This post may contain affiliate links. Click here for my affiliate disclosure. If you purchase items through my affiliate links, I receive a small commission but your price doesn't change.
Soft, slightly-sweet cornbread made with two easy-to-find, CHEAP flours. This recipe makes a great (E)nergizing carb source for Trim Healthy Mamas, a budget-friendly healthy filler for the family, and a comforting accompaniment to soups and stews this winter.
Did you see the Fuel Pull Sour Cream Cornbread recipe I posted last week? You can check it out here!
Today’s cornbread recipe uses masa flour and oat flour. Masa flour (flour made from corn partially broken down by a nixtamalization process) is available very inexpensively at Walmart. I bought a big bag (like, BIG bag) for less than $3 at Walmart in the ethnic food section. I make my own oat flour by grinding oats in a blender or coffee grinder.
To find out more about how masa flour is acceptable for use with the Trim Healthy Mama plan, check out my previous Fuel Pull Sour Cream Cornbread post where I explained it all in detail. I did run that post past the THM powers-that-be, so rest easy. 😉 The masa flour and oat flour in today’s cornbread recipe mean that it is a carb source meant for use with a THM:E meal. One large serving (1/8th of the batch) comes it at around 20 grams of net carbs, so you have some freedom to add another moderate carb source as well if you so desire (keeping in mind the 45 g net carb suggested limit). You’ll want to add some lean protein with your E meal, of course, to blunt any potential blood sugar spikes.
So how does this E version of the cornbread compare to the FP version? This E version is a little wetter than the FP version due to the oat flour that this one contains (oat flour has a unique texture). I prefer this version warm. It’s great heated up and topped with some unsweetened almond milk for breakfast (you’ll want to add some lean protein with it)! Kids can slather this cornbread with butter and honey for a healthy crossover, and if you’re at goal weight, a little honey probably wouldn’t hurt for you too. Not quite at that point yet? Crumble this cornbread up in soup or enjoy it with a teaspoon of butter and a drizzle of sugar free maple-flavored syrup!
Need some (THM:E) soup ideas to pair with this cornbread? How about…
Click here to see all my recipes in one handy pictorial index by category!
Click here for more budget friendly recipes.
New to the whole Trim Healthy Mama thing? Click here for my quick synopsis of the plan along with a bunch of helpful links and a list of the products I like to use!
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
- 1 cup masa flour (I use Maseca brand from Walmart)
- ⅔ cup oat flour (use gluten free if necessary)
- 2 tsp. THM Super Sweet Blend (use more for a sweeter cornbread if desired)
- 1½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. turmeric for color, optional
- Scant tsp. salt
- ½ cup low fat Greek yogurt or sour cream
- ½ cup egg whites
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup water
- Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Spread evenly into a greased 7x11 inch baking pan (I do not recommend using an 8x8" pan because your cornbread might not get done in the middle). Bake at 375 degrees F for 23-25 minutes or until the top is dry and the center is not mushy (it will be moist). Yields 8 servings.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator. I prefer mine warm, so you can reheat it in the microwave or oven if you like. I like it for breakfast crumbled up in a bowl with unsweetened almond milk poured over it! I'd add some protein on the side.
Suggested products:
- Maseca masa flour (Walmart is a great place to get this cheaply.)
- THM Super Sweet Blend and other great products can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
I tried this recipe tonight and I’m not sure what happened, but it did not turn out like yours pictured. I mixed it up and spread it in a 7×11 and then realized I forgot the egg whites so I removed it and mixed them in and respread the mixture… it was a little thick but smoother than the first time. I cooked it accordingly, but it came out really dense and kinda gummy sorta like polenta. Any ideas on what I could have done wrong. It had really good flavor though and I’m excited to try again hopefully it will turn out better. Any information would be greatly appreciated… thanks!!!
This is definitely on the dense side, so perhaps it’s just not what you were expecting? I’m not sure if mixing it twice would make a difference or not.
Just made this for the first time today. My kids and I i loved it! Very easy and quick to make. I used 2 1/2 teaspoons of Pyure for the sweetener. This will be made frequently. Thanks!
Hi, I would like to make this tomorrow night to go with beans. I’m out of THM sweetners. What would be the best alternative? Monk Fruit, Truvia? How much would I use? I have both of those. Thank you!
Either one, to taste. 🙂 You don’t need much unless you like a really sweet cornbread! I would just sweeten to taste as that’s the best way to get a result you like, but you can also use this sweetener conversion chart to help you estimate how much you’ll need: https://media.trimhealthymama.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2017/05/07222306/THM.Sweetener-Conversion-Chart.pdf
Hi! Can I use THM baking blend instead of the oat flour? I already have that 😊
You’re welcome to try, but you’ll probably have to adjust the amount since THM Baking Blend soaks up more liquid than oat flour does. You can easily make your own oat flour by grinding up quick or old fashioned dry oats in a coffee/spice grinder or high powered blender. 🙂
I didn’t have a 7×11, so I made it into 12 muffins. Baked 15 mins at 375 and they were perfect- even hubby liked them!!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing how you did it.
In the part of the world where I live (southern Europe), we don’t have cornmeal or masa. What I have used for years to make cornbread here is polenta. Since being on THM, I’ve been reluctant to use it at all, but I found your explanation about the difference between corn meal and masa to be very interesting! Any ideas about how I can find out the specifics on the polenta, (how it is processed and therefore, its carb impact)?
I just did a quick Google search about polenta and I believe that our cornmeal and your polenta is very similar, just made from different varieties of corn. 🙂 I don’t think polenta is broken down by a nixtamalization process like masa is so you probably shouldn’t use it as part of a low-glycemic diet.
