

Gluten free cornbread is one of the first recipes I wanted to master. It’s a basic recipe that I turn into Cornmeal Raspberry Muffins, Cornbread Stuffing and so much more.
Cornmeal has a specific texture that people seem to love (or not). When combined with wheat flour, corn flour or a gluten free flour blend it can be baked into any number of recipes.
I made the original recipe with cornmeal and corn flour yet they both seem increasingly difficult to find with a gluten free symbol.
Now I’ve included the option to make this recipe using cornmeal and a flour blend. I substitute my EGFG gluten free flour blend for both the corn flour and the tapioca starch.
A head to head comparison is really the best way to compare but that taste test hasn’t happened in my kitchen yet. If you do it please let me know what you learn.
If you’ve been around the kitchen a few times you’re probably familiar with the common steps of making one bowl of dry ingredients and one bowl of wet ingredients. In muffins we just mix those together and that’s it!
With gluten free flours this is still a common process and that’s how I make all of my muffins except the cornmeal muffins. To get the light, airy crumb you want in this recipe it’s necessary to beat wet ingredients first, and then beat the whole mixture again once it’s combined.
Confessions from my kitchen: I’ve made the mistake of not beating the batter (more than once). I just glance at the ingredient amounts and start mixing. A dry bowl, a wet bowl and I’m stirring it all together before I notice that important step.
Try not to make that mistake.
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You get to decide what a basic recipe is for you. To me, a basic recipe must meet these criteria:
This strategy is perfect for gluten free cooks. Saving a handful of recipes you’ve mastered can give you lots of options for cooking in every category.
Cornbread can be made sweet or savoury and cooked in any shape of pan you have. Here are nine different ways I vary this basic recipe.
I’d love to hear about your favourite variation for gluten free cornbread in the comments below.
Originally posted September 2015, updated October 2022.
For a deep dive into corn products check out number four in my 12-part blog post series, How To Use Corn Flour, Cornmeal and Masa Harina. (The updated version will be reposted on Monday!)
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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..
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 8×8 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.