Gluten Free Cornbread Recipe
My moist, sweet gluten free cornbread recipe is so good, your gluten-eating friends will be asking for it! This is the best recipe and one you need to try soon!
This is truly my most-requested recipe of all time from gluten-free folks and gluten-eating folks that have tried it at my house or at potlucks. Pretty much every person I’ve made this gluten free cornbread recipe for has absolutely loved it and said it was their favorite cornbread ever.
This gf cornbread goes perfectly with so many meals, including my go-to Crock-pot gluten-free chili recipe. We enjoy it with gluten-free beef stew too!
A dear friend shared this recipe with me many years ago and we’ve loved it ever since. After having to switch to baking gluten-free, I was so happy to find that it turns out just perfect with a good quality all-purpose gluten-free flour blend in place of all-purpose flour.
I always use gfJules all-purpose gluten-free flour when I make this, but it should turn out well with other high quality gluten-free flour blends as well. Just remember, if your blend doesn’t have xanthan gum or guar gum already in it, you’ll need to add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum with the dry ingredients in this recipe.
My father-in-law always says this tastes like dessert! This is definitely a sweet cornbread, not a southern style, savory cornbread.
Is cornmeal gluten-free?
Cornmeal is not always gluten-free! It is common for cornmeal to be made by companies that make/process flour as well so there is a high risk of cross-contamination during transport, production, and packaging. Make sure your cornmeal is certified gluten-free!
Notes on Ingredients and Substitutions
Let’s talk about the other ingredients a bit too.
- Cornmeal – As stated above, be sure to purchase certified gluten-free cornmeal. Also, some brands (like Bob’s Red Mill) make a much coarser cornmeal. When I used that coarser cornmeal, it resulted in a very gritty cornbread that none of us cared for, so I’d recommend finding a finer grade cornmeal. I use and like Arrowhead corn meal from Amazon – it’s certified gluten-free!
- As always, I only recommend baking with a good quality all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. All flour blends are not created equal! I recommend avoiding flour blends that contain any bean flours or that are primarily rice flour, as you’ll get a more gritty result. I almost always make this recipe with gfJules gluten-free flour. Feel free to use your favorite high quality gluten-free flour blend.
- Buttermilk – Regular store-bought buttermilk has modified food starch clearly listed on the label. In the US, if modified food starch is made from wheat it has to have wheat clearly labeled. If the product simply says “modified food starch” and has no wheat allergen warning, it is derived from a gluten-free source. The most common sources include corn, potato and tapioca. So, using regular buttermilk is fine in the US for anyone on a gluten-free diet. You can also choose to buy organic buttermilk as it doesn’t contain modified food starch, but organic buttermilk can be very difficult to find in stores: impossible in my town. Locally, I like to buy Darigold buttermilk or Trader Joe’s buttermilk because it doesn’t have a bunch of added ingredients to it.
- Buttermilk Substitute – Also, I know many people don’t always have buttermilk on hand. A great substitute to keep on hand in your fridge is Saco Cultured Buttermilk Blend. It is a powdered buttermilk that you keep in your fridge and then in a recipe that calls for buttermilk, you instead add this powdered buttermilk with your dry ingredients, and then add extra water with your wet ingredients. The package gives exact measurements for substitutions. I buy this at my local Winco store, but you can also buy on Amazon here.
When I travel to my in-laws house, I usually mix up the dry ingredients for this recipe (cornmeal, gluten-free flour, salt) and bring with me. Then at my destination, I can just grab my bag of gluten-free cornbread mix, some butter, sugar, buttermilk and eggs and I can whip this up for everyone to enjoy!
My gluten-free cornbread bakes up nice and tall, is incredibly moist and needs only a slather of butter to make it a perfect accompaniment to any homemade meal. We especially enjoy it with gluten-free chili, creamy gluten-free ham cheddar chowder and gluten-free chicken broccoli rice casserole. I’m going to make these crispy oven baked chicken thighs recipe soon to have with it.
