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!
Can you make this in a cast iron skillet?
You can make your own — mix ¼ teaspoon of baking soda with ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar. This will give you the equivalent of 1 teaspoon of baking powder. It doesn’t keep well, so I wouldn’t make it and then store it — make it when you need it if you don’t have baking powder on hand.
If I don’t have baking powder, can I substitute anything for it?
April – I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you for letting me know. 🙂 You made my day. ENJOY!
I made the muffins and they turned out great!
I’m so sorry for the delay in responding – I’ve been in the midst of moving! I HAVE tried making it egg-free. I don’t like it quite as much, but it does work to substitute 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar for the 2 eggs. That’s what I use in my vegan lemon poppyseed cornbread muffin recipe — https://www.kitchengonerogue.com/recipe/vegan-lemon-poppy-seed-cornbread-muffins/ I like the regular cornbread more, but the lemon cornbread is nice for a change of pace (you can leave out the poppyseeds). Thank you, and please let me know how it turns out for you if you make the cornbread with the substitutions.
Hi, my daughter has several food allergies, milk, eggs, peanuts and oats. I wanted to try this recipe but need to sub out the eggs. Have you tried making it milk/egg free?
Hi Robbie – thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. That is the best compliment ever!!! 🙂
My wife is not allowed dairy due to testing if my newborn son is allergic or not, so I looked up your recipe, and my 3y/o daughter who is going through the everything is gross stage said it was very yummy and thanked me for making it, which surprised me because if its not chicken or plain pasta, she doesnt like it usually. Great recipe, very delicious, Thank you!
Hi Meena – I’m sorry for the delay in getting back to you with an answer to your question! Yes, I think butter would be ok, as long as you aren’t making this recipe because it’s dairy-free (in which case, you could substitute with a dairy-free “butter”). Thank you … and let me know how it turns out! Thank you 🙂 – Kelly
Hi! I’m excited to try this recipe…was wondering if I omit the oil, would it still work? Would butter be ok? It’s definitely not a lot of oil but was just trying to think of an alternative.
Thank you! 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know that, Kim! I really appreciate it. So glad you loved it!! 🙂
Hi I just tried this recipe for dairy free cornbread and loved it and came out great will definitely make again
Hi Sarah – I did years ago. It didn’t turn out as light and fluffy. If you want to use whole wheat flour, I’d suggest trying half whole wheat flour/half regular first. If you do, let me know what you think … Thank you! Kelly
Has anyone tried using whole wheat flour?