Vegan Baked Oil-Free Hush Puppies

These Vegan Baked Oil-free Hush Puppies are baked, not fried, oil-free, gluten-free and absolutely to-die-for delicious! They are soft, buttery, moist and like little clouds. You will become obsessed with them!

VEGAN BAKED HUSH PUPPIES

That’s right, today we are eating some Vegan Baked Oil-Free Hush Puppies! Sayonara grease bombs, hello healthy, but-still-delicious, hush puppies. My husband said something the other day that cracked me up. He said he hated hush puppies growing up because they were so greasy, that after one bite your whole face would break out into zits. Hahaha!

Well, here ya go folks, zit-free hush puppies! Ok, now I’m cracking myself up….that sounds gross, sorry. However, I’m not sorry that these little hush puppies are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free and baked….making them healthy and guilt-free!

If you are not from the south, then you may have no clue what the heck these are. Well, they are basically super popular where I’m from (Texas) and also very popular in Louisiana (where hubby is from). Basically, they are a cornbread type of ball that is deep fried in a bucket of oil. Kind of nasty, right, but really delicious, haha. They have chopped onions and sometimes corn inside them and a mild heat to them, I made mine very mild. They are really delicious and I’ve missed them, so I created a non-greasy version and they are still delicious, soft and full of flavor. Typically they are served with seafood, but I found myself VERY content just eating these all on their own!

USING CORN FLOUR TO MAKE HUSH PUPPIES

For these I used corn flour, not cornmeal. It is superfine and gives such a better, wonderful soft texture. I tried them with coarse cornmeal first and was not a fan at all. In case you are wondering, no, Bob is not paying me to share this product with you. I just happen to love it, found it at my local HEB and can’t wait to use it in other baked goods. Sooo cheap too, only $2 if you get it off Amazon. Awesome stuff.

These look a bit different on the exterior once baked up because they didn’t take a bath in grease like traditional ones. Since these hush puppies are baked and not fried, that means absolutely zero oil. So, to avoid these being as dry as a cotton ball, I used an unconventional ingredient that probably has never been used in a hush puppy before, almond meal. The almond meal does 2 things, it gives moisture and a wonderful texture, it also makes these gluten-free, where as most hush puppy recipes contain white all-purpose flour.

I kid you not, my 3 year old daughter ate 6 or 7 of these in one sitting. I asked her if she thought they were pretty okay. Her response, “Mommy, these aren’t okay, these are very yummy!” I was shocked she liked them so much, since they aren’t like a muffin or cookie.

Awesome golden brown exterior with a wonderful, soft interior. These are so good. Using a corn flour and almond meal coating for their exterior, helps them form a bit of a crispy shell. SO GOOD.

I can’t wait to hear what you think of these Vegan Baked Oil-Free Hush Puppies!

Vegan Baked Oil-Free Hush Puppies

Brandi Doming

These Vegan Hush Puppies are baked, not fried, oil-free, gluten-free and absolutely to-die-for delicious! They are soft, buttery, moist and like little clouds. You will become obsessed with them!

4.95 from 17 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Sides

Cuisine American, Cajun

Yields 16 hush puppies

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon (7g) ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water
• 1 cup (130g) corn FLOUR, NOT cornmeal (I used Bob's Red Mill Corn Flour)
• 1 1/4 cups (125g) almond meal (I used Trader Joe's, it has a superfine texture, not gritty)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (really gives depth of flavor, don't omit)
• 4 teaspoons coconut sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup (60g) finely chopped white onion
• 3/4 cup "lite" canned coconut milk (shake the can well prior to measuring. Or sub with another creamy milk like soy or cashew, creamy is best
• Optional: 1/4 cup corn kernels I didn't add any to mine, but I know some people like corn in their hushpuppies

COATING

• 2 tablespoons (15g) corn flour
• 2 tablespoons (14g) almond meal
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• I use this scale.

NOTE

• These hushpuppies use corn flour and almond meal for their base. It gives them a wonderful soft texture and keeps them moist so they are totally oil-free. Neither one of these flours can be subbed!

Instructions

 

• Mix your flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water and warm for 20 seconds in the microwave. You want the water very warm, this will help the flaxseed mixture to gel up really well and act as an "egg". Set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
• In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, almond meal, baking powder, cayenne pepper, coconut sugar and salt and whisk everything really well until mixed. As always, for accurate results, use a kitchen scale to weigh your flours. When measuring the almond meal, scoop it up with your measuring cup and lightly pat down and then level off with your finger.
• In a separate small bowl, add the white onion and coconut milk (shake can first) and stir well. Add the reserved flaxseed mixture and stir until well mixed. Pour over the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until it all comes together into a thick, sticky batter. It should be soft and sticky. Now, you could roll them into balls now if you like, but they will be a bit sticky to deal with, so place the batter into the fridge for one hour and then proceed.
• After the batter has chilled, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• Mix together the "coating" ingredients well into a small bowl with a whisk. Roll all the dough into 16 balls about the size of golf balls. Put a little corn flour on your hands to combat the stickiness. Coat each ball well with the coating mixture, shaking off any excess. After I coated each one, I rolled into my palms again to keep the round shape. Place them on the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes, flip them over and bake another 7 minutes (15 minutes total), so they get a nice golden brown color on each side.
• Let them cool just 10 minutes on the pan, then devour! These are best eaten immediately the day they are made, as they tend to dry out later. Eat them on their own or dip them in ketchup or mustard or even my Lemon Pepper Cream Sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 2hush puppiesCalories: 179kcalCarbohydrates: 19.2gProtein: 4.7gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1.9gSodium: 179mgPotassium: 201mgFiber: 3.6gSugar: 3.1gCalcium: 52mg

Tried this recipe?Tag @thevegan8brandi on Instagram and use tag #thevegan8!

Keyword baked vegan hushpuppies, oil free hushpuppies, vegan baked hushpuppies, vegan hushpuppies