Gluten free cornbread is one of those basic recipes gluten free cooks need. Cornmeal, not the same as corn flour, gives a distinct texture that people love and it's essential here. This is a year-round recipe with variations from muffins to sausage stuffing for turkey and more.
Cornbread, served warm with syrup on it, is my comfort food. I don't recall my mom making any variation of this recipe but I sure do. If you love cornmeal and corn in general, check out this post, How To Use Corn Flour, Cornmeal and Masa Harina. You'll find recipe links to get you cooking!
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🌽 Ingredients
Cornmeal is essential here and the use of corn flour makes this original recipe rice-free. However, gluten free corn flour can be hard to find so I've got some substitution suggestions for you.
- gluten free cornmeal
- gluten free corn flour (or substitute EGFG gluten free flour blend)
- tapioca starch (or substitute EGFG gluten free flour blend)
- sugar
- baking powder
- xanthan gum
- egg
- vegetable oil
- buttermilk
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Instructions
If you've done a bit of baking you're probably familiar with the common steps of mixing a bowl of dry ingredients with a bowl of wet ingredients. This is typical for everyday recipes like pancakes and muffins.
Gluten free flours don't absorb liquid or fat like wheat flour so for this cornbread recipe I use a stand mixer. Beating air into the wet ingredients and again into the batter is what gives a light, airy crumb to this cornbread.
Substitutions
Gluten free corn flour - I substitute my EGFG gluten free flour blend when I'm out of corn flour and I just can't find it.
Tapioca starch - If I'm making the above substitution for the corn flour then I also substitute the tapioca starch with more of my EGFG flour blend. (It has 2 starches in it and I know it will work well.)
Xanthan gum - The best substitute for xanthan is guar gum. Use it in equal amounts in any recipe calling for xanthan gum.
Buttermilk - You can always sour regular or plant based milk by putting 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a cup and filling it to 1 cup. It never makes your baking as nice and fluffy as store bought buttermilk but it's a substitute cooks need.
9 Variations for Gluten Free Cornbread
To me, a basic recipe must meet these two criteria:
- I can find the recipe and confirm I have the ingredients (or know what to buy) in less than a minute.
- It works in my kitchen every time and I'm confident making tweaks and variations.
Make it sweet or savoury and cook it in any shape of pan you have. Here are nine different ways I make this basic recipe.
- Made in an 8-inch square pan, cut into squares and served warm with corn syrup for breakfast.
- Portioned into a regular or mini size muffin pan, usually with berries as Cornmeal Raspberry Muffins.
- Baked as cute little corn sticks in a cast iron molded corn-stick pan because there was a time when I bought every unique pan to make every recipe I saw in a glossy, food magazine.
- A cheesy version with shredded cheddar cheese in the batter baked anyway you like. You could add herbs, I might even add a blob of store bought pesto sauce just because I love pesto.
- Bacon lovers add bacon (and maybe bacon grease) to cornbread and need no tips on how to do that.
- Try cornbread in a cast iron pan over a campfire.
- Make a cornbread loaf in regular or mini loaf pans. Fill a loaf pan half way with the batter and top with blobs of jalapeño jelly. Draw swirls through the batter with a knife. Top with the remaining batter and bake. This is also excellent with cheddar cheese in the batter and finely chopped jalapeños if you like it hot!
- As Cornbread Chorizo Stuffing for my traditional turkey dinner.
- Cornbread Sausage Stuffing Balls because everyone needs more ways to eat stuffing.
Top Tip
Beat the wet ingredients and then beat the batter. I have made the mistake (more than once) of not using a stand mixer. I just glance at the ingredients, make a dry and wet bowl and am folding them together before I look at the instructions. Try not to do that because it is an important step.
Gluten Free Cornbread
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ¾ cup corn flour (or substitute EGFG gluten free flour blend*)
- ½ cup tapioca starch (or substitute EGFG gluten free flour blend*)
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1½ tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon salt
WET INGREDIENTS
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk (substitute regular milk or sour milk)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease your pan of choice.**
- Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer until frothy.
- Slowly add dry ingredients mixing until combined. Increase to high speed and mix for 1 minute.
- Stir in optional ingredients if using.
- Pour into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes depending on the size of your pan. Cool 5-10 minutes before cutting to eat warm.
- Cut in cubes and cool completely for stuffing. Store all cornbread in an airtight container for maximum freshness.
Notes
- 8-inch square baking pan for everyday
- A regular loaf pan or mini loaf pans
- Regular or mini muffins
- Cast iron frying pan
- Cast iron corn stick mold
Nutrition
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Lewis
Dang that looks delish imma need to buy some cornmeal later tho.
Cinde Little
Thanks Lewis, I hope you get that cornmeal soon. Your cornbread will be delicious!
Mathilda Prinsloo
Hi Cinde, I am new to gluten free and somewhat lost without a sandwich or bread of sorts for lunch. I made your corn bread with great success. Thanks for that. However I am not a great fan of the grittiness of the corm meal. I agree it's corn bread and corn bread taste corny -:) Do you a suggestion for a substitute for the corn meal in the recipe. I am OK with the corn flour part and wonder if corn meal can be substituted with for example ground oats or another kind of gluten free flour. I look forward to receiving your feedback.
Cinde Little
Hi Mathilda, it sounds like a funny question but I know what you mean. I haven't tried this but I think it will work. Use 1 cup corn flour (in place of the cornmeal), use 3/4 cup an everyday flour blend (in place of the corn flour) and keep the tapioca starch the same. A second option would be to substitute and everyday blend for the full amount of cornmeal (1 cup) then use corn flour and tapioca starch as written. You can imagine one would be more light and fluffy but that might be exactly what you want. Happy baking! Check out the chickpea wrap and the Brazilian cheese buns too.
Colleen M
Oh, my, goodness!
This is the BEST corn bread ever!!!
Thank you!
Cinde Little
Thanks for letting me know Colleen. I'm so glad you tried it and love it. Now you can vary this recipe in so many ways I'm sure you'll enjoy it forever. This is the same recipe I tweaked to make my Raspberry Cornmeal Muffins, cornbread stuffing, stuffing balls and on and on. Keep cooking!
Alene
I'm not sure what I did wrong. I have been baking gluten free for 10 years. I have had to remove rice from my diet also, so I was thrilled when I saw this recipe.. Mine was so gloppy and thick. I baked it in a 8 x 8 Pyrex pan. It truly is inedible.. I used buttermilk. I didn't change a thing. Everything was carefully measured. I seldom toss what I bake, but this going in the garbage bin. I hate to tell you this. Yours looks like corn bread. Thank you for all your hard work..
Cinde Little
Ohhh Alene, that is so disappointing.😭 I just made that recipe last week and it worked for me. I reviewed all the ingredients and I don't see a mistake in the recipe so I'm stumped as to what could have gone wrong. The texture of corn flour and cornmeal can vary by brand but that should only affect the texture, the recipe should still work. I most often bake it in an 8x8 pan too, metal instead of pyrex. I've made it many times with both skim milk, 2% and buttermilk so that shouldn't matter. The step of beating the batter is the most important to hydrate the flour and give the cornbread a lift to make it lighter. The baking powder also contributes to the lightness. Have you come up with any ideas what might have gone wrong? Is it possible you forgot something? Did someone sneak in your kitchen and put a spell on it? I'm sorry this happened.