This Low Calorie Cornbread is buttery, perfectly sweetened and a great low fat and low sugar alternative to classic cornbread. Serve a slice of cornbread with your favorite soup or chili recipes for a hearty meal.
Check out my recipes for Low Calorie Banana Bread and Low Calorie Biscuits for more bread recipes.
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This recipe for low calorie cornbread is everything I love about southern cornbread with a lot fewer calories! This easy recipe lightens up traditional cornbread recipes with cornmeal, cream-style corn, fat free sour cream and reduced fat cheese. It has a perfect texture while being just as moist, crumbly and delicious without the need for lots of calories.
This sweet and soft cornbread is great for the whole family. It's a gluten-free cornbread recipe that tastes as great as classic recipes. The best part is it has great corn flavor and a light texture.
Cornbread is also delicious topped with butter, honey or jam! With this quick homemade cornbread recipe, you'll never want to reach for a boxed mix again. The batter comes together in a cinch and bakes in under 30 minutes. If you like a bit of spice, feel free to heat things with jalapeños - this recipe is super versatile! You can also serve this cornbread with something sweet like butter, honey or jam for a touch of sweetness.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
The detailed instructions will show you how to prepare freshly baked cornbread with ingredients that are mostly pantry staples!
It is made with low fat and low sugar ingredients, making it much lower in calories than traditional cornbread. This is a gluten-free recipe. There's no flour in this easy cornbread recipe.
Ingredients You Need
- Yellow cornmeal: This type of cornmeal is coarse flour made from ground dried corn that gives cornbread its gritty-crumbly texture. It's inherently gluten-free and does not expand. It helps make moist, dense baked goods.
- Baking powder: Acts as a leavening agent to help the cornbread rise and gain volume.
- Salt: Strengthens the batter and helps achieve a moist, crumbly texture. It also highlights the sweet and buttery flavors.
- Granulated sugar: Makes the cornbread perfectly sweet and helps keep it moist and tender.
- Cream-style corn (no salt added): This gives the cornbread a soft, creamy texture with tasty pieces of sweet corn in each bite. Del Monte and Great Value are good options for canned no-salt-added cream-style corn. Always double-check your labels, but canned cream-style corn should also be gluten-free.
- Fat free sour cream: Makes this cornbread extra rich and moist. You can use fat-free sour cream to keep things low fat; otherwise, full-fat sour cream and Greek yogurt work.
- Reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese: Loads this cornbread up with irresistible cheesy flavor while keeping this recipe low fat and low calorie. You can use mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, Mexican-blend or Colby jack.
- Butter (melted): Helps make cornbread with fluffy centers and firm, golden brown surfaces.
- Egg & egg whites: Act as a binder to hold the batter together. Using a combination of whole egg and egg whites makes a soft and airy textured cornbread.
Step By Step Photos
Mix the dry ingredients together.
Mix the wet ingredients together.
Softened cream cheese.
Stir dry mixture in wet until combined.
Pour mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake!
How To Make Low Calorie Cornbread
Step 1: Preheat oven and prepare baking dish. Preheat the oven to 425 ℉ and spray a 9x9-inch baking dish or cast iron pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set the baking dish aside.
Step 2: Combine dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar together until combined.
Step 3: Mix wet ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, mix the cream-syle corn, sour cream, cheese, butter, egg and egg whites with a heavy wooden spoon.
Step 4: Stir dry and wet ingredients together. Stir the dry cornmeal mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.
Step 5: Bake. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean with a few crumbly bits.
Step 6. Cool and serve. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into squares. Enjoy!
NOTE: You can print the FULL recipe with all ingredients & detailed instructions below!
Tips
- Overmixed cornbread batter can result in a dry, chewy texture. As soon as the batter is combined, leave it be.
- For some added texture, fold ¼ cup whole corn kernels into the batter.
- Be careful not to over-bake the cornbread. When it's ready, it should be firm and golden brown on top.
- The cornbread will continue to firm up while it cools. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before slicing.
- To bake into muffins, pour the mixture into a greased muffin pan and bake at 425 ℉ for 15 to 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs attached.
- Instead of granulated sugar, you can use an unprocessed, natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup. A reader mentioned using agave syrup instead of sugar with excellent results. There's no need for lots of sugar.
Frequently Asked Questions About Low Calorie Cornbread
This recipe yields 12 squares of cornbread. Each of those squares is about 108 calories, roughly 100 calories less than traditional cornbread recipes made with flour.
Cornbread will always be best enjoyed the same day. However, it can be stored on the counter wrapped in aluminum for 1 to 2 days. You can also store cornbread in the refrigerator for up to a week. The aluminum foil helps keep the cornbread from drying out.
Yes! Once the cornbread is thoroughly cooled, store it in freezer-safe bags, squeezing out as much air as you can before sealing the bag. Cornbread will last in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.
More Bread Recipes You Might Enjoy
Low Calorie Corn Bread
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup + 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- ¾ cup fat free sour cream
- 1 cup no salt added cream-style corn
- ½ cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg whites
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 ℉ and spray a 9x9-inch baking dish or cast iron pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set the baking dish aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix the cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar together until combined.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the cream-syle corn, sour cream, cheese, butter, egg and egg whites with a heavy wooden spoon.
- Stir the dry cornmeal mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Do not overmix the batter.
- Pour mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean with a few crumbly bits.
- Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into squares. Enjoy!
Notes
- Overmixed cornbread batter can result in a dry, chewy texture. As soon as the batter is combined, leave it be.
- For some added texture, fold ¼ cup whole corn kernels into the batter.
- Be careful not to over-bake the cornbread. When it's ready, it should be firm and golden brown on top.
- The cornbread will continue to firm up while it cools. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let it cool completely before slicing.
- To bake into muffins, pour the mixture into a greased muffin pan and bake at 425 ℉ for 15 to 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs attached.
- Instead of granulated sugar, you can use an unprocessed, natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup. A reader mentioned using agave syrup instead of sugar with excellent results. There's no need for lots of sugar.
- Storing: Cornbread will always be best enjoyed the same day. However, it can be stored on the counter wrapped in aluminum for 1 to 2 days. You can also store cornbread in the refrigerator for up to a week. The aluminum foil helps keep the cornbread from drying out.
- Freezing: Once the cornbread is thoroughly cooled, store it in freezer-safe bags, squeezing out as much air as you can before sealing the bag. Cornbread will last in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Emilio
Hi there! Couple questions, is it normal for the middle to sink in for a bit after cooling (cooked for 25 minutes)? The toothpick came out clean however. Excited to give it a taste later!
Erika
Hi Emilio, that can happen for many reasons. Sometimes if the baking powder isn't fresh, if the pan was overfilled or if the batter was over mixed. I hope you still enjoyed the taste of the bread.
Terri Hartman
Very unusual cornbread recipe that has no flour in it! But it was deliciously different—more moist than others I’ve tried. We added a chopped and seeded jalapeño that gave it a little kick. We also used agave syrup instead of sugar. And we like our cornbread a little thicker so we used an 11x7 glass pan. It got all crusty on the sides and bottom. Really good.
Lisa Huff
Love that you put sour cream in your corn bread! Will have to give it a try!
Kathryn Donangelo
Made this as a side with our veggie soup and it was soooo good! You can't even tell it's low-cal which is amazing, thank you!
Tammy
Ahh yes totally agree! Cornbread with chili or soup is the ultimate comfort! Love this lightened up variation....looks so delicious!
Katie
My mouth is watering at the idea of this. Can't wait to try it!
Angela
Great recipe! I love the cream corn in it.