This millet bread recipe with walnuts was created as a lectin-free and dairy-free alternative to ‘cornbread’. You can serve it warm, out of the oven, with a cube of grass-fed butter or nut butter and a drizzle of raw honey or yacon syrup. My favorite way!! Have it as a snack, sweet treat, with your breakfast, for your barbecue garden party, or as a side to a delicious chili.
Using millet to replace corn is not a novelty
It’s not a coincidence that I’m creating this recipe while I’m in Romania. Corn polenta and bread and cakes made of corn are pretty popular here too, but there is one more thing that fascinates me. Corn is a plant native to the Americas and was introduced to Europe by Spanish settlers in the 15th century; however, corn was introduced in the 18th century in Romania.
Polenta made with corn is very popular now in Romania; however, the polenta/porridge style dishes were made with millet before the corn. Millet was a staple food for the population in the area where Romania was now for 2500 years before introducing corn and wheat. The Romans were making bread out of millet, called in Latin “panicum milliaceum”. Using millet to replace corn and make staples like bread is not such a novelty in the end.
How to make millet bread at home
The lectin-free dry ingredients
Cornbread is usually made with equal quantities of cornflour and wheat flour, which, if you ask me, is weird, as I was expecting something only made with cornflour. But wheat is everywhere, isn’t it? To replace this lectin bomb combo, I used a mix of ground millet, ground walnuts, tapioca, and cassava flour. Please check my SHOP page for options for all these ingredients.
One important note about ground millet: This is not a millet flour bread. DO NOT use store-bought millet flour, as you won’t get the same result. The texture of millet flour is too fine for this type of bread, and millet flour tends to be quite bitter (not in a nice way).
I use a Nutribullet with a milling blade to grind the millet at home, explicitly made for grinding nuts and other dry stuff. I looked on Amazon, and the cheapest options are this electric grain mill, or this manual one. But, if you don’t have a Nutribullet, I recommend one as it can do everything if you also get the milling blade. This is what the millet texture looks like:
I milled the walnuts in the same Nutribullet, but in this case, you can also use a food processor or walnut flour. Nuts will not be ground uniformly, but it doesn’t matter. In fact, is nice when you find a bigger piece of walnut in the composition. This is how it looked after grinding.
The rest of the dry ingredients are tapioca and cassava flour, baking powder and baking soda, salt.
The dairy-free wet ingredients
Traditionally, cornbread is made with lots of dairy, like buttermilk and sour cream, and even butter. I used only coconut cream, which I mixed with fresh lemon juice and left for 10-15 minutes to curdle. That’s enough to give the texture buttermilk will give to a cake. You can use any alternative milk you want, but I like coconut cream because it is super creamy. Funny enough, I didn’t feel the coconut taste at all.
I also used one pastured egg, extra virgin olive oil, and some honey. I flavored it with vanilla and lemon zest, and I suggest you don’t skip the lemon zes. Itt comes through beautifully. Just make sure it’s organic. If you don’t want to use honey at all, you can use any sweetener you prefer. Lakanto syrup or Yacon syrup would be my first choices. Just a reminder, honey is phase two plant paradox compliant and limited to one teaspoon a day. But the quantity I used in this cake is way lower than that.
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After mixing everything, you might have to add a little bit of water, or milk, in case your batter looks too dry. Gently incorporate all the ingredients and let it sit for 5 minutes as it might get a little drier. It’s a thick batter, but it should look moist, not dry.
For a baking dish, I used a Pyrex with low walls (approx 17×28 cm or 7×11 in). This way is straightforward to turn the cake upside down. But you can use any baking dish you use for bread and cakes, and you can even line it with parchment paper. I greased it well with olive oil and it came out easily.
How to serve gluten-free millet bread
You can serve it warm, out of the oven, with a cube of grass-fed butter or nut butter, and a drizzle of honey or yacon syrup. My favorite way!! Have it as a snack, sweet treat, with your breakfast, for your garden party next to your barbecue. Or go the traditional way, serve it with Dr. Gundry’s Lectin-Free Chili. Add it to a lunch box.
Is millet bread healthy?
Millet is an excellent replacement for corn because it has a better nutrient profile and is lectin-free. Millet bread is healthy and much healthier than cornbread if consumed in moderation.
More millet recipes
For more delicious ways to use millet, check out these recipes:
- Millet Stuffing (Gluten-Free, Lectin-Free)
- How to Make Millet Porridge
- Thyme Roasted Mushrooms with Millet Polenta
- Tabbouleh with Millet and Hemp Hearts
- Warm Brussel Sprouts and Millet Salad
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The lectin-free cornbread is a total makeover of the much-loved staple. This version is gluten and refined sugar-free, and plant paradox compliant. Mix the coconut cream with the lemon juice and set it aside for 10-15 minutes to slightly curdle. Preheat the oven at 350F (180C). Prepare one baking dish. I used a Pyrex of approx. 17x28cm or 7x11in, with low walls (it helps with release). Alternatively, if you can use parchment paper. Grind the millet in a food processor (I use my Magic Bullet with the grinding blade), until resembles corn flour (not too coarse, not too fine). Grind the walnuts in the same processor. It doesn't matter if there are some bigger pieces left, they will add to the texture. Combine all the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Combine all the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl, mixing with a hand blender just until they all get combined. No need to over mix. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, combine well with a spatula, and if you feel like the batter is too dry, add a little bit of water. Transfer the batter to the baking dish, level with the spatula and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick come out clean. Store in an air tight container in a cool place. It can also be frozen. Lectin-Free Cornbread with Millet and Walnuts
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
22 Comments
Gail Dawson
April 20, 2021 at 1:40 pmClaudia, are you APOE4?
