I love, love, love eating cornbread as a side to my favourite hearty soups. It adds that extra little something that makes the meal feel complete. When we started following a more low-carb diet I was determined to find a cornbread recipe that was lower in carbs and not too eggy tasting. After a few tries tweaking recipes I finally found the right balance of ingredients to make this delicious-tasting low-carb cornbread. Hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I only recommend products my family would use and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jump to Recipe Print RecipeTips for reducing carbs in Cornbread
The 2 main carb culprits in traditional cornbread are all-purpose flour, cornmeal, and sugar. When I make traditional cornbread I make it using my sourdough starter and sweeten it using honey instead of sugar which does make it a healthier option, however, I wanted to explore making a low-carb version.
For this recipe, I still wanted the corn taste so decided to keep the cornmeal in the recipe (which is where the carbs come from), instead, I substituted the wheat flour for almond flour and the sweetener for zero-calorie Splenda. The result is a corn-tasting cornbread that only has net 3g carbs! For reference, traditional cornbread has approximately 40g of net carbs. Yikes!
Recommended Tools:
- Mixing bowls
- Cast-iron pan that is oven-safe or a glass or ceramic baking dish
- Whisk
Ingredients for low-carb cornbread
- 2/3 cups Cornmeal – Finely ground mixes in the dough the best, however, if you like a grainy texture to your bread, then I suggest using a medium grind.
- 1/2 cup Heavy table cream and 2 tsp apple cider vinegar. Adding vinegar to milk turns it into buttermilk. This recipe is basically making a buttermilk corn dough. You can skip these 2 ingredients and just use buttermilk. I prefer using heavy cream for the fat content and taste.
- 1 1/4 cups Almond flour. My favourite wheat flour substitute. Use finely ground. 1 cup of almond flour has 12g net carbs, whereas all-purpose flour has 92g net carbs.
- 1/4 cup Ground flax seed meal is a great source of fiber which lowers the net carb count. Just 2 tbsp of ground flax meal adds 3g of dietary fiber. Fiber is deducted from the total carb count to calculate net carbs, so the more fiber the better!
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Xanthan gum is used in recipes as a thickener and helps bind the ingredients into the bread-like texture.
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda, when mixed with vinegar creates a chemical reaction that helps with the fluffy, airy texture of the bread.
- 1/2 tsp Pink Himalayan salt is my personal favourite but any salt will do.
- 4 Eggs
- 1/4 cup Sweetener. I use Splenda because, in my opinion, it is the most like white granular sugar, hence it is a 1:1 ratio substitute. I also like the taste. But you can use whatever no-calorie sweetener is your preference. Just be sure to use the equivalent amount as not all sweeteners have equal portions.
- 6 tbsp Butter. I use salted, but you can also use unsalted, just increase the amount of salt to the recipe. 2 tbsp to add to the cast-iron pan during the oven pre-heat and 4 tbsp melted for the dough.
Making the Low-carb Cornbread
- Start by making the buttermilk corn dough by mixing the cornmeal, to either the heavy table cream and apple cider vinegar or buttermilk. Mix until incorporated and set aside for 20 minutes
- Preheat oven to 350OF. Add 2 tbsp butter to the cast iron pan and place on the rack of the oven.
- Mix almond flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, and Himalayan salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk eggs and sweetener until light and full of bubbles (about 1-2 minutes). Whisk in the remaining melted butter.
- Slowly mix in the dry flour ingredients with the egg mixture. When fully incorporated, add in the buttermilk cornmeal dough.
- Carefully remove the cast iron pan from the heated oven. By now, the butter should be sizzling and slightly brown in colour. Add the cornbread dough to the hot butter and using a silicone spatula spread the dough to cover the whole pan.
- Place the cast iron pan back in the heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a fork comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
What to pair Low-carb Cornbread with?
As mentioned, I love pairing cornbread with soups, especially my White Bean Chicken soup and my Roasted Cauliflower soup.
You can also serve it warm with a pat of butter as a nice light afternoon snack with tea or coffee.
How to store Low-carb Cornbread?
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, although I’m sure you will finish this up before then!
- The cornbread can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Low-Carb Cornbread
Equipment
- 3 Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Cast iron pan (oven safe) glass or ceramic coated baking dish
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup finely ground corn meal
- 1/2 cup table cream (or buttermilk)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar (omit if using buttermilk)
- 1 1/4 cup finly ground almond flour
- 1/4 cup whole ground flaxseed meal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup Splenda (or another low-calorie sweetener of your choice)
- 6 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Add cornmeal, heavy cream, and apple cider vinegar to a medium bowl. Mix until incorporated and set aside for 20 minutes. This will give the cream and vinegar time to form into buttermilk. (Alternative: Can replace heavy cream and apple cider vinegar with buttermilk).
- Preheat oven to 350OF. Add 2 tbsp butter to the cast iron pan and place on the rack of the oven.
- Mix almond flour, flaxseed meal, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, and Himalayan salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk eggs and sweetener until light and full of bubbles (about 1-2 minutes). Whisk in the remaining melted butter.
- Slowly mix in the dry flour ingredients with the egg mixture. When fully incorporated, add in the buttermilk cornmeal dough.
- Carefully remove the cast iron pan from the heated oven. By now, the butter should be sizzling and slightly brown in colour. Add the cornbread dough to the hot butter and using a silicone spatula spread the dough to cover the whole pan.
- Place the cast iron pan back in the heated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a fork comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Storage Instructions
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Notes
Save for later
