With that incomparable cornmeal taste, this low carb cornbread is an actual dream. Think unbelievably tender results… at just 6g net carbs!
Low Carb Cornbread 🌽
You know, with actual cornmeal!
Last weekend, as I was answering your early Thanksgiving baking queries, Lindsay posed an interesting question, “Paola, what would happen if I sub for some actual cornmeal in your (1g net carb!) keto cornbread muffins?”.
So dear Lindsay, I hope this post more than answers your question! As these, my friends, are pure heaven. So (so!) tender, yet surprisingly sturdy (ahem, cornbread stuffing!), these cornbread muffins with cornmeal are simply just *chef’s kiss*.
But (but!), is cornmeal keto?
Cornmeal isn’t generally considered keto due to its higher carb count and the fact that it’s a grain. For reference, 1/4 cup cornmeal has 26g net carbs vs the 2g net in almond flour (!!).
Still! And this is a VIP still. As I think you’ll find that when used in small amounts (say like pumpkin… or even berries!) you’ll surely be able to fit it into your low carb diet.
For instance, these low carb cornbread come to a net carb count of just 6g. And I want to encourage a ‘keto diet’ that is less about counting carbs and more about making smart food choices to use ketosis (you know, the metabolic state) to actually improve long term health… all while removing some big ‘psychological barriers’ around feeling limited with ingredients and choices.
Because remember, it’s the GI spike (and ultra refined ingredients!) that are the actual enemy.
And, as I’ve personally found over the past two years, I think it’s important that each of us tests out what ingredients work for us… you know, rather than following a list of foods off an influencer on the internet (lol, i know!).
The Flours
OK onto the baking and first things first: make sure you use a medium grind cornmeal (I like this one!).
Otherwise these guys use a mix of a staple keto pantry ingredients: super fine almond flour, golden flaxseed meal, whey protein isolate, and a touch of xanthan gum.
Just keep in mind that for best texture and rise, you’ll always want to regrind your golden flaxseed meal in a dry blender or bullet. Oh, and golden flaxseed isn’t the same as normal flaxseed (which results in gummy and dense baked goods).
Whey protein isolate. This one is pretty much a must if you’re baking the bread in a pan (say as opposed to muffins), as it will ensure your bread doesn’t collapse post-bake. Having said that, you can sub it with more almond flour and bake it in a muffin pan (smaller baked goods have don’t require as much structure). Not exactly the same, but works well.
Keep in mind that this ingredient varies tremendously from brand to brand, and nowadays I like to use this grass-fed one (its a tad bit pricier, but undoubtedly higher quality!).
The Sweetener
You’ve got quite a few good options here! Allulose is my favorite for best texture and no aftertaste now, Lakanto Golden (baked goods with erythritol can have a slight hard texture, still not big deal here though you can just blast them in the microwave for a few seconds before serving), xylitol (use non-corn though to avoid tummy troubles!).
Pyure (an erythritol and stevia blend) is also a good one for muffins and quick breads, particularly if you’re trying to limit your sugar alcohol consumption (it’s added stevia makes it twice as sweet as sugar… i.e. you add half!).
Oh, and if not restricted by sugars, simply sub 1-to-1 with coconut or regular sugar.
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup (or kitty!) around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys!
One Last Thing
Seriously, don’t forget to whip up a batch of my heartwarming keto chili! #soulmates
Looking for more keto cornbread recipes?! Check out my (1g net carb!) cornbread muffins or whip up a batch of my (highly rated!) ultimate cornbread.
And… The Video Story!
Low Carb Cornbread (with actual cornmeal!)
Ingredients
For the low carb cornbread
- 120 g (medium grind!) cornmeal
- 135 g heavy whipping cream at room temp (or use buttermilk, and skip the vinegar!)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 96 g almond flour
- 30 g golden flaxseed meal
- 20 g whey protein isolate
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 eggs at room temp
- 1/4-1/2 cup allulose erythritol or xylitol, to taste (I use 1/4 cup allulose)*
- 84 g butter melted & cooled
Serving suggestions
Instructions
- See recipe video for guidance (pretty please!). This is truly an easy, no-fuss cornbread recipe, with staple low carb pantry ingredients.
- Add cornmeal, heavy whipping cream and apple cider vinegar (or buttermilk!) to a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly and set aside to rest for 20 minutes while you prepare the rest.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line a a muffin tray with paper liners (or butter generously!). And yes, this recipe can also be baked in the traditional way- i.e. heat up a cast iron pan in the oven with butter (15 minutes will do), add the cornbread batter and pop back in the oven *right away!*. This will create a delicious crisp, golden crust ;).
- Add almond flour, flaxseed meal, whey protein, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt to a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined, set aside.
- Add eggs and sweetener to a large bowl and whisk (energetically!) for a couple minutes until airy and lighter in color. Whisk in the butter.
- Whisk in the dry flour mixture in two parts, and whisk in the cornmeal 'buttermilk' mix.
- Divide the batter into the muffin pan (using an ice cream scooper is ace here!). Smooth out the top with a wet spatula (or your fingertips), if need be.
