This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Easy Gluten Free Cornbread is the perfect side dish or stand-alone treat. It’s simple to assemble and yields the perfect slice of sweet, moist, and tender cornbread!
Gluten-Free Cornbread Recipe
This Easy Gluten Free Cornbread is a recipe that I’m super proud of.
Why? Because I tested it at least 10 times before finally settling on the perfect recipe. I wanted the texture and the flavor to be just right.
I think I’ve nailed it! This cornbread is moist and tender, light and fluffy, perfectly sweet, and takes just a few minutes to prepare before it goes into the oven. This recipe is, of course, gluten-free and can easily be made dairy-free with a couple of swaps.
Bonus: it goes with everything! Serve it at a holiday feast, with a bowl of your favorite soup or chili, or bring it along to a picnic or BBQ in the warmer months.
Is Cornbread Gluten Free?
Not always! While corn and cornmeal are naturally gluten-free, cornbread is sometimes made with gluten-contaminated cornmeal or even a blend of cornmeal and flour.
This recipe is made with certified gluten-free cornmeal and tapioca flour to ensure that it’s 100% gluten-free.
Ingredients Needed
- Cornmeal: Be sure that you’re using a brand of cornmeal that is certified gluten-free. Bob’s Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills are both great options!
- Tapioca Flour: Tapioca flour not only fills out the base of the cornbread, but it also helps achieve crispier edges.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: A combination of baking soda and powder gives the cornbread batter just enough lift to keep the texture light and tender.
- Salt: A pinch of salt helps enhance the flavors within the cornbread.
- Butter: Butter adds moisture and flavor depth to the batter.
- Eggs: Binds everything together so the cornbread can hold its shape.
- Maple Syrup: Gives the cornbread just the right level of sweetness.
- Milk: I use almond milk, but feel free to use whatever milk, dairy or non-dairy, that you have on hand.
How to Make Gluten-Free Cornbread
This gluten free cornbread recipe is so simple to put together! Mix the batter, dump it in your pan, and bake!
- Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, almond milk, and melted/cooled butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then whisk until fully combined.
- Bake: Pour the batter into a buttered cast-iron skillet, then bake until the top of the cornbread is golden brown. Cool slightly before slicing and serving.
Want to make cornbread muffins?
Simply pour the batter into a buttered muffin tin, then bake at 400ºF for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean!
Is It Better to Use Buttermilk or Milk in Cornbread?
For this recipe, I recommend sticking with regular milk!
The acidity in buttermilk reacts differently with the leavening agents, which can affect the final texture of the cornbread. While there are cornbread recipes that use buttermilk, this one is designed to be made using regular milk or a dairy-free substitute of your choice.
Is It Better to Make Cornbread with Butter or Oil?
My preference is butter because it adds a layer of flavor depth that oil just doesn’t quite achieve!
If you prefer not to use butter, you can swap it out for a dairy-free butter alternative or palm shortening. Keep in mind that butter substitutions won’t have quite the same flavor as regular butter.
What Kind of Pan is Best for Cornbread?
My favorite pan to use is a cast-iron skillet! Cast iron is designed to distribute heat better, which cooks the cornbread more evenly and allows the edges to get even crispier than they would in a regular baking pan.
If you don’t have a cast-iron skillet, you can use a similar-sized baking dish or a muffin tin.
Tips and Notes
- Preheat the oven. It should be plenty hot before you place the cornbread into the oven. This helps it get those tasty, crispy edges.
- If you like extra crispy edges, you can preheat the skillet too! Simply add the butter into the skillet, then place that into the oven until it’s nice and hot and the butter is melted. Once hot, remove the pan from the oven, brush the butter along the sides of the hot pan, then pour in the batter and bake.
- To check your cornbread for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf. If it comes out clean, then it’s good to go. If it comes out with a few moist crumbs still on it, then it needs a few more minutes.
- Cool slightly before slicing. For cleaner cuts, I recommend letting the cornbread cool for a few minutes before you try to slice it.
- If you are looking for a more cake-like cornbread, use 1/2 cup of melted butter instead of the 1/4 cup listed.
Serving Suggestions
I have a hard time not devouring this cornbread right from the skillet. However, if I can keep my hands off of it long enough, there are tons of delicious ways I love to serve it. Here are some of my favorite pairings:
- Turkey Chili or Taco Soup
- Beef Stew
- Baked BBQ Chicken Breast
- Ultimate Fried Chicken
- Ultimate Southern Dinner
- Black Bean Soup
Got leftovers? Turn it into Cornbread Stuffing!
How to Store
This gluten free cornbread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
For longer storage, wrap the cornbread in plastic wrap and foil, then place it into a freezer-safe bag and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Side Dish Recipes You’ll Love
- Classic Mashed Potatoes
- Cranberry Walnut Roasted Acorn Squash
- Spiced Roasted Cauliflower
- Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
Easy Gluten Free Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups 238 grams stone-ground cornmeal or cornflour
- 1/2 cup 60 grams tapioca flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup butter plus 1 tablespoons divided (see note for alternative)
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a small saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter and set aside to cool.
- Grease a medium-sized cast-iron skillet with one tablespoon butter and set aside. (see note)
- In a large bowl whisk together cornmeal, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until fully combined.
- In a medium bowl whisk eggs, maple syrup, almond milk and cooled butter until fully combined.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry, and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Pour batter into skillet and bake for 18 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool slightly before serving, slice and enjoy!
I don’t really care for sweet cornbread. Could you leave the maple syrup out ?
This cornbread was delicious!! It was a great side to the pumpkin chili I made!!
Maybe we are just used to traditional cornbread but we found this too eggy tasting and I think the tapioca left a kinda strange aftertaste. But it was moist.
Sorry to hear it didn’t meet your expectations. What you are describing sounds very different than what we get as a final result, did you make alterations at all to the recipe?
It says it is nut free… ? But there is almond milk. assume I can use another choice to make it nut free?
Use any milk of choice!
Made this cornbread last night, I don’t like sweetness so omitted the maple syrup. Great recipe!
Bridget! Glad to hear it worked out without the maple syrup! Thanks for reporting back!
If you don’t like sweet cornbread can you omit the maple syrup?
Hi Bridget! Kelli here, part of the LCK team. The sweetener, maple syrup in this case, in a recipe contributes to other components of a final dish. The moisture level would be changed if you omitted it all together. You might try increasing the fat level to try to accommodate this. If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out!
Have you tried this with buttermilk or yogurt? I wonder if the ratios will be the same.
Hi Sean! Kelli here, part of the LCK team. You can likely swap in buttermilk 1-1 for the almond milk. You *may* need to increase the baking soda a touch to account for the added acidity, but if we were testing this I’d start with a 1-1 swap.
I don’t care for sweet or cake like cormbread can I just not add the maple syrup to the recipe? I plan on using this for cornbread stuffing this Thanksgiving. Does this freeze well also?
Looks delicious! Could you sub almond flour for the tapioca? Or is there a sub you would recommend for the tapioca?
I wouldn’t – I would try arrowroot if anything!
Can you substitute coconut milk for the almond milk? We have a nut allergy in the family.
Can you make it in a Pyrex rather than a skillet?
Sure!
Cornbread is one of my Thanksgiving faves!!