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You Won’t Believe This Cornbread Is Keto
When someone told me they had turned my keto blueberry muffins into keto cornbread with a few tweaks, I had to give it a try myself. With my secret ingredient, I made it even more buttery, more corn-flavored, and baked it up in a big pan. And here we are! I loved it so much that I even put it in my second keto cookbook. Here’s why I think you’ll love this low carb cornbread recipe:
- It looks like cornbread, it tastes like cornbread – But it doesn’t actually contain any corn or cornmeal. Just one secret ingredient makes all the difference. I’ll just say it, your keto chili needs my almond flour cornbread on the side!
- Keto friendly with clean ingredients – My low carb version has just 4 grams net carbs per serving, it’s gluten free, and I only use real food ingredients.
- Moist and buttery – Dry cornbread is just disappointing. This version comes out soft, rich, and golden with that melt-in-your-mouth buttery flavor.
- Easy to prep – With only 7 ingredients and a pinch of salt, this keto cornbread comes together in one bowl. I can have it in the oven in 5 minutes, which gives me time to finish the rest of my keto dinner while it bakes.
So, grab a bowl and a skillet, and make some low carb cornbread with me!
Reader Review
“My mother is a Southern Mississippi woman… cornbread is life to her. No meal is complete without it. But she is diabetic, and I had to yank the cornbread. I made her this keto cornbread and omitted the sugar to keep it tasting like her traditional buttermilk cornbread. She loves it! I make a pan, freeze the individual slices, and she always has her beloved cornbread on hand.” –MSKRAD
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my keto cornbread recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour – I always use my almond flour because it’s extra fine and blanched, which makes the cornbread texture soft and tender, instead of gritty. Many brands are too coarse and you might notice a grainy texture in the result.
- Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – This replaces sugar 1:1, has zero net carbs, and most importantly, keeps this low carb cornbread super moist. Other sweeteners like erythritol tend to make it dry and crumbly. You can technically omit it, but I love that light sweetness — and keep in mind that regular cornmeal is a tiny bit sweet whereas almond flour is not, so I do recommend including at least a little bit of Besti even if you choose to reduce the amount.
- Unsalted Butter – Adds that rich, classic flavor. For dairy-sensitive options, try ghee or butter flavored coconut oil.
- Keto Milk Of Your Choice – I usually use almond milk, but any unsweetened keto-friendly milk works. Dairy milk will increase the carbs.
- Eggs – These bind the cornbread together and give it structure. Flax eggs should work as an alternative.
- Sweet Corn Extract – This is my secret ingredient, and I’m obsessed with it! It gives you that real corn flavor without the carbs. Note that brands vary in strength and some bake away completely, so I highly recommend this one I use.
- Baking Powder (for lift) and Sea Salt (for flavor balance).
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How To Make Keto Cornbread
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking powder, Besti, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients. Stir in the melted butter, almond milk, and eggs, until the batter is smooth. Mix in the sweet corn extract.
- Bake the keto cornbread. Transfer the batter into your prepared skillet, smooth out the top, and bake until golden. I insert a toothpick in the center to confirm it comes out clean.
My Recipe Tips
- Grease the skillet well. This cast iron skillet gives you the best golden crust, but it can stick if it’s not greased generously with butter.
- This low carb cornbread is lightly sweet with 1/3 cup of Besti. If you want it sweeter, use 1/2 cup, or 2/3 cup for extra sweet. If you want no sweetness at all, I still recommend 2 tablespoons of Besti to mimic the natural sweetness that regular cornmeal normally has.
- Yes, it’s normal for this batter to be very thick. Resist the urge to add more liquid.
- Keep an eye on it and cover if needed. The timing can vary depending on the size and color of your skillet, and even your oven. If the top browns before the inside is done, cover with foil and continue baking. You can reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees F, too.
- Be careful not to overbake. Besti helps keep this bread moist, but it can still dry out if you bake it too long. It’s done once an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- How can you get that tangy buttermilk flavor in keto cornbread? Stir a teaspoon of lemon juice into the almond milk and let it sit a few minutes to curdle. Then add it to the batter along with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.
