Post Punk Kitchen

This is easily my favorite cornbread recipe. I make this almost every time I make chili, and the whole meal is always a hit with even the most omnivorous of omnivores.

This is the 2nd best cornbread in the history of cornbread. My mom loves it and all my friends. It is very dense though so if you do not like dense it is not for you.

this was not that great…sorry. as Awesome said, very dense. it’s not very moist and is just mediocre. i am still in search of a good vegan cornbread recipe. very disappointing as ppk baked goods are usually bomb

Sorry you’re disappointed! People really love this cornbread and since it came out dry for you I have to assume it was overbaked or that you used a glass pan.

I like this recipe very much, though I substituted water for soy milk, left out the maple, and don’t have any apple cider vinegar at the moment.

I would like to add that putting caramelized onions at the bottom of the pan before baking is not a bad idea. It turns into an upside-down onion cornbread!

What a great suggestion: caramelized onions – because of that, I’m baking this cornbread recipe this afternoon! Thanks! :)

This was delicious!! I used almond milk instead of soymilk and added a few red pepper flakes for a little heat. Thanks!

This sounds awesome! I’m going to bookmark this recipe for later… What are your thoughts about putting corn kernels in with this?

Ooooh, mine didn’t turn out but i did use almond milk instead of soy. Could this be why? The almond milk curdled a lot. maybe too much??

This turned out great- and fyi I made it with whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular flour and it was still delicious. Definitely don’t overcook it- I only cooked mine 25 minutes and it was perfect.
Nice recipe.

Mmm! Mmm! Mmm! This is a very tasty cornbread. There is a slight sweetness to it. I used Almond Milk instead of Soy Milk, and it came out fine.

Could someone explain to me how vegan baking works, given that eggs are omitted? In general, can eggs simply be omitted from a brownie recipe, for example?

I made this today and served it sliced thin in the bowl under your Chipotle Chili with Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts that I had made previously. I only have a loaf pan, or a glass baking dish, so after reading comments above decided to go with the loaf pan. I let it cook until the toothpick came out clean, and it came out perfect. Very dense, not sweet, absolutely perfect with your a-ma-zing Chipotle Chile recipe.

Thanks so much for yet another fantastic recipe!

Melissa

@Diane…I am not the most experienced vegan cook, but most of the recipes I have tried use applesauce, mashed banana, certain oils, and various other things to take the place of eggs. It all depends on what the purpose of the eggs is in the recipe (binding, color, structure, and so forth) as to what you will use as a replacement. My guess is the syrup and oil will serve some of that purpose in this recipe.

I love Melissa Helen Hooke with all my heart

I’m pretty picky about cornbread and find most to be too sweet. I LOVED this recipe and so did the rest of my family. Best cornbread recipe ever. I have yet to try one of your recipes that was not amazing. Thank you!!!

@Melissa:

Eggs are used in baking as both a binder (way to hold things together) and to help them rise. You can buy vegan egg replacer, which is a combination of arrowroot powder and baking soda, I think, which you beat with warm water and add to recipes. However, it is best to follow a good vegan recipe – my absolute favorite baking recipes are from the classic Marilyn Diamond book, Fit For Life Kitchen. GREAT vegan everything, including banana bread, cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and brownies (when you add real cocoa instead of her suggested carob, that is). In general, vegan baking (especially when you use whole grains and alternative sweeteners, unlike those faddish cupcakes which are only technically vegan) can be very dense, and I have had very good luck making breads into bars instead of a classic bread shape: ie, spreading the vegan banana bread recipe out over a brownie sheet.

