Vegan Skillet Cornbread (Southwest)

Name: Vegan Skillet Cornbread (Southwest)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal; 4 oz can diced mild green chile (or 3 oz roasted Hatch chile, diced); 1 ½ cups organic unsweetened soy milk; 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar; ¼ cup grapeseed oil; ½ cup frozen fire-roasted corn (or regular corn); 1 ¼ cups organic yellow cornmeal (or medium grind cornmeal); 1 cup Kamut flour (or all-purpose flour, spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour); 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 2 teaspoons fine sea salt; 2 tablespoons natural raw cane turbinado sugar (or maple syrup, coconut sugar, or organic cane sugar)

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This Vegan Skillet Cornbread with green chile and corn is delicious and easy to make! It's the best cornbread: moist, not too crumbly, and it has just a hint of sweetness. It's perfect with chili or soup and comes together in less than 45 minutes!

Overhead view of vegan southwest skillet cornbread in cast iron skillet on marble surface with grey napkin.

Cornbread is one of those quintessential comfort foods, popular around the holidays. Many people think of cornbread as a dish that requires dairy and eggs, but it's easy to make vegan skillet cornbread.

This recipe is a dairy-free and egg-free version with green chiles for extra kick and fire-roasted corn for even more flavor and texture.

This easy vegan cornbread recipe is perfect for holiday gatherings or potlucks, and it's sure to please vegans and meat-eaters alike. So if you're looking for a delicious, vegan-friendly side dish this holiday season, give this skillet cornbread a try!

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Ingredients
What is Kamut?
How to make this Southwest Vegan Skillet Cornbread
How to store
Equipment
How do I make my cornbread crust crispy?
Expert tip
Variations
Substitutions
How to serve
FAQ
Related recipes
Recipe

Since several of my stew and chili recipes have southwestern-inspired flavors, I thought I'd incorporate southwestern flavors into the cornbread. I chose canned green chili and frozen fire-roasted corn as additional ingredients to spice things up. I love the moist and flavorful result, and I know you will too!

To make this vegan cornbread, I mixed finely ground cornmeal with Kamut flour for added fiber, protein, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids.

Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make the best vegan cornbread!

Cornmeal: I use a good quality, finely ground yellow whole grain cornmeal. If you prefer more texture, you can use medium-ground cornmeal. If you like stone-ground polenta, you can use it.
Oil/butter: I use grapeseed oil which is a neutral oil.
Plant-based Milk: I recommend using plain, unsweetened soy milk for this cornbread recipe. Because of its protein and fat content, it makes an acceptable substitute for dairy milk. Soy milk sours nicely with the addition of apple cider vinegar.
Flour: I love mixing cornmeal with Kamut flour in this recipe. If you don't have Kamut, you can try all-purpose flour, whole-wheat pastry flour, or spelt flour.
Turbinado sugar: You can substitute this with organic cane sugar or coconut sugar.
Frozen fire-roasted corn: I buy frozen kernels since they are readily available at the grocery store. There is no need to thaw the frozen corn. You can use regular corn or fresh corn instead.
Green chile: I've tried this recipe with canned green chile and homemade frozen roasted Hatch green chile - choose whichever you can get!
Kamut flour - I love baking with this ancient grain. If you can't find it, check out the substitutions below.
Flaxseed Meal - This vegan egg alternative works well in this recipe. When ground flaxseed meal is combined with liquid, it thickens and binds the other ingredients, similar to what eggs do in a baking recipe.

What is Kamut?

Kamut is the Egyptian word for wheat, a delicious, ancient whole grain. Kamut, or Khorasan, is ancient wheat that has not been hybridized nor genetically engineered. It does contain gluten, although some people with gluten sensitivity may be able to tolerate this ancient grain. It gets its name from the province of Khorasan in northeastern Iran. Kamut flour has an interesting history; the Kamut name has been a registered trademark since 1990.

You may be wondering what Kamut tastes like. I enjoy this flour's nutty and buttery taste, and it is light enough to use in recipes that call for regular flour or whole-wheat pastry flour; I've added it to sourdough with success. I store this ancient grain in my freezer to keep it fresh.

How to make this Southwest Vegan Skillet Cornbread

This homemade cornbread recipe is easy to make, even if it is your first time.

Assemble and measure all of the ingredients. This is called mise en place. It's a French culinary phrase for "everything in its place." It makes everything go much smoother when you set yourself up for success!

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease the 9-inch cast-iron skillet. I typically use shortening. You can use oil instead, such as avocado oil or grapeseed oil, or plant-based butter. If you use a larger skillet, the cornbread will spread out more and will not rise as high.

