Skillet Amaranth Cornbread (gluten free recipe)

Sometimes a recipe crosses my path and makes it onto my table that is so good, I feel a moral responsibility to share it with the world.

A few weeks ago, my mom showed up to Sunday dinner with this Skillet Amaranth Cornbread and I knew, I really knew, that this recipe needed to be made again and again and shared as widely as possible. It is just that good.

This whole grain bread is a far cry from the spongy yellow cafeteria impostor that posed as cornbread on my childhood school lunch tray. For years, as a result of said sponge bread, I thought I didn’t even like cornbread.

This delicious gluten free bread, however, stole the Sunday dinner show and over shadowed even my favorite chili recipe.

amaranth corn bread-8866

I attribute a lot of this recipe’s success to the Amaranth, a healthy whole grain that doesn’t really get the attention it deserves. Without adding any flour or gluten, the amaranth in this recipe combines with the corn to make a really tender, moist, light bread. Cooking it in a preheated cast iron skillet gives it a crunchy crust that my kids and I all agree earns this bread a shining gold star.

Although you can purchase cornmeal and amaranth flour for this recipe, it is simple, cheap, and healthy to grind your own grains. I grind my own popcorn and amaranth and I think the freshly ground grains add a lot to this delicious bread. In my experience, it is also easier to find whole grain amaranth. (Check out Aimee’s introduction to grinding grains for flour.)

amaranth corn bread-8877

Dip it in your favorite soup for dinner, eat it plain for a snack, or smother it in honey and call it dessert. However you enjoy your cornbread, I assure you, this particular cornbread won’t disappoint.

Skillet Amaranth Cornbread (Gluten Free)

A delicious gluten free bread featuring amaranth and guaranteed to steal the show.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Bakery
Keyword: Gluten-free
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 766kcal
Author: Allison

Ingredients

  • 2 cups freshly ground cornmeal
  • 2 cups freshly ground amaranth
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/3 cup dry milk powder
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 2 tablespoons clarified butter

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a large cast-iron skillet in oven while oven is heating.
  • In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the water, eggs, and oil. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the water mixture. Stir until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
  • Add the clarified butter to the hot skillet in the oven. When the butter has melted completely, pour in the batter. Return skillet to oven and bake for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread is golden brown and cooked through.

Nutrition

Calories: 766kcal | Carbohydrates: 102g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 68mg | Sodium: 459mg | Potassium: 1049mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 235IU | Vitamin C: 3.2mg | Calcium: 379mg | Iron: 7.1mg

Do you use Amaranth, or any other lesser known grains in your every day cooking?

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24 Comments

  1. As a gluten-free baker with a healthy stash of less common flours, I have to admit that amaranth is the one I use the least. I love a good, simple cornbread recipe and this one sounds great!

  2. I will happily eat all your spongy cornbread – I’m so not picky when it comes to this stuff! But you’re giving me inspiration to boost the crunch in my own recipe. I would love to see what happens when adding whole toasted amaranth to the batter. Yum!

  3. Made this in my iron frying pan. Fantastic! A friend suggested adding some canned corn which I will try next.

  4. 5 stars
    Perfection! My 86yr old celiac dad kept all the leftovers, following chili soup supper. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. *I don’t own cast iron skillet, so I preheated/ baked in PC stoneware, to get that buttery crust.

  5. Okay, so I ACTUALLY MADE this recipe. And dang! It is good. When it was baking you could smell that it was going to taste good. Thank you for sharing this! I was hesitant to add so much sugar, so I added it 1 T at a time, tasting the batter each time. Finally I added the full amount realizing that you need the sugar to overcome the slight bitterness of the amaranth flour. Only adjustment was making it dairy free, it works without the dry milk powder, and pre-soaking the cornmeal in the water for a few hours. Delicious recipe! Happy to have a way to use this nutritious amaranth flour!