Honey cornbread with olive oil and sage is the perfect base recipe to make cornbread cubes for stuffing or any time cornbread would be the perfect side dish. With just one substitution, this recipe becomes dairy-free cornbread!
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Why you’ll love this recipe
There’s nothing quite like the smell of bread baking in the oven. And this honey cornbread is so quick to prepare, that you’ll be smelling that aroma in under a half hour!
I developed this recipe as the perfect cornbread for my sage sausage stuffing recipe. Just keep a bag of medium-grind cornmeal in your baking drawer and you’ll likely have everything you need to make this quick corn bread any time you want.
Because I use olive oil as the fat, it only takes one substitution to turn this into dairy-free cornbread. I call for buttermilk, but just use almond milk (or your favorite dairy-free milk product) with a tablespoon of lemon juice and voila, you’ve got a perfect dairy-free cornbread option.
Ingredients and substitutions for this recipe
The only thing you might not have in your pantry is the cornmeal. And if you don’t, grab a bag because you will want to make this easy cornbread recipe over and over again!
- Cornmeal: I always have a bag of Bob’s Red Mill (not an ad) medium-grind cornmeal in my baking drawer. I love being able to make cornbread any time I want to.
- Buttermilk: Generally, I have buttermilk in my refrigerator. But if you don’t and you want to make this, just use regular milk and add a tablespoon of lemon juice to it and let it sit for a few minutes while you put the dry ingredients together.
- Dairy-free option: Substitute any dairy-free unsweetened milk such as almond milk and add the lemon juice as described above. Works perfectly!
- Sage: I have sage growing in my garden so I use fresh sage but dried sage works just fine. Remember dried herbs are more potent than fresh so use less than you would for fresh leaves.
- Olive oil: I always have a large jar of extra virgin olive oil for everyday use on my counter – any mild tasting olive oil will work. No need to use an expensive finishing oil since it will not be noticeable after baking.
Steps to make this recipe
1. Whisk dry ingredients in medium-sized bowl.
2. Whisk together wet ingredients and chopped sage in a 2nd medium-sized bowl.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet and combine using a large spoon or spatula.
4. Add the cornbread mixture to the pan and bake for about 18 minutes.
5. Let cool, then slice and enjoy with honey and butter or use a few days later for making your own super simple stuffing bread cubes.
5a. Or bake in a cast iron pan for a wonderful circular version. This photo shows the dairy-free cornbread.
Pro tips and FAQS
- No buttermilk? No problem! Just add a tablespoon of lemon juice to regular milk or non-dairy milk and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes. It’s ok if it looks like it is curdling – it’s supposed to.
- If you want to use this cornbread to make homemade bread cubes for stuffing, feel free to make it a couple days ahead. No big deal if it dries out. That works in your advantage.
- Try other flavors in this honey cornbread — change the sage to thyme or try adding jalapenos and cheese and serve this with chili. YUM!
Absolutely you can freeze the cornbread. Like anything you freeze, be sure to wrap it so no air touches it to keep it tasting great. Should be good in the freezer up to three months.
You could microwave it for a short time (depends on the power of your oven) but my favorite way to reheat it is in a toaster oven to help the crispy top return to its original state!
Yes you can make this cornbread dairy-free. Just use your favorite non-dairy milk. I tested it with almond milk and added lemon juice to it to replicate the buttermilk. It worked out really well.
What to serve with cornbread
Make stuffing cubes!
Make stuffing!
Serve with chili!
Using this cornbread for Thanksgiving? Make muffins and put a dollop of cranberry jam on top to serve or bake some right into the middle of each muffin!
For a bit of extra fun, here’s a downloadable pdf of the recipe if you want to give it as a gift!
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P.S. If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or a review in the comment section below. I so appreciate your feedback! AND find more inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Signup for my email list, too!
Honey Cornbread with Olive Oil and Sage
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup medium-grind cornmeal
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped sage or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup non-dairy milk mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rub olive oil inside an 8X8 pan or spray with non-stick baking spray.
- Whisk dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
- Whisk together wet ingredients and chopped sage in another medium-sized bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to wet and combine using a large spoon or spatula. Do not overmix.
- Add the cornbread mixture to the pan and bake for about 18 minutes. You'll notice the top browning and also cracking – a good sign that it is done or nearly done.
- Eat with butter and honey or use it for homemade bread cubes for stuffing!
Notes
- No buttermilk? No problem! Just add a tablespoon of lemon juice to regular milk or non-dairy milk and let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes. It’s ok if it looks like it is curdling – that is what it’s supposed to do.
- If you want to use this cornbread to make homemade bread cubes for stuffing, feel free to make it a couple days ahead. No big deal if it dries out. That works to your advantage.
- Try other flavors in this honey cornbread — change the sage to thyme or try adding jalapenos and cheese and serve this with chili. YUM!
- Also works really well to bake the honey cornbread in a round 10-inch cast-iron pan. You can even preheat the pan with some oil in it. Carefully add the batter to the hot pan and you’ll have a lovely crisp crust when it’s done baking.
Laura
Oh you know how much I love baking with olive oil! My little nephew is allergic to dairy so he’s going to love this cornbread as much as I do!
Beth Lee
If I’ve made you and your little nephew happy then my work is done for today!