This is my favorite food to bake to bring to potlucks as well since you can make it ahead and it cuts and serves so nicely. I bake it in my 9×13 Pyrex, and once cooled a bit, I can put on the lid and bring it. Here’s the Pyrex 9×13 dish and lid I have from Amazon. It makes it super easy to bring to potlucks!
Trying to bake ahead and freeze meals for future dinners? I often make this 9×13 pan of it for our family and then put half of the cornbread squares in a freezer bag and freeze. On the night I want to use it, I just pull out, thaw, and then warm in the oven or microwave right before serving.
You can also bake this in a pretty 9×13 ceramic pan. Then once cool, just cover with plastic wrap so the cornbread doesn’t dry out.
What will you serve your gluten-free cornbread with?
I like it with just butter, but some guests like to make it even more sweet by adding honey!
You can also make a batch of this cornbread to make my gluten-free cornbread stuffing recipe. Here’s what it looks like:
That definitely needs added to your holiday menu!
Let me know how you enjoy this gluten-free corn bread. Please come back and leave a rating and comment when you have a minute! Thanks!
Best Gluten Free Cornbread Recipe
Our guests always say this is the best cornbread ever, let alone the best gluten-free cornbread! If you don't want a huge pan of cornbread, feel free to cut this recipe in half and use an 8x8 pan. I do this when my freezer is full and just our family will be eating it. If you have leftovers, these freeze and reheat well.
Ingredients
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 ⅓ cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum (*if needed)
- 1 tsp. salt
Instructions
- In a glass measuring cup, measure buttermilk then add baking soda, mix together and let sit.
- In a large mixing bowl, melt butter in microwave. Add sugar and use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix into butter. Add eggs. Add buttermilk/baking soda to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together cornmeal, gluten-free flour, xanthan and salt. Add to wet ingredients and stir. Pour into greased 13x9-inch pan.
- Bake at 375º for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with crumbs only and top of cornbread doesn't sink in if pressed with fingertip. Let cool at least 5 minutes or longer, until desired temperature for serving.
Notes
If you don't have buttermilk on hand, I recommend using Saco Cultured Buttermilk powder, following the substitution directions on the package.
*If the gluten-free flour blend you use already has xanthan gum or guar gum in it, then omit the xanthan gum called for in this recipe.
gfJules gluten-free flour blend contains xanthan gum so I don't add any when I use that blend.
*Originally posted 2013, updated text and photos November 2016.
Pin this gluten-free cornbread to your gluten-free bread Pinterest board:
I hope you and your family enjoy this gf cornbread recipe as much as my family does!
This recipe is fantastic! I needed it to be dairy free as well as GF, so I subbed oat milk and some vinegar with a splash of DF kefir for the buttermilk, worked like a charm. I also had some Bobs Red Mill corn flour in the cupboard, so I used that, it worked great. My husband said, “what smells so good, are you making an apple pie” that’s how good it is.
I’m so glad you both liked it! Glad your substitutions worked well – thanks for sharing what worked! I appreciate it!
I’m not gluten intolerant. I made these for friends who are and can I just say WOW!!! They’re delicious! I only used 1 cup of sugar and it was perfect. Thanks for the recipe!!
My husband and I do not need GF but had friends passing through town and I wanted a GF bread for him. Came across this recipe and decided to try it. Oh my goodness, is it good! I did cut the sugar back a teensy bit and squeezed in a dollop of honey but otherwise followed as directed. My husband ate 3 pieces. It may be my new favorite cornbread.
Thanks for the good recipe.
Fantastic! I used almond milk and soured it with apple cider vinegar and used only half the sugar and ???? honey ???? turned out fabulous thank you!
Tried your Sweet GF Cornbread last night, it was outstanding. I used course ground corn grits which resulted in a crunch. Yumm. Good bye packaged cornbread mix’s…
Oh my this is fabulous! We just made this as I’m new to the gluten free cooking for about 2 weeks now. We had it warm drizzled with maple syrup ???? We look forward to finding more recipes thank you delicious!
Thank you for this recipe! Roommates request for Thanksgiving was cornbread… first time I’ve made cornbread since I had to go gluten free and was worried. I used Pillsbury gluten free flour. Roommates inhaled it and warned me I couldn’t touch it, they were amazed it was gluten free. Thank you again, I’ll be making it again soon im sure!
