This easy skillet cornbread comes out perfect every single time, is crusty on the outside with a toothy bite that you’ll absolutely love. Eat it with a drizzle of honey, as a side to barbecue or chili con carne, or use it to make cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner! This is also gluten-free and dairy-free too, but nobody would know!
What is Cornbread?
Cornbread, for those of you who haven’t eaten this miracle of a dish before, is basically any quick bread that contains cornmeal and is leavened with baking powder as opposed to yeast. While cornbread is generally eaten all over the United States, it is highly popular in the South of the United States, and is widely eaten with barbecue and chili con carne. Sometimes it’s also used to make cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner.
Skillet-baked or skillet-fried cornbread (also known simply as “skillet cornbread”) is a staple in Southern cuisine, and this essentially refers to a way of cooking cornbread in which the batter is basically poured into a previously-heated cast iron skillet and returned to the oven to bake until a crusty exterior is formed.
My Love for Cornbread
I am a big fan of cornbread in every form, and over the years I’ve made gluten-free cornbread muffins, super easy rosemary cornbread, pretty cornbread madeleines, and even jalapeño cornbread (perfect if you love some heat!).
It’s one of those super versatile foods that you can cook in practically any form possible (from muffin tins to loaf pans to a baking pan or a skillet) and it will still comes out great. Plus, you can add in toppings like sweet blueberries or spicy jalapeños as you wish.
Our Favorite Gluten-Free Cornbread Recipe + Why This Recipe Works
However, my absolute favorite way to cook gluten-free cornbread is in a cast iron skillet (and it seems readers agree too!).
The reason why I love using a skillet is because by preheating the skillet before pouring in the batter, it ensures that the bottom of the cornbread turns out crusty too (as opposed to soft and moist). Plus, this skillet cornbread is fail-proof and comes out crazy good every single time (no kidding)! So you can always be sure that it’ll be a success.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:
- Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I like to use a gluten-free flour blend that is made up of lighter flours and starches such as rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch, or potato starch, as opposed to a blend with heavier and denser flours such as garbanzo bean flour.
- Sugar: I used light brown sugar in this recipe, but you can also use normal white or dark brown sugar if you prefer. Alternatively, if you want a skillet cornbread that’s not sweet at all, feel free to leave out the sugar completely.
- Almond Milk: I like to use my 5-minute homemade almond milk for this gluten-free cornbread recipe, but you can also use other dairy-free milks, such as cashew milk, soy milk, coconut milk or other nut milks. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use normal dairy milk if you prefer.
- Coconut Oil: I prefer to use refined coconut oil when cooking or baking because it has a more neutral taste (compared to extra virgin coconut oil that has a strong coconut taste). Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, go ahead and use easy amounts of melted butter instead.
How to Cook Cornbread in a Skillet:
1. Preheat Oven
Pre-heat oven to 425F (220C) and adjust the rack to the middle position.
2. Heat Up Skillet
Place an 8-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to heat up (yes, I mean the empty skillet without anything in it).
3. Mix Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, gluten-free flour blend, sugar, salt and baking powder.
4. Add Wet Ingredients
Whisk in the almond milk, eggs and melted coconut oil until well combined, leaving 1 tablespoon of coconut oil for the skillet.
5. Brush Skillet with Oil
Remove cast iron skillet from the oven (be careful, it’s hot!) and reduce oven temperature to 375F (180C). Brush the remaining tablespoon of melted coconut oil all around the top surface of the skillet.
6. Transfer Batter to Skillet
Pour gluten-free cornbread batter into the skillet, smooth out the top with a wet spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool and Enjoy
Allow this gluten-free skillet cornbread to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
Helpful Tips/Tricks:
- No Skillet? No Problem: If you don’t own a cast iron skillet, simple use an 8″x 8″ baking pan in place of the skillet. With the baking pan, you don’t have to heat it up in the oven. Simply pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 350F until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Make Muffins: If you prefer individual cornbread muffins, you can also bake them in a muffin tin for 20 minutes at 350F until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Make a Loaf: If you prefer to bake it into a gluten-free cornbread loaf, simply use a standard loaf pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Recipe FAQs:
If not eating immediately, store this gluten-free cornbread in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for up to one week.
Yes of course you can freeze this gluten-free cornbread! To freeze, place cornbread in a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm in the oven for a few minutes before serving.
Other Cornbread Recipes You’ll Love:
- Easy Cornbread Muffins (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Jalapeño Cornbread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Cornbread Madeleines (Gluten-Free)
- Rosemary Cornbread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Blueberry Cornbread Muffins (Gluten-Free)
Bread Recipes to Enjoy:
P.S. If you try this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating below, and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to check out my entire Recipe Index for all the recipes on the blog. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram! Sign up for my Email List to get fresh recipes in your inbox each week!
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Easy Skillet Cornbread (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This easy skillet cornbread comes out perfect every single time, is crusty on the outside with a toothy bite that you’ll absolutely love. Eat it with a drizzle of honey, as a side to barbecue or chili con carne, or use it to make cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving dinner! This is also gluten-free and dairy-free too, but nobody would know!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups coarsely ground cornmeal
- 3/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/3 cups almond milk
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Pre-heat oven to 425F (220C) and adjust the rack to the middle position.
- Heat Up Skillet: Place an 8-inch cast iron skillet in the oven to heat up.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, gluten-free flour blend, sugar, salt and baking powder.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Whisk in the milk, eggs and melted coconut oil until well combined, leaving 1 tablespoon of coconut oil for the skillet
- Brush Skillet with Oil: Remove cast iron skillet from the oven (carefully! It’s hot!) and reduce oven temperature to 375F (180C). Brush the remaining tablespoon of melted coconut oil all around the top surface of the skillet
- Transfer Batter to Skillet: Pour cornbread batter into the skillet, smooth out the top of the batter with a wet spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- Cool and Enjoy: Allow cornbread to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: I like to use a gluten-free flour blend that is made up of lighter flours and starches such as rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch, or potato starch, as opposed to a blend that uses heavier or denser flours such as garbanzo bean flours.
