Vegan/Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins & Stuffing

The second post in our vegetarian Thanksgiving recipe series from Beth of Tasty Yummies.

Cornbread is always a must for my hubby at our Thanksgiving feast. Most years I make a simple recipe with a blend of corn meal and an all-purpose gluten-free flour (so I can have some too), and I usually include eggs. I wanted to play with my recipe a bit to create a totally vegan (and of course gluten-free) recipe and also get a little more of that great corn meal grit that I love by leaving out the flour. These corn bread muffins are definitely more on the crumbly side, but they hold together nicely and can be cut in half and served with a pat of vegan (or regular) butter. I included some diced poblano peppers in my batch which gave a nice bit of color, and a really nice subtle spice. Besides just eating on their own as muffins, this cornbread would be perfect for crumbling over chili, soup or stews or for making a delicious stuffing out of, which I did the next day and decided to share that recipe, too! The stuffing recipe is so simple to make with the leftover muffins the next day and would be great as a side dish – or if you do eat turkey, a wonderful stuffing to add to the bird. If you have less muffins left than what the recipe calls for, just adjust your other ingredients accordingly.

vegan cornbread muffin recipe

Vegan/Gluten-free Cornbread Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

1 cup organic unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups fine ground cornmeal (I make sure to look for Non-GMO)
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup, brown rice syrup or honey (if not vegan) or other liquid sweetener
1/4 cup organic unsweetened plain apple sauce
1/4 cup oil (melted coconut or olive oil)

Extra options: thawed frozen corn, diced poblano or jalapeños, shredded vegan cheese or cheddar cheese (if not vegan).

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Line your muffin tin with paper liners.

Mix the vinegar with the milk, and set aside. In a large bowl mix together well all the dry ingredients, corn meal, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt. In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the apple sauce, olive oil, maple syrup, and milk/vinegar mixture. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture slowly, mixing all the while. You can use a spoon or a mixer on low, just make sure the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Fold in any add ins like frozen corn, finely chopped jalapeños, etc make sure they are evenly mixed throughout.

Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is firm and the edges are slightly browned. Remove from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for 10 – 15 minutes. Serve warm if you wish, or eat only one or two and make the cornbread stuffing with the leftovers!

vegan cornbread muffin recipe

vegan cornbread stuffing

Cornbread Stuffing

10-12  cornbread muffins (day-old), cut into 1-inch cubes
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 small red carmen pepper (or red bell)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh sage, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh marjoram, roughly chopped
1/2 – 3/4 cup low sodium organic vegetable broth
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread corn bread on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until barely golden browned and nicely crisped (but not rock hard), 20–30 minutes. Cool slightly, then transfer to a large bowl.  Add all of the other ingredients to the cornbread cubes and mix well. Add more broth or olive oil if it is a bit dry – use your own judgement. Spread evenly into a glass baking pan, I like to press it down a little. Bake at 350º for 20-30 minutes, until the veggies are tender and the top is nice and golden brown. The top pieces of cornbread will have a really nice crisp, while the bottom pieces retain a bit of their moisture.

What is the one Thanksgiving dish that you cannot go without at your feast?

For more of Beth’s recipes visit her blog Tasty Yummies.

More healthy recipes from the BLDG 25 Blog.

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shane
11 years ago

I added 1/4 cup more milk and 2 tablespoons of ground chia seeds and put mixture into a waffle maker and came out with some of the best waffles ever!! Yumm

Michele
10 years ago

Made these last night. These muffins had delicious flavor, but were the crumbliest I ever made! And on the dry side, but my husband (whose a better cook than me) said they weren’t dry from overbaking (I did 20 mins and the edges weren’t even slightly browned yet). I had added an ear of corn that I cut off the cob (pre-cooked) and used rice and hemp milk mixture for the milk, but otherwise, everything else was the exact same. Any suggestions on how to improve? Thanks!

Judi
10 years ago

Yum. these are really tasty We put maple syrup and are eating them warm.
I did not have enough corn meal so I substituted about 1/2 cup quinoa flour…put quinoa in coffee grinder and whir. Also did not use papers, sprayed muffin tin with Pam spray 2 times with wait time in between…super success!
Thank you so much for this recipe. My hubby was wanting cornbread. This one I can eat too. So appreciative.

10 years ago

Amazing! Its actually amazing piece of writing, I have got much clear
idea regarding from this paragraph.

Ericka
10 years ago

I’m going to have to agree with another poster Michele. The flavor is delicious but oh so crumbly. The top is nice and crusted and the bottom collapses into a full crumble! I have form the crumbles with my fingers in order to eat it. Perhaps this recipe would hold up better with an egg replacer?

10 years ago

I have tried some really terrible gf cornbread recipes…thank you for posting this one. It was delicious…and I didn’t think it turned out overly crumbly. Thanks ;-)

Michelle
10 years ago

I accidentally left out the baking powder the 1st time I made these and they were amazing. Still a little on the dry side but not too crumbly.

Katharine
9 years ago

I just tried this recipe and what a success! I used 1c boxed coconut milk and coconut oil. Muffins are super moist with just the right amount of crumb. My coconut oil did solidify a bit when I added the semi-cold milk and applesauce, but it didn’t affect the final product. I did notice that the batter seemed somewhat dry before cooking, but given how wonderful the muffins are, I’m sure its okay! Thank you for your recipe. It’s so nice to find a healthy gluten free, dairy free, and egg free recipe. Makes eating fun again :)

Jaimie
9 years ago

I thought this was to dry the initial way the recipe is supposed to be made. I added a flax egg (1.5 tbsp ground flax seed and 3 tbsp water that you let sit for a few minutes) and I also took out half a cup of corn meal and put in 1/2 cup of my gluten free for blend. It came out perfect my husband and I loved them.

margie
8 years ago

I am guessing that the crumbly muffin people did not use maple syrup and the ones that turned out did not. It acts kind of like a glue in cornbread.

8 years ago

These were fantastic! Granted, I did not make them vegan – instead I used real buttermilk in lieu of the almond milk & vinegar and then an egg in place of the applesauce. But they were just like the southern cornbread I remember. Yes, they were a little crumbly but that is what they are suppose to be like if they are *southern* style. I have been gluten free for years and now I finally have a gf cornbread recipe to use. Thank you!! I can’t wait to use them for Thanksgiving stuffing this year.