This recipe is great! I just made it tonight to accompany vegetarian chili. I used a black, non-stick pan, and it cooked so beautifully. The crust on the bottom provides a satisfying crunch. Thank you!

pretty gross. I’m a fairly experienced vegan cook. It was not fluffy. It was not moist. I don’t like sweet cornbread but this tasted like cardboard. I used soy milk. I did NOT use a glass baking dish. This is just a bad recipe. It could use something to flavor it. Maybe more salt or less cornmeal. Maybe some more oil. Not sure. But this was a flop.

i used blackstrap molasses because i ran out of maple syrup and baked this thing in a well seasoned, vegan cast iron pan. it turned out well. simple, moist, corny. you could totally add chilis, spices, or whatever to customize. basically a really good staple vegan cornbread. thanks ISA!!!

Just made this! I, like others, used almond milk instead of soy, and I added one finely minced chipotle pepper. I also only baked it for 24 minutes because I’ve had horrible mishaps with over-baking vegan goods. It turned out perfect. Now I’m slightly more inclined to re-try baking vegan cakes and such. Thanks!

I made this in my rice cooker using the white rice setting. This cornbread is nice, dense and moist. Thank you!

Made this today for client with dairy/nut/egg/soy allergies…used rice milk in place of the soy. I made these as muffins in a 24-cup tin, and added a tbsp of corn kernels and a smidge of minced scallion to each one. Delicious and adorable! A keeper for sure, thank you.

I will preface what I’m about to type with this: I am not a baker [yet]. Its been well over a year since I last mixed anything up, and back then I was not vegan. I was a little scared to try to bake vegan… anything, but since I had a serious hankering for some cornbread, I was determined. Bought all the goods, measured and mixed everything by your directions and… I forgot to add the salt! [gasp!].

You know what? It was still delicious!! A little earth balance made it even more perfect with my lentil vegetable soup. So, so good! I’m inspired to bake again soon (must remember salt!) and I’m about to order one of your cookbooks on Amazon. :) Thanks!

I followed the directions exactly and used a round metal pan. My daughter is a vegan. This cornbread came out perfect! As a non-vegan, I could not tell the difference between traditional cornbread and this recipe. Excellent job! I will use this forever!

mmm yummy! and i even used vanilla soymilk and screwed up part of the recipe by mixing something in the wrong bowl! a winner.

It only took 25 minutes for me, as well. However, we put it in a pie pan and used wax paper. Note to all: Do not use wax paper. The cornbread will stick to it and take all the crunchy goodness. Despite the setback, our meal turned out lovely. We had collard greens and barbecue tofu with it (http://i.imgur.com/zCrYs.jpg) and it was divine.

Delicious cornbread! I’ve only been vegan for 3 months and still on the search for tasty vegan recipes, so I’m glad I found this one! It’s better than the old cornbread I used to make with egg and milk. Mine turned out very moist and didn’t have that grainy feel that some cornbreads too. Last night I had it with chili. This morning I skillet-fried it with a teas. of olive oil and served it with maple syrup. Yum.

I loved it! I used Indian corn cornmeal and almond milk instead of soy. I think next time i will try it in a 9×9 pan so it’s a little thicker.

This just didn’t turn out great for me. I used regular vegetable oil instead of canola, and molasses instead of maple syrup; I baked it with parchment paper in a metal pan for about 30 minutes (I was checking from 20 minutes onwards, so I don’t think it was overbaked). It didn’t rise at all, it was barely an inch high. It didn’t have a strong ‘corny’ taste, which I prefer in my cornbread. It also stuck to the paper quite badly.

Today I was really in the mood for cornbread, which I haven’t had since I became a vegan…. I tried recipes from like 4 different sites. 2 of them I literally fed to my dog because they were so bad. One was kinda ok, but grainy and dry. THIS ONE WAS DELICIOUS. I should mention that I was trying to make a low-fat vegan cornbread, so I substituted applesauce for the canola oil and water for the soymilk. Even with those additions (and even baked in pyrex glass) it was great – dense and not too sweet and a nice, mild, corn-y flavor. With my substitutions it did take more like 45 minutes to bake, but when it came out it had a nice cracked top and golden edges. My life would be so much more depressing without your recipes, thank you!

