The Ultimate Healthy Cornbread

An easy recipe for classic cornbread with a healthy makeover! Lightly sweetened, perfectly tender & absolutely guilt-free! From amyshealthybaking.com.

The Ultimate Healthy Cornbread


Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups (150g) finely ground cornmeal (measured like below)
½ cup (60g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour (measured like below)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt (without problem ingredients)
2 tbsp (30mL) honey or pure maple syrup
¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk (or any kind of milk)


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the honey. Alternate between adding the cornmeal mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the cornmeal mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the cornmeal mixture in 3 equal parts.)

3. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden and the center feels firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. (For the best texture, let it cool completely to room temperature.)


Notes: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend as follows: ¼ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, and ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if measured like this.

Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.

Measuring: All-purpose, whole wheat, gluten-free, PB2, cocoa powder, and even oats are all the same. Lightly spoon them into the measuring cup (I like to shake my hand back and forth a little, like you’d do with a hair drier) until the measuring cup is overflowing, then drag the flat backside of a knife across the top to level it off. Do NOT scoop the flours, cocoa powder, or oats directly out of the container with the measuring cup or pack them in. This results in 1.5 times more than is required in a recipe, which dries out your baked goods and turns them crumbly. Not good!

It’s very important to measure both the cornmeal and flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. Too much of either will dry out your cornbread, instead of the moist and tender texture it should have.

I know vanilla sounds like a strange ingredient for cornbread, but trust me! Vanilla enhances butter’s flavor, so it makes this cornbread taste just as indulgent as traditional recipes. (I highly recommend using butter instead of coconut oil, for that reason!)

Pure maple syrup or agave (if tolerated) may be substituted for the honey. We prefer our cornbread on the not-so-sweet side since we usually serve it with a drizzle of honey (and a small pat of melted butter, if you’re feeling indulgent!). If you like sweeter cornbread, substitute additional honey, pure maple syrup, or agave in place of an equal amount of the milk.

Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low sugar}