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Home » Baked Goods » Sweet, Fluffy Gluten-Free Cornbread

November 12, 2020

Sweet, Fluffy Gluten-Free Cornbread

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This recipe for gluten-free cornbread is light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet. My DIY gluten-free flour blend is part of the secret. It lends better flavor to gluten-free baked goods than your average rice flour blend.

Rather not wash so many dishes? Mix up this gf cornbread in just one bowl.

gluten free corn bread, recipe, cooking lessons

Mmm, cornbread. It’s such a versatile quick bread. It goes with savory dishes, spicy, and sweet, with breakfast, lunch or dinner. This light, fluffy, sweet gluten-free corn bread has received compliments like “I don’t usually like cornbread but this gluten-free version has made me a fan.”

This gluten-free cornbread is perfect on its own, with some hearty chili or as the base for a Thanksgiving gluten-free cornbread stuffing. I also use it to make my husband’s favorite baseball watching snack. He loves pigs in a blanket but they are not on my gluten-free list. So I use a mini muffin tin, add a dollop of this batter, a mini hot dog and you have a perfect hybrid of hot dog on a stick and pig in a blanket. These gluten-free corn dog bites fly off the plate at my parties.

Is Cornmeal Gluten-Free?

Good news! Yes, corn is one of the grains that is gluten-free. However, when grains are milled and processed, cross contamination can occur. So if you have Celiac Disease or are very sensitive to gluten, I recommend going with a brand of cornmeal that is CERTIFIED gluten-free. My favorite cornmeal is from Arrowhead Mills. It’s non-gmo, organic and perfect for this recipe.

The Best Gluten-Free Flour Mix

glass bowl with gluten free flour blend and metal measuring cup on burlap mat. strainer on left, wood spoon on right and milk and eggs in background

Gluten-Free Flour – I have used several different gluten-free flour blends for this recipe and they all worked well. My custom blend of sorghum, millet and brown rice flours with potato and tapioca starches is my favorite. It lends better flavor to gluten-free baked goods than your average rice flour blend.

Here is my special flour blend that I love for this recipe and many more of my gluten-free recipes:

  • 1 c sweet white sorghum flour
  • 3/4 c millet flour
  • 1/4 c brown rice flour
  • 2/3 c potato starch
  • 1/3 c tapioca starch

For a more simple DIY gluten-free flour blend see the notes in the recipe card or my blog post on gluten-free flours and flour blends.

If you prefer a store bought blend, I like King Arthur Flour All Purpose Gluten-Free flour the best. Omit the xanthan gum in the recipe if you use a flour blend already contains it.

square glass baking dish with pieces of gluten-free corn bread, glass pitcher of honey in back

Other Ingredients

Sugar – This cornbread is on the slightly sweet side, Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar if you prefer it more or less sweet.

Sour cream – It adds a wonderful richness and flavor to this gluten-free cornbread. Dairy also helps normally pale gluten-free baked goods brown a little better.

Recipe Variations

I am a purist when it comes to my recipes but here are a couple of fun and interesting ways to mix it up.

Gluten-Free Corn Muffins – This recipe will make 12 standard sized corn muffins with no adjustments necessary!

Add corn – Stir in 1/2 cup cut corn to the batter. If using canned corn, drain and lay the corn out on an absorbent kitchen towel to dry for 15 minutes. If using frozen, defrost on an absorbent kitchen towel to dry.

Add 1/2 c minced red and orange bell pepper and 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese.

gluten-free toaster corn muffins on square wood plate with bowl of butter and silver knife with butter in front.

Remember those Thomas’ toaster corn muffins? Maybe not? It’s a corn muffin that goes in the toaster for a perfectly ready-made muffin. All you need is a muffin top pan and a half recipe of this cornbread, About 2-3 Tbsps of batter in each well works best (this fills them almost to the top). Bake 7-8 minutes at 350°F. They are a little small for a toaster, so I reheat them in the toaster oven and slather with salted butter and honey. Heavenly!!

Muffin Top Pan

My Favorite Topping for Cornbread

2 pieces of gluten-free cornbread topped with butter and honey on white plate. small glass bowl of butter and butter knife on plate, honey bear in background and pan of cornbread on right

A happy accident a few years ago led me to discover the perfection that is cornbread with sweet and salty butter. I was mixing up some sweet vegan butter (agave sweetened). Most vegan butter substitutes are on the salty side. I have yet to find an unsalted one. But for this purpose the salt with the sweet agave (or honey) on gluten-free cornbread was divine!

