What better comfort accompaniment to a bowl of hot soup or stew than homemade cornbread? Cornbread has been around…well, forever it seems! For many it brings back childhood memories. And even for those who didn’t grow up with it, cornbread carries with it an element of heart-warming nostalgia.
But let’s face it. Cornbread isn’t exactly healthy or nutritious. No, corn is not a vegetable. It’s a grain. And the most sugary, starchy, empty grain at that. So if you eat cornbread regularly, why not give it some redeeming nutritional value by adding one of the healthiest grains in the world? Especially since it’s color and texture will make it undetectable. And instead of using vegetable oil or butter, why not use mega healthy coconut oil? See where I’m going with this? And I promise, you’re going to love this cornbread!
So here it is – delicious traditional cornbread, just the way you’ve always loved it, but with some added health benefits!
And if you’re gluten free, you can easily substitute all-purpose GF flour.
This cornbread recipe comes by way of request from Dani (Make a Request!) who wanted a recipe for healthy corn muffins. This recipe can be used to make muffins as well. Thank you for you request, Dani, I enjoyed developing this recipe!
Let’s get started!
Place the cornmeal in a medium bowl.
Add the milk and let it sit for at least 10 minutes to soften.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
Add the eggs and coconut oil. Don’t worry that it’s solidified.
Using an electric mixer, beat in the eggs and oil just until the mixture is crumbly.
Add the milk/cornmeal mixture and beat just until combined, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to over-beat or the cornbread will not rise properly.
Stir in the quinoa, breaking up any lumps.
Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 inch pan and bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees F for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting.
Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 inch pan and bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees F for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting.
- 1½ cups cornmeal
- 2½ cups milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (Gluten Free: Use all-purpose GF blend)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9X13 inch baking pan.
- Combine the cornmeal and milk in a medium bowl and let it stand for at least 10 minutes.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat in the eggs and oil just until the mixture is crumbly. Add the milk/cornmeal mixture and beat just until combined, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to over-beat or the cornbread will not rise properly. Stir in the quinoa, breaking up any lumps.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before cutting.
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jesusann says
Kimberly, this sounds delicious. I’ve been making my cornbread using mesquite flour in place of some of the regular flour, and I think I’d want to do the same with this recipe. The mesquite adds an amazing and unique flavor to anything you put it in – if you use sufficient quantity. I’d put in ¾ cup of mesquite and then use 1-¼ cups of regular flour. Not that this wouldn’t taste good as written; I’m just totally addicted to mesquite. :-) I love the idea of
The Daring Gourmet says
That sounds sublime! I’ve never tried mesquite flour (still need to get some of those pods whenever I make it down Southwest way), but I can imagine it’s wonderful!
Kj says
I’m allergic to coconut. Should I substitute butter or oil and if so do u know how much?
The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Kj! Either will work and you would just use the same amount (make sure the butter is softened). Oil keeps things more moist than butter does, especially the next day as the baked good dry out with butter. But butter of course always tastes better than regular vegetable oil (which is one of several reasons I like to use coconut, because it has a great flavor). So it’s entirely your choice – butter for better flavor or oil for more moistness.
Katherine B. says
Just a note, in the recipe card Step #1 says to combine the cornmeal and flour and let it sit for 10 minutes…think that should be milk? Small thing that was easy to figure out when I went back and read the post. But just thought you should know!
Katherine B. says
Shoot, that’s in Step #2, typo!
The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Katherine! Yes, thank you for catching that! I had it right in the step-by-step instructions but that is definitely a typo in the recipe box. It’s been updated. Thanks again!
Kenneth Mancinelli says
OUTSTANDING! there need not be any other recipe for cornbread. i’ve been cooking and baking since i was 14 yrs old – now i am 62.
The Daring Gourmet says
Kenneth, you don’t know how happy that makes me! Your compliment means a lot – thank you!!
Susan says
This turned out so delicious! I teamed it up with some whipped cinnamon honey butter and it was like candy. For dinner, for snack, for breakfast, and lunch. I have been looking for a moister (is that even a word?) cornbread and this is it. A recipe gone down in history and has now found a home in my recipe book.
The Daring Gourmet says
Wow, that whipped cinnamon honey butter sounds gooooooood!!! Fantastic choice! So glad you enjoyed this cornbread so much and thanks for your feedback, Susan! :)
Robbie says
I made this with whole wheat flour, and it’s fricking FABULOUS! I can’t stop eating it. Now I need to hide it from myself before I polish off the entire batch. Good work!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
AWESOME, Robbie, thank you! I don’t know if you’ve tried spelt flour before but you may even prefer that over whole wheat. It has a milder, sweeter flavor and produces a more tender crumb than whole wheat does.
penny says
Is that the right about of Baking Powder? 1 TABLEspoon? just want to make sure!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Penny! Yes, it’s a full tablespoon. Funny timing, I just a batch of this yesterday :) Happy baking and enjoy!
Starr says
I am diabetic. This sounds soooooooo good! Do you have nutritional breakdowns?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Starr, thank you! I don’t, but there are a few sites like fitday.com or caloriecount.com that really easily allow you to enter the ingredient and quantity and it will automatically generate all of that information for you.
Erin says
The Huffington Post says this recipe is gluten-free but it’s not! Oh bummer. I was really looking forward to making this. I got to the Huffington Post’s web page via your link in “About Me & Press Stuff.” I just thought you would like to be aware of this and am sorry for reminding you if you already are.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks for letting me know, Erin, I wasn’t aware that HP was claiming it’s gluten-free. It’s super easy to make it GF though by substituting GF all-purpose flour for regular so I went ahead and included that note in the recipe. Thanks again!
ARISTIDIS ALAFOUZOS says
Hi Kimberly!
Amazing recipe. Is it possible to make the batter and store it before use? The storage period will only be about 4 hours.
Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Aristidis! I haven’t tried letting the batter sit that long so I’m not sure how it will impact the final texture. If you try it let us know if the results are any different.
Heather says
Is it possible to use a dairy-free milk like Almond Milk?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Heather, yes absolutely!
Beverly Wheeler says
Today is the second time I have made this cornbread. My grandson has celiac disease and I’m trying to find good “bread” recipes that he can eat and love. I substituted the flour with Bob’s Red Mill Biscuit mix, white rice flour and garbanzo bean flour and it was perfect. I left the sugar out this go around and since it is cooking I’m not sure how it will affect it but we shall see. My family, even my picky daughter or doesn’t like eating cornbread at all, loved the first batch. Thanks for a great recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Beverly, thanks for the feedback!
Connie Peters says
can you skip the sugar or substitute honey
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Connie, yes you can omit the sugar or use a little honey instead. I haven’t tried it with honey but I’d probably use 1/4 to 1/3 cup of it in place of the sugar. You might want to cut back on the milk by a couple of tablespoons or so since you’re adding more liquid with the honey.