An amazing recipe for vegan gluten-free cornbread that uses butternut squash and sage for a fun flavor. This healthy cornbread recipe is perfect for fall!
This might just be my strangest Fall yet. Typically I'm baking up a storm. Buying cases of pumpkin puree. Roasting butternut squash and other root veggies like mad. Sipping on pumpkin spice matcha lattes every morning. And watching the leaves turn.
This year though? I'm traveling. I'm in Europe where pumpkin spice isn't a thing. Where the fall baking craze doesn't really happen. Where the leaves do turn but not quite as brilliantly as they do in the Northeast.
But that's okay because I know all those amazing foods are waiting for me when I get home. And that's also why I planned alllll my content ahead of time so you aren't left in the lurch. So that you still have delicious and healthy fall recipes to enjoy all autumn long.
Today is a good one. It's a recipe for cornbread. But not just any cornbread. This is a healthy cornbread recipe. A vegan gluten-free cornbread. A cornbread that is crazy simple to make, that sneaks in one of my favorite fall squashes (looking at you miss butternut) and is the absolute perfect side dish for soups, stews, and even Thanksgiving!
How to Roast Butternut Squash
The first thing we're doing with this recipe is roasting up some butternut squash. I've shared a bunch of butternut squash recipes on the blog before, but I honestly think one of the best ways to make this orange beauty is to keep it simple.
To make roast butter squash, you need:
- butternut squash
- olive or coconut oil
- salt
- pepper
That's it. So simple and yet absolutely perfect. The sweetness shines through, but the salt and pepper help swing it on the savory side.
I like to cut my butternut squash into smaller pieces. Since I like to meal prep it, I find it's more versatile that way. I do about 1/2″ cubes and throw them into salads, use them for breakfast hashes, and use them in baking (like we are with this healthy cornbread recipe!).
Ingredients for Vegan Gluten-Free Cornbread
Once we've got our roasted butternut squash, it's time to assemble the cornbread.
We're going to start by blending up the wet ingredients. Since we're using roasted butternut squash, we want to make sure that it gets as smooth as possible. Just pop the squash, along with your other wet ingredients into the blender and blend it up until smooth. If there are a few chunks remaining, that's totally fine!
From there we'll assemble our dry ingredients. Here are the gluten-free flours we're using:
- gluten-free coarse cornmeal
- quinoa flour
- almond flour
Making vegan gluten-free cornbread is actually super simple. I just use those three gluten-free flours, some baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Stir in your liquids, fold in your sage and bake it up!
The Perfect Healthy Cornbread Recipe
And it's as simple as that! This is one of the best vegan cornbread recipes I've ever tried and it's actually healthy too! Traditional cornbread uses butter, milk, eggs, flour, and sugar. Ours doesn't use any of that!
We're using just 2 tablespoons of oil, almond milk, a flax egg, and one tablespoon of maple syrup. We're letting the butternut squash be the star of this show, without sacrificing on the texture one bit. This vegan gluten-free cornbread is still moist, tender and makes the perfect side dish for all your favorite soups and chili (it would be fab with this Instant Pot Lentil Chili).
And in case you're curious, yes you can also use this for stuffing! I'll be sharing my favorite vegan cornbread stuffing recipe really soon ????
More Recipes Using Butternut Squash:
- Fall Quinoa Salad with Butternut Squash & Apples
- Butternut Squash Vegan Lasagna
- Caramelized Butternut Squash Quinoa Breakfast Bowls
- Butternut Squash & Lentil Patties
- Chipotle Butternut Squash & White Bean Burgers
- Butternut Squash Quinoa Risotto
- Gluten-Free Ravioli with Butternut Squash Filling
Vegan Gluten-Free Cornbread with Butternut Squash
Ingredients
for the butternut squash
- 1 cup cubed butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
for the cornbread
- 1 flax egg 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water
- 1 cup almond milk
- cooked butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups coarse cornmeal
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage (plus leaves to garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the butternut squash to a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Roast for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through.
- While the squash is cooking, beat together the flaxseed meal and water and set aside.
- When the squash is done cooking, transfer it to a blender. Add the milk, flax egg, syrup and olive oil. Blend until smooth.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl and stir together. Fold in the sage.
- Transfer batter to the prepared baking pan. Top with sage leaves if desired and bake for 23 - 25 minutes until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing into squares.
I have lots of squash that is already pureed. How much would I use of the already pureed squash?
I think 1/2 a cup 🙂
Hi!! We loved this tasty cornbread???? The one thing I omitted was the sage, just because I did not have any on hand. And added an additional tablespoon of maple syrup. Scrumptious!
YUM!
Hi Alyssa! Do you think pumpkin puree would work just as well as butternut squash?
Absolutely! I would use 1/2 cup 🙂
And yet again for the second time, I made this delicious cornbread recipe, this time adding a half a cup of organic corn to the batter. Simply wonderful????
Awesome! Sounds so so good!
Hello!
This looks like the holy grail! I’ve been seeking a gf/vegan cornbread recipe forEvah. Quick question: Do you believe subbing out the squash for corn nibs or another type of squash would significantly alter end product? I’m a weirdo and in the minority –not a fan of butternut :0 Thank you in advance for any input AND thank you for all you offer! I love your content. 🙂
Nope! I think you could swap it for any type of squash or sweet potato even 🙂 Pumpkin would be delicious!
I was wondering if this recipe could be converted to muffins. If so, could you recommend how to alter time/temp? AND I was shocked to see 1 Tablespoon of leavening. It doesn’t affect the flavor? Does it bake off? Many thanks!
I’m not sure what the cooking time would be on these as muffins since we have not tested them but you could use our mini cornbread instructions as a guide https://www.simplyquinoa.com/mini-pumpkin-cornbread-muffins/
Very nice! Squash floodlit wasnt very noticeable but it might be because I used leftover steamed instead of roasted.
A slightly heaped 1/2 cup puree was just right for me. Made in standard muffin tin 18-20 minutes depending on how full te cups were.
First batch I omitted the sage and topped with jalepeno slices. After tasting those I thought the second batch needed more sweetener but otherwise made to recipe.
I grew up on spoonbread so I prefer a sweeter flavor for cornbread. Great recipe. Wll make again! Hope they freeze well for me.
So happy you enjoyed it!