Claudia
April 22, 2021 at 12:34 amHi Gail, I’m not APOE4.
Erin
June 12, 2021 at 9:55 amI’ve made this several times, and people just RAVE about it. They also would bet major $ that it’s actual CORNbread. Add a little honey or ghee on the top and it’s even more irresistible!
Claudia
June 13, 2021 at 2:09 pmHa, thank you so much for the feedback, glad to hear people think is corn bread :))) xx
Rebecca
July 12, 2021 at 6:18 pmI made this tonight and will definitely make again. It was a hit with my family…! Thanks for all you do for the community.
Claudia
July 13, 2021 at 2:29 amThank you so much Rebecca, I’m happy all your family loved it <3
Sarah Young
August 10, 2021 at 3:36 pmI can’t have walnuts – would almonds or pecans work?
Claudia
August 12, 2021 at 2:31 amHi Sarah, yes, I think pecans would give it a very good taste. Almonds tend to be a bit bland, especially if you buy them blanched. So I would go with pecans, or even hazelnuts. We would love to hear back from you on the result xx
Sarah Young
August 20, 2021 at 8:12 pmIt worked! I used pecans. I don’t do well with too many eggs and I like that this GF/Paleo/Low Lectin bread has only 1 egg. The texture & consistency is just like corn bread although it tastes different. Not worse, just different. I LOVE this recipe and it will be a staple for us. THANK YOU!
Claudia
August 21, 2021 at 4:57 amHi Sarah, thank you so much for sharing your experience. So happy this recipe worked for you. I can imagine pecans are even tastier than walnuts in this recipe. xx
Ali Phillips
August 23, 2021 at 8:29 pmI loved how this turned out! Tasted great! Unfortunately the millet doesn’t appear to be right for me yet. So disappointing! I love the taste and texture.
Claudia
August 30, 2021 at 1:49 amHi Ali, such a bummer! Fortunately, there are so many other good breads / cakes to try. Maybe you can try to replace millet with another lectin-free grain, like sorghum. Hugs, xx
Ghyliane Marie
August 28, 2021 at 7:48 pmHi Claudia, I was wondering if you could suggest an alternative to cassava flour. I cannot purchase any in Melbourne Australia. No one seems to have it in stock at the moment. I have managed to get my hand on green banana flour, will that suffice an alternative?
Cheers
Ghyl
Claudia
August 30, 2021 at 1:45 amHi Ghyliane, unfortunately, green banana flour is not a good substitute for anything as it acts pretty weird in recipes. Maybe in this recipe, you can replace cassava with tapioca or arrowroot (they are starches). I can’t promise the same result, but usually, these two starches give baked goods a better texture (but they are higher glycemic index than cassava).
Ange Moore
September 10, 2021 at 2:22 pmHi Claudia, This bread looks amazing, can’t wait to make it! I am allergic to egg and wondering if you think a flax seed egg might work or vegan eggs? Or do you have any suggestions?
Cheers,
Angie
Claudia
September 11, 2021 at 1:43 pmHi Ange, I don’t know what to say as I haven’t tried. Flax, psyllium can help with binding, but I can’t promise anything. Taste and texture will change too. I think it’s worth a try though. If it doesn’t hold together, you can use it like morning cereals :)) Please let me know if you do try. Hugs, C.
KP
December 22, 2021 at 7:21 pmLooks delicious & I’m so excited to try it because cornbread is a staple we really miss! Unfortunately I’m allergic to coconut and dairy – is there a substitute for the coconut cream you could recommend?
Claudia
December 25, 2021 at 5:37 amHi, you can use another approved plant milk. In case is too liquid compared to the cream, you can always add a little more flour.
Jean
September 28, 2022 at 5:02 pmHi Claudia, You have saved me so much time experimenting with flours and flavors! Thank you. The corn bread was delicious with Bob’s Red Mill millet flour. The texture was a little more crumbly than I would like. Next time I could add another egg or some psyllium husk powder (or both) – which would you recommend?
Claudia
September 29, 2022 at 2:48 amHi Jean, so happy you love it. I would go with one extra egg and if the batter is too wet, then maybe just add a tiny bit of flour. This batter tends to get pretty dry, so maybe there is no need for extra flour if you want a moister bread. Actually, I also wondered if this recipe would be better with one extra egg. Please let me know how yours comes out.
Jean
October 13, 2022 at 1:21 pmHey Claudia. I did a half recipe with a whole in a 4 x 8 loaf pan, leaving it in timed countertop oven when we went to church. That effectively doubled the amount of egg, and also increased the amount of browned crust. That gave me the texture I wanted. Thank you
Claudia
October 14, 2022 at 1:53 amHi Jean, thank you so much for your message. I’m not sure I really understand what you did, but I’m happy you got the texture you wanted! xx