Overhead of roasted green chile mixed with flaxseed in blue and white bowl on marble background

Combine the ground flaxseed meal with the diced green chiles, including the liquid from the can, and set aside. If using frozen Hatch chile, dice it; there is no need to rinse or thaw it.

Overhead view of mixture of liquid ingredients wih corn

In a small bowl, combine the liquid ingredients. Mix the soy milk and apple cider vinegar to make the vegan version of buttermilk. Set aside a few minutes and stir in the grapeseed oil and the frozen fire-roasted corn.

Overhead view of dry ingredients to be mixed in bowl with grey napkin on marble background

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients with a whisk to avoid clumps: yellow cornmeal, Kamut flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and turbinado sugar.

Overhead view of liquid and dry ingredients mixed in bowl on white marble background.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, plus the green chile and flaxseed mixture, and stir until just combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter.

Overhead view of cornbread batter in cast iron skillet on marble background and grey napkin

Pour the batter into the skillet and even out the top with the spatula.

Overhead of baked cornbread in cast iron skillet

Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the top turns golden brown.

Let the cornbread cool for up to 20 minutes before serving.

How to store

This cornbread keeps at room temperature for 1 to 2 days.

Refrigerate this cornbread for up to 1 week in an airtight container. Let it cool completely on a wire rack before covering it with plastic wrap and placing it in an airtight container.

Freeze it for up to 3 months by wrapping the cornbread tightly with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, and place it in a heavy-duty freezer bag.

Equipment

9-inch cast-iron skillet or 10-inch skillet. If you don't have a cast-iron skillet, you can use a round or square baking pan, 8-inch or 9-inch. Keep an eye on the baking time; you may need extra baking time.
mixing bowls, small and medium
spatula
can opener
whisk

Side view of piece of cornbread on cream plate with fork.

How do I make my cornbread crust crispy?

I love the texture of this cornbread with a slightly crispy crust due to the cast iron pan. However, if you like your cornbread edges to be crispier, place the greased cast-iron skillet in the oven while it's preheating. Prepare the ingredients and get the batter ready.

Get your oven mitts on and take the heavy cast-iron pan out of the oven, dropping a couple of tablespoons of plant-based butter in the pan. Swirl it around as it's melting and allow it to coat the bottom of the pan and the sides.

Then pour your batter into the skillet, ensuring it's even across the top. Place the skillet back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Expert tip

Don't over-stir the batter, or the texture of the cornbread may change.

Variations

Spicy - To add some heat and take this cornbread to the next level, add fresh roasted (or frozen) green chile such as Hatch chile or poblano. Try my roasted Hatch chile recipe; you can use this recipe for other green chiles as well.
Kid-friendly - Omit the green chile. Mix the flaxseed with 6 tablespoons of water or ⅓ cup of applesauce.

Substitutions

Kamut flour - Instead of Kamut flour, try all-purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, whole pastry flour, Einkorn flour, or spelt flour.
Grapeseed oil - You can use coconut oil, avocado oil, or plant-based butter. If you use plant-based butter, melt it first, and reduce the amount of salt in the recipe if the vegan butter contains salt.
Turbinado sugar - use organic cane sugar, coconut sugar, or maple syrup.
Soy milk - you can use unsweetened oat milk or unsweetened, unflavored almond milk. Other types of non-dairy milk may be too thin, sweet, and watery and may affect the taste of the cornbread.

How to serve

This easy vegan cornbread is perfect for dunking in chili, eating alongside a hearty bowl of greens, or slathered with butter and jam.

It's hard to resist eating this right out of the pan! A traditional Southern favorite with many variations, cornbread is the perfect accompaniment to chili and stews.

This cornbread with green chile goes perfectly with Vegan Butternut Squash Chili, Vegan Pumpkin Chili, or Sweet Potato and Bean Stew. It turns a bowl of soup into a meal!

FAQ

What do you use to grease a pan for cornbread?

I use vegan shortening, which I typically use to grease the cast-iron skillet after any use.

What is the best pan to use for cornbread?

A 9-inch cast-iron skillet is the best pan for making this cornbread since it contributes to the slightly crispy crust. You can use another pan, like an 8-inch or 9-inch glass square baking dish, but you won't get the crispy edges.

I hope you enjoy this vegan version of a classic cornbread recipe as much as we did! If you make it, please take a moment to ★★★★★ star-rate it and leave a comment below. Also, follow me on Instagram and Facebook, and share your creation with me! Tag me @resplendentkitchen and hashtag #resplendentkitchenrecipes.