This keto cornbread has all the texture and flavor of the real deal! Bake it in a skillet for a crusty exterior and a soft, tender inside, or turn it into low carb muffins.
I’ve been low carb for so long that I genuinely do not crave bread anymore. But sometimes a piping hot slice of keto cornbread with butter melting on top is nothing short of heavenly.
And while this low carb bread contains no corn or grains of any kind, it truly has the texture and flavor of the real thing. I know it’s hard to believe but trust me on this. I’ve even had diehard Southerners rave about it.
So if you love cornbread but want a healthier, low carb option, this is the recipe for you. Let’s get baking!
Why you will love this bread
I have any number of bread recipes that I love, like keto focaccia and coconut flour bread. But this keto cornbread recipe is a family favorite. It goes so well with keto soups and chili.
I started making this one years ago when I was testing out coconut flour recipes. I made some vanilla cupcakes and the flavor reminded me very much of cornbread. Even my kids thought so. So I started playing around with it until I had both the taste and texture just right.
It has no grains and no sugar, nothing to set off the cravings, inflammation, or glucose response that real cornbread might induce. And yet it really satisfies the palate (and the tummy!) in a similar way. And with only 2.6g net carbs per serving.
Did I mention you can turn it into easy-to-grab cornbread muffins? And it makes fabulous keto stuffing too!
Reader Reviews
Don’t take my word for it! Check out these rave reviews from other readers!
“I made this “cornbread” tonight and was pleasantly surprised. I’m a southern girl and love cornbread. I have tried other keto cornbread recipes with little success so I really wasn’t expecting to be as satisfied as I was!” – Elizabeth
“Holy wow was this amazing! Even with all the low carb baking I do, I’m super skeptical of low carb/keto breads but this is legit!! Not only am I pleasantly surprised, I’m blown away by how delish it was! Thanks for another winning recipe!” – Jennifer
“I made this cornbread (with jalapeno, of course) for a Texas Connection chili cook off, just so I’d have some cornbread to eat. Others tried it and all of a sudden, someone suggested we have an award for best cornbread as well as chili. First time it’s ever been suggested and I attribute this to your recipe!” – Linda
Ingredients you need
- Butter: Good cornbread deserves butter and plenty of it! I use salted in this recipe.
- Keto flours: I use a mix of coconut and almond flour, because it helps emulate the texture of real cornbread. While you can use all of one or the other, I really recommend following my recipe as written.
- Sweetener: Many people are surprised to see sweetener in cornbread. Let me point out that this is because real cornmeal has a sweet-ish flavor, even without anything added to it. If you don’t want to use it, feel free to skip.
- Xanthan gum: This helps hold the bread together a little better after baking. If you prefer, you can skip it. Just let the bread cool completely before slicing!
- Eggs: If you know anything about baking with coconut flour, you know you need all of these eggs!
- Flavoring: You do NOT need corn flavoring to make this taste like cornbread, in my opinion. But a lot of readers do love that addition.
- Add ins: This is where you can have a little fun, adding things like crumbled sausage or bacon, chopped jalapeño, or even cheddar cheese.
- Baking staples: Baking powder, salt.
Step-by-Step Directions
1. Butter the skillet: Preheat the oven to 375ºF, and add 1 tablespoon butter to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet. Place the pan in the oven as it preheats. Melt the remaining butter in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt.
3. Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the eggs, butter, and cornbread flavoring. Stir in ¼ cup of the water. If the batter is still overly thick, stir in more water, a tablespoon at a time.
4. Stir in add-ins: Stir in the bacon and jalapeno or any other add-ins, if using.
5. Bake: Remove the hot skillet from an oven (don’t forget to wear an oven mitt!) and brush the melted butter around the skillet. Spread the batter in the pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are golden brown and center is just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool before slicing.
To make cornbread muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Line a standard muffin tin with 12 parchment or silicone liners (no need to grease them, but don’t use paper liners).
- Prepare the batter as directed and divide between the muffins cups.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and just firm to the touch.
Expert Tips
The pan: You don’t have to use a cast iron skillet, but it creates a lovely brown crust. Any ovenproof skillet will do or cake pan will do. You can even use a pie plate, but if it’s glass or ceramic, the bread will take longer to bake.
How much water you need to add will depend somewhat on your coconut flour. They can differ in absorbency so just add a bit of water at a time until it’s a thick but spreadable batter.
Remember to use an oven mitt when you remove your hot pan from the oven. Trust me, you do not want to forget this! Nothing ruins a day faster than a third degree burn on your hand.
