Chilli Courgette Cornbread (Gluten-Free)
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Chilli Courgette Cornbread is a perfect accompaniment to your barbecues and summer parties. Sweet, savoury and spicy, it makes the most of a glut of courgettes and is so easy to prepare. Made with your favourite gluten-free flour and cornmeal.
This cornbread eaten warm from the oven with a slab of salted butter is what dreams are made of. I originally made the cornbread to go with some leftover pulled pork and coleslaw which was incredible. However now, it's the bread recipe I turn to whenever we have a crowd around for a lazy weekend barbecue. The flavours marry up so deliciously with summer.
This recipe is easy to prepare and always goes well with a crowd.
Why You’ll Love This Chilli Courgette Cornbread
- Perfect for using up a glut of courgettes (zucchinis).
- Spicy flavour of the jalapeno chillis with a lovely sweetness from the honey pair beautifully with the vegetal courgettes.
- No fancy gluten-free flour is needed, it's fine with your favourite brand and needs no xanthan gum.
- So quick and easy to prepare.
- Delicious accompaniment to your favourite chillis and soups in the winter but is a marvellous side dish at your summer BBQ.
Ingredients Needed
Courgette (Zucchini). Choose fresh (and organic if possible) courgettes. You want them to be firm and have a vibrant colour for the best flavour and texture. Avoid using older ones that have been hanging around in your veg box for two long or that are soft and mushy.
Jalapenos. If you can’t get hold of jalapenos then just use regular green chillies, but do double check the strength of them before adding in. Jalapenos are quite mild so be careful when adding the same amount of a different chilli. If you want to serve it to the whole family then by all means leave the chilli out completely.
All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour. You can use any. I recommend Doves Freee Plain White Gluten-Free Flour. You don't need a brand which contains xanthan gum, but if it's included then don't worry about that either. I also particularly recommend my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Mix which gives great results.
Cornmeal. Look for finely ground cornmeal as that will give the best texture for this cornbread. You should be able to easily find the Dunn’s River brand in most UK supermarkets. You could use polenta but that is coarsely ground so would give a different texture.
Buttermilk. It’s a fermented dairy product with a tangy flavour and is used here to tenderise the crumb, act as a leavening agent, add moisture, and also enhance the flavour
Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.
Unsalted butter. We need unsalted so we can control the salt content of the recipe. Make sure it is at room temperature.
Honey. I love the flavour honey provides alongside the cheese which is why I like to use it in my cornbread recipes over sugar. Just use your favourite brand.
Baking powder. A leaving agent which causes the cake to rise and become light and fluffy. Do check your baking powder is gluten-free before use.
Bicarbonate of soda. Also known as baking soda, this is a white crystalline powder that is commonly used as a leavening agent in baking.
Salt. I used kosher salt here as it has a nice rounded gentle flavour, a lot less harsh than table salt. If you are using table salt then use slightly less.
How To Prepare Courgettes
- Wash them thoroughly. Rinse the courgettes under cool water to remove any dirt and lightly scrub if you need to.
- Trim the ends. Remove both ends of the courgette using a sharp knife.
- Grate the courgette. Use a box grater or a food processor with a grating attachment to grate them. Hold them firmly and grate it using the side with the smaller holes to achieve finer shreds.
- Remove the excess moisture. This is a very important step. Courgettes contain a lot of water and if you don’t squeeze it out then your bread will be too wet. To get as much water out as possible, place the grated courgette in a clean kitchen towel or muslin cloth. Squeeze gently over the kitchen sink to extract as much moisture as possible.
How To Make Chilli Courgette Cornbread
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Dry Ingredients. In one large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: gluten-free flour, cornmeal, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.
Wet Ingredients. In a second bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: buttermilk, honey, melted butter, and eggs.
Combine. Pour the dry mixture into the wet and stir with a wooden spoon until fully combined.