I am celiac and this is my go-to cornbread recipe. It’s always a hit and I constantly get asked for the recipe. My non-GF friends and family can’t believe it’s gluten free. I use Namaste GF flour and it turns out amazing! I backed off the sugar to one cup recently and it’s still great.
Can the sugar be substituted with coconut sugar? If so…what measurement? Thank you!
I haven’t tried it with coconut sugar, but usually when I do substitute coconut sugar it is an equal amount. It’s worth a try! Please do come back and let me know how it works!
I just subbed coconut palm sugar and it’s fine but beware it will make the batter and final result quite dark. I use raw coconut palm sugar. It darkens everything. Other than that it’s equal measurements substitutions, just gets awfully expensive. You can use honey or maple syrup, too. The maple syrup will also Darken it a bit; with these substitutions you won’t be able to tell by color when something is done.
Can I substitute almond flour for gluten free flour and almond milk in place of buttermilk in your cornbread recipe. I want to make this for Thanksgiving.
I am so happy I found this recipe. It is easy to make an actually turns out better than I ever expected! I made my own “buttermilk” as I am allergic to dairy. This is my new favorite. Thank you!
Please could you email this page to me? There seems to be no way of doing so myself. If like to try out this recipe and I’m afraid of losing the link.
Thanks Kay
I soured the milk myself with vinegar, used Bobs GF one-for-one baking flour, and Bobs egg replacer. It’s my second time making it and I am so happy with the result! We have wheat and egg allergies in the family and I’ve been searching for a GF cornbread recipe we can all enjoy and I think I’ve finally found it! Thank you!
Could you make corn dogs with this or would you have to tweak it?
Hi Alan,
No I don’t think this would work well for corn dogs but I haven’t tried it! I’ll have to put that on my to-make list!
Thank you for a truly delicious recipe!
I have a question about the cooking time. I baked it for 35 minutes but the middle part was still soft and liquid. I added another 5 minutes but then took it out as I was worried that the outer areas were turning too dark. I let it sit for a while before I cut it up. The problem was that the edges and corners were delicious but I had to throw out the center as it was gooey – I’m not sure why I got that result. Any suggestions?
Great recipe, thank you! I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 GF flour (the blue bag) which is the best GF flour I have ever used. I also used half regular unsalted butter and half refined coconut oil. I reduced the sugar a little bit and added about a tablespoon of honey. Everything else I kept exactly the same. It turned out wonderful and delicious! Nothing wrong with the original recipe, I just like to experiment.
Hi! I’m probably way to late with commenting on this recipe but I just got diagnosed with celiac and really crave some cornbread. First off, thanks for making my life easier!! Awesome blog. Then a quick question, can I substitute honey for the sugar? How do you think I’d have to go about it?
Thank you
I don’t have the time to read through all the other comments to see if you addressed my question or not. So, here goes, I already have medium coarse corn meal on hand. Can’t I just put in the food processor for a few pulse and “make” it fine cornmeal? Also, I have been very successful substituting applesauce for eggs in cookie recipes. Am wondering if you could sub out two of the eggs and possibly a little sugar and get the same sweetness? Not trying that as I need it for tonight. Thanks.
I think that would work for you to just pulse a bit to make it a little finer. Obviously not turning it into powder, but like you said, just a few pulses. As far as substituting applesauce for the eggs in this, I haven’t tried that substitute in this so I can’t say for sure. I’ve never used applesauce as a sub for eggs, only as a sub for oil/butter. Let me know if you do try it and any tips you can pass on!
Hi, I found this recipe by doing a google search for GF cornbread, and after reading the reviews, knew I had to try it. Just made it, and I cannot tell you how my kids’ and hubby’s eyes bugged out. So moist, subtly sweet, and oh so good. I lowered the sugar to just under 1 cup, and i put them in mini muffin cups so that they were easily preportioned and reduced bake time to 15 mins. Now I know, and there’s no going back. This is my bookmarked cornbread recipe. Thank you!