Grain-free Paleo Cornbread with a keto option. This easy recipe requires just a handful of basic ingredients and is perfect for those who follow a low-carb paleo or ketogenic diet.
Sometimes I get an unruly hankering for cornbread, which can only really be quenched by….cornbread.
Most of the time when a specific craving hits, there are multiple ways of satisfying it with better-for-me options, but for cornbread? Not so much. It’s cornbread or bust.
My digestive system is sensitive to both corn and grain-based flours, so a gluten-free version of cornbread, while better on my system than the fully-leaded version, still causes GI upset.
I set out to make a cornbread-like substance (I’m already great at selling this recipe), and landed on this very simple and straightforward almond flour lookalike.
Does this taste exactly like cornbread? Nay. But it scratches the itch.
If you love having that hunk of moist, dense, slightly sweet bread to go alongside your soups, stews, and chilis, I daresay this may just do the trick.
To me, Thanksgiving is not complete without some sort of dinner roll or cornbread, so I whipped up this recipe to meet that specific need.
Oh, and if biscuits are more your speed, you can check out my Grain-Free Biscuits recipe.
If your family is like mine and includes a mixed bag of people who tolerate gluten and people who don’t, this is a stellar option to set next to your family’s traditional dinner roll recipe during your holiday gatherings.
How to Make Paleo/Keto Cornbread
Per usual, I prepare the batter in the blender, but you can also use a stand mixer, mixing bowls, an electric hand mixer, a food processor, you name it.
Simply combine all ingredients, pour into a cake pan, bake, and you’re golden!
Don’t skip the cider vinegar, sea salt, or sweetener! All three of these ingredients are pivotal in creating a flavor that is similar to cornbread.
Sweetening Options:
The amount of sweetness here is entirely up to you.
If you like your cornbread in the medium-sweet range like me, you can use a few tablespoons of coconut sugar or pure maple syrup to keep it paleo-friendly.
If you follow a ketogenic diet, simply add 1 to 3 Tbsp granulated zero-sugar sweetener of choice (like Swerve), or ¼ tsp liquid stevia.
In my opinion, you need some level of sweetness to make this taste like real cornbread, so I don’t recommend skipping the sweetener, regardless of the type you choose.
Serving Options:
If you’re like me and you’re a heavy believer that cornbread should be the moistest thing you experience all day, you can melt some ghee or grass-fed butter and drizzle it on top of your hunk of bread.
If you’re paleo, feel liberated to drizzle with some raw honey as well!
Paleo Cornbread
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp ghee melted*
- 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 2 1/2 cups finely ground almond flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut sugar **
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment paper
- Add all ingredients to a blender in the order in which they appear on the ingredients list. Blend until well-combined.
- Transfer batter to the parchment-lined baking pan and smooth into an even layer. Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until "cornbread" has risen, formed crags, and is beginning to turn golden-brown.
- Turn off the oven and allow bread to sit another 5 to 10 minutes in the warm oven, until it reaches desired level of golden-brown-edness.
- Remove from oven and allow bread to cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but the mixture was far too dry for my blender. I tried stirring by hand, but it just wouldn’t blend… the eggs alone and vinegar and ghee were just not enough liquid. I ended up adding about 3/4 cup of milk, which helped, but I still had to mix by hand after scraping from the inside of the blender. The flavor and texture were a decent facsimile of cornbread, hence the 2 stars. 4 for flavor and texture, 1 for mixing method. I have a powerful blender, so that wasn’t the problem. In any event, I recommend that people start with these basic ingredients and tweak as necessary. You can get a fairly close reproduction, and the corn flavor extract that someone mentioned should really help to put it over the top.
Hi Sam,
Thanks for the feedback! I’ll re-test the recipe and see if I get a similar result. I’ve found that different brands of almond flour have a different level of absorbency so results can vary depending on which almond flour you use. Nevertheless, it’s important to me that all of my recipes be 5-star recipes so I’ll troubleshoot what may have happened and update the recipe if need be.
Can I substitute the eggs with flax or apple sauce?
Hi Sherice,
Oooh great question! I haven’t tested the recipe using an egg substitute, but based off my experience swapping eggs for flax or applesauce my guess is the bread would turn out very dense. I find the substitution to be fine in baked goods like brownies where you want them to be dense and fudgy, but for a bread recipe like this, I fear it won’t fluff up without the eggs. I can definitely circle back and let you know once I have a chance to test it using flax eggs. In the meantime, let me know if you try it!! xoxox
I loved this recipe! I used salted butter instead of ghee. I ran out of almond flour so I used 2 cups of almond flour and .5 cup of coconut flour. I needed to make it keto friendly so added 2.5 tbsp of Monkfruit sweetener. I should have smoothed the top a little better for presentation but they taste amazing!
All of that sounds so awesome! I’m glad it worked out with the coconut flour substitution – great job using what you had on hand! Have a happy Thanksgiving! xo
I recently learned about sweet corn flavoring and just ordered it this morning. I’m excited to try it for cornbread stuffing. It received great reviews!
Holy mackerel, I need to pick up some of that! Sounds like it could be incredible, and I’m drooling just thinking about it 😀
Nice! I was looking at cornmeal this weekend wishing for a warm slice of cornbread. Because corn is inflammatory, I resisted. I am so happy to see your recipe. I am looking forward to this!
I’m happy to hear it! Excited to hear what you think! xo