These vegan cornbread muffins are made extra sweet and flavorful with molasses and classic cornbread ingredients. They are so easy to make in under 30 minutes and perfect as a side with hearty soup!
Say goodbye to store-bought cornbread mix. It's so easy to make your own homemade vegan cornbread muffins using classic baking ingredients! All you need is a few substitutions to make cornbread that is dairy-free and egg-free.
These cornbread muffins are made in one bowl in just about 30 minutes, so they're the perfect weeknight side to serve alongside vegan white bean soup, lentil quinoa soup, or mushroom barley soup.
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Why this recipe works
- Quick & easy: This recipe makes 12 cornbread muffins in just 30 minutes using simple, inexpensive ingredients.
- Deeply flavored: Molasses gives the cornbread muffins a deep brown color and adds an extra level of flavor. This makes the recipe a little more special than your average cornbread muffin!
- Texture: Light, fluffy, and tender! Even without eggs and dairy.
- Sweet cornbread muffins: There is an age-old debate between sugar-sweetened and unsweetened cornbread. Let me just say that if you prefer unsweetened cornbread, this probably isn't the recipe for you. These cornbread muffins are gently sweet.
If you're looking for cornbread made without molasses, you might like my traditional vegan cornbread recipe.
Ingredients
- Molasses: Molasses is a dark, thick syrupy biproduct made from boiling sugar cane or sugar beets. This recipe uses regular molasses, not blackstrap molasses, which is a much more strongly flavored version of molasses.
- Cornmeal: This recipe uses whole-grain cornmeal. Whole grain cornmeal is simply ground corn, whereas refined or degerminated cornmeal is more finely ground. Coarse, whole-grain cornmeal yields a more richly flavored and textured muffin. My favorite cornmeal is from Bob's Red Mill, but any package labeled "coarse" will work.
- All-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda are baking staples that contribute to the cornbread muffin structure.
- Non-dairy milk: Unsweetened, unflavored soy milk is my go-to, but oat milk and almond milk also work. Just make sure to choose one labeled as unflavored.
- Vegan butter, such as Earth Balance or Miyoko's brand. An equal amount of coconut oil can be used as needed.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Make a flax egg by combining dry flaxseed with warm water. Let sit for at least 5 minutes. As the flaxseed sits it becomes more viscous and "egg"-like.
Step 2: Make vegan "buttermilk" by combining unsweetened soy milk with apple cider vinegar. Let sit for 10 minutes. The acidic vinegar causes soy milk to curdle and become thicker. It may not sound appetizing, but it's a great way to add extra depth to cornbread (and vegan pancakes and vegan biscuits!).
Note: If you don't have apple cider vinegar you can use regular vinegar. If you don't have any vinegar at all, just skip the buttermilk step. Learn more about my method to make vegan buttermilk.
Step 3: Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
Step 4: Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Whisk until just combined, careful not to overmix. It is okay if some small dry parts still exist.
Step 5: Evenly divide the batter into twelve lightly oiled muffin tins. I use cooking spray to oil the muffin tin, but you can also drizzle oil in the tins and spread it around with a paper towel.
Scoop out ⅓ cup of batter per muffin tin. The batter should be about the consistency of pancake batter: not too watery, but not thick either.
Step six: Bake the muffins at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes. Because the molasses makes the muffins darken more than a traditional corn muffin, you will want to check for doneness using a toothpick inserted in the center. The toothpick will come out clean when the corn muffins are baked through.
Cassidy's tips
- Sugar swaps: If you are in a pinch and don't have molasses you can use an equal amount of honey or maple syrup.
- Corn: You can add 1 cup of thawed frozen corn or canned corn if you're used to eating corn in your cornbread muffins.
- Regular corn meal: Don't have coarse cornmeal? These cornbread muffins can be made with an equal amount of refined yellow cornmeal, but note that the texture will be slightly different.
- Paper liners: These can be used instead of oiling the muffin tin, if desired.
- Serving: Crumble cornbread muffins into your favorite soup or enjoy as a side with Instant Pot Lentil Stew or Chickpea Noodle Soup.
- Blueberries: I love adding blueberries to corn muffins. I have a non-vegan Blueberry Corn Muffin recipe, so I definitely recommend adding a cup of fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries to these muffins if you're curious about it.
Storage tips
Storage: Keep for 3-4 days in a closed container at room temperature and 4-5 days refrigerated.
Freezing: Freeze vegan corn muffins in a closed container for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge overnight.
More vegan muffins
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Vegan Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsweetened soy milk see note 1
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 1 and ¼ cup all-purpose flour see note 2
- 1 cup coarse cornmeal see note 3
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup melted vegan butter or melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup molasses
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Stir together ¾ cup soy milk and 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Let rest for 10 minutes, until thickened.
- Make a flax egg by mixing together 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons warm water in a small bowl. Let rest for 5 minutes before using.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, cornmeal, white sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda.
- Pour in wet ingredients: soy milk/apple cider vinegar mixture, flaxseed egg, melted vegan butter, molasses. Whisk until just combined, careful not to overmix.
- Lightly oil a 12-cup muffin tin using cooking spray. Pour ⅓ cup cornbread batter into each tin.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes at 400 degrees F on the middle oven rack, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove from oven. Let sit for 2 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Enjoy with a spread of vegan butter.
Video
Notes
- Milk: Any unflavored, unsweetened non-dairy milk works, like soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk.
- Flour: To prevent adding too much flour, use the spoon and level method to measure out flour. Spoon flour into a measuring cup until overflowing. Do not pat flour down into the cup. Use the back of a knife to scrape off excess flour.
- Cornmeal: Coarse cornmeal is different than unrefined cornmeal found in most baking aisles. I use Bob's Red Mill Coarse Cornmeal, but any cornmeal labeled "coarse" will do. If coarse isn't available, refined cornmeal works but will yield a slightly different texture.
- Storage: Cornbread muffins last 3-4 days at room temperature and 4-5 days refrigerated.
Brenda says
Made these again for the probably tenth time. We love them. Also, everyone loves the muffins instead of pan. Easy to grab and go!!
Cassidy Reeser says
Love that you've made them so many times!! Thanks for the review 🙂
Brenda says
This is delicious!! Best vegan corn bread I have made.
Can this be made in an 8x8 pan?
Cassidy Reeser says
So happy to hear that! Yes, its will work in an 8x8 pan. I'd do the same temp for 25 to 30 minutes.