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These grain-free muffins will make you feel like you’re eating cornbread without the corn! They’re gluten-free, paleo, and AIP-friendly.

A stack of cornbread muffins

Grain-Free Cornbread Muffins

Grain-free cornbread is a bit of an oxymoron, but it’s undeniable that cornbread is hard to replace if you’re grain-free! Corn is one of the things that I miss the most, and cornbread is a must… especially around the holidays.

You’re going to be shocked by how much these grain-free cornbread muffins actually taste like cornbread! They’re made with sweet potato puree, grain-free flours, dairy-free buttermilk, honey, and they’re even egg-free. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo-friendly, and AIP.

The Ingredients for Grain-Free Cornbread Muffins

  • Coconut Milk.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar.
  • Tigernut flour. Tigernut flour is nut-free, as tigernuts are actually a tuber. It’s a grain free flour that’s similar to almond flour.
  • Tapioca starch. Tapioca helps bind this together. You can also sub arrowroot starch.
  • Coconut flour. Coconut flour helps to give these a crumbly texture like cornbread.
  • Baking powder and salt.
  • Palm shortening. The palm shortening helps to give these a cakey texture.
  • Honey. To give the muffins a subtle sweetness!
  • Canned Sweet Potato Purée. You can use pumpkin purée if you prefer, but it may change the flavor.
  • Water. 
  • Gelatin. I use Vital Proteins.

How to make Grain-Free Cornbread Muffins

  • Combine the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar.
  • Sift the flours together. Sift the tigernut flour, tapioca starch, and coconut flour together. Stir in the salt and baking powder.
  • Stir in the palm shortening, honey, and sweet potato puree.
  • Make and add the gelatin egg. To prep, the gelatin egg, add 1/4 cup of water to a small pot and sprinkle over the gelatin. Allow to harden. Place on the stove and allow the mixture to become liquid over low heat. This will take 1-2 minutes. Use a whisk or milk frother to froth until very frothy. Add to the batter and stir immediately.
  • Fill the muffin liners with the batter. You should have 6-7 muffins.
  • Bake. Transfer to oven and allow to bake for 35 minutes or until baked through.
  • Enjoy! Carefully transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

A bite out of a cornbread muffin

Can you make these muffins without the coconut flour or coconut milk?

Coconut flour helps to give these a crumbly texture like cornbread, and the coconut milk gives it a buttermilk flavor. You may be able to use another dairy-free milk, but I wouldn’t try to swap out the coconut flour.

Can you use coconut oil instead of palm shortening?

The palm shortening helps to give these a cakey texture, so I personally wouldn’t swap that out for coconut oil.

Can you use regular mashed sweet potato instead of canned sweet potato puree?

Regular mashed sweet potato may be a bit too thick for this recipe, but if that’s what you have on hand, just be sure it’s well pureed and thinned out with a bit of coconut milk!

Can you use pumpkin puree instead of sweet potato puree?

You can! It changes the flavor just a bit, but it works just the same.

A stack of cornbread muffins with honey on top.

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Grain-Free Cornbread Muffins (Paleo, AIP)

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Michelle
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 6-7 muffins 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 cup tigernut flour
  • 1/4 cup tapioca starch
  • 3 tbsp coconut flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 tbsp palm shortening
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1/4 cup canned sweet potato purée
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tbsp gelatin

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a muffin tin with 6-7 liners that are lightly greased with cooking spray.
  2. Combine the coconut milk and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.
  3. Sift the tigernut flour, tapioca starch, and coconut flour together. Stir in the salt and baking powder.
  4. Stir in the palm shortening, honey, sweet potato puree, and coconut milk mixture.
  5. To prep, the gelatin egg, add 1/4 cup of water to a small pot and sprinkle over the gelatin. Allow to harden. Place on the stove and allow the mixture to become liquid over low heat. This will take 1-2 minutes. Use a whisk or milk frother to froth until very frothy. Add to the batter and stir immediately.
  6. Use a cookie scoop to fill the muffin liners with the batter. You should have 6-7 muffins.
  7. Transfer to oven and allow to bake for 35 minutes or until baked through.
  8. Carefully transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.

Notes

All nutrition facts are estimated and will vary.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Category: Sides
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 muffin
  • Calories: 184
  • Fat: 10.7g
  • Carbohydrates: 24.7g
  • Fiber: 3.2g

Keywords: cornbread, grain free cornbread, paleo cornbread

Recipe by Michelle, Unbound Wellness. Photos by Eat Love Eats