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Meet your new favorite summer side dish: Tomato Cornbread with Cherry Tomatoes! Made extra fluffy with a custom tomato “buttermilk” and bursting with fresh and juicy tomatoes, it’s the perfect sidekick for BBQs, potlucks, and picnics. Vegan; Gluten-Free and Oil-Free Options.
Cornbread is the best, but nothing quite compares to this Easy Tomato Cornbread during peak summer. It’s baked with the classic ingredients, plus a tomato “buttermilk” for an extra fluffy crumb and perfectly balanced corn and tomato flavors. Topped with juicy cherry tomatoes, this summer treat will no doubt be a hit at any BBQ or potluck.
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Your Next Tomato Season Bake 🍅
Most people want to blow out their birthday candles on a cake. Not me! For my birthday this year, I went full-on with my tomato party theme and blew out candles on this Easy Tomato Cornbread before serving the slices with this Roasted Tomato Soup and this Triple Tomato Basil Orzo Salad.
I love cornbread just as much as I love fresh, juicy tomatoes. And since corn and tomatoes hit their peak season together, baking them into a moist and fluffy cornbread was a no-brainer.
I really wanted those tangy, umami, slightly acidic tomato flavors to sing in every slice, so I baked this tomato cornbread with a blended vegan tomato “buttermilk” and bejeweled the top with cherry tomatoes. While it leans savory, the naturally sweet tomatoes balance everything perfectly. I can’t wait for you to try a slice!
What You Need for Tomato Cornbread
My tomato cornbread is baked with most of the same ingredients as my Perfect Vegan Cornbread, but obviously uses tomatoes for some summer vibes. These are the key items you need:
- Vegan Tomato “Buttermilk”: this fluffy cornbread is packed with summery tomato flavors, all thanks to a blended tomato “buttermilk” made from tomato paste, soy milk, and fresh tomatoes. If you don’t want your bread to be quite as tomato-forward, then you can omit the tomato paste.
- Cherry Tomatoes: bright, juicy, and naturally sweet cherry tomatoes add pleasantly sweet undertones to this savory-leaning cornbread. Grape tomatoes also work, but they won’t taste quite as sweet.
- Fine Cornmeal: there are 3 kinds of cornmeal: fine, medium, and coarse. Fine cornmeal is always best for cornbread because the tiny granules melt into the batter, giving it a smooth texture and a light corn flavor.
How to Make Tomato Cornbread with Cherry Tomatoes
- Add the soy milk, sugar, tomato paste, and 1 cup of the halved tomatoes to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, optional dry spices, and salt together in a large bowl. Form a well in the center, then pour in the blended tomato mixture and melted butter. Gently mix to combine.
- Transfer the batter to a baking dish and top it with the remaining cherry tomatoes.
- Bake the cornbread until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let it cool, then slice and serve with vegan butter. Enjoy!
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Gently mix the batter until all of the dry flour has been absorbed. There might be some lumps in the batter, but that’s okay! Do not keep stirring or else the bread will become dense and gummy instead of light and fluffy.
- How to tell the cornbread is done baking: Remember that the water content in the tomatoes could potentially slow down the cooking process a bit. I recommend checking for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cornbread after 22 minutes or when it’s looking puffy; if it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached, you’ll know it’s done.
Serving Suggestions
This tomato cornbread is best served as a side dish smeared with a little vegan butter. If you love a tomato theme as I do, I’d suggest slathering each slice with this Tomato Butter and topping them with this Cherry Tomato Confit, too. A basil pesto drizzle on top couldn’t hurt, either.
The subtly sweet notes and hint of umami in this cornbread make it a perfect side dish for your grilled or bold summer meals. I really like it with this Cajun Tofu Sheet Pan Dinner, a bowl of this Summer Corn Chowder, and these saucy Tomato Beans. And for dessert, nothing’s better than this Puff Pastry Peach Galette.
