One night a few years back, while my daughter was dancing, my son became obsessed with his desire for a stale fat bomb of a blueberry muffin from the canteen. So, instead of giving in, I promised him that I'd make something even better when we go home.
Although I wasn't particularly keen on baking when we got home at 9:00 pm on a Thursday night, a promise is a promise. And since he wanted a blueberry muffin so badly and he also loved cornbread muffins, I decided that blueberry cornbread would be perfect!
WOW. Neither of us had ever had blueberry cornbread before and we were in complete agreement that it was outstanding! And I've been making that very blueberry cornbread ever since. Until recently...
Jump to:
When I went to make my beloved blueberry cornbread and I calculated that there were 9 weight watchers points per piece, I literally started to weep 🙁 I really wanted it but wasn’t willing to part with 9 WW points in order to have it.
So.... I dried my tears, put on my big girl panties, and got to work!
🥘 Ingredients
Hello Weight Watchers Cornbread!
I have cut the WW points in this Healthy Blueberry bread nearly in half and brought this Healthy & Light Blueberry Cornbread down to 5 Weight Watchers points, which I consider to be a pretty big success!
For this recipe, you'll need:
- blueberries -fresh or frozen
- all-purpose flour
- yellow cornmeal
- brown sugar
- egg
- baking powder
- salt
- vinegar
- low-fat (1% milk)
- unsweetened applesauce
- vanilla extract
Better than the original Cornbread!
When I let my kids try this, I didn't tell them it was lighter, better for them, or healthier cornbread and they actually said that they liked it better than the other (full-fat) recipe!
YASS!
And I managed to keep the taste and texture intact in this healthy cornbread with applesauce. Applesauce can be a great substitute for fat in baking, but it can also give baked goods a chewy texture, so you need to be careful. This blueberry cornbread is made with a lighter version of buttermilk (adding vinegar to low-fat milk). Buttermilk helps keep baking moist, with a tender crumb, that balances the applesauce.
Now, I have been baking, creating recipes, and lightening recipes for many years, but when I actually looked at the difference in calories and fat by just eliminating the oil and changing it to applesauce, it's mind-blowing:
💭CALORIES & FAT IN APPLE SAUCE VS OIL
½ cup unsweetened applesauce - .06 g fat and 53 calories
½ cup vegetable oil - 109 g fat and 964 calories
However, it's the cornmeal that is the biggest culprit when it comes to calories and you obviously can't replace that! So, I worked with what I could.
But what surprised me the most in all of this was not that this healthy cornbread tasted outstanding and that my kids like this lighter version better than the original, but that very few people are searching for healthier and lighter versions of cornbread online!
As a food blogger, I use a couple of strategies to identify what search terms are used in searches (in relation to what I want to post) in order to make my post more search-friendly (so recipe seekers can actually find me!)
When I discovered that hardly anyone was searching for "light cornbread" or "low-fat cornbread" I was a bit baffled. There were some searches for 'weight watchers cornbread' and 'healthy cornbread'; hence the name of my recipe. But I guess there are many cornbread recipe seekers out there that don't care- they are willing to indulge in the full-fat version of Blueberry Cornbread... But me, no siree....I want the best of both worlds. I'm not willing to part with all those WW points for ONE piece of cornbread!
📖 Variations
Make Blueberry Cornbread Muffins: You can also make this batter into 12 healthy blueberry cornbread muffins! Muffins generally take ½ - ⅔ the time bread takes, so be sure to check it at 15 minutes by inserting a cake tester or toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean and they are lightly browned, they are done! If not, then return to oven and check for doneness at 5-minute intervals.
Saskatoon berries: If you're also a Saskatoon berry fan, you can replace the blueberries with Saskatoon berries. You'll also want to check out my other Saskatoon Berry Recipes!
👪 Serving Size
This recipe serves 12, but you can easily adjust the recipe to serve as many as you need. Simply click on the blue serving size, choose the numbers of servings you'd like, and the amounts will adjust accordingly. However, I'd recommend that you simply double it or triple it in order to make it work with the pan size. And you'll need to make it in additional 8-inch pans.
But the good news story here is that you don't have to give up taste, along with calories and fat with this Healthy Cornbread! You can have it all 🙂
And if you like healthy bread recipes, then give my Healthy Carrot Bread a try!
Anyway, I really do believe there is some kind of force that radiates from canteens and vending machines, drawing children into the vortex, and messing with their minds. What else could possibly explain the attraction? Either way, when it comes to keeping your kids away from the crappy canteen and vending machine food, the struggle is real. Fortunately, this Healthy Blueberry Cornbread can help.
Enjoy!
⭐ Reviews
Did you make this recipe? Please RATE THE RECIPE below!
Here's what others are saying: "I Googled “healthy cornbread “ and came upon this recipe. Of course, since it included blueberries, I just had to try it! I’ve recently had a health scare so I’m trying to eat even more healthy foods than I did before. So, I just pulled it out of the oven and couldn’t resist a warm slice. It is absolutely delicious!! Very good texture: not too heavy and nicely moist, just the way I like my cornbread. I can’t believe it’s so tasty and also so healthy for me!! I’m going to be making it quite often and will be looking at your other recipes. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Oh, and, I followed the recipe precisely."⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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📋 Healthy Blueberry Cornbread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups blueberries- frozen or use fresh when in season, if desired
- 1 cup + 1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour divided
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- ⅔ cup low-fat 1% milk
- ½ cup unsweeteened applesauce
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray an 8-inch square baking pan or a cake pan with non- stick cooking spray.
- Mix vinegar with milk and set aside.
- Toss blueberries with 1 teaspoon of flour and set aside.
- Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Stir with a whisk to evenly combine ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, combine egg, milk with vinegar, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Whisk well.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently fold in blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Carolyn
I had forgotten how much I used to like my Blueberry cornmeal muffins! Thanks for reminding me AND for a healthier version!
Terri Gilson
Thanks Carolyn!
Charmaine
I Googled “healthy cornbread “ and came upon this recipe. Of course, since it included blueberries, I just had to try it! I’ve recently had a health scare so I’m trying to eat even more healthy foods than I did before. So, I just pulled it out of the oven and couldn’t resist a warm slice. It is absolutely delicious!! Very good texture: not too heavy and nicely moist, just the way I like my cornbread. I can’t believe it’s so tasty and also so healthy for me!! I’m going to be making it quite often and will be looking at your other recipes. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Oh, and, I followed the recipe precisely.
Terri Gilson
Hi Charmaine,
I'm really glad you loved this blueberry cornbread! It's one of our favorites too! Great to hear you'll be checking out some of my other healthy baking recipes as well. I think you'd really like the healthy carrot bread and the spinach and apple sauce brownies 🙂
Terri
Charmaine
Thank you, Terri! Will definitely be trying them.