Yes, you can enjoy cornbread on the keto diet! Made with almond flour, it's tender and fluffy, very tasty, with just a hint of sweetness.
I wasn't sure how to go about making this recipe. At first, I thought I would only use almond flour. Eventually, I settled on a small amount of cornmeal, to make the experience as authentic as possible.
I think it was the right call. This wonderful keto cornbread has officially joined my arsenal of "never feel deprived on the keto diet!" recipes. It's one of those beloved foods that you think you'll just have to give up when you start eating low carb. But as it turns out, you really don't.
Keto substitutes that taste good
After my husband and I transitioned to a low-carb diet, one of my missions in life was to make sure we will never feel deprived. I knew it was the only way to ensure the low-carb way of eating would become a way of life for us rather than a temporary diet.
Over the years, I developed many low-carb and keto alternatives to high-carb goodies. Here are a few of the keto recipes that I make regularly, recipes that make us feel as if we're truly not missing out on anything by sticking with a low-carb diet:
- Coconut flour pizza crust
- Keto chocolate chip cookies
- Keto chicken nuggets
- Banana bread
- Zucchini lasagna
- Chocolate cake
- Keto donuts
- Keto cheesecake
There are many more! These are just a few examples. And this wonderful bread is another one. It is tender and fluffy, and the combination of the almond flour and the very little cornmeal that I use in this recipe make it taste almost like true cornbread (albeit with a less pronounced corn flavor).
The ingredients you'll need
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty keto cornbread. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
Eggs: I use large eggs in most of my recipes.
Sweetener: I use stevia glycerite. You can probably replace it with a granulated sweetener, although I haven't tested that.
Melted butter: European butter tastes great!
Almond flour: I use blanched and finely ground almond flour. I don't recommend using a coarse almond meal. There's a difference.
Coarse cornmeal: Only ¼ cup (use gluten-free if needed).
Kosher salt: If using fine salt, you might want to reduce the amount you use. A teaspoon of kosher salt weighs less than a teaspoon of regular salt.
Baking powder: Gluten-free if needed, and please make sure it's fresh.
How to make a keto cornbread
It's so easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
Mix the ingredients. Simply mix everything together by hand, in the order listed.
Add water if needed. Add a little water if the batter is stubbornly thick and difficult to mix.
Transfer to baking dish. Pour into a parchment-lined and greased baking dish.
Bake. Bake the bread for 20-25 minutes at 350°F.
Is cornmeal keto?
It's not. It's high in carbs. But I tend to look at the final product's macros rather than insisting that each and every ingredient is strictly keto. That's why I often use whole milk in my recipes, for example.
I would never advise anyone following the keto diet to drink glasses of milk. But ½ cup of the stuff divided between 10 servings seems fine to me.
And the same goes for cornmeal - ¼ cup of it divided between 12 servings is acceptable, in my opinion.
What type of cornmeal to use
I use Bob's Red Mill coarse cornmeal. It's my opinion that with the very little I use here, the coarse grind has the biggest effect in terms of flavor and texture.
I don't know if this particular brand is gluten-free, so if you need this recipe to be gluten-free, please verify.
What pan to use
I like to use a small baking dish because then the keto cornbread is nice and tall. So I use a rectangular 5X7-inch glass food storage dish. It's marked as oven-safe and I bake with it often.
But you can absolutely use a standard square 8-inch baking dish. The bread will simply not be as tall, but it won't be flat either. Just don't use anything bigger than that, or the bread will be too flat.
If you use a smaller rectangular pan, you'll probably need to bake the bread for about 25 minutes. If you use a larger pan, 20 minutes should do it.
How many slices are in this keto cornbread?
That depends on the pan you use. When I use a rectangular pan I cut the bread into 12 squares, as shown in the video below. When I use a square pan, I cut it into nine squares.
Can I use a sweetener other than stevia?
Yes. You can use 2 tablespoons of any granulated sweetener. You can probably also use 2 tablespoons of a liquid sweetener, but I haven't tried that.
Does it taste like the real thing?
No, it doesn't. Made with almond flour and just a hint of cornmeal, it can't possibly be exactly like the real thing. But it's delicious, and it's an excellent substitute for those who cannot eat the real thing.
How to serve keto cornbread
It's such a versatile bread, I use it for many different things. Here are a few ideas:
- It's really good with chili (try my no-bean chili recipe! It's excellent).
- It is the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table - serve it with soft salted butter.
- I love it with sweet butter for breakfast with my coffee! My kids like to drizzle it with just a little honey. I sometimes use sugar-free honey.
- It goes well with bbq dishes, such as these oven-baked ribs.
- And it's a great side for rich soups - try it with this vegetable beef soup.
What to do with the leftovers?
Once completely cool, I keep leftovers of this keto cornbread in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 5 days. Warm them up in the microwave - 5 seconds per square. They also freeze well.
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Keto Cornbread
INGREDIENTS
- 5 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon stevia glycerite (equals about 2 tablespoons sugar)
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted and slightly cooled (3 oz), plus more for the pan
- 1 ½ cups blanched finely ground almond flour (6 oz)
- ¼ cup coarse cornmeal (1 oz) (gluten-free if needed)
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder (gluten-free if needed)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a small Pyrex baking dish with parchment paper and grease the bottom and the sides with butter. *
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the stevia and the melted butter.
- Whisk in the almond flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder.
- If the batter is very thick and difficult to mix, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Smooth the top out with a rubber spatula.
- Bake until the bread is golden and set, and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.**
- Cool 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
NOTES
More recipes to try
Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 