Make sure you don’t over-bake the bread or it will become dry. Every oven is different and you need to check on it often. Once the edges are golden and the top is just firm to the touch, remove it right away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cornmeal is quite high in carbs and should be avoided on low carb and keto diets. But you can simulate the texture and flavor with a combination of coconut and almond flour. That may seem hard to believe but it works!
These keto cornbread recipe has 5.7g of carbs and 3.1g of fiber. That means it has 2.6g net carbs per slice.
Store the leftover bread in a covered container on the counter for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze the bread for several months.
More skillet recipes to love!
Keto Cornbread
Ingredients
- 9 tablespoon butter, divided
- ¾ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum (optional, but helps hold it together a bit more)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cornbread flavoring (can sub vanilla, use ½ tsp)
- ¼ to ½ cup water
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, optional
- 2 medium diced jalapeños, optional (leave in the seeds if you want more heat).
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF, and add 1 tablespoon butter to a 10-inch ovenproof skillet. Place the pan in the oven as it preheats. Melt the remaining butter in the microwave or in a pan on the stove and let cool to lukewarm.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Stir in the eggs, butter, and cornbread flavoring. Stir in ¼ cup of the water. If the batter is still overly thick, stir in more water, a tablespoon at a time.
- Stir in the bacon and jalapeno, if using.
- Remove the hot skillet from an oven (don't forget to wear an oven mitt!) and brush the melted butter around the skillet.
- Spread the batter in prepared skillet and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are golden brown and center is just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool before slicing.
Video
Notes
Cornbread muffins:
-
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Line a standard muffin tin with 12 parchment or silicone liners (no need to grease them, but don’t use paper liners).
- Prepare the batter as directed and divide between the muffins cups.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and just firm to the touch.
Phyllis says
The texture of the cornbread was very similar to the real thing! The flavor was good and slightly sweet like you said. I am wondering if this could be a breakfast meal with all the eggs. I didnt add the bacon ior the jalapenos. I was very impressed! Looking forward to your new book!
Koko Smith says
Put very little sweetener, no jalepenos, but it turned out great! And I baked it in a preheated glass pan! Perfect for beans & “cornbread”… I’ll make again soon. Yumm
Todd Shook says
Made barbeque ribs and chicken wings tonight. Have made this cornbread recipe few times before and always turn out great.
I sprinkle some cheeder cheese on top; big hit in this family and I am the only one keto. They eat when I cook.
Dee says
I was really worried this would be too eggy and I haven’t made something with so much coconut flour vs almond flour. This came out really light and delicious. I compared it with another blogger I like and had my hubby do a blind taste test. He liked both but thought this was lighter and more creamy. Not sure where he gets the creamy from but I agree, it has a lighter taste and is delicious. I am adding it into my recipe go tos and will choose it over the other one that we also liked that is a bit more dense. Thank you for the great recipe.
Jen says
I loved your recipe but dbld the extract. also UT the sweetener back a little. then I had a crazy thought!! I have an electric twinkle maker. I added probably 2/3 c more water to thin it out. didn’t add any jalapeños or bacon. I put a tsp of corn oil in the bottom , sprayed it with nonstick spray. some cornbread batter, added half a hot dog b, more batter. cooked it. then because if you don’t it will crumble. I let it sit in there 30 minutes to set. use a small silicone spatula to get them out.it WORKED!! SO GOOD
Lynn Woodruff says
I have been trying to cut down on carbs and have missed cornbread with soups, stews, etc. I truly enjoyed the flavor even with the coconut flour. It baked up great, did not fall apart and I will make it again. Thanks, Carolyn, for all the time you put into recipes for us.
Tammy R. says
The texture was good and it baked up beautifully, but the coconut overwhelmed the 1/2 tsp of cornbread flavoring that I used. I didn’t add the jalapeños or bacon.
Leslie Dunn says
Hi. What am I missing?
The recipe says to put 1 T of butter in the pan and then later, after taking it out of the oven, it says to put the melted butter in the pan.
What butter goes in the cornbread mix? I used the melted, and the consistency isn’t right, although my husband says it’s okay (but he still wants Jiffy.)
Carolyn says
You are not reading that correctly. In step 2, it says “Stir in the eggs, butter, and cornbread flavoring. Stir in ¼ cup of the water. If the batter is still overly thick, stir in more water, a tablespoon at a time.”
