Glad you all enjoyed it!! Thank you for letting me know. 🙂
I added 1 cup cooked crumbled bacon and 1/4 tbsp. Vanilla extract. …. I got a small taste. The other’s ate it up before it could properly cool and set.
Can you sub butter for oil ? 🤔
Hi Heather – Oh, I’m so glad it worked and turned out great! And that’s good to know about the food challenge. Thank you for letting me know. You made my day! 🙂
Hi Kelly, I ended up cooking for 45 minutes at 350 and it turned out great! I actually was searching for a recipe with egg. Once a kid with food allergies passes a food challenge (baked egg) we have to be sure he has 3 servings a week to keep the resistance up. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi Heather, thank you for reaching out. I have never tried baking this at a lower temperature, but I think you could try it, and if the center is too mushy (my only concern), you could probably bump up the temp for a few minutes at the end. I have been working on a vegan/egg-free version of this recipe, but I don’t love it yet … so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, if this works (or doesn’t), please let me know! I would love to share this as an option for others in your son’s boat if it works and you like it. Thank you! Kelly
My son is allergic to egg and but has passed his baked egg challenge. As long as eggs are cooked at 350 for at least 30 minutes he can eat them. Can I decrease the temperature to get to 30 minutes?
Stephanie- yes! I have made it in both a 10 inch and 12 inch cast iron skillet. I like it better in the 10 inch (it comes out thicker). It bakes a little faster so check it at 18-20 minutes … Let me know what you think! – Kelly
Would this work in a cast iron skillet?
Hi Jenny – great question! I have been wanting to create a gluten-free version, but I haven’t yet. It may be as simple as substituting a good g-f flour blend one-for-one with the regular flour … BUT that hasn’t always worked out the way I hoped with other recipes. If you try it, please let me know. If I do and find a version I really like, I will post it on my blog, for sure!
Hi there! Do you think a gluten free flour would work for this recipe?
Great question! It’s for the mix, and now I see that it’s in the video (and in my brain, because I have made this a thousand times), but I somehow didn’t include it in the written instructions! YIKES! I just added it to the instructions. THANK YOU!!
Wondering if the oil is just for the pans? There is no mention of adding it to the mix…
It is delicious!
Thank you so much for your feedback! 5 year-old approved is the best compliment of all! 🙂 It was my son’s favorite growing up!! Thank you again. 🙂
Used your recipe for dinner tonight and my opinionated 5 year old told me I had just made the best cornbread on the planet…Thank you for such a great recipe!