Welcome! Each week I get hundreds of visitors for this simple, fool-proof recipe for Gluten Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free Cornbread. I’m so glad you’re here, and hope you love the cornbread!
Looking for something to eat with it? Check out my Chili Recipe & Six Ways to Eat it!, or my amazing Southern Cornbread and Chili Casserole Recipe!
Got kids? Check out my Summer Snacks for Kids – All Allergy-Friendly!
I always bake dairy and egg free because of my son’s allergies.
I try to limit wheat for various reasons, and wanted a way to make a yummy cornbread without gluten. I loosely based this recipe on the Pioneer Woman’s, while adapting it to make it healthier and allergy-friendly. If you aren’t omitting gluten, substitute a regular flour (I use whole-wheat) for the same amount listed.
It is just melt-in-your-mouth delicious!
Gluten Free, Egg Free, Dairy Free Cornbread Ingredients
Mix together dry ingredients:
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup gluten-free flour blend (I get mine at Trader Joe’s. It’s a blend of brown rice flour, potato starch, rice flour, and tapioca flour.)
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
{You can store this mix in your pantry for a few months, if you wish.}
When ready to bake, you need to essentially make a dairy-free buttermilk. The buttermilk will substitute for egg as a leavening ingredient in your cornmeal. To make this buttermilk, mix together:
- slightly less than 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1T distilled white vinegar
Let it sit for five minutes. Satisfy your inner scientist as you watch it bubble up like an experiment. 🙂
Then, add:
- 1/4 c palm shortening or coconut oil
- additional 1/4 c of coconut milk
Pour the buttermilk and shortening into the dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Do not overmix.
Pour into greased muffin tins, or a greased 9 x 9 glass baking dish. For muffins, bake at 375 degrees for 22 minutes. For the 9 x 9 pan, bake at the same temperature, testing at 20 minutes for done-ness.
I love to top with butter and a drizzle of honey, and crumble over whatever chili or beans I’m serving up. Just home-fried, down-home, southern-baked amazingness. The end.
Curious about my family? Read here!
If you liked this post, consider following “Smartter” Each Day on Facebook or Pinterest!
Follow "Smartter" Each Day on Facebook!
Follow Jessica on Instagram!
Want my "Favorite Things" newsletter?
I hate lots of annoying emails, so I won't send them! Just motherhood + life tips, a few times a month.
Follow
MMmmm, looks yummy! I’m gluten-free and my son is dairy/egg free so this is perfect for us! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!
Mmm. Can’t wait to try this! I’m gluten free & my son is dairy/egg free so this is perfect for us. Thanks for sharing!
can one use almond or rice milk? does the vinegar sour other milks too? thanks for posting this! cant wait to try it! my son will be supper excited too have corn muffins again!
Hi Mary,
I know for sure that rice milk does not work, because it’s too watery and not thick enough. I have never tried almond, because I’m actually allergic to nuts. I would guess that it would also work if it also is thicker, like coconut? Let me know how it goes!
I have successfully tried almond milk as I am deathly allergic to coconuts(!).
Soy milk and oat milk also work. It does depend on the brand, though, and you may have to shake the milk up very, very well before pouring into the measuring cup. Cashew milk is another option (of course, I happen to be allergic to cashews, too!).
That’s a big yes for almond milk, I do it all the time
I made this over the weekend for a BBQ and it was a HUGE hit! I made this and a batch of regular cornbread and this one was gone in a matter of minutes. I also added just a touch of honey and cajun seasoning on top. Thanks so much!! I can’t wait to try your other recipes!
Just made these tonight, very good.for all purpose flour I used better batter and made in a mini muffin pan. Thanks for sharing .
Thanks for posting this! Also, if you like a cornier corn bread, you can omit the flour. Joy of Cooking has a great southern corn bread recipe that I bet you can adapt with this one to keep it gluten, dairy and egg free. I am trying this tonight. Thanks again!
Thanks for posting…want to make this along with chili for a family who just had twins and has dietary restrictions. Was just wondering if it’s absolutely necessary to use aluminum-free baking powder…I only have regular. What is your reason for not using regular?
Hi Rosie! Some have expressed health concerns with using aluminum in baking powder, so I avoid it if I can. But certainly, regular would work just fine! I hope your friends enjoy their meal!
Approx how much buttermilk would I use it I decided to use that instead of coconut mixture?
I would start with one cup and mix until moistened. If it’s still too dry, add more a T at a time.
