Low Carb Cornbread

Amazing, moist, low carb southern cornbread with only 1/3 of the carbs, & they’re healthier! I’ll make this recipe over the regular any day!

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Low Carb Cornbread

I was pretty skeptical about exchanging the white flour for almond flour in my traditional cornbread recipe, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted.

To make it sensible for blood sugar balance, the amount of sugar was also reduced, but that’s fine because cornbread is a savory food anyway, and it became more moist.

How to Make Low Carb Cornbread

1. Cornbread is made using the “muffin method” so after preheating the oven to 375F, mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl – almond flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. In another bowl, mix/whisk together all of the wet ingredients – eggs, oil and milk.

3. Next, pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix until combined and all ingredients are fully incorporated into one cohesive batter.

4. Finally, pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of your baking dish.

Low Carb Cornbread Substitutions

Almond Flour

The flour in this recipe can be swapped with any baking flour that claims to be a 1 to 1 substitute for white flour.

Whole wheat flour has about the same amount of carbs as white flour, but releases into the blood stream more slowly. If you’re accustomed to whole wheat flour, you can use it in this recipe.

Coconut flour cannot be substituted in this recipe without altering other ingredients.

If you want a cornbread recipe using coconut flour, let me know in the comments below.

Cornmeal

By definition, cornbread cannot be cornbread without corn (lol). I don’t like cornbread with real pieces of corn in it, so cornmeal is necessary for this recipe.

I just found out there is corn flavoring/extract, but I’ve never seen it before so I would guess it’s not a normal product in common stores.

Substituting corn flavor for the cornmeal would change the entire recipe; therefore it cannot be used in this recipe.

You can, however, use it as an additive for additional flavor.

Coconut Sugar

Coconut sugar is brown, which is half the reason my cornbread came out as dark as it did – the almond flour is the other half.

Coconut sugar is great for trace minerals and because it’s not as heavily processed as normal sugar, but it has the same amount of carbs per serving.

You can use regular sugar instead, or any sweetener that substitutes 1 for 1 for sugar.

Double Acting Baking Powder

Most baking powder sold in the United States is double acting these days, and that means it contains both baking soda and baking powder.

My Walmart doesn’t even stock plain baking powder anymore, so all my recipes are made with gluten-free and aluminum-free double acting baking powder.

Even if you have single acting baking powder, use the same amount, but you cannot use just baking soda in this recipe.

Salt

Iodized salt (table salt) is best in all baking recipes.

Eggs

Large or extra large eggs are needed for this recipe. If using medium eggs, add an extra egg.

Avocado Oil

For a neutral oil, avocado is best because it’s most versatile: it’s tasteless and has one of the highest smoke points.

You can substitute any non-fragrant oil, or melted butter, but measure the butter before melting it.

Whole Milk

Whole milk adds to the moisture of this recipe, but you can easily say any non-dairy milk you like.

To maintain the moisture, I suggest full fat coconut milk.

How many net carbs are in cornbread?

When using the common Jiffy mix, each portion is 55 net carbs.
(It also uses lard and hydrogenated lard, which are both bad for your health and insulin resistance.)

This cornbread recipe is only 15 net carbs per portion.

Will cornbread raise your blood sugar?

Any food with carbs raises your blood sugar, cornbread included, but this recipe uses both quick-release and slow-release ingredients, making it a much better choice in glucose control and for diabetics.

How do you store cornbread?

Cornbread must be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. It’s good to eat for 4 days.

Can I freeze cornbread?

Yes; cornbread is an easy freeze. I suggest cutting the servings first, then packing them into an airtight container or wrapping individually and freezing.

Cornbread defrosts at room temperature quickly.

Can I make cornbread muffins with this recipe?

Yes! This recipe can be used for cornbread muffins as well. Fill each muffin only 3/4ths full to prevent overflow.
Adjust the cooking time – check the muffins around the 15 minute mark to see. You still want the top center of each muffin to be spongey to the touch.

How does almond flour change the cornbread recipe?

Using almond flour instead of white flour means three things:
1. the final product will be a bit darker.
2. you’ll have to use more baking powder because of how heavy almond flour is.
3. the cornbread is gluten free.

Dairy Free Version

To make this cornbread dairy-free, simply swap the milk for coconut milk and your final product will be very similar in texture.

It’s okay to use any other dairy-free milk, but the end product will be slightly dryer.

Keto Cornbread

This recipe is not keto compliant due to the corn and coconut sugar.

Keto cornbread recipes contain corn flavoring like an extract instead of corn or cornmeal, and a zero carb sweetener.

3 Pro Tips for Drool-worthy Cornbread

1. Use a cast iron skillet.

A cast iron creates a light crust around all edges of the cornbread, which makes it…..amazing.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet before pouring in the batter.

Think of this as the difference between a french fry and a baked potato. French fries are so good because all sides of the fry have touched the oil. The baked potato, on the other hand, is pretty plain towards the middle.

So putting butter in before the batter gives the cornbread a coating on the bottom and sides (which is why the sides pieces are always the best! 😉 ).

3. As soon as the cornbread comes out the oven, rub butter all over the top.

This is the last coating.
Treat cornbread like your baby and it’ll never disappoint you.

Serve Cornbread with…

Chili, BBQ, soup or Healthy Sloppy Joes (pictured below)