In step 4, it says to brush the melted butter around the pan. Meaning the butter that melted in the skillet in the hot oven.
Leslie says
Thank you
Sue says
I made the skillet cornbread from EKK and somehow mistakenly used 5 eggs instead of 6 and couldn’t find xanthan gum at the store so left it out. It’s very tasty but also very crumbly. Is there anything I can do to “save” it at this point?
Carolyn says
Freeze it and save it for Thanksgiving stuffing!
Sue says
Thanks for the quick reply. Turns out I tried slicing it too soon. The middle was still warm. Once cooled completely it held together well. I heated a slice today and put some butter and a little keto honey on it for breakfast and it was fabulous.
Patti Weyers says
Hi,
I made this and it was delicious!!! My question is that I’m looking to buy an 9×13 cast iron pan to cook this in, would I double this recipe or do 1 1/2 of the recipe?
Thanks,
Patti
Elizabeth Moulton says
I made this “cornbread” tonight and was pleasantly surprised. I’m a southern girl and love cornbread. I have tried other keto cornbread recipes with little success so I really wasn’t expecting to be as satisfied as I was. I cut the recipe in half because it’s just my husband and myself. I had to guess a little on measurements but it’s cornbread – doesn’t have to be exact! Because this was a last minute thought, I did not add the bacon, jalapenos or cheese. I WILL make this again with the entire ingredient list.
Carolyn says
I am so glad you liked it!
Richard says
No guesswork needed. The “active” recipe allows for the number of servings to be adjusted. When changing that number, it automatically changes the amounts of each ingredient.
Ann L says
Any chance on making a mug recipe for this? I don’t want to eat the whole pan and my family doesn’t care for cornbread m
Carolyn says
Not at this time.
Paula says
This is my first recipe from this site. It was amazing! Did not use add ins, baked in a round cake pan. It was moist with a nice brown top and slightly crispy edges. A perfect ratio of almond flour and coconut flour with none of the “ wet” texture I’ve struggled with in paleo baking. I will check out more recipes!
Jennifer del Muro says
Holy wow was this amazing! Even with all the low carb baking I do, I’m super skeptical of low carb/keto breads but this is legit!! Not only am I pleasantly surprised, I’m blown away by how delish it was! Thanks for another winning recipe!
Brian Lowder says
Pretty darned good “corn bread”, I just wish it was moister. I like to make it with Costco Beef Hotdogs cut and put on end in the batter for my corn dog fix.
Carolyn says
If it wasn’t moist enough, you over-baked it. Try a few minutes less next time.
Dee says
I’ve never put any kind of sweetener in my cornbread and was shocked to see so much. I left it out completely. I also used just almond flour and no coconut flour. It was wonderful!!! Mine has that nice slightly graining texture of real cornbread with a ‘punch’ from the jalapenos. I also used no-heat jalapenos. I’ll be making this a lot!!! Thanks so much.
Dolores Darnell says
Can you leave the sweetener out of the cornbread? I am from the south and do not like it sweet!🥰
Carolyn says
Yes, but it’s not very sweet. It makes it taste more like real conrbread since corn meal has quite a bit of natural sweetness.
Dee says
Absolutely. I’m from the South also and we never put any kind of sweetener in our cornbread. I just left it out and used all almond flour instead of coconut flour. It was wonderful!! It tasted like true Southern cornbread!
Lydia Moore says
Loved this recipe when I made it as you have it with the jalapeños. However when I made it for Thanksgiving for dressing, I omitted the jalapeños and it seemed really sweet. Could I omit some or all of the swerve sweetener and if so do I need to add more of something to keep the right consistency? I never added sweetener to my cornbread when I made it with cornmeal but I know corn is sweet on it’s own.
Carolyn says
Yes, you can leave out the sweetener.
Stephanie says
Made this for Thanksgiving. I didn’t have the corn flavoring (wouldn’t have arrived in time via Amazon) and used a bit of vanilla. I didn’t miss the corn flavoring and couldn’t tell it was needed. Added about a cup of shredded cheddar to the bacon and jalapeños. I also used some of the bacon grease with the butter in the cast iron pan. The batter is very thick, even with the water. It was my favorite part of the meal and plan to make again.
Tammie says
I tried this but with only a ¼ tsp of the cornbread extract (used the brand you recommended) I didn’t taste any corn flavor. It was moist and to me just tasted like cake. I’m going to make it again but will up to ½ tsp of extract next time. You still are the best keto recipe guru out there. You are my go-to!