If you haven’t had butter, sweetened with honey or agave, you are missing out! Here’s how to make it: Mix 6 Tbsp soft, unsalted butter with 1 Tbsp honey or agave and 1/4 tsp salt. Or mix 6 Tbsp softened vegan butter (I like Earth Balance) with 1 Tbsp agave. Whisk until smooth. Slather on cornbread or your favorite muffin, biscuit, bread, pancakes or waffles.

Continue to Content
square glass pan of cut gluten-free cornbread with one piece on top, glass bowll of butter and honey bear on left and glass measuring cup in background

Sweet, Fluffy Gluten-Free Cornbread

Yield: 1 8x8 pan or 15 muffins
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

This gluten-free cornbread is sweet, light and will have you swooning!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup gluten-free flour blend
  • ¾ c corn meal
  • 6 Tbsps sugar
  • 2¾ tsp baking powder
  • ⅛ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp xanthan gum
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • ⅔ c milk or milk sub
  • ½ c sour cream
  • 4 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions

  1. Pre heat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8" square baking pan.
  2. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool slightly.
  3. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Beat the eggs. sour cream and milk in a small bowl. Add to the dry ingredients. Stir 10 strokes. Add the butter and stir until smooth.
  5. For cornbread, spread the batter in an even layer in the baking dish and bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. For corn muffins spoon batter into a muffin tin with paper liners and bake for 18-20 minutes.
  6. For Toaster Corn Muffins: About 2-3 Tbsps of batter in each well 0f a muffin top pan works best (this fills them almost to the top). Bake 7-8 minutes at 350. They are a little small for a toaster, so I reheat them in the toaster oven and slather with salted butter and honey.

Notes

If using a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum, omit it from the recipe.

For an easy DIY gluten-free flour blend, combine:
2 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch

Recommended Products

  • Organic Gluten Free Yellow Cornmeal – Arrowhead Mills
    Organic Gluten Free Yellow Cornmeal – Arrowhead Mills
  • Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
    Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
Nutrition Information
Yield 15 Serving Size 1 muffin
Amount Per Serving Calories 177Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 46mgSodium 368mgCarbohydrates 22gFiber 1gSugar 6gProtein 6g

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated using information from the Nutritionix database. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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© Janet Harlow
Cuisine: Southern American / Category: Baked Goods
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Posted In: Baked Goods · Tagged: dairy-free, quick bread

Comments

  1. Alene says

    October 20, 2020 at 4:40 pm

    This was the best gluten free cornbread recipe I had ever made. Really! The best. I can now delete all my other cornbread recipes. Even my husband, who is not gluten free, had 4 pieces. It was so light! Thank you for a great recipe.

    Reply
    • chefjanetk@gmail.com says

      October 20, 2020 at 5:07 pm

      Wow! So glad you and your husband enjoyed it!

      Reply
  2. Gerald Bates says

    November 24, 2020 at 11:13 am

    Chef Janet is a personal friend of mine but she bought her cornbread to a tailgate that we were having for a football game. I’ve been eating good cornbread my whole life, Janet’s cornbread is the best I have ever eaten( sorry mama).

    Reply
    • chefjanetk@gmail.com says

      November 24, 2020 at 1:58 pm

      Thanks so much Gerry! Glad you enjoyed.

      Reply
  3. Gerald Bates says

    November 24, 2020 at 11:15 am

    I have been eating good cornbread all of my life, Janet’s cornbread is the best I’ve ever eaten (sorry mama).

    Reply
    • chefjanetk@gmail.com says

      November 24, 2020 at 1:59 pm

      Wow, that’s high praise! Sorry Mama.

      Reply
  4. Karen J Lewis says

    December 12, 2020 at 10:28 am

    I thought I hated cornbread…but this stuff is to die for! Moist and flavorful, it’s melt-in-your-mouth delicious; and don’t forget to try the hot-dog-on-a-stick idea. It’s out of this world! Never thought I’d become a cornbread convert, but this recipe has made me a believer!

    Reply
    • chefjanetk@gmail.com says

      December 12, 2020 at 12:57 pm

      Thanks so much Karen. So glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply

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