Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins
By far, these babies are the moistest, (yes, moist-est is a word), most delicious, Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins ever! And as if that isn’t reason enough for you to try them, make-and-take muffins are also a superbly munchable tailgating or buffet-friendly party food. And here’s a bonus: they’re even oil-free!
Pass a basket of these tender treats to hungry guests while you keep your eye on the game, relax and mingle. Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins are handheld, making them a breeze to serve at any gathering. Now that’s what I call my kind of muffins!
And because there is corn in the word cornbread, that means ALL cornbread is GOOD for you, right?
Unfortunately, that’s probably not the case with most commercially generated cornbreads.
Many store-bought cornbread mixes and drive-thru cornbreads contain a boatload of unappetizing processed ingredients. White flour, highly processed sugar, and yucky, massively unhealthy, mega processed oil, like corn oil, even animal fat or worse. Eew!
I grew up eating homemade cornbread at least once a week. No kidding. My Mom was a bit of a rock star in the kitchen though she was always humble about her skills. And while Mom’s cornbread was indeed tasty, respectfully, the homemade cornbread wonderfulness that I ate back in those days was not nearly as nutritious as this new version. Sorry, Mom.
My Mom often used what nearly every Mom used in those days, a highly processed, solid cooking fat called, Crisco. Whenever we didn’t have bacon grease on hand, that’s right, bacon grease, Mom scooped out a glistening white and shiny blob of Crisco.
Bacon drippings and Crisco aside, my Mom’s commitment to lovingly preparing homemade dishes as often as possible set an excellent example for me. Without a doubt, Mom made a positive lasting impression on everything I create in my veggie-celebrating kitchen today.
(To my ever inspiring Mom in heaven who taught me to appreciate the natural sweetness of corn, “Thank you.”)
If you’re on the fence about trying Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins because you’ve tried other gluten-free bread and hated the nothingness flavor and texture, there’s something that you might like to know. These cornbread muffins taste as if cornbread and tamales got together to birth a beautiful corn muffin baby. The only thing standing between you and a corn muffin tamale-ish taste sensation is trying this recipe for yourself! And man, oh man, do these Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins ever taste good!
Part of the charm of these beauties has got to be the wholesome ingredients. As I mentioned, there are no artery-clogging bacon drippings in these muffins. In fact, the liquid used to moisten these muffins and add some rise is none other than something called aquafaba. Aquafaba is a fancy name for bean broth. Aquafaba is a fabulous stand-in for oil in baked goods.
At my house, we have to wait until the last minute to bake these muffins, or we will eat them all before the rest of the dinner makes it to the table! That’s right; these corn muffins taste ridiculously good!
Once you try these tender, moist and savory Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins for yourself, be sure to try one topped with a massive scoop of fresh and tangy Raw Cranberry Fruit Salad.
By the way, these muffins also taste amazing crumbled in a piping hot bowl of your favorite soup or chili. Be sure to Pin this recipe for safe keeping!
Happy eating!
Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins
- 15Prep:
- 30Cook Time:
- Yield: 12 Servings
Here’s a game-changing recipe for nutritionally-boosted, southern-style cornbread; it’s down-home deliciousness at its best that happens to be gluten-free, refined sugar-free, refined oil-free, and dairy-free! Pair these with your favorite soup or hearty chili, or enjoy for breakfast with a smear of homemade no-cook chia jam or a scoop of our fresh and tangy Raw Cranberry Fruit Salad.
Ingredients
2 tbsp of ground flaxseeds
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk or any plant-based milk
1 tbsp of Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of gluten-free oat flour
Save money - make oat flour by grinding 3/4 cup of oats in a food processor!
1/2 cup of almond flour
1 cup of Bob's Red Mill Masa Harina or other fine cornmeal
1 tbsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
a scant 1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt or another salt, more like a dash, really
3/4 cup of apple, cored and chopped in a food processor or, substitute unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup of aquafaba - also known as bean broth, aka, the liquid from a can of chickpeas
3/4 cup of corn - fresh, canned or frozen, preferably organic non-GMO
optional 1/4 cup of maple syrup or 1/4 cup raw agave nectar
- optional parchment paper baking cups
Instructions
First, begin by preheating the oven to 375º Fahrenheit.
