Keto Cornbread – Low Carb Recipe

Growing up in the south, there was often cornbread on the table. This staple side dish is traditionally made with cornmeal. Corn is not very keto friendly. It is also avoided on a grain free diet (we'll answer “is corn a grain?” below.) Keto cornbread almost seems like an impossibility when you consider the carb count in cornmeal. Most cornbread recipes have about 40 grams of carbs per serving. This is over the amount most people should eat in a day if your goal is staying in ketosis. This keto cornbread recipe only has four net carbs per serving and you can reduce that to three if you leave out the optional real corn kernels.

Keto Cornbread Considerations

Making this keto cornbread recipe requires a couple of simple substitutions. The most important one is to replace the cornmeal with a low carb option. As in most keto versions of bread, we'll be using almond flour for this purpose. To more closely mimic the texture of cornmeal, look for an almond flour that doesn't say “fine” or grind your own.

You'll also need a keto friendly sweetener to mimic the sweetness of the corn. You know my favorite choice is allulose! However, you could also use monk fruit, stevia or your other favorite keto friendly sweetener.

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Finally, you'll need sugar free corn flavoring. You won't be able to find this in your local grocery but multiple brands are easily available online. You may also consider adding a couple of drops of yellow food coloring to your batter if you'd like to more closely mimic the color of cornmeal.

Keto baking is always interesting. Substitutions for wheat flour will generally taste a little different than what you're use to and the resulting product is more dense. This works well for cornbread though since it's already a more dense texture using corn meal rather than wheat flour.

Keto Cornbread Recipe

Once we have the substitutions down, the other consideration is in what type of baking pan you should use. In the south, cornbread is often cooked in cast iron, which makes a great presentation. You can also cook this keto cornbread in a muffin tin or a simple square casserole dish.

Any of these options work well but will affect the cooking time. If you use an alternative to the 8 x 8 baking pan, keep a close eye on your keto cornbread so you don't overcook it. If you're unsure about what size pan to use as a substitute, there is a great baking pan conversion chart here.