Cornbread muffins are a tender, moist, and versatile cornbread alternative for a spicy chili, as a stand-alone snack with honey and butter, or to bring to a barbecue.

The recipe is fast and simple. It uses cornmeal, flour, milk, eggs, sugar, and olive oil to create a perfectly moist and fluffy interior and a beautifully golden exterior.

Originally a Southern comfort food, their convenient individual serving size and perfect balance of sweet and savory flavor made them a staple of American cuisine.

cornbread muffins with honey in the background

Why you will love cornbread muffins

Cornbread muffins opened with walnuts inside

Cornbread muffins are so easy to make!

The ingredients are simple: cornmeal, all-purpose flour, sugar, egg, olive oil or melted butter, your milk of choice, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.

You’ll love their perfectly balanced savory and sweet flavor, tender and moist crumb, and versatility.

Like cornbread, they are excellent with a hearty lentil chili, vegetarian chili, or sweet potato chili.

Cornbread muffins on a blue-striped cloth

They are also perfect with a cozy lentil stew, chickpea stew, and African peanut stew.

The sweet, nutty flavor of corn goes incredibly well with butternut squash soup, sweet potato soup, and carrot ginger soup.

If you serve them next to mashed potatoes, don’t forget to drizzle them with creamy mushroom gravy.

And you can use leftovers to make a holiday-friendly cornbread stuffing.

Ingredients for cornbread muffins

cornbread muffins ingredients

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Cornmeal: We tested P.A.N. Cornmeal, Bob’s Red Mill, or Goya. If you like a deep golden color, go for yellow cornmeal.

All-purpose flour: You can substitute bread flour for all-purpose.

Sugar: You can use white or brown sugar.

Olive oil: You can substitute avocado oil, sunflower oil, or canola oil for olive oil.

Egg: The egg helps to bind the cornbread muffins. Use our vegan cornbread recipe to make vegan cornbread muffins.

Milk: You can use any milk, such as almond milk, oat milk, or other.

Baking powder

Add-ins: We add walnuts. Substitute dark chocolate chips, pecans, or cranberries for walnuts.

vegan cornbread with butternut squash soup

How to make cornbread muffins

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line your muffin pan with muffin liners.

To a large mixing bowl, add cornmealall-purpose floursugarsalt, and baking powder.

Stir to combine, then pour in the milk, egg, and olive oil and whisk until well combined.

before and after mixing cornbread muffin batter

Now, you can fold in your favorite add-ins (we use crushed walnuts), then transfer the batter into the muffin liners with a spoon.

Tip: We usually make 10 muffins with this recipe, but you can make up to 12 smaller ones.

Cornbread muffins before baking

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry.

Cornbread muffins cooling down

Serving suggestions

It’s hard to resist serving warm cornbread muffins with honey and butter. For vegans, try maple syrup and non-dairy butter.

You can also serve them instead of cornbread. What we like is that they are cute single portions.

Their balanced sweet and savory flavor makes them ideal as a side dish for holiday meals with earthy recipes like a lentil loaf, mushroom Wellington, stuffed butternut squash, mashed sweet potatoes, and mushroom gravy.

They are also excellent next to soups, chilis, and stews such as black bean soup, vegetarian chili, and sweet potato soup.

Cornbread muffins after baking on a blue cloth

Storage

Make ahead: Cornbread muffins are excellent for meal prep as they stay moist and tender for several days. They are also easy to bring to picnics and potlucks.

Room temperature: Keep them in a plastic bag for up to 5 days.

Freezer: Let them cool down, put them in a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze for 3 months.

Thaw and reheat: You can defrost them at room temperature or in the microwave. We recommend reheating them for a few seconds in the microwave, and they’ll be as good as freshly baked.

Cornbread muffins after baking

Similar recipes

Cornbread muffins served with honey on a blue cloth

Cornbread Muffins

5 from 1 vote
Cornbread muffins are a tender, moist, and versatile cornbread alternative for a spicy chili, as a stand-alone snack with honey and butter, or to bring to a barbecue.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 10 muffins
Course: Breads, Breakfast, Side
Cuisine: American

Equipment

  • 12-muffin tin or two 6-muffin tins
  • 12 muffin (paper) liners or twelve 5-inch squared pieces of parchment paper

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk we use almond milk
  • 1 large egg
  • cup olive oil or melted butter
  • ¼ cup sugar add more or less to taste, up to ¾ cup.
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup your favorite add-in Optional: walnuts, corn kernels, cranberries, pecans, chopped apples, etc.

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line your muffin pan with muffin liners.
    To a large mixing bowl, add 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt.
    Stir to combine, then pour in the 1 cup milk, 1 large egg, and ⅓ cup olive oil and whisk until well combined.
    before and after mixing cornbread muffin batter
  • Now, you can fold in ½ cup your favorite add-in (we use chopped walnuts), then transfer the batter into the muffin liners with a spoon.
    Tip: We usually make 10 muffins with this recipe, but you can make up to 12 smaller ones.
    Cornbread muffins before baking
  • Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry.
    cornbread muffins on a blue kitchen cloth

Notes

Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 cornbread muffin out of 10.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Cornmeal: We tested P.A.N. Cornmeal, Bob’s Red Mill, or Goya. If you like a deep golden color, go for yellow cornmeal.
All-purpose flour: You can substitute bread flour for all-purpose. 
Sugar: You can substitute honey or maple syrup for sugar.
Olive oil: You can substitute avocado oil, sunflower oil, or canola oil for olive oil.
Egg: Use our vegan cornbread recipe if you are vegan.
Almond Milk: Substitute regular milk, oat milk, soy milk, or any other milk.
Add-ins: We add walnuts. Substitute dark chocolate chips, pecans, or cranberries for walnuts.
STORAGE
Room temperature: Keep them in a plastic bag for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Let them cool down, put them in a freezer-friendly bag, and freeze for 3 months.
Thaw and reheat: You can defrost them at room temperature or in the microwave. We recommend reheating them for a few seconds in the microwave, and they’ll be as good as freshly baked.
TIP
We recommend using muffin liners or 5-inch squares of parchment paper to prevent the muffins from sticking to the muffin pan.

Nutrition

Calories: 233kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 19mg, Sodium: 273mg, Potassium: 210mg, Dietary Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 28IU, Vitamin B6: 0.1mg, Vitamin C: 0.1mg, Vitamin E: 1mg, Vitamin K: 5µg, Calcium: 91mg, Folate: 39µg, Iron: 1mg, Manganese: 0.3mg, Magnesium: 27mg, Zinc: 1mg
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Nico and Louise in front of the Consolazione church in Todi

Hi! We are Nico & Louise

Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with vegetarian and vegan recipes.

5 from 1 vote

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2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This recipe took me barely 30 minutes to make and it turned out delicious! My kids love the flavor and I love that they are fast to make and that there isnโ€™t too much sugar. We will make them for thanksgiving with your mushroom gravy and Wellington. Thank you for the recipes!

    1. Thank you so much for your comment, Gina. I am so happy you enjoyed the muffins.
      Wishing you all the best.
      Nico