WOW! I’m so glad I tried this recipe – THANK YOU! This is better than any cornbread I’ve ever made, and I’ve made a lot of cornbread! This is the first vegan cornbread I’ve tried, and it is much more moist and flavorful than traditional cornbreads I’ve made. In a non-vegan past I had to douse cornbread with butter and honey to get it to have any flavor. This cornbread is incredible just as it is! I used one cup vanilla soy milk and one cup plain soy milk, and it turned out fantastic!

I loved it. I added crushed green peppers and onions to my cornbread mixture and put it on top of a red bean and rice dish for a real mexican styled pie. Baked in the oven for about 25 mins… and the whole thing turned out perfect.

This recipe was pretty disappointing. My boyfriend, a recent omnivore convert, said it tasted like chalk. :( I loved the texture, it was dense but soft, crisp on the outside, and didn’t stick to the pan at all. The flavor, however, was not sweet enough to taste like cornbread at all! I used homemade almond milk, and wonder if super-sweet commercial soymilk would have solved the problem.

This recipe was delicious had to stop myself from eating all of it at once! I substituted the corn kernels (as didnt have any at home)with roasted sweet red pepper, spring onions,and peas, it was divine! Thanks :)

This recipe is the BOMB!!!! My picky veggie children love this and so do I! Isa you are magical. Thanks for all your amazing recipes.

Also it says in the description this bread is more savory than sweet!!! Which I actually prefer, so reading all of these complaints that it wasnt sweet enough, please read the description…

I love this recipe. :D

Also, I was making this recipe and didn’t have any apple cider vinegar so I used vanilla soy yogurt (2 tsps) and an extra tsp of baking powder. Turned out perfectly most and delicious. :D

I don’t get the negative comments, they probably did something wrong because this recipe is great. There is no eggs, so just taste the batter and adjust the sweetness or consistency to your liking. I like it sweeter so I just added some stevia, and threw in some corn. Moist, and very good. Just make sure you check it after 20 mins. I have a gas oven and it was still done within 22 mins.

I’ve made this a few times now, but just last night I tried using coconut milk (the milk-like stuff in a carton, not the thick canned stuff), and it came out amazing! So incredibly moist and succulent.

We had it with a nice vegan chili, but barely even touched it because we couldn’t stop eating the cornbread!

This is such a simple recipe, it’s come out great each time I’ve made it. My boyfriend loves it too! I follow the recipe exactly and it comes out moist and dense, goldeny-browned around the edges.

Oh my gosh, thank you! I have been looking for a good corn bread recipe for years and this is the best one! I can’t believe it tastes so good without sugar (weird to say, but it surprised me)! xD Yummmm!

A little rant: If a recipe doesn’t work out the way you expected – don’t comment with, “No offense, but this was terrible.” How about, “I followed the recipe but it didn’t turn out well for me,” and accept a little bit of the responsibility.

I was a little hesitant to make this due to negative comments, but soon realized that most of these people don’t seem to understand that cornbread is REGIONAL. For some, cornbread is sweet and cakey. For others, it’s dense, dry and designed to sop up soup. For yet others, it’s somewhere in the middle. This is not a cakey, sweet cornbread, as is stated clearly in the instructions. Yes, it has a little bit of of sweetness, but it’s mostly savory. I doubled the maple syrup since my family is used to the sweeter variety, and it was thoroughly, overwhelmingly enjoyed.

A few notes: Someone mentioned that it only rose to about an inch high. That is exactly how mine turned out – and exactly how dense it is supposed to be when baked in a 9×13 pan. Again, this is not cakey cornbread! Second, I was grateful for the comments about the bread being done in much less time when baked in a gas oven. Mine was perfect after only 20 minutes. So don’t be scared away by the naysayers – this recipe is fabulous for vegans or those with food allergies!