Now place 10 to 12 muffin liners in a standard muffin pan or lightly grease each muffin slot. I prefer these baking cups made out of bleach-free paper that rarely stick where they shouldn't.
Next, to prepare the flax eggs, mix two tablespoons of ground flaxseed plus five tablespoons filtered water and let it sit for 10 minutes or so. You will notice that as the ground flax mixes with the water, it creates a gel of sorts, and acts a little sticky, much like the yolk of an egg. You can speed this process along by sitting the mixture in the refrigerator for a few minutes although it doesn’t usually take very long for the flax to soak up the water and do its remarkable little gel thing.
Then in a separate small bowl, combine the almond milk and lemon juice or vinegar. Set aside for approximately 10 minutes. This unique combination creates a kind of vegan buttermilk.
Next, if you are using rolled oats, make oat flour by placing 3/4 cup oats in a food processor or blender. Blend the oats until they're finely ground and flour-like.
In a large bowl, add oat flour, almond meal, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda & sea salt - all of the dry ingredients. Combine well.
In a medium bowl, combine flax eggs, buttermilk, applesauce or finely chopped apple, aquafaba & maple syrup or another sweetener, if using. Whisk to combine.
Now add the wet ingredients to the large bowl of dry ingredients. Fold batter gently until combined, but don't overwork the mixture. After setting a few corn kernels aside, gently fold in the corn.
Finally, fill each muffin liner (or greased slot) about 3/4 full. Top each muffin with a few of the reserved corn kernels.
Bake until slightly golden on top, about 25-30 minutes.
To check for doneness, gently insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin; if the toothpick returns mostly clean, then they're ready to eat.
Allow the cakes to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack for another 10-15 minutes. And to avoid having the paper liners stick to the muffin, be sure to allow them to cool completely before digging in! Serve with your favorite soup, chili or enjoy for breakfast with a smear of jam or a lovely scoop of our fresh and tangy Raw Cranberry Fruit Salad.
Notes
An alternative to the flax eggs is to use more of the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans also known as aquafaba. You will need five tablespoons of the aquafaba to replace the flax egg for this recipe. Just whisk well to combine the aquafaba into the wet ingredients. Since I have more experience using flaxseed and I appreciate the nutrients in contributes, it's the egg replacer I prefer.
If you only have whole flaxseed on hand, be sure to grind the flaxseed in a coffee grinder or use a mortar and pestle to crush by hand.
- Regardless of how much I happen to love the occasional sweet treat, I do not prefer to include any sugar in these Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins. But sometime when I am craving a sweet treat, I will try changing this recipe up a bit by adding maple or agave along with some fresh berries or chocolate chips. After all, when it comes to possibilities regarding new flavors, I'm wide open!
- Finally, while researching and writing this new recipe for plant-based Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins, I scoured every method I could find to come up with the winning combination of healthy ingredients. One recipe that was particularly inspiring was one that I read by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.
Nutrition
% DV
- Total Fat 4.2 g 6 %
- Saturated Fat 0.3 g 2 %
- Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %
- Sodium 938.5 mg 41 %
- Carbohydrates 17.3 g 6 %
- Fiber 2.9 g 11 %
- Sugar 1.9 g ---
- Protein 3.8 g 8 %
- Vitamin A 2 %
- Vitamin C 1 %
- Iron 6 %
- Calcium 70 %
Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins
BY VEEG.CO
Ingredients
2 tbsp of ground flaxseeds
1 cup of unsweetened almond milk or any plant-based milk
1 tbsp of Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup of gluten-free oat flour
Save money - make oat flour by grinding 3/4 cup of oats in a food processor!
