Healthy Honey Cornbread will have you saying “I can’t believe it’s not butter!” Using all-natural and healthy ingredients like olive oil, Greek yogurt and honey, this recipe yields super moist – but super fluffy – classic cornbread taste and texture with far less guilt. So have a piece…or three.
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Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bread! It’s a side! It’s a cake! It’s a snack! It’s cornbread!
Cornmeal is a magical culinary unicorn. Obviously, it’s the key ingredient in one of my favorite breads, but it also has birthed all-time favorites like grits, polenta, hushpuppies, griddle cakes, pie crusts, corn dogs and a long, luscious list of cornmeal-battered fried seafood. Just when I think I can’t like a food more, they find a way to incorporate cornmeal and I fall in love all over again.
If you grew up in the North like me, maybe the first time you had cornbread was with chili. Maybe if you’re Italian (also like me), you had polenta. I know I didn’t consume a lot of it growing up; but then I started migrating south and the door to a whole new world of food opened.
It’s not like we don’t have country cooking in the Northeast; but not in the same way it is in the South or Midwest. And if it’s anything, cornmeal is “country.” Grocery stores here sell giant slabs of cornbread; every restaurant with even a twinge of southern or country style gives you a sack full of cornbread with your meal; and you can get anything and everything “cornmeal-crusted” or “cornmeal fried.” This is not a list of complaints, my friends; this is quite possibly the best promotional tourism campaign no one has ever run.
It’s ridiculous how versatile cornbread (and by default, cornmeal) is. Breakfast, lunch or dinner. Smother it in butter; smother it in syrup; smother it in gravy; smother it in chili; smother it in even more honey. It all works. It’s the jack of all trades of bread. This recipe starts off healthy as-is, and has the honey baked right in for down-to-earth sweetness that still pairs beautifully with your favorite savory dishes, but could also double for dessert if you run out of ice cream. Like I said – magical unicorn.
For a condensed post, click to view the web story for this healthy cornbread recipe!
What Makes this Cornbread Recipe “Healthy”?
- No refined sugar – this healthy cornbread is sweetened only with honey. Use local if you can find it – the flavor is worth the price tag.
- Heart healthy olive oil in place of butter.
- Probiotic-rich Greek yogurt instead of milk or buttermilk.
- Go a step further and replace the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat flour or gluten free flour with xanthan gum (we like Bob’s Red Mill)
How to Make a Healthier Cornbread
Honey and Greek yogurt give this healthy cornbread recipe that classic sweet and tart flavor. Be sure to check the recipe card for detailed instructions and step-by-step photos.
- Whisk the dry ingredients – cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Whisk the wet ingredients – Greek yogurt, eggs, olive oil, and honey.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a rubber spatula until just barely combined. Some lumps are okay!
- Pour the batter into a 2-quart baking dish that’s been lightly sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.
- Bake until the edges are golden brown and the center springs back when gently pressed.
- Cool in the dish for 10 minutes, then slice into squares and serve. We like to drizzle with honey, or spread with butter.
Chef’s Tips
- Baking soda – use aluminum free baking soda if you have a sensitive palette, and always make sure it’s fresh (no more than 6 months old).
- Be sure to use cornmeal, not polenta, corn flour, or masa.
- Yellow vs. white cornmeal. This recipe works with either. Yellow will yield vibrant color and a richer flavor. Whiter is, well…whiter, with a slightly more subtle flavor. Don’t stress about this though – the flavor difference isn’t worth the fret.
- Olive Oil, not Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Not semantics, there is a difference! Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a very strong, distinctive flavor (if that’s your thing, by all means use it – but I find it a bit too strong for this recipe). Reach for “olive oil” here or even “light olive oil” for the best balance of flavors.
Is this Cornbread Gluten Free?
It’s not, but can easily be made gluten-free! Simply use an equal amount of all-purpose gluten free baking flour with xanthan gum.
How to Store Cornbread
- Store at room temperature, covered with a tea towel, for 24 hours.
- Store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
More Classic, Comfort Sides – with a Healthy Twist!
Did you make this Healthy Honey Cornbread? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Healthy Honey Cornbread
Description
Ingredients
- 1.5 c cornmeal
- ½ c all purpose flour, see notes
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- 1.5 c plain greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ c olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon for greasing
- ⅓ c honey
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly mist a 2-quart casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray.
- Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, eggs, olive oil, and honey until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold with a rubber spatula until just barely combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared casserole dish and smooth the top using the spatula.
- Bake until the edges are golden brown, and the center springs back when gently pressed, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan 10 minutes. Slice into 12 pieces and serve with butter or honey.
Recipe Notes
- Substitute all-purpose gluten free flour (with xanthan gum) or white whole wheat flour with great results.
- At room temperature, covered with a tea towel, for 24 hours.
- In the fridge, in a tightly sealed container, for up to 4 days. Microwave 10-15 seconds to remove the chill.
Lola Osinkolu | Chef Lola's Kitchen
Perfect to beat those sweet cravings!
DeAnn
The best cornbread ever and made with such healthy ingredients!
Kathryn D Quick
This is such an easy and delicious recipe. You can adjust the honey a tad if you want your cornbread a bit sweeter, otherwise, it’s just perfect!
Christina Lewis
The ingredients calls for baking powder but the instructions reference baking soda. I just made it with baking powder. Would there be a big difference?
Britney Carey
Very delicious! I Followed the recipe step by step and it is very moist with a sweet-tart taste. I used EVOO & it wasnt bad i like the taste too.
Staci
So…baking powder or baking soda??
Danielle
It’s baking powder – I’m sorry for the confusion! The instruction has now been updated.
m00ky
Great cornbread, needs salt though. It’s my go to for chili season.
Bec
I needed a recipe for cornbread as you MUST have it for New Year’s. This recipe was easy and tasty. I halved it and baked it in a cast iron skillet. Perfect!
Heather
Delicious! I used corn grits and egg whites in place of the whole eggs and it still turned out fabulous! My husband ate half the pan!
Cathy K
Hello, thank you for this delicious recipe! Can you whole kernel corn to this? If so, how much would you recommend?
Beth Couet
I followed directions except I subbed regular salt for the kosher salt. Used 1 tsp. For some reason it looked beautiful but was so salty that it was inedible. Don’t know what happened
Danielle
Hi Beth – table salt and Kosher salt are unfortunately not interchangeable in a 1:1 ratio, which is likely why it was too salty. Typically best practice is to use half the amount of table salt to substitute for kosher salt.
Beth Couet
Thank you for answering me. Did not know that. Actually thought that sea or kosher salt were more salty than table. Will remember in the future!
Danielle
Of course, no problem! Kosher salt has coarser granules than table salt – so a teaspoon of kosher salt is way less salt by volume than table salt, or even a fine sea salt. If you’re using table salt in place of kosher salt, you’ll definitely need to reduce the amount you use.
Jessica
One of those recipes where I am completely perplexed about the high ratings. Somehow the author missed the part where cornbread is supposed to taste like cornbread. This basically has no flavor. Keep searching for a new recipe!!
Heather
I agree!!! The Greek yogurt completely overtook the flavor of any other ingredient in the bread. So bitter and nothing like a traditional cornbread. Keep looking if you’re looking for a healthier traditional cornbread recipe.
Shannon
I was intrigued by the Greek yogurt as I had some to use up but this was a flop for me. Texture and moisture were great. Taste was edible but not by much. Do not think tartness belongs in a cornbread. The olive oil was too strong of an oil as well. Perhaps avocado oil would be better.
Natalia
Recipe was okay, not moist enough and our corn meal was a bit too course tbh, so that probably had some to do with it. We normally prefer things on the less sweet side, but our cornbread needed additional sweetness. If I would try this recipe again, I would make sure I added a bit more honey and use a mortar and pestle to grind down the cornmeal into a finer consistency.
Ruth Mallory
I am wondering if it has to be olive oil or can I substitute real butter?
Lu
Great flavor! I made it with Polenta (so courser) and kamut flour. Next time I’ll try a different oil as this had a bit too much olive oil taste. Might try avocado oil or coconut. This will definitely be my go-to for cornbread from now on.
Dawn
I used coconut oil instead-of olive oil. It came out delicious! Thank you!
Maddy
The bread was super moist but was lacking flavor. Mostly tasted like olive oil. There wasn’t enough sweetness either like traditional cornbread.
Kayla R
This recipe is soooo delicious! My husband was skeptical, but now asks for it every time we have chili or soup!