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    Home » Recipes » Bakery and Baking

    Gluten Free Cornbread Recipe (honey buttermilk)

    Published: Dec 3, 2012 · Modified: Mar 18, 2022 by Sally Cameron · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

    539 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    With cornbread baking, the aroma wafting from the kitchen was wonderful. Who can resist a piece of warm cornbread fresh from the oven? Not many, unless you are gluten-sensitive and have to be mindful of what you eat. Baking and tasting this cornbread recipe, you'd never even think it was gluten-free, as cornmeal is naturally GF. Dairy-free options explained.

    Buttermilk cornbread

    With a growing list of my friends going gluten-free (and we did too), I wanted a cornbread recipe everyone could enjoy without concern. My quest began with perfecting my buttermilk cornbread recipe. With a golden, tender crumb and big corn flavor, I was excited about how the final test batch came out, all without gluten.

    Jump to:
    • Cornbread Ingredients
    • Substitutions
    • Baking Tips
    • One Bowl, Easy and Quick
    • What is Xanthan Gum?
    • To Serve
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Cornbread Ingredients

    After baking batch after batch of cornbread, trying different corn and grain blends, sugar versus honey, milk versus buttermilk, different temperatures and pans, I’ve come up with a gluten-free cornbread recipe I’m really happy about. With no flour of any type in the recipe (just cornmeal), this cornbread has big corn flavor.

    Here's your shopping list:

    • Gluten-free cornmeal 
    • Xanthan gum
    • Baking powder (aluminum free)
    • Baking soda
    • Salt
    • Low fat buttermilk (see sub below)
    • Eggs 
    • Unsalted butter (see sub below)
    • Honey (replacing white sugar)

    Substitutions

    For a dairy-free substitution, use the following:

    • Use a plant-based milk such as strained almond milk
    • Add 1 ½ tablespoons of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (give the acidity of buttermilk); let is stand for 5-10 minutes or until curdled (lumpy).
    • For more ideas, read this and this article.
    • For the butter substitution use plant-based butter. Buy solid cubes, not the tub stuff. Here is what I like.

    Baking Tips

    As refined white sugar was banished from my pantry, I went with honey as a sweetener. I also liked the results better when I baked in a light colored metal pan versus a dark non-stick one. A square of parchment in the bottom of the light pan helped protect the bottom and make sure it came out of the pan easily.

    My testing included gluten-free flour blends mixed with the cornmeal, but it didn’t have the flavor I was after. I wanted big, true corn flavor, so I eliminated flour and used all cornmeal.

    Out of curiosity, I also tested a gluten-free packaged mix that uses alternative flours like potato starch and sorghum flour but was not crazy about the results.

    Steps to mixing cornbread and pouring into the baking pan.

    One Bowl, Easy and Quick

    After you gather up the ingredients, this cornbread goes together quickly in one bowl. And the baking time was only 20 minutes (in my oven). Although my intent was to use this for cornbread dressing, its great beside a bowl of soup or for a snack.

    What is Xanthan Gum?

    Xanthan gum helps mimic the structure of gluten in baked goods. Just a little will do, 1 teaspoon in the entire recipe. It is often used in gluten-free baking to add volume. It’s easy to find these days in the baking section of many grocery stores. 

    Note - An option to xanthan gum is guar gum. It's less expensive and widely available. I have not tested the recipe yet with guar gum but it should produce the same result.

    To Serve

    To serve, cut into squares or to make the cornbread dressing, see the post for cornbread stuffing on how to cut and dry the cornbread.

    📖 Recipe

    Buttermilk cornbread.

    Buttermilk Cornbread (gluten free)

    Sally Cameron
    With a golden color and tender crumb, this gluten-free cornbread has big corn flavor and can be enjoyed by anyone following a gluten-free diet. Its nice with a bowl of soup or a cup of tea for a snack. It’s also wonderful in cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys or with roast chicken during the year.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 25 mins
    Total Time 35 mins
    Course Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 15
    Calories 101 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 8x8 light colored metal baking pan
    • Parchment paper

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 ½ cups gluten-free cornmeal 9 ounces
    • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum 4 grams
    • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder 6 grams
    • ¾ teaspoon baking soda 2 grams
    • ¾ teaspoon salt 5 grams
    • 1 ¼ cups low fat buttermilk 10 ounces/300 ml
    • 2 large eggs room temperature, beaten together  
    • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 33 grams, melted and cooled
    • 2 tablespoons honey

    Instructions
     

    Mix Dry Ingredients

    •  Gather up your ingredients and pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, add the cornmeal, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to incorporate.