1/2 cup of almond flour
1 cup of Bob's Red Mill Masa Harina or other fine cornmeal
1 tbsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
a scant 1/4 tsp of pink Himalayan sea salt or another salt, more like a dash, really
3/4 cup of apple, cored and chopped in a food processor or, substitute unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup of aquafaba - also known as bean broth, aka, the liquid from a can of chickpeas
3/4 cup of corn - fresh, canned or frozen, preferably organic non-GMO
optional 1/4 cup of maple syrup or 1/4 cup raw agave nectar
- optional parchment paper baking cups
Instructions
First, begin by preheating the oven to 375º Fahrenheit.
Now place 10 to 12 muffin liners in a standard muffin pan or lightly grease each muffin slot. I prefer these baking cups made out of bleach-free paper that rarely stick where they shouldn't.
Next, to prepare the flax eggs, mix two tablespoons of ground flaxseed plus five tablespoons filtered water and let it sit for 10 minutes or so. You will notice that as the ground flax mixes with the water, it creates a gel of sorts, and acts a little sticky, much like the yolk of an egg. You can speed this process along by sitting the mixture in the refrigerator for a few minutes although it doesn’t usually take very long for the flax to soak up the water and do its remarkable little gel thing.
Then in a separate small bowl, combine the almond milk and lemon juice or vinegar. Set aside for approximately 10 minutes. This unique combination creates a kind of vegan buttermilk.
Next, if you are using rolled oats, make oat flour by placing 3/4 cup oats in a food processor or blender. Blend the oats until they're finely ground and flour-like.
In a large bowl, add oat flour, almond meal, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda & sea salt - all of the dry ingredients. Combine well.
In a medium bowl, combine flax eggs, buttermilk, applesauce or finely chopped apple, aquafaba & maple syrup or another sweetener, if using. Whisk to combine.
Now add the wet ingredients to the large bowl of dry ingredients. Fold batter gently until combined, but don't overwork the mixture. After setting a few corn kernels aside, gently fold in the corn.
Finally, fill each muffin liner (or greased slot) about 3/4 full. Top each muffin with a few of the reserved corn kernels.
Bake until slightly golden on top, about 25-30 minutes.
To check for doneness, gently insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin; if the toothpick returns mostly clean, then they're ready to eat.
Allow the cakes to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack for another 10-15 minutes. And to avoid having the paper liners stick to the muffin, be sure to allow them to cool completely before digging in! Serve with your favorite soup, chili or enjoy for breakfast with a smear of jam or a lovely scoop of our fresh and tangy Raw Cranberry Fruit Salad.
Notes
An alternative to the flax eggs is to use more of the liquid from a can of garbanzo beans also known as aquafaba. You will need five tablespoons of the aquafaba to replace the flax egg for this recipe. Just whisk well to combine the aquafaba into the wet ingredients. Since I have more experience using flaxseed and I appreciate the nutrients in contributes, it's the egg replacer I prefer.
If you only have whole flaxseed on hand, be sure to grind the flaxseed in a coffee grinder or use a mortar and pestle to crush by hand.
- Regardless of how much I happen to love the occasional sweet treat, I do not prefer to include any sugar in these Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins. But sometime when I am craving a sweet treat, I will try changing this recipe up a bit by adding maple or agave along with some fresh berries or chocolate chips. After all, when it comes to possibilities regarding new flavors, I'm wide open!
- Finally, while researching and writing this new recipe for plant-based Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins, I scoured every method I could find to come up with the winning combination of healthy ingredients. One recipe that was particularly inspiring was one that I read by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.
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Comments
Have you tried these without any oil or fat and no sweetener. I’m sort of opposed to both.
Hi, Jessica. Thank you for asking – and I’m with you! I believe I mention in the recipe notes that I do not prefer to use the optional sweetener in my muffins. In the recipe ingredients list, I suggest the option of using the top ‘cream’ portion from a can of coconut milk to make these oil-free. Let me know how it goes – these muffins are too good to pass up trying!
Thank you for including our Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins in your wonderful collection of Fall Muffin Recipes… and we’re so happy to hear that your kiddos didn’t mind running into the nuggets of real corn!