Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins (One Bowl!)
Tender, moist, with just a touch of sweetness, these gluten free cornbread muffins come together easily in just one bowl and make the perfect side dish for chili, soups, stews, or just as a snack!
About These Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins
Is there anything better than a perfectly tender, slightly sweet, warm-from-the-oven cornbread muffin?
I think not.
Truly, cornbread muffins are so versatile, and make the perfect side to just about any meal.
From soups & stews, to hearty chili, and and more, cornbread muffins round out a meal and add a little something special.
I particularly love these muffins served with my go-to vegetarian chili or turkey chili.
This gluten free version is particularly easy to throw together (only one-bowl required!) and bakes in under 20 minutes, making it totally doable on a busy weeknight.
Slathered with honey or jam, or just straight-up, in addition to making a great side, these also make the best snack.
Tip: These muffins also freeze well, so you have make them ahead and then grab a few from the freezer to go with dinner any night of the week.
Process & Tips
This easy muffin recipe couldn’t be simpler to make!
I love that all the ingredients can be mixed together in one bowl, keeping clean up (and dirty dishes) to a minimum.
You can use a cookie scoop (or a large tablespoon) to scoop the batter into a greased muffin tin, and then they’re off to bake for 18-25 minutes.
Really, the hardest part about this recipe is just waiting for them to cool for those final 5 minutes before tearing them open & taking that first bite.
Enjoy them cold from the fridge, at room temperature, or warmed up with a little melted butter (traditional or plant-based), nut butter or honey drizzled on top.
How to Store & Freeze Leftover Muffins
Keep in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for 48 hours. Or store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Past 4 days you’ll want to freeze any leftover muffins.
I like to store mine in a sealed ziptop bag or freezer friendly container for up to 2-3 months.
If you live in a high humidity environment, I recommend refrigerating your gluten free dairy free cornbread muffins after baking.
Best Types of Flour for Gluten Free Muffins
There are so many gluten free flour mixes and options on the market, but to keep this recipe easy and accessible (even if you don’t have a specialty store nearby) I use gluten free oat flour.
You can make your own gluten free oat flour by placing 2 cups whole gluten-free rolled oats in a blender and blending until a coarse flour forms.
Or purchase pre-made gluten-free oat flour at many grocery stores and natural food markets or online.
Make sure you use gluten-free oats or gluten-free flour for this recipe, as regular oats and oat-flour can be cross contaminated with gluten.
This Recipe Is…
Dairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreeVegetarian
Key Ingredients
Refined coconut oil: Use refined coconut oil to avoid these muffins tasting of coconut. Any neutral flavored oil such as avocado or canola may also be used.
Oat flour: Oat flour is easily one of my favorite gluten free flour choice. You can either look for it in your local store, or make your own (see my instructions above on how). Make sure it’s specifically labeled gluten free.
Cornmeal: Look for fine or medium grind for the best texture.
Baking soda & baking powder: Together, with the eggs, the baking soda and baking powder help these gluten free muffins rise.
Eggs: I haven’t tested this as a vegan recipe with flax eggs or vegan egg replacer. If you try it, be sure to let us know how it turns out!
Kosher salt: Look for kosher salt with the regular iodized salt at the grocery store (it has a subtler flavor). Use less iodized salt if that’s what you have on hand.
Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins (One Bowl!)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup melted refined coconut oil, or other neutral flavored oil such as avocado or canola
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ⅔ cup plain unsweetened almond milk, or non-dairy milk of choice
- 1 ½ cups gluten free oat flour
- 1 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, honey and almond milk until smooth.
- Add the oat flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt, stirring until just combined.
- Spoon 2-3 heaping tablespoons of the batter at a time into a greased or lined muffin pan.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges begin to pull away from the sides and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely.
Love these…have become a go to recipe when I feel like a treat 🙂 I throw in a handful of frozen blueberries. Delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Love the idea of adding blueberries. So glad you’re enjoying these Kate!
Coconut disagrees with me, so I swapped in 2 parts unsweetened applesauce to 1 part olive oil and added a wee bit extra salt and honey for my own taste. The result was great! Ate them with pumpkin chili. Next batch goes to a T Day stuffing: your recipe with pecans added. Mmmm.
Fantastic, so glad you made this your own. So glad you enjoyed!
Sorry to be the annoying person asking about substitutions, but do you think that almond flour would work in lieu of oat flour?
Julia, no problem. Yes, almond flour typically subs well for oat flour, and I bet it would be a yummy combo with the cornmeal. If you try it let us know how it turns out!
I have brown rice flour – can I substitute it for the oat flour?
Donna, brown rice flour is quite different than oat flour, and doesn’t substitute well. Almond flour or regular whole wheat four would work, though!
I made these recently and love the density and texture. But the coconut flavor is very noticeable and not my favorite. Is this due to the type of coconut oil I used? I see refined and unrefined at the store, plus different brands – and I’m never sure what to buy. Any tips on how to reduce the coconut flavor? Thanks!
Hi Sonja, great question. I’d recommend buying refined coconut oil, which will have a much milder coconut flavor. You could also try avocado oil or any neutral tasting oil. Hope that helps!