This sugar-free cornbread is not only free of sweeteners, it’s free of corn! Allergy-friendly and made more nutritious with the addition of sweet potato.
We recently decided to invest in a Costco membership.
When my husband and I first married, we bought a membership, but didn’t find it very useful, as it was just the two of us.
Now, however, our burgeoning family of five is quite in need of the bulk paper products and big, glorious bags of organic produce!
On our most recent trip, I landed myself a gigantic bag of sweet potatoes!
We all love said veggie, and I like to roast a few at once to keep the flesh on hand for recipes like muffins and pancakes.
The girls also love eating the starchy tuber as roasted cubes of salty goodness.
Having the soft puree ready and waiting compelled me to try something new, namely, cornbread.
Corn is a bit of a gray area for us, allergy-wise.
When I eat it, I get very tired afterwards. Jade also seems to have a delayed itching reaction. For those reasons, I tend to avoid it, unless we are dining at our favorite Mexican food restaurant. (I’m not one to ever pass on chips and salsa, knowwhatimean?)
Anywhoodle, back to cornbread.
I’ve seen millet used in cornbread recipes before, but until now, I never realized what an incredible substitute for cornmeal it is.
Truly, this is one of the most amazing recipes I’ve ever made!
I’ve played with millet more and more recently, as it one of the top allergy-friendly grains.
So far, I’ve used it in cookies, snack bread, with curried veggies, and now this.
I can’t emphasize enough how absolutely delicious this sugar-free cornbread is! Our entire family gobbled it up, and my husband and I both agreed we couldn’t tell the difference between this and the real deal.
I’m so grateful for this recipe.
It has given us a symptom-free way to enjoy something I never thought we would!
Sugar-Free, Corn-Free Sweet Potato Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 c . millet flour (I just grind mine from the whole grain)
- 1 1/2 t . baking powder
- 1/4 t . baking soda
- 1/4 t . sea salt
- 1 c . buttermilk (see Notes)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c . sweet potato puree
- 2 T . coconut oil (for the pan)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Heat the oil in a 6 to 8-inch cast iron skillet in the oven for five minutes
- Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Mix the buttermilk, sweet potato, and egg together in a separate bowl.
- Make a well in the center of the dry mix.
- Pour in the egg mix and stir just until moistened.
- Pour into the hot skillet.
- Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden.
- Allow 5-10 minutes cooling time, as this helps the bread set and hold together.
- Cut and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Notes:
Make your own corn-free baking powder with this recipe.
To make buttermilk, start with a measuring cup. Add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the cup, then add enough milk to equal one cup total.
I use my Homemade Coconut Milk to create the buttermilk in this recipe
I use this 6-inch cast-iron skillet for this recipe, so it takes about 18-19 minutes to bake. If you use a 7 or 8-inch pan, it will be done a minute or so sooner.
Pair this with my Apple Juice Chicken or Tomato-Free Beef Chili for a delicious meal.
We all love to eat this with a drizzle of honey on top. I highly recommend it!
Shared with: Full Plate Thursday
Ashley J says
I am so thrilled I found this recipe! It is so perfect! To make it vegan, I subbed a chia egg and made the buttermilk with plain unsweet soy milk + rice vinegar. Went perfect with my black eyed peas soup for New Year’s.
shannon says
I hate the internet but I am old. Used 3/4 cup sorghum, 1/4 cup buckwheat, cooked in 7″ cast iron & it is definitely VERY close to cornbread. I refuse to do millet because of hypothroid. This is really good cornbread substitute & I am southern & love my cornbread but I am not the cornbread allergic in this family. Tasty stuff even with my subs.
Michael Martin says
I was wondering if this would work in making thanksgiving dressing
Lauren says
I haven’t tried that, so I can’t say, sorry!
shannon says
you would need to double the recipe to get enough for cornbread. let the flours sit a little bit to absorb the moisture & you could probably make dressing with this. it is very close to cornbread taste.
Christina R says
I just discovered your site and I’m so glad I did. Your millet “cornbread” is DELICIOUS! I haven’t eaten bread in years, but this is my new go to recipe. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Can you advise me about the best way to store this bread. I want to maintain its wonderful flavor.
Lauren says
Thank you, Christina! I would keep it in the fridge in an air-tight container to help maintain the moisture level.
Hilary says
We can’t do millet. Is there another substitute? Almond flour, coconut, tapioca,?
Lauren says
I developed this specifically for millet, as it mimics the cornbread taste, so I would guess not. You might google the flour you’re interested in using and see what comes up!
shannon says
i subbed 3/4 sorghum, 1/4 buckwheat & it worked pretty good since I kinda didn’t measure real close with the rest of it//i do not like cooking gf, corn free, nut free but had to by life.