Add Courgette and Chilli. Fold in the grated courgette and finely chopped jalapeños. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Arrange sliced jalapeños over the surface so each square will have one on top.
Bake. Bake for around 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Glaze. While the cornbread bakes, gently warm honey in a small saucepan until runny. When the cornbread is out of the oven, brush the warm honey over the top. Cool slightly, then cut into 16 squares and serve.
More Courgette Recipes You'll Love
Courgette Relish is the perfect way to get the most out of a bumper courgette crop. It is an easy relish to knock together and has endless uses from burger or hot dog toppings, barbecue accompaniments or the grace within a cheese sandwich. You'll love its tangy sweetness flavoured with turmeric, mustard seeds and nutmeg.
Gluten Free Courgette Loaf Cake is a beautifully classic sweet loaf recipe with a deliciously moist, and tender crumb. Warmly spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger, it's like Banana Bread but with a mild subtle vegetable flavour. This recipe is also happily dairy-free and gluten-free.
Easy Roasted Aubergine and Courgettes are sprinkled with sumac and tossed with fresh herbs and a squeeze of lemon before serving. A wonderful vegetable dish which can be eaten hot or as part of a salad buffet.
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Courgette Chilli Cornbread (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 180 g fine cornmeal
- 180 g gluten-free flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 200 ml buttermilk
- 100 ml honey + 2 tablespoons for finishing
- 90 g unsalted butter - melted then cooled
- 2 eggs - lightly beaten
- 350 g courgettes - grated and squeezed dry, about 2
- 3-4 jalapenos - 2 de-seeded and finely chopped, 1-2 sliced so there are 16 rounds.
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted /gas mark 4 / 350°F and line and grease a 20cm (8 inch) square baking tin.
- Grab two large mixing bowls. In one mixing bowl whisk together the gluten-free flour, cornmeal, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
- In the other mixing bowl whisk together the buttermilk, honey, butter and eggs.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix well with a wooden spoon until completely combined.
- Stir in the grated courgette and finely chopped jalapenos until evenly dispersed then pour it all into the baking tin. Arrange the sliced jalapeno on top so each square of cornbread will have a jalapeno.
- Bake for around 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the cornbread from the oven. Pour the 2 tablespoons of honey into a saucepan and heat until the honey is very runny, then brush over the top of the warm cornbread with a pastry brush. Cut into 16 squares and serve.
I think it is excellent Georgina. I made mine using pumpkin pulp instead of courgette pulp because that was what I have lots of now. I added cinnamon and star anise spices and it is super. Thank you once again for your super GF recipe ideas.
Ooh gosh - that sounds lovely - I must try with pumpkin!
You list gluten free flour, there are many types. I have white rice flour. Can I use that? I have seen comments elsewhere that white rice flour cannot be substituted one to one for AP flour, but I haven't seen anywhere how much to reduce or increase by. Can you enlighten me? Thank you.
Hi Catherine, you are right there are many types!! The gluten-free flour this recipe uses is a generic brand of pre-blended gluten-free flour and you can use any brand you like. So this recipe was tested with Doves Farm Plain White Gluten-Free Flour. You could use Bob's Red Mill 1:1 or whichever brand is easiest to buy where you are. You can use your own blend of gluten-free flours but I do not recommend using just rice flour alone as you will need a starchy flour to hold the cornbread together. If you are interested in blending your own gluten-free flours to use in place of AP flour then have a look at this Guide to Gluten-Free and Alternative Flours.
Hello,
By cornmeal, do you mean polenta or corn flour?
I am based in australia and want to ensure that recipe does not get lost in translation.
Many thanks
Hi Cath, no I don't mean cornflour (or cornstarch). If the ingredient you have available to you is called polenta then that is probably the right one to use, as long as it is the ground dry ingredient. It can get confusing as technically 'polenta' is the dish and not the ingredient but some cornmeals are labelled polenta to indicate it is the right ingredient to use for polenta.