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This healthy cornbread is ready to become the “mom’s secret side” everyone asks about. Soft inside, golden crust, and full of wholesome ingredients, like Greek yogurt, wheat flour, and applesauce. Make it once, and it’ll be your go-to for every holiday gathering.
Healthy Cornbread At a Glance
- This healthy cornbread uses white whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, olive oil, and unsweetened applesauce instead of white flour, butter, and lots of sugar.
- Each slice has about 124 calories, 2 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of protein, so it’s soft, slightly sweet, and a bit more nourishing than traditional cornbread.
- It’s perfect for serving with chili or Thanksgiving dinner
- It’s easy to adapt for babies and toddlers.
This low sugar cornbread started as a little experiment back when my firstborn was two. I wanted something we could all enjoy together without it feeling like “the healthy version.”
I still remember pulling that first batch out of the oven and thinking, this might actually be it. Soft, golden, just the right amount of sweetness, it tasted like the holidays but felt good enough for any day of the week.
Since then, it’s become a non-negotiable at every gathering (along with my cranberry banana bread and Instant pot mashed sweet potatoes). My family knows the meal isn’t complete until this cornbread hits the table. Over the years, I’ve tweaked the recipe to make sure it works every time: moist but not heavy, tender without crumbling apart, and full of that comforting flavor that keeps everyone coming back for seconds.
“This has been prefect to serve alongside soups and stews over this winter. We’ve also just enjoyed on its own” – MaryJo
Here are more healthy Thanksgiving recipes for Kids.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
I am highlighting just the ones that need further explanation. The complete list is in the recipe card below.
- Yellow cornmeal – for that signature golden color and crumbly texture. Be sure to use cornmeal and NOT polenta, corn flour, or masa.
- White whole wheat flour – necessary to help bind the cornmeal together so the bread doesn’t fall apart. I love baking with this flour because It’s the same nutritionally as whole wheat flour but is lighter in texture and a little sweeter in flavor.
- Greek yogurt and milk – adds richness and moisture to cornbread.
- Unsweetened applesauce – can use store-bought or homemade applesauce.
- Olive oil – NOT extra virgin olive oil as its flavor is overpowering for this recipe. You can also use melted butter for extra richness.
Substitutions and Variations
- No white whole wheat flour? You can substitute with all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or a combination of 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. I don’t recommend using all whole wheat flour as the texture will become too dense.
- Dairy-free? Swap with any dairy-free milk alternative.
- Looking for a sweeter cornbread? You can add up to 1/3 cup of honey or maple syrup.
- Looking for a low-sugar cornbread option? you can easily reduce or omit the maple syrup
- Desire a savory cornbread? Add half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the batter before cooking.
- Want more corn-y flavor? Add in a cup of fresh corn (canned or frozen works too!).
- Want to make it more festive? Add some dried cranberries for Thanksgiving or Christmas
How to Make the Best Healthy Cornbread
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold until just combined. Be careful not to over mix! The batter will be lumpy.
- Pour the batter into a lightly sprayed or lined 9 inch square (or round) baking dish. Cast-iron skillet will work too.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Slice and dig in!
Expert Tips
- Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup rather than scooping the flour out of the container or bag with your measuring cup. Using the latter method, you could end up with a lot more than what you need.
- Be sure to use 1:1 cornmeal to flour ratio. Using too much cornmeal will result in a dry and super crumbly cornbread.
- Be careful not to over mix the cornbread batter. Otherwise you will end up with dry cornbread.
- I personally love using a combination of Greek yogurt and whole milk, but if you want to save yourself an extra ingredient, feel free to use just milk (or buttermilk if you prefer).
- Allow the cornbread to cool a little before cutting. If it’s hot, it’s going to crumble.
Serving Suggestions
Warm cornbread with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey – Yes and Yes! My kids really love it with some peanut butter and/or jelly as well.
Serve a slice of cornbread alongside my chickpea lentil chili, turkey lentil soup, vegetable beef soup with cabbage, salad, roasted chicken, or any family meals.
It’s also a perfect make-ahead side for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving when you want something lighter but still comforting.
Healthy Cornbread Frequently Asked Questions
While both the yellow and white cornmeal will work in this recipe, I encourage you to grab the yellow one.
Yes! Simply divide the batter equally into a muffin tin and bake for 12-15 minutes.
Yes! For babies 9+ months doing baby-led weaning, you can bake this without honey or maple syrup. For toddlers and older kids, you can use the full amount of honey/maple syrup and serve small squares alongside a protein and veggie.
Classic cornbread is usually made with white flour, a full stick of butter, and ½–1 cup of sugar. This version uses whole grains, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and far less sugar while still giving you that soft, cozy texture everyone loves.
First, cool completely! Line an airtight container with paper towel. Add the cornbread slices, place another paper towel on top, close the lid, and store at room temperature for 24 hours. You can also refrigerate or up to 4 days.
To reheat, warm in the microwave or toaster oven.
To freeze, I recommend flash freezing. Will keep for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
More Healthy Holiday Side Dishes
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating below and let me know how you liked the recipe! Your feedback means so much to me!
Healthy cornbread
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup (145g) yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup (130g) white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4-1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 cup (130g) unsweetened applesauce
- 3/4 cup (175g) plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk of choice
- 1 egg, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease or line a 9 inch square (or round) baking pan. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold until just combined. Be careful not to over mix! The batter will be lumpy.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Slice and dig in!
Notes
- I’ve provided a range for the maple syrup amount so you can decide how sweet you want the muffins to be. Personally, I’ve found ⅓ cup to be the sweet spot, but if you want to keep added sugars to a minimum, using just ¼ cup is still delicious! You can also add fruits for additional sweetness.
- Dairy-free? Swap with any dairy-free alternative.
- Desire a savory cornbread? Add half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the batter before cooking.
- Want more corn-y flavor? Add in a cup of fresh corn (canned or frozen works too!).
Can I ask where to buy yellow cornmeal?
Hi! Not sure where you live but most grocery stores carry it, found in the baking aisle next to flours
Can you substitute gluten free 1:1 flour?
I haven’t tried so can’t say for certain but I imagine it would work!
Love your recipes so much! I didn’t have applesauce on hand, so I substituted pumpkin puree and it came out pretty good! Just had a somewhat overpowering olive oil flavor, which may have been because of this? I’ll try with applesauce and a little less olive oil next time to see how it comes out. Also used regular AP flour and the texture was still great!
Maybe? I haven’t tried with pumpkin puree so not sure
Love all your recipes. They are very healthy and delicious.
For this cornbread, can I use whole wheat flour as where I live, I can’t seem to get white whole wheat flour?
Hi! I recommend using a combination of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Refer to the “Substitutions and variations” section!
Can you leave out the honey/maple syrup all together? Wanting no added sugar for 9-month-old doing baby led weaning.
You can! It won’t affect the texture just won’t be sweet
This has been prefect to serve alongside soups and stews over this winter. We’ve also just enjoyed on its own. After following your recipe a couple times I deviated, using what I had on hand. I used 1c buttermilk in place of yogurt and milk, and 1 can cream style corn, but no applesauce. Turn out delish and moist. Definitely prefer the addition of corn as you suggest.
So happy to hear! And I will definitely have to try this with buttermilk :).