Jeune says
Greetings Lauren, thank you for such a wonderful recipe! I first made this for Thanksgiving (bold, eh!), it was a hit. I have made it twice since then and have a pan in the oven right now. I have also shared it friends. Since being diagnosed with “frutose intolerance and leaky gut syndrome ” I have to be cautious about what I eat. This is my go to for that “sweet” craving….and. it freezes well. Many thanks.
Lauren says
Oh, yay! I know all about food intolerences, so I’m very happy that this recipe works for you. Thanks for your comment!
Liz Cooper says
Thank you for this recipe Lauren! My husband and I have sensitivities to corn . We have been missing cornbread for the longest time. On a whim I searched for a recipe for corn free cornbread. To my surprise your website came up. I have made your millet bread a couple of times now and really love it! Our cornless cornbread is a hit and a new staple in the recipe file. 🙂
Liz
Lauren says
That’s great, Liz! We are in a similar boat over here with corn, though we eat it anyway on occasion. 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
jool says
should i puree the sweet potatoes with or without the skin on?
Lauren says
I don’t use the skin 🙂
Pamela says
Has anyone tried freezing this? How does it do? Any special tips?
Ariana Postlethwait says
Cornbread is in the oven! So glad to find your recipe!
One clarification you might want to add for newbie cornbread makers: the 2 T of oil (or delicious butter in my case) goes in the pan BEFORE batter.
Also, just to be clear—unless I’m mistaken—store bought baking powder generally includes corn. Still, The Google has tips for baking powder substitutes.
Thanks again for this recipe. I’ve really missed cornbread!
Lauren says
Thanks for your comment Ariana, I didn’t even consider the baking powder! I hope you ended up liking the recipe, and I’ll amend it as you said. 🙂
Soma says
Is it possible to use a flax egg substitute for the “egg”? I am trying to cut back using eggs, even though I do eat them occasionally.
Kissys says
Have you tried it with almond or coconut flour? Millet is one grain we seem to never have it handy
Lauren says
No, sorry, this recipe is specific to millet flour.
Jane B. says
This truly blew my mind! I LOVE this recipe!! Tastes like real cornbread!
monika says
Can we used canned pumpkin instead of the potato? Thanks love!
Lauren says
I’ve not tried, but it seems like it would work!
Amy says
I tried it with pumpkin puree, and it worked just fine! I’m sure it wasn’t as sweet as the sweet potato puree would have made it, but I was so impressed with the similarity it had to cornbread that I didn’t even miss the sweet! I’ve been trying to keep corn out of our diets due to my son’s leaky gut, and this was such a nice alternative! It will definitely be added to our regular rotation.
Lauren says
Oh, good to know it works with pumpkin. Thanks for the feedback Amy, I’m so happy you and your son enjoyed it!
Danae says
As someone who struggles with hypothyroidism, I thought I’d interject here and say this looks like a delicious recipe! Definitely yummy every now and then, but thought I’d mention there is a definite danger in consuming too much millet. Here’s a great article on the topic: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/beware-of-millet/
Lauren says
Thanks for the info Danae. I too have hypothyroidism and don’t get symptoms from eating this. 🙂
Nancy says
Allergic to eggs. Would this work with an egg sub like aquafaba or flax egg?
Lauren says
I haven’t tried, but my guess would be yes. 🙂
monika says
try the gelatin “egg”!…
It’s so easy. In general, to replace 1 egg, use 1 tablespoon of gelatin with 3 tablespoons of filtered water (room temperature). You can easily double, triple, even quadruple this recipe to replace 2-4 eggs. I’ve used it to replace 5-6 eggs before, too, but sometimes it doesn’t work very well to use it for that many eggs (the texture can turn out strange). Use caution when replacing more than 4 eggs with gelatin.
Sometimes it works better to use 4 tablespoons of water per 1 tablespoon of gelatin. My kitchen experiments have taught me this general rule: use 4 Tbsp of water for each Tbsp of gelatin if replacing 3 or 4 eggs, but use 3 Tbsp of water for each 1 Tbsp of gelatin if replacing 1 or 2 eggs.
The above differs slightly from the Cook’s Thesaurus instructions:
1.Add water to a small pot on the stove, but don’t turn on the heat yet.
2.Sprinkle or “rain” the gelatin on top of the water slowly to “bloom” it (wet it). You’ll see it swell up and absorb the water. Try not to let it clump together. I usually slowly sprinkle 1/2 Tbsp at a time to prevent any clumping.
3.After sprinkling all of the gelatin, use a whisk if necessary to ensure that all the gelatin has been wetted. Let gelatin sit for about 1-2 minutes after being wetted.
4.Turn the heat on medium low to melt the gelatin. Use the whisk to stir it until it melts completely.
5.Once the gelatin is completely melted, use the whisk vigorously it until it becomes frothy. Use immediately in your recipe.