AAAHHHHmazing! Never made vegan cornbread before, so I was a tad worried. I followed the entire recipe except I didnt use any vinegar, and I used a heaping tablespoon of baking powder instead of a teaspoon, because so many people said it was too dense. I put 1/4 cup batter per muffin tin cup, and for half the batter i added sauteed onions, garlic and bell pepper with some red pepper and paprika. Both versions came out fluffy, and moist (only baked for 20 minutes). LOVE this recipe!

I made this recepe 2 times and it was AWESOME and not dense either. Like Whitney stated, it probably is dense if using the recommeded pan, but I used 2 9in round baking pans and my bread was a little over an inch. My husband, loves it and does not prefer any other cornbread

Hey!! Making this now. Used coconut milk that I had on hand, wheat flour, and sugar instead of maple syrup. Other than that all the calculations are similar. But, my dough turned out SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO thick. Almost exactly like play dough. Just added some more coconut milk to thin it out a bit. Wondering how thick the dough is supposed to be?

Update: I ended up with a delicious polenta pudding type thing, but somehow got this very wrong and ended up with something dramatically different from cornbread. I baked it for about an hour. Almost comically botched this– could have been because i did not curdle the coconut milk enough (probably the case, added the oil first on accident). Will try this again because the flavor is good. But OH MAN did i do this incorrectly. Thanks for the recipe!!

Yum yum yum! I freaking love this cornbread. It’s so easy to make and supper yummy. I now make it every time I make chili and it’s a total hit–even with anti-vegans. I like it plain, with Earth Balance, or with maple syrup on top. I’d like to make them into muffins. Anyone know how long to bake them?

Thanks, Isa–as always your recipes are super delicious!

I am on a NO oil diet. Can i substitute oil with the apple sauce? I just worry that will come out sweet. I don’t want a sweet cornbread. Anybody tried ?

Yum. I made this tonight to go with soup and it turned out fantastic. I also substituted almond milk for soy because we didn’t have soy. The almond milk was unsweetened. The bread was delicious and not too sweet – I like a more savoury cornbread that you can slather earth balance on and dip in a soup or chilli. This was the perfect thing to eat with soup, and also to use up a bunch of cornmeal we got a while back from the market. Thanks!!!

Thanks for a wonderful recipe. I had to use white vinegar instead of the apple cider vinegar and baked for 28 minutes. It’s moist; not too sweet and has a great corn flavor. I don’t cook much but this was quick and easy… it will taste great in my vegan soup tonight.

This is a staple recipe in our home. I’ve made it for years and it’s perfect everytime.

I owe you many thanks, Isa. Vegan With A Vengeance was my first vegan cookbook back in 2006. Your blog and recipes made becoming vegan delicious and easy.

Should I not use a glass pan for this? Does a tin pan get better results?

Dearest,
I cut the recipe in half and the only other thing I did differently was to use half blue cornmeal, half yellow cornmeal. Oh, and I used a muffin pan. These were very cake-y – the bottoms were almost chewy. Where did I go wrong? They were also very bland. No taste whatsoever. Is it the cornmeal I’m using (some I got from Whole Foods)? And I sprayed the pan with canola oil. It is a non-stick pan. Help!! :)

I love this recipe! I always add a little baking soda too so it turns out a beautiful golden brown.

This sounds yummy; I have been on the hunt for a really good vegan cornbread recipe for years!

At the risk of sounding silly, what is “old-fashioned” cornmeal?

I’ve been absent for a while, but now I remember why I used to love this website. Thank you, I’ll try and check back more often. How frequently you update your site?

I want to make this as part of my thanksgiving meal – how far in advance do you think i can make it? should it really be a day of situation, or can it be made a day or two before?

This is my favorite cornbread recipe. I used whole wheat flour, no maple syrup, and RICE MILK. it makes all the difference, it turns out to dense (to me) with soy milk. Even my non vegan family members agree that it is amazing. I’m about to make it in advance for Thanksgiving stuffing :)

I followed the recipe completely, no changes to anything, and it turned out pretty well. It had the perfect balance of moisture in the center and crunchy crust. The pan I used was probably a little too deep, so they turned out a bit thinner than I would like. But taste wise they were pretty good. Thanks, Isa!