If you’re looking for more ways to use up your fresh tomatoes this summer, you’ll also love these Tomato Tarts with Puff Pastry, this Corn Cucumber Tomato Salad, and this Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta with Gremolata!
How to Store Leftover Cornbread
To keep the leftover cornbread soft and fluffy, store the slices in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the cornbread slices in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Before serving, warm up as many slices as you plan on eating in a 350ºF toaster oven, oven, or air fryer until they’re heated through, the tomatoes are juicy, and the edges are slightly crisp.
Substitutions and Variations
- Oil-Free and Gluten-Free Options: Try making my Healthy Vegan Cornbread recipe with cherry tomatoes instead.
- Cherry Tomato Substitute: Grape tomatoes are your next best option, or you can dice up a different tomato variety into ½” pieces.
- Soy Milk Substitute: Soy milk or another creamy, high-protein plant milk (the Ripple brand is my favorite) is the best for the “buttermilk” because it curdles easily. If you need a substitute, use full-fat cashew milk, coconut milk, or oat milk instead. Just keep in mind that they won’t curdle as much, and your cornbread won’t be as fluffy.
- Optional Dry Spice Add-Ins: If you’re looking for a little more flavor, whisk 1 teaspoon of dried basil or Italian seasoning and/or 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper with the dry ingredients.
Recipe FAQs
Sure. Divide the batter into a greased or lined muffin tin and top each one with 2 to 3 cherry tomatoes. Bake at 400°F for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I haven’t made this in a skillet, but it should work well. Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven while it preheats, then carefully remove it and melt 2 tablespoons of vegan butter in the hot pan. Slowly pour in the cornbread batter, top with tomatoes, and bake as normal.
Fold 1 to 2 finely diced jalapeños, 1/2 cup of corn kernels, or 1/4 cup of grated vegan parmesan cheese into the batter if you’d like.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Easy Tomato Cornbread with Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup salted dairy-free butter melted (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk*
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 pint tomatoes cut in half; divided
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 1/4 cup fine cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Optional add-ins: 1 teaspoon dried basil or Italian seasoning 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Baking Prep: Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease and line a 9×9” baking dish with parchment paper. (Tip: I like to use the wrapper from the butter stick to grease my dish).
- Wet Ingredients: Melt the butter on the stovetop or microwave, then set aside to let cool slightly. Add the soy milk, sugar, tomato paste, and 1 cup of the halved tomatoes (save the rest for step 4) to a blender. Blend on high until smooth, 45 to 60 seconds. Set aside.
- Dry Ingredients: Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, optional dry spice add-ins, and salt together in a large bowl. Form a well in the center of the bowl.
- Combine: Add the blended tomato mixture and melted butter to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to gently mix. Mix until all of the dry flour has been absorbed; there will still be some lumps in the batter, but this is okay. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and spread it out evenly. Top the batter with the remaining cherry tomatoes; I recommend placing them cut-side up.
- Bake: Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 22 to 25 minutes, until the cornbread is puffy, the edges are beginning to turn golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out cleanly.
- Cool: Transfer the entire baking dish to a wire rack to let the cornbread set for 10 minutes. Use the parchment paper to remove the cornbread from the baking dish, then place it directly on a wire rack. Remove the parchment paper from underneath the cornbread to let it cool completely.
- Serve & Store: Slice the cornbread into thirds each way to make 9 large pieces, or fourths to make 16 smaller pieces. Serve with butter or as desired. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also store the sliced cornbread in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 2 months; leftovers are best reheated in the toaster oven, air fryer, or oven.
Recipe Notes
- Soy Milk: I recommend using soy milk for this recipe as it is both creamy and has a higher protein content, so it makes better buttermilk. A higher-protein milk like Ripple should work as well. Creamy milks with lower protein content like cashew milk, coconut milk or oat milk will work okay, but they will not curdle as much and the final cornbread will be less fluffy.
- Oil-Free & Gluten-Free: Try my Healthy Vegan Cornbread recipe instead!