Sugar: I used light brown sugar, but you can also use normal white or dark brown sugar if you prefer. Alternatively, if you want a cornbread that’s not sweet at all, feel free to leave out the sugar completely.
Almond Milk: I like to use my 5-minute homemade almond milk for this recipe, but you can also use other dairy-free milks, such as cashew milk, soy milk, coconut milk or other nut milks. Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use normal dairy milk if you prefer.
Coconut Oil: I prefer to use refined coconut oil when cooking or baking because it has a more neutral taste (compared to extra virgin coconut oil that has a strong coconut taste). Alternatively, if you are not lactose-intolerant, go ahead and use easy amounts of melted butter instead.
Storing/Freezing: If not eating immediately, store cornbread in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days, or in the fridge for up to one week. To freeze, place cornbread in a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm in the oven for a few minutes before serving.
No Skillet? No Problem: If you don’t own a cast iron skillet, simple use an 8″x 8″ baking pan in place of the skillet. With the baking pan, you don’t have to heat it up in the oven. Simply pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 350F until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
*This recipe was originally posted in 2014 but has since been updated with new photos, process shots and clearer instructions.
- Category: Appetizers
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: skillet cornbread
Loved this recipe, it turned out so good! I skipped the sugar and we had it with good Spanish olive oil and a bit of sea salt. As I don’t have a large one, I used 2 small le creuset skillets. Would love to send you a picture of the result but don’t know how. We also had the shaved brussels speouts. They were very good too! Thanks for the recipes! And greetings from the Netherlands!
★★★★★
Hi Tineke!! Makes me so happy that you loved it! 🙂 I like the idea of serving this cornbread in small skillets – would definitely love to see it – you can email me at felicialimhuizhi@gmail.com or tag me on instagram @felicialimhz! YAY!!! Also, aren’t the shaved Brussels sprouts just delish?? So good!! Thanks for dropping by, and you’re MOST WELCOME!! Makes me happy to know the recipes are making tummies happy all over the globe! Greetings from Buenos Aires! 🙂
I really appreciate your giving the oven temperature in Celsius which is what my oven displays. Thanks.
You’re most welcome Frances!! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week ahead!
Good morning Felicia,
It has been more than 6 years since 2014 when you first introduced this recipe to us for which I had been most grateful.
Since then, every time I enjoy this shortbread, I am thankful.
Once again, I am thankful for your effort to update this recipe for our benefits especially for those of us who enjoy cornbread a lot 🙂
I love you,
Mum
★★★★★
Hi mummy! yes this was one of my first (probably the first) cornbread recipe I’d ever made, only this time I adjusted it to make it dairy-free too, so even those with lactose intolerances and dairy allergies can eat it!
Have made this at least a dozen times and LOVE it! My husband who doesn’t like corn bread loves it. My go to recipe on soup night!!
★★★★★
Hi Karen!! Makes me so happy to hear that (and if your husband loves it too despite not liking cornbread, then it’s double yay!!) I love how easy this recipe is to make as well, now you make me want to bake cornbread this weekend too! Happy weekend 🙂
Just pulled this out of the oven, let it rest for a bit, and tried it: it’s delicious! Great easy recipe, love that it’s buttermilk free because I literally never have buttermilk!
★★★★★
Hi K! Glad you love the cornbread!! 🙂 Buttermilk is easy to make though, if you don’t have it, just combine 1 glass of normal milk with 1 or 2 tablespoons of lemon juice! Let the the mixture sit for 15 mins until it curdles, and you have homemade buttermilk! In case you need it and you don’t have it at home! 🙂
Thanks so much. This is the ONE I’m going to try. 🙂 Went GF over a month ago…so looking for replacement recipes. This one sounds pretty close to what my mom used to make. In a cast iron skillet of course. 🙂
Hi Nancy, I hope you’ll like this cornbread recipe as much as I do! My bf went gluten-free about a few months ago too, and I can understand how difficult it is to have to get used to completely different flours/textures/tastes!
This recipe sounds like just what I am looking for. Please let me know what size cast iron pan you are using for this cornbread. Thank you very much.
Hey Jane! I used a 26cm diameter cast iron pan : ) Hope that helps!
What a beautiful post! Not at all what I expected when I clicked on your beautiful pinterest picture. Very inspirational, espcially the photographer part. As a new food blogger I have been trying to improve my photos but still have a long way to go.
Mona, so nice to meet you! Always glad to meet other food bloggers 🙂 And so happy to hear you were inspired by the post – i hopped over to your blog and you have lovely pictures! 🙂 I’ll say the most important thing that I’ve learnt as a blogger is to keep on keeping on, day after day, practicing over and over again, and trying to make sure that each time to you do something is an improvement over the last (even if its 1% improvement). Hope to see you around again soon! <3
How I marvel at the way you have bluntly hit “procrastination” in the butt ! How did I know? Because it hits me so hard that I was awakened rudely to the realisation that this post spoke directly at me!
At this present moment, I have a number of unfinished/yet to start tasks that should have finished like yesterday!!
I am so inspired by your writing to start working on the items on my to-do list (one at a time) NOW – no more leaving it till later.
Thanks for your post 🙂
As I finish each one of these items, I will celebrate my victory over procrastination with the cornbread sweetened with honey 🙂
Always love your writing which has the power to move me into inspired actions.
With much love and blessings!
Mum
★★★★★
Thank you mummy!! Let’s kick resistance in the butt! 🙂