I love any recipe of yours your gnocci is to die for and am looking forward to trying this. I have your vegan witha a vengance cook book and you are helping to hook my husband on a better way to live. Going to subsitute agave for the maple syrup and coconut milk for soy…will let you know how it turns out.

I followed the directions completely and the middle of the bread was still gooey, like the batter. :(

And so, made it, and put it on top of a tomatoe, bean, onion, macaroni concoction I had made a night before and it is double awesome, took about 45 minutes to cook, could be my oven but the recipe….stays in my files. Thanks.

Isa,

I’m attempting to double the recipe. Should I do anything specific or simply double everything? And how long should I bake this deep dish monstrosity?

I’m low on precious maple syrup and substituted in molasses. Was good but probably denser than the original recipe, and lost that signature yellow color. I’m gonna try it again with agave syrup.

I am new to baking, and I just made
this cornbread it was easy to make. I did
not have any hot peppers, but I did have
hot tomatillo sauce, I mixed it into the
batter for an extra kick. The cornbread
came out tasty not too sweet with alittle heat. Great recipe!

what is “old fashioned cornmeal”?

Delicious! I followed the directions exactly, no substitutions, and it came out great.

I’ve been eating and baking vegan for the past 4 years, and I’ve been disappointed many times over by vegan recipes for baked foods. Robin Robertson’s cornbread recipe from VEGAN PLANET came out terribly for me. All of Isa’s recipes have worked well for me, but I still approached this one with caution. A friend asked me to bring vegan cornbread to her party, and so I decided to give Isa’s cornbread recipe a shot. Now I’m just sad that I didn’t add this to my plate and my repertoire earlier! Yum!

I take issue with the 9×13 pan. It came out about 1 inch thick. I think next time I will use 9×9

We really enjoyed this savory cornbread. I used a 9×5 loaf pan and needed 35-40 minutes, but I also had something else in the oven at the same time, so that may be part of why it needed so long. I altered the ratios of flour a bit because I wanted it to be more corn-flavored and dense, so it was 3/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour and 2 1/4 cups of blue cornmeal for me. I tried for a little kick with this pepper blend that I have, but I added too little, so it really wasn’t obvious.

Those with trouble getting any rise going, did you really whisk for two minutes? I think that might make a big difference. I whisked for less than that, reread the instructions (I do that frequently as I execute a recipe), and went back to whisk for a bit longer to get the full two minutes. I was impressed with how much more foamy the liquid portion got with that extra whisking time.

Thanks so much for this recipe! Just tried it and it came out great. I too used almond milk instead of soy, and it worked perfectly. Fab!

This is still my favorite cornbread ever! The cornbread of my dreams! I finally realized that it was supposed to be made with “coarse grain” cornmeal, so I made that adjustment when I made this last night. The result: EVEN MORE DELICIOUS!!!

Cornbread update, because I am cornbread-obsessed! I tried this with gluten-free flour mix (Bob’s Redmill) to replace the white flour, and it worked magnificently!!! I added a little extra baking powder too for good measure.

Just halved this and made it tonight on a random whim. It turned out well – surprisingly not dense and quite moist, but I think it’s because I put it into an 8 inch round baking dish so it rose quite a bit. Thanks for a very quick, easy, and delicious recipe! Will be my go-to in future

I made this and I loved it – I added some sugar because I like sweet cornbread. Then a layer of mashed pots and greens on top. I let the juices soak in and it was SO yummy!

Hey,

I’m from Germany and I’m dying to try this recipe. Sounds sooo delicious. But I’m not sure what you mean by ‘old-fashioned cornmeal’. What we have here is either the polenta kind of thing or, well, cornmeal which has the structure as normal flour. What type do I need for the cornbread?

Cheers

Hello “GermanChick” – this took me a while to figure out too, but “old-fashioned” cornmeal means the polenta kind.

Hope it turns out marvelously for you!