    Mix Wet Ingredients

    • Whisk in the buttermilk (or dairy-free substitution) until smooth, then add the eggs, melted butter and honey. Whisk until the batter is well mixed.

    Pout Batter, Bake and Cool

    • Cut a square of parchment to fit into the bottom of an 8″x8″ square light colored baking pan. Spray with nonstick spray. Pour batter into the pan. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes (I have a convection oven) on the center rack, or until the cornbread is golden and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. The cornbread will be pulling away from the sides of the pan slightly. Use your nose. When the cornbread is done you’ll really smell it. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a cooling rack.
    • To serve, cut into squares or to make the cornbread dressing, see the post for cornbread stuffing on how to cut and dry the cornbread.

    Notes

    See post for dairy-free substitutions. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 101kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 3gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 259mgPotassium: 93mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 92IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 52mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Amy says

      November 10, 2015 at 4:10 am

      Just curious if the buttermilk can be replaced with unsweetened dairy free variety with apple cider vinegar?

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        November 10, 2015 at 9:58 am

        Hi Amy, I've never tried that so unfortunately I don't know. I am thinking it would probably work. Would be a good experiment. The cornbread might have a different texture or might not rise the same. If you try it please let us know! Thanks.

        Reply
    2. elizabeth says

      January 19, 2013 at 11:46 am

      Try using guar gum instead of xanthan sometime. The author of Blackbird Bakery Gluten Free considers it better as it is great for digestive health and doesn't smell like xanthan gum. I can get it at the co-op in bulk for very little money - no need to shell out a small fortune for a package of x-gum.

      Reply
    3. Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says

      December 05, 2012 at 1:05 am

      This cornbread is just gorgeous! I don't really make much gluten-free things but I think that has to change, starting with this recipe. I can't wait to serve it alongside with some chili.

      Reply
      • Sally says

        November 22, 2014 at 11:12 am

        It's great with Chili Chung-Ah! Thanks for reminding me!

        Reply
    4. Madonna says

      December 03, 2012 at 9:07 pm

      I love this post. Thank you so much for doing all the hard work for us. I get upset when a recipe goes awry. I try to stay with trusted recipes. Your recipes make me think I can cook. I love that you explain what happens when you use light pans as opposed to dark ones. I can’t tell you how many things I ruined before discovering this – all of those sacrificial cookies. Equipment to me is as important as the recipe. I do like that this can be put together in one bowl. I am still trying to work up to using xanthan gum. The name just kind of creeps me out, but if you say so I will get some and give it a try. Oh, and you even gave the weight of the salt; I am so happy.

      Reply
      • Sally says

        December 03, 2012 at 9:17 pm

        Thanks Madonna. I fret over recipes and details because I want them to come out right for everyone, and yet that is tough. There are so many things than can differ, change a recipe and possibly make a great recipe into one that is not for home chefs. If anything goes awry, I want to hear about it and be able to help. If you make this and have any issues, please email me and let me know. The batches I cooked in dark pans got overly dark too fast and were at times not quite done enough on the inside. it was both a frustrating and interesting process. This is really the first I've used xanthan gum. You can use guar gum as well. They do basically the same thing. Oh, and tools can make a big difference!

        Reply
    5. bob raymond says

      December 03, 2012 at 4:34 pm

      The cornbread sounds great! Can you tell me why you
      used Xanthan gum and what it does?
      Thanks,
      br

      Reply
      • bob raymond says

        December 03, 2012 at 4:36 pm

        Oops! I just found the paragraph under the picture where you explained
        the Xanthan gum! Nevermind…..:)

        Reply

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