Quinoa Cornbread
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A fun twist on traditional cornbread, this is made with cooked quinoa for added protein and nutrition! It also makes the crumb moist and tender. For tasty and slightly healthier twist, give this Quinoa Cornbread recipe a try!
For more cornbread recipes be sure to try our Skillet Cornbread (100% corn) and Cornbread Muffins!
What better comfort food to accompany a bowl of hot soup or stew than homemade cornbread? Cornbread has been around for…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 its color and texture will not only make it undetectable, but will actually enhance the overall texture of the cornbread! And instead of using vegetable oil, why not use healthy coconut oil? See where I’m going with this? We’re taking traditional cornbread and making just a wee bit healthier!
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 Quinoa Cornbread recipe can be used to make muffins as well. Thank you for you request, Dani, I enjoyed developing this recipe!
Quinoa Cornbread 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.
Then cut and serve immediately while it’s still warm.
Enjoy!
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Quinoa Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 2 1/2 cups milk
- 2 cups all-purpose flour )Gluten Free: Use all-purpose GF flour)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup sugar or 1/3 cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
Instructions
- 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. Serve immediately while warm.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet October 2, 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
When I cut into the corn bread the corn meal had settled on the bottom and the quinoa had risen to the top. There was a distinct line between the cornbread
can you skip the sugar or substitute honey
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.
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!
Fantastic, Beverly, thanks for the feedback!
Is it possible to use a dairy-free milk like Almond Milk?
Hi Heather, yes absolutely!
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!
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.
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.
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!
I am diabetic. This sounds soooooooo good! Do you have nutritional breakdowns?
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.
Is that the right about of Baking Powder? 1 TABLEspoon? just want to make sure!
Hi Penny! Yes, it’s a full tablespoon. Funny timing, I just a batch of this yesterday :) Happy baking and enjoy!
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!
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.
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.
Wow, that whipped cinnamon honey butter sounds gooooooood!!! Fantastic choice! So glad you enjoyed this cornbread so much and thanks for your feedback, Susan! :)
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.
Kenneth, you don’t know how happy that makes me! Your compliment means a lot – thank you!!
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!
Shoot, that’s in Step #2, typo!
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!
I’m allergic to coconut. Should I substitute butter or oil and if so do u know how much?
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.
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
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!