Do you have nutritional info on this recipe, especially carbs and calories per serving.
thanks.
Hi Pamela! I don’t usually calculate nutrition info on my recipes since the healthy eating lifestyle I follow doesn’t require it (Trim Healthy Mama), but MyFitnessPal is a super easy way to find nutrition facts! If you sign up for an account, under the Recipes tab there’s a place where you can just add the link to a recipe and it will pull up the ingredients for you to confirm, then generate the nutritional info! 🙂
Briana,
Best wishes to you newlyweds! I’m going to attempt this in my giant cast iron skillet (12”) tonight to go with an instant pot black bean soup. Wish me luck, y’all!
Just a note that I’ve made this cornbread a couple of times, and it is awesome! I actually like it better than regular cornbread! Thanks so much for a lovely recipe.
Can I just use extra water if I don’t have almond milk?
That would probably work.
We’re having this with another one of your recipes for supper tonight! Also, I found the Maseca masa flour at our Aldi store.
I don’t have a 7×11 pan, can this recipe be done in a muffin tin?
I’ve never tried it, but there’s a good chance that would work.
I made this to go with an E-chili today, love it! Tip for anyone who overbakes theirs (I use this trick for all my baked goods): spray it with water as soon as it’s out of the oven, being quite liberal with it. Redistributes lost moisture! I keep a spray bottle in the kitchen just for when I have mama brain and forget to set a timer. lol!
I’m looking for a pumpkin cornbread recipe. Do you think that would work well with this recipe? Any thoughts? I’m just going to eyeball it and see how it goes.
You’ll have to be careful adding a moistener ingredient (pumpkin) to an already-moist recipe, but if you can find a way to switch it out for some of the liquid, it might work!
I’ve successfully swapped pumpkin for sour cream and Greek yogurt in two THM recipes, it works great!
That’s a great tip for all of us dairy-free mamas! Thanks.
I needed a quick single serve cornbread to go with my trim train taco soup. Cut this down into fourths and was perfect. Took about 1 1/2 – 2 min in the microwave. Thank you Briana!!
Awesome idea!
Hi Briana, I love your site! Wow! anyhoo, I have the wicked white chili from the cookbook in the crockpot and my gang of boys just loves cornbread with their chili. Is this acceptable for me to have a piece even though I am eating the beans in the chili? seems like a lot of carbs…thanks in advance, this looks soooooo good!
I personally wouldn’t have a problem with that. 🙂 You’re allowed to have up to 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans as your carb source in an E meal, and I doubt you’ll be getting that many in your serving of soup so you probably have some carbs to spare. 🙂
so I made this last night exactly as stated and it looks nothing like yours..maybe my masa was wrong? it says instant masa and it’s maseca brand from walmart. it came out like a tamale with no filling, tasted just like a corn tortilla. it wasn’t bad just not what I was expecting, not fluffy at all and dense as can be…also, the chili called for corn and I didn’t add it. why can we have corn and not corn meal to make regular cornbread and sub the flour and sugar for THM ingredients? any thoughts?
Hmm…that’s interesting. I don’t believe my masa said “instant”, but I’m not sure if that would make a difference or not. Are you sure you added the baking powder? That’s the only thing I can think of that would make that big of a difference. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you!
Corn in its natural state is not recommended for weight loss except for in very small amounts (like I assume are called for in the chili when spread out among the servings). The amount of cornmeal that you would use in cornbread would quickly exceed the recommended limit. Masa is different from cornmeal in that it goes through a nixtamalization process which helps break down the carbs (like sprouting wheat), so you can use more of it.
thanks for the reply! yep I added the baking powder and I just made the BAM cake and trimtastic cake so the baking powder is still good…hmmm, this is what I bought, it was all I saw at walmart, maybe it’s not right http://www.walmart.com/ip/Maseca-Instant-Masa-Corn-Flour-4.4-lb/10291185
That’s not the same bag as what I used, but it looks like the ingredients are the same. I’m sorry I don’t know how to help!
I had the same issue – ours is pretty flat. I do have “instant” masa flour as well….
Ahhh… I found the masa flour, made the cornbread and love it! It’s a wonderful side dish to all those E dishes, especially your Salsa Verde Soup and my own Taco Soup recipe – delish! This will be a definite “go-to” recipe for me! I cut the cornbread in the pan, then froze the pieces separately as I’ve found these healthy recipes spoil very quickly without all the junk to preserve them (even sugar helps to preserve). When I want to use it I just pop two pieces into the microwave (don’t tell Katelyn!), and away we go! The next time I will sweeten the cornbread a tad more, but I have a sweet tooth. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
That’s a great idea! I’m so glad you enjoy it.
oh amazing. i married a southern man who LOVES his cornbread (in a skillet that is only for cornbread) and no sugar/sweetness anywhere near his beloved cornbread. i always make it for him when we have beans o chili…and sit there sad with my sad wasa cracker as a substitute. now i get my own cornbread!!!! do you know if this freezes well?
I haven’t tried to freeze it, but I don’t see why you couldn’t!
Do you have a recipe THM friendly for mush? Love your site by the way. It rocks!’
Hi Dawn! I don’t yet, but it’s on my list to come up with. 🙂
Awesome!! Can’t wait! 🙂
I made your Salsa Verde Soup in the beginning of the week and was so excited to buy the masa flour at Wal-Mart on Wednesday to make cornbread for with my soup, but I couldn’t find it. I couldn’t remember which section you said you found it in, but I did look around. I will have to check again and maybe even check another store. Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for all your great recipes!
I find mine with the ethnic foods (specifically other Mexican-style foods).