- Sometimes I mix in shredded cheddar cheese for cheesy keto cornbread. A small handful (1/4 to 1/2 cup) is all you need. Stir it into the batter right before baking.
- Want keto cornbread muffins? Bake the batter in a lined muffin tin (I use this one) instead of a skillet. They’ll be ready faster, in about 25–30 minutes.
Keto Cornbread (Low Carb & Easy)
By
Your soups and chili need my easy, buttery, low carb keto cornbread! It has a secret ingredient that makes it taste like the real thing.
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (204 degrees C). Grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet with butter.
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In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, sweetener, and sea salt.
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Stir in the melted butter, almond milk and eggs, until smooth. Stir in the sweet corn extract.
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Transfer the batter into the skillet and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 slice, or 1/16 entire recipe (it’s very filling, so I cut it into 16 slices)
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you get the perfect texture, and fun variations like cheesy or muffin-style.
- Storage: I usually keep this keto cornbread in the cast iron skillet covered with foil or plastic wrap. You can also slice and store in an airtight container. It lasts 2-3 days on the counter or up to a week in the fridge.
- Reheat: This bread is tasty at room temperature, but I like it warmed in the oven or microwave with a little butter on top.
- Freeze: It freezes well for up to 3-4 months. When ready, thaw at room temperature and enjoy.
📖 Want more recipes like this? Find this one and many more in my Easy Keto Carboholics’ Cookbook here!
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Keto Cornbread
Serving Ideas
I love just a slice of this low carb cornbread drizzled with my sugar free honey. It’s also perfect for rounding out these savory meals:
- Chili – I can’t make a pot of keto chili (and more recently, pumpkin chili) without the sweet-savory combo of this keto cornbread. If you’re in the mood for creamy, it’s just as good with my keto white chicken chili.
- Soup – I love it with keto beef stew, because the combo is such a hearty meal. But honestly, it works with just about any of my keto soup recipes, from chicken pot pie soup to lighter cabbage soup.
- Southern Classics – Try it with my keto gumbo, cauliflower grits, Cajun chicken, or keto jambalaya.
334 Comments
Timmesha
0Hello! I am about to make this recipe to pair with chili, but I am not a fan of sweet cornbread. I wanted to exclude the monk fruit allulose blend sweetener, but what can I do to keep it moist? Will adding water (also not a fan of watering down food) or unsweetened applesauce ruin it or can I just add more milk? Whatever can help, but not make it sweet…I’ll appreciate the tips. Thanks in advance!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Timmesha, You can just omit the sweetener.
Jules
0Sweet corn “bread” is Johnny Cake, not cornbread. Has anyone tried it without sweetener? I was reared in the south and our cornbread is always savory, ie buttermilk cornbread with no sugar ever and bacon grease for the oil and to grease the pan. Our tradition calls for heating the oil and pouring in the really hot greased pan which fries the bottom of a great crispy texture. Will this work with this?
Ms Marty
0You’re my kinda southerner. My mom never put sugar in the corn bread… or flour. Corn bread was corn meal, buttermilk, baking powder & baking soda. Heat the cast iron pan with bacon grease until it is HOT and pour the batter in.
Mom always said if you want cake then you can add sugar, eggs and flour.
I’m going to try this in a waffle maker to see if I can get that crunch I miss.
Amanda Coen
0For clarity, just because your southern traditions don’t reflect “sweet cornbread” doesn’t mean that it isn’t southern. I was a southern raised babe, and have cooked cornbread very similar to this way since I was tall enough to stand on a stool. It was just called sweet cornbread. Maya did amazing with this! (This is what I have missed most since going keto truthfully).
I have made this cornbread each way though, about 3 -4 times and I had no problems with the oil reserves of bacon fat and it turned out amazing! I did notice I cooked for a bit shorter than the recipe calls for so I just keep a close eye.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Jules, That should work for this recipe as well.
