Vegan Southern Sweet Cornbread! Packed with wholesome ingredients, it stays true to Southern flavors while offering a modern, vegan twist.

This Vegan Southern Sweet Cornbread is a healthier twist on a classic Southern staple, crafted for plant-based eaters without sacrificing comfort-food heart. Sweetened just enough to evoke nostalgia, yet balanced so it’s not overly sugary, this dense, corn-kissed loaf delivers a flawless crumb and a moist, tender crumb you can practically feel melt in your mouth. Perfect for weeknight dinners, Sunday brunch, or holiday tables, this cornbread rises to the occasion.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

Sooooo good—seriously, we devoured every crumb! Yasmeen even ate three pieces, and I couldn’t blame her one bit. This cornbread isn’t just a side; it’s the star of the plate. The aroma wafts through the kitchen with notes of sweet, warm corn, while the crust crackles just enough to give you that satisfying bite.

I love how the batter comes together with simple, wholesome pantry staples, making it feel like a Sunday treat that you can feel good about eating. If you’re craving cozy comfort with a vegan twist, you’ve found your new go-to—perfect for enjoying on its own or pairing with your favorite vegan chili.

We dedicated this recipe to my great grandpa, who is 93 and grew up in the mountains of Cumberland, Maryland. He has had two heart attacks and quadruple bypass heart surgery.  Cornbread is his absolute favorite food in the whole world. He absolutely loved this healthier version. He gave this recipe a solid 9.8 out of 10.

Give it a try and tell me your favorite way to enjoy it in the comments—this one is destined to become a beloved staple in any plant-based home cook’s repertoire.

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This is a healthier twist on a classic Southern sweet cornbread. Sweetened, but not overly sweet, dense, with a perfect crumb, and full of healthy, wholesome ingredients, it’s absolutely delicious.
• Sweetness: This cornbread is sweet using both maple sugar and a little maple syrup.
• Maple Sugar Substitutions: Feel free to substitute the maple sugar with your favorite dry sugar.
• Maple Syrup/Maple Sugar: You cannot substitute the dry maple sugar for maple syrup. This recipe uses both dry maple sugar and maple syrup. However, again, you can replace the maple sugar with another equal amount of dry sugar, like date or coconut sugar.
• Unbleached Organic All-Purpose White Flour: We used unbleached, all-purpose, organic white flour. Feel free to use your favorite al-purpose flour.
• Measuring Flour: Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off. Do not pack it in and do not scoop it in. Scooping flour results in too much flour as it packs it in the measuring cup.
• Parchment Paper Liner: Line the baking dish with parchment paper to cover the bottom, allow excess paper to go up two of the sides and hang over the edge for easy removal. We cover all four sides of the pan by using two lengths of parchment paper. This is not required (all four sides), but the bottom and two sides are needed.
• Removal from Pan: Make sure you run a sharp knife all along the edges of the pan where the parchment paper isn’t covering the edges to ensure that the cornbread doesn’t stick to the sides when lifting it from the pan.
• Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
• Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 4 days at room temperature.  Store in a covered air-tight container.

This cornbread freezes well.

Pantry Products:

• Unbleached All-Purpose Organic Flour: We used King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Organic Flour.  Feel free to use your favorite all-purpose flour.
• Maple Sugar: We used Nova Maple Sugar. Feel free to use your favorite dry sugar.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs. 

Kitchen Equipment:

• 8 x 8 baking pan
• Parchment paper

If you try this comforting cornbread, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Vegan Southern Sweet Cornbread

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 23-25 Minutes
• Total Time: 40 Minutes
• Yield: 9 Servings (Squares) 1x
• Category: Side
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

This Vegan Southern Sweet Cornbread is a healthier twist on a classic Southern staple, crafted for plant-based eaters without sacrificing comfort-food heart.

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Ingredients

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Dry Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups cornmeal
• 1 cup unbleached organic all-purpose white flour *
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon maple sugar (or other dry sugar) *
• ½ teaspoon sea salt *

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsweetened plain plant milk
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the oven rack in the center position.
2. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. Place add all the Dry Ingredients into the large bowl, whisk until well combined.
4. Place all the Wet Ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients, stir just until everything is mixed well. Then place the mixture into the parchment lined 8 x 8 baking dish, smooth out carefully to make everything level.
5. Place in a preheated oven and bake at 400 F for 23 to 25 minutes until set and a toothpick comes out clean and the top turns golden.
6. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for at least 25 minutes, then score, cut, serve and enjoy.

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Notes

Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used. 

Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.   

Servings:  9

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