- Bake for 24-27 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean (I do 25 minutes). Watch out after minute 15, and tent with aluminum foil if they begin to brown too quickly (you know, an unfortunate tendency of allulose). I also found that these guys barely collapsed at all while cooling- hurray!
- Remove from the pan after 10 minutes and allow to cool completely before digging in for best texture. And if you can't hold your horses (i.e. you've got a big bowl of chili awaiting), at least give them 20 minutes to chill out.
- Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days or in the freezer for a couple months. Serve warm with a big pat of salted butter (non negotiable in my book!).
- My top tip: consuming some carbs (such as this low carb cornbread) should have very little impact on your GI if consumed the right way: eat your greens first (I do a small fatty salad with evoo and acv), and be sure to pair it with a fatty main course (i.e. the chili!). Many of you have reported back over the past week that consuming moderate carbs this way barely impacts your glucose levels (needless to say, we're all different so it's important that you test what works for you!).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
and some food (for thought) 👁️
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(p.s. we don’t talk about fight club 🪄 )
xo! Paola
I want to try this recipe. Now off of Keto I am still cooking whole grains, low carb, I miss southern cornbread dressing and this sounds wonderful!
I have a quick question or 2.
1. What is acv?
2. Do you add buttermilk AND apple cider vinegar? I can’t have heavy cream [lactose intolerance].
And I think I just figured out what “acv” means 😆 apple cider vinegar!
Any suggestions on substitutions for the heavy cream if I can’t use buttermilk would be helpful.
Thanks!
Being a Texan Cornbread is almost a daily staple in our house but..At some point in time you gotta try to watch things. I have tried every low carb recipe there is and you can never make nut flours taste like cornmeal. It will never happen. I’m glad I came across this. To be honest all I had in the recipe line up was almond flour, corn meal, splenda and ground flax eggs and milk and butter extract and baking powder. I went with what I had. I did have to add more milk as ground flax gets pretty thick and earlier I had made peach custard for ice cream so I needed to use up some egg whites. I still added the two eggs but I beat some whites stiff and folded that in the mixture. The result was a light fluffy “almost” “close enough” corn bread not wierdly dense as some almond recipes can get I think stiff whites probably helped not sure it wasnt eggy either. Best thus far. I did in a cast iron skillet old fashioned way got the crusty edges. I did have to turn on broil for a sec to get the top brown. This will be my go to and come Thanksgiving it will be the base to my cornbread dressing minus the sweetner. Thank you. I’m sorry I changed so much of your delish recipe but I HAD to try with what I had. (It’s pot o bean night) lol
This is an amazing recipe! Thanks so much! Just wanted to know if I could use collagen instead of whey. Thanks
Hi Paola. I will be baking this in a cast iron frypan, either 10″ or 12″. Do you have an estimate for baking time? Thanks! Can’t wait to try these.
Love this recipe. I thought I beat my eggs and allulose too much. To my lovely surprise it was not and the cornbread came out fluffy and delicious! I made it in a cast iron skillet. No reason to make any other version!!
Delicious. Used half & half instead of cream, leftout the sugar altogether. Used collagen powder instead of whey protein. Would make again.
Will this work with pea protein isolate?
I don’t think pea protein is keto friendly.
I made mine without the allulose , because I raised where you don’t sweeten cornbread, and it is really good.
This is an awesome recipe, which I then used to make your recipe for cornbread dressing for Thanksgiving. Yum! As your reader Lisa suggested, I also baked my in a 8×8 pan, reduced the temp to 335 and baked it for 35 minutes, covering it with foil halfway through baking time. It came out so beautifully. Thank you Paola for ALL of your delicious recipes.
Hi Paola! I hope you can see this soon! I’m in the middle of making these. And the mixture of cornmeal and cream plus vinegar was not liquid at all. But super thick. :-(. I am using the cups method. I poured the cornmeal onto the 1/3 measuring cup as you say in other recipes. So, this mixture does not look at all like in the video, which shows very liquid. I added more cream to make it more liquid but I am now afraid it will not work. Please help!!!! I be made several of your recipes and this is the first time this is happening. I am super careful with my measurements. 2/3 cups cornmeal 1/2 cup cream 2 tsps vinegar. But as I said I added now more cream to make it look like in the video. Please let me know the volume of your resulting mix in cups. So I can use that with the rest and try to fix this. Thanks for sharing this! I hope you can help soon! 🙂
I agree. I have had the same experience. This really irritates me about recipes. It costs a lot of money to trial recipes and I tried a double batch.
It’s like moulding clay.
I’ve made this recipe several times and love it!
I agree. They are very good.
This is now my “go to” recipe for cornbread muffins. I make it with chili, homemade roasted tomato soup, and sometimes eat these for breakfast with very little rise in my blood glucose. I appreciate having a great tasting cornbread muffin that tastes so wonderful.
Joan it makes me so happy to hear when recipes become staples, I’m so glad you’re enjoying these as much as I am (they’re my go-to recipe as well now) xo!