Gina Pottenger
0I think this might be the best keto baking recipe I’ve ever made, and I’ve made quite a few. It’s unbelievably moist and holds together well. I wonder if I could swap out the sweet corn for a banana essence to pretend it’s banana bread? Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0So glad you liked it, Gina! I have a keto banana bread recipe here.
Rob
0What could I use instead of sweet corn extract? Thanks
Mary Ford
0I used a dollop of corn oil and loved it!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Rob, Sweet corn extract is the only thing that will give you the corn taste in the cornbread.
Lucy Bell
0The best low carb cornbread recipe I ever made! Me and my family enjoyed it! I used Swerve sweetener instead and didn’t use any extract and it still came out moist and delicious.
M. Ford
0This recipe is wonderful! As others have said, it makes a lot (2 cakes for us). I couldn’t find corn flavoring and didn’t have time to order any so I took a page from my grandmother’s cornbread recipe and added a touch of corn oil instead and it worked great! Light corn flavor without the cost of flavoring. Low carb’ers and non low carb’ers alike enjoyed it! Thank you for this recipe!
Melissa
0I have eaten cornbread before and liked it but for some reason could only eat a small amount. I absolutely love this recipe. I am 3 for 3 on wholesome yum recipes! So glad I found this website.
Jae
0It was good! Easy to modify for other variations.
Amy
0Wanting to make these but they need to be dairy-free. Suggestions for butter replacement? Obviously for someone else, as I LIVE for butter, lol
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Amy, Coconut oil can be used in place of butter.
Amy
0Thank you.
Annie
0Hi Maya – first time we tried the keto cornbread, it came out delicious. So for tonight’s dinner, I wanted to fix the cornbread with cabbage. Unfortunately, I was out of almond flour so I tried using coconut flour. What a mess!!! Can’t eat it. Soi found out the hard way not to substitute coconut flour for almond flour for this recipe.
I’m not all that keen on almond flour.
Karen
0This was absolutely amazing. Better even than lots of “real” cornbreads I have had. Paired it with our NOLA family recipe for BBQ shrimp – and will do so forevermore. We used Kerry Gold salted butter and pure allulose sweetener – it did cook faster – about 28 minutes. Thank you ?
Beth
0Hi, this sounds great! But I was hoping to find a way to make corn fritters? Would this work if I tried to fry drops of this is oil? Thank you for any help you can give me.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Beth, I have never attempted that but if you do please let me know if it works for you!
Kathy Coffey
0Do you have to add sweetener ? Don’t like sweet cornbread.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Kathy, You can skip the sweetener.
Vivian Beckner
0Just wow!…I add extra Keto sugar…everyone loves this “cornbread “… 🙂
Terry Andrews
0This is absolutely delicious. You know its good when you bite it and then look at it!! I’ve sent pictures to family and they want it for Christmas. Thanks so much. I use so many of your recipes and have been very pleased with all of them.
Cathy Thornton
0I am so happy I found this, and LOVED it when I prepared it recently. Being from the deep south may there consider cornbread “sacred” (insert smiley face here) but I had some of those family and friends go back for 2nds as well! The addition of the sweet corn extract gives it the smell of traditional cornbread and being Keto friendly, it fits my lifestyle without any guilt! I have used it with traditional chili, Kabocha Squash Chili, so it is balanced enough to be used with different flavor profiles. I will absolutely make it again!
Earline
0I can’t find the recipe card you referred to at the beginning…?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0It’s right above where you left this comment. 🙂 Or just click “Jump to recipe” at the top of the post.
Cheryl
0I’ve never liked corn bread, but we substitute the corn extract for vanilla extract and this is one of my all time favorite snacks ever! I eat it by itself, my husband puts nut butter on top. We literally have a slice of cornbread in our fridge at all times now! FANTASTIC!
Ruth Gumataotao
0Moist delicious buttery cornbread tasting deliciousness. Butter flavor develops more the longer it sits. I love cornbread that has enough flavor that it can be eaten as is, no topping with butter or honey. This is perfect.
Donna
0This cornbread came out wonderful. Going to use it to make cornbread stuffing tomorrow!