Best Low Carb Southern Cornbread Recipe | The Gestational Diabetic (2024)

This moist low carb cornbread has half the carbs of Jiffy, and they're healthier! I'll make this recipe over the regular any day!

I was pretty skeptical about swapping the white flour for almond flour in my traditional cornbread recipe, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted.

To make it sensible for blood sugar balance, the amount of sugar was also reduced, but that's fine because cornbread is a savory food anyway. It pairs beautifully with healthy sloppy joes when you don't want the bun, BBQ, chili, garlic parmesan brussel sprouts, or just about any of these low-carb soups.

Ingredient Notes

• Almond Flour:
  It has less carbs than traditional flour, but more fat and protein. It's also darker than regular flour, so the final product will be darker than you're used to seeing.

Low Carb Cornbread Substitutions

• Flour: The flour in this recipe can be swapped with any baking flour that claims to be a 1 to 1 substitute for white flour. Most of those flours are not low carb, so to keep it low carb, use almond flour or a keto flour blend.

  Whole wheat flour has the same amount of carbs as white flour, but they're complex carbs that release more slowly into the blood stream. If you're accustomed to whole wheat flour, you can use it in this recipe. You'll have to add a bit more milk because whole wheat flour is more absorbent. Start with ¼ cup more than the recipe calls for, and go up from there until the batter is the right consistency.

  Coconut flour cannot be substituted in this recipe without changing the recipe.

• Cornmeal: By definition, cornbread cannot be cornbread without corn. But I just found out there is corn flavoring/extract, but I've never seen it before so I would guess it's not a normal product in common stores.
  If you want to cut even more carbs from this recipe I would suggest replacing the cornmeal with almond flour (or keto blend) and adding the extract for the corn flavor. I haven't tried this myself but I have seen others do it.

• Double Acting Baking Powder: Most baking powder sold in the United States is double acting these days, and that means it contains both baking soda and baking powder. Single acting baking powder can be substituted. However, baking soda alone cannot be used as the leavening agent in this recipe because it doesn't have an acid to activate it.

• Avocado Oil: It's a neutral oil that can stand high heat which makes it super versatile. Melted butter or any other neutral oil can swap in.

• Whole Milk: It adds to the moisture, but you can easily use any low carb milk you like. Once, I didn't have any milk so I used half & half and almond milk in equal parts. The final product was moist and fluffy! My mom thought it would turn out terribly but she liked it better than the original recipe.
  To make this recipe dairy free I suggest using canned lite coconut milk or any plant milk that has at least 4g of fat per serving. Those non-dairy milks are creamy in texture, similar to whole milk.

Fun Fact
Cornmeal, also known as corn flour, is high in resistant starch (RS). RS acts a fiber, resisting digestion and feeding the "good" gut bacteria. Unfortunately, resistant starch in flours is mostly destroyed when cooked/baked, so we lose the benefits.

Can I make cornbread muffins with this recipe?

Yes! Fill each muffin only ¾ths full to prevent overflow.
Adjust the cooking time. Check the muffins around the 15-minute mark to see is they're ready.

How to Make Low Carb Cornbread

Cornbread is made using the "muffin method" which means you mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, then mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine the two. It's so easy you don't need process shots.

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl: almond flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
2. In another bowl, whisk together all of the wet ingredients: eggs, oil, and milk.
3. Pour the dry mixture into the wet mixture, and mix until combined, meaning the batter is fluid and cohesive.
4. Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of your baking dish. It will be ready when the top center is firm to the touch.

Tips for Drool-worthy Cornbread

1. Use a cast iron skillet. A cast iron creates a light crust around all edges of the cornbread, which makes it amazing!
2. Butter. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet before pouring in the batter. Think of this as the difference between a french fry and a baked potato. French fries are so good because all sides of the fry have touched the oil. Fat, especially butter, makes our taste buds sing! Melting butter in the pan before the batter goes in gives the cornbread a butter coating on the bottom and sides, which is why the sides pieces are always the best! 😉 If you dare, rub butter on the top as soon as it comes out of the oven.
   Is that over doing it? Not if you're from the south!

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