This looks great except I can’t have gluten, rice, or tapioca. I can’t have any grains basically (or eggs of course). I was wondering if there were any substitutes for the flour? Keep in mind that I can have soy, corn, and potatoes. Is there are combination of different flours that wil work. Oh, I don’t have any nut allergies. Thank you. 🙂
It’s such a small amount of flour that I bet any kind would work! Almond, coconut…I assume you can have those?
Is the coconut milk you used canned or carton. The milk in the carton is much thinner.
I use unsweetened milk from the carton. It thickens when you add the vinegar. Good question & hope you enjoy!
I tried this with So Deliciuos original coconut milk, But I can’t get it to bubble up the way yours did. I do live at 5,000 ft. Any tips? Temp of milk?
Same here. I mixed distilled white vinegar and unsweetened coconut milk, waited 5 minutes, and absolutely nothing happened.
Also, when you add the 1/4c coconut oil, do you melt it or add it as a solid lump?
Can I use raw milk and add vinegar to that to make the buttermilk?
Absolutely!
Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your web site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog
posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your
augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast.
i have been missing some fried cornbread (hoecakes as they are called in some areas) and this recipe worked out great!
Looks great! Yummy. I was wondering where you find gluten free cornmeal? Is the brand you use listed as GF or does cornmeal tend to be automatically GF? In the past, I’ve had to use Aldi’s gluten free cornbread mix as it’s also nut free which my son needs, but the first ingredient is sugar so I’d love a reliable substitute.
I want to say thank you so much for this recipe. I made this cornbread for my family tonight and it was a big hit. It was my boys first time eating cornbread. They both have serious dairy, egg, peanut and nut allergies. Your blog rocks. I will one day create a blog about our journey with allergies.
I just wanted to thank you, thank you, thank you! After going gluten and dairy free along with my daughter 5 months ago, it has been a real struggle to find recipes that taste decent. This cornbread is delicious! My daughter is especially excited about these muffins! She loves them!! I am planning on using this recipe for a gluten free biscuit and cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving. These will make it extra yummy! Thanks again!
Hi,
Which coconut milk you used? Which brand? Thanks!
I am in the process of making this but I cannot get the coconut milk to bubble like you do, I have tried the canned and the carton kind and neither work. Hopefully this doesn’t ruin the recipie
I have the same result but the corn bread turns out fine anyway
These are seriously so delicious. The flavor is top notch and a semi-picky husband and toddler LOVED them! Thanks!
This is the best cornbread recipe I have ever made. I used it for cornbread stuffing, and it held up beautifully. This cornbread tastes fantastic, and the texture gives great mouth feel. So glad it is gluten free.
These corn muffins are delicious! Honestly, I wasn’t expecting them to taste good because the recipe doesn’t have any eggs or buttermilk in it, which happened to be the two ingredients I was missing from my refrigerator, so I decided to make them this way. So glad I did, thank you so much for the recipe! I used corn flour and whole wheat pastry flour and perhaps that’s why they turned out very crumbly, but I didn’t mind because I baked them in cupcake liners and that worked out just fine. Topped with butter and honey and they turned out so good that I’m baking them again now two days later!!
I tried this and have the same thing that others commented on Dash the coconut milk did not bubble and the bread did not rise, and though it was still pretty tasty. Could you share the brand of coconut milk you used I think that could be the key.
Coconut milk does not bubble with the vinegar. What’s the secret to getting it bubble? I used different coconut milk cans and the results were the same. I used hienz distilled vinegar.
Wow! Amazing! Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I’m gluten, dairy, and egg free and LOVING this cornbread!!
Glad you like it!
The first time I made this it was delicious. The last 2 times it has had a weird, metallic taste. Anyone had this happen?
Did you use a different baking powder? Sometimes the ones that contain aluminum taste that way to me.
Wow, this was really delicious! I substituted sugar with pure maple syrup and coconut milk with coconut+almond milk blend. My gluten-free flour was a mix of coconut and tapioca flour. I can enjoy cornbread again!!! Yay for something delicious without dairy, gluten, and egg!
This looks like the perfect modification for me! We are now following a whole food plant based lifestyle and I needed to modify my sourcream cornbread recipe. instead of the 2 eggs and 8oz of sourcream I will make the “buttermillk” and put in 1.5 cups of that. I will still use 1 c cornmeal and and a large can of creamed corn. (I know not part of the lifestyle but I need to do babysteps!) We’ll see what happens!
Try not to use brown rice anything as the lectins will cause leaky gut syndrome
I am so happy and excited about this cornbread! Since I haven’t been able to eat wheat or eggs due to allergies, I have missed cornbread and other baked goodies. Until now. These are amazing! Moist! Delicious! Thank you!!