Gluten-Free Cornbread

I grew up eating boxed cornbread. I feel like my entire childhood and young adult life, family meals always came with a side of sweetened Jiffy Cornbread. I loved it, but that was one of those traditions I had to release.

In the Spring of 2009, I found out that I had an allergy to gluten and needed to be gluten-free in order to be healthy. I lived a gluten-filled life for as long as I could remember, however I loved to cook and decided to make it work for me.

As I embarked on a journey of gluten-free living, I learned to re-create a multitude of meals. There was something inside of me that took over and I became obsessed. I tried out several gluten-free flours for my baked goods. I perfected fried chicken and macaroni & cheese, good enough to fool my family. 

One particular day I saw gluten-free cornmeal and decided to give cornbread a try.  I vaguely remember seeing a relative make cornbread from scratch, but I was young and did not remember the specifics. After a few tries, I discovered the perfect combination of ingredients to make a fluffy, buttery gluten-free cornbread. 

A note on sugar: I’ve seen the debate on whether or not to use sugar in cornbread. I grew up with slightly sweet cornbread and that’s my preference. I have made cornbread without sugar and I just don’t like the flavor. I do not use white sugar however, only coconut. I’ve used brown rice syrup before, but my preference is coconut sugar. 

Additionally, I started experimenting with dairy free versions. I’ll post that recipe next week. Until then, enjoy!

Gluten-Free Cornbread

Ingredients:

2 c Gluten-free cornmeal
1 c Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour
¼ tsp sea salt
2 tsp Baking powder
2 Eggs (well-beaten)
1 c Milk (I use almond milk or buttermilk)
½ c Coconut sugar or brown rice syrup
1 Stick melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder into large bowl and lightly mix together. Stir in milk and add well-beaten eggs. After eggs are mixed in, stir in melted butter until batter is combined (some lumps may occur).

Spread butter around a 9 inch baking pan or muffin tin. Pour in the batter and place in the preheated oven. Bake at 350˚F for approximately 20 minutes. Take the cornbread out the oven and the stick a toothpick into the center to see if it’s done. If the toothpick comes out clean, they’re done. If not, put back into the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Yields 12 muffins if using a muffin pan, or 7-8 slices if baked in a pan.

Visual representation below.

Just a few simple ingredients.

Combine dry ingredients.

Integrate wet ingredients.

Spread butter around pan, then pour in cornbread batter.

Bake away, then let cool for about 5 minutes before cutting a slice.

Tastes great with chili too 🙂