Much like my favorite cornbread recipe, these cornbread muffins make for a delicious accompaniment to so many meals. Tender and buttery, with just the right amount of sweetness, you can have warm, homemade cornbread muffins on the table in less than an hour. No mixer required!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added new photos and a video tutorial.
My favorite cornbread recipe has become a favorite of hundreds of readers, too. It’s tender, buttery, and—the best part of all—it’s NOT dry. It’s also supremely versatile. Bake the cornbread in a skillet or a regular baking pan, or bake it directly on top of chili like I do in my cornbread chili casserole. It’s a quick, easy, and satisfying side dish. And today I’m sharing how to make a muffin version.
One reader, Sandra, commented: “Best cornbread muffins I have ever made! Not too sweet. Beautiful light texture and perfectly moist… I added 2 large seeded chopped jalapeño peppers. The batter produced 12 lovely muffins. I will be making these frequently! Winner! ★★★★★“
One reader, Parks, commented: “Easy recipe to follow, quick to make, and turned out fabulously! Moist in the middle, crunchy on top, and delicious. I made them to accompany chili. Will add this recipe to my regulars. ★★★★★“
These Cornbread Muffins Are:
- Buttery and slightly sweet.
- Moist & tender, not dry in the least.
- Easy to make—no mixer needed!
- A delicious side dish for so many meals. Or just a tasty snack!
Important Ingredients (& Why You’re Using Them)
- Butter: Butter is one of the main flavors in this cornbread muffin recipe. Cornbread without butter can taste like it’s missing something.
- Oil: Unlike in my regular cornbread, I add a little oil to the muffin batter. The oil lightens up the crumb and helps prevent the cornbread muffins from being too crumbly.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk makes cakes, muffins, and breads extra moist. If you’re interested, I have plenty more on this topic in my Baking with Buttermilk post (including a DIY buttermilk substitute recipe).
- Cornmeal: Equal parts cornmeal and flour makes for the BEST cornbread muffins. With 1 cup of cornmeal, you get lots of flavor, plus crisp-crunchy edges.
- Brown Sugar & Honey: Just enough to sweeten and add flavor, without making these taste like dessert.
You’ll also need flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and an egg.
Cornbread Muffins Batter: Fill It High!
The batter for these cornbread muffins comes together quickly with just a couple bowls and a whisk. It’s very thick, so you can fill the muffin liners all the way to the top without risking over-spreading (…into mushroom-looking muffins).
Don’t over-mix; you want to stir until just combined.
Success Tip: Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F, then reduce the temperature to 350°F for the remaining bake time. This initial high oven temperature lifts the muffin top up quickly and creates a tall, crusty cornbread crown. The best! I use this trick for my base muffin recipe and pretty much all muffin recipes I develop and publish.
Optional Add-ins
These buttery-moist cornbread muffins are delicious all on their own, but add-ins are welcome here, too! Try jazzing them up with:
- Shredded cheese: 3/4 cup of cheddar, monterey jack, or pepper jack cheese all taste great in these corn muffins.
- Corn: 1 cup of cooked or canned (and drained) corn kernels amp up the sweet corn flavor and introduce another texture to the muffins. I always include corn in this skillet cornbread recipe.
- Scallions: 1/4 cup of chopped spring green onions are a wonderful addition here, as well.
- Bacon: Crumble or chop 6 strips of cooked bacon and add to the batter for a cornbread muffin that would taste incredible alongside eggs, quiche, or frittata for brunch.
- Jalapeño peppers: Spice things up a bit with 1–2 chopped jalapeños. I LOVE these.
And of course, homemade honey butter is always fantastic with cornbread muffins.
Serve Cornbread Muffins With…
- Sweet Potato Turkey Chili
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Light Chicken Corn Chowder
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
- Sweet Chili Chicken
- Maryland Crab Soup
Cornbread Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You can make these cornbread muffins plain, or add chopped jalapeños or any of the other optional add-ins listed in the Notes below. Paired with the subtle sweetness of honey and brown sugar, these easy cornbread muffins are a wonderful snack and side dish.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g) cornmeal (fine or medium ground)
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (43g) honey
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
- optional add-ins: 1–2 chopped jalapeño peppers (or see Note below)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with liners or spray with nonstick spray. Set pan aside.
- Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the cooled melted butter, oil, brown sugar, and honey together until completely smooth and thick. Then, whisk in the egg until combined. Finally, whisk in the buttermilk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Fold in the peppers. Avoid over-mixing.
- Spoon batter into muffin liners, filling all the way to the top. Bake for 5 minutes 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce heat to 350°F (177°C) and continue baking for another 16–17 minutes. The total time these muffins should be in the oven is about 21–23 minutes. Use a toothpick to test. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.
- Remove muffins from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before enjoying. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: For longer storage, freeze baked cornbread muffins for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Silicone Spatula
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. If you don’t have any, you can make a DIY buttermilk substitute by adding 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to make 1 cup total. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes before using. Whole milk is strongly recommended for moistest, richest texture, but you can use lower fat or nondairy milk in a pinch.
- Jalapeño: The heat cooks down in the oven. For mildly spicy muffins, use 1 jalapeño. For medium, use 2. Jalapeño seeds have the most heat, so add them to the batter for extra heat. I leave out the seeds in the batter.
- Other Add-Ins: Fold any of the following into the batter after you combine the wet and dry ingredients. Shredded cheese: 3/4 cup of cheddar, monterey jack, or pepper jack cheese. Corn: 1 cup of cooked or canned (and drained) corn kernels. Scallions: 1/4 cup of chopped spring green onions. Bacon: Crumble or chop up 6 strips of cooked bacon.
- Skillet Cornbread: Baking cornbread in a skillet gives it an even heartier, crunchy crust. Bake this cornbread in a 9-inch or 10-inch oven safe greased skillet at the same temperature for the same amount of time.
- Why the initial high temperature? Like I instruct for most of my muffin recipes, bake the muffins for 5 minutes at a very hot temperature. Then, keeping the muffins in the oven, switch to a lower temperature for the remaining bake time. This initial high temperature will quickly lift the muffin tops, then the centers will bake during the lower temperature bake time.
- Mini Cornbread Muffins: This recipe yields around 30 mini cornbread muffins. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for around 10–12 minutes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
We love this recipe! We made some savory and some sweet (with frozen cranberries and pecans)
Any thoughts on why my muffins came out flat and not domed? I used buttermilk and sour cream (didn’t see your note until they were in the oven). Could this have stopped them from making a nice dome top?
Hi Emmalee! This recipe doesn’t call for sour cream, that thicker ingredient certainly could have weighed the crumb down!
OK fresh from the oven. Stored overnight in refrigerator and next morning muffins were dry and crumbly.
Hi Richard, did the batter seem dry? How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. Also be very careful not to over-bake and check on them periodically while they bake in case they’re done sooner. Thank you for giving these a try!
I followed the recipe using the weights, used the milk + vinegar as sub for buttermilk, 1 cup shredded cheddar, and 1 jalapeno pepper. The batch only made 9 regular muffins for me.
Same!! Mine were tiny
can you use polenta instead of corn meal? if so, is it a 1:1 substitution?
Hi Chris, polenta is more coarse and not the best choice for these cornbread muffins. We suggest sticking with cornmeal if you can find it!
These corn muffins turned out so well! I used browned butter (12 tbsp instead of 8…. waited until it turned golden brown…. much of the water evaporates), used kefir instead of buttermilk (just easier to find) and added 1 cup of corn and a little vanilla to the kefir. So delish! Thank you for the recipe!
I left out the extra oil, used salted butter, increased the salt to 1/4 of a teaspoon, and used an unpacked 1/4 cup of brown sugar and the muffins came out exactly as my mother used to make them! Wonderful!
What can I use in place of Buttermilk?
Hi Rose, buttermilk is required for this recipe. If you don’t have any, you can make a DIY buttermilk substitute – see the recipe notes!
As an experienced baker I must say 2 things about this recipe:
-I feel that it needs more salt; 1/8 tsp. is not enough. I use 1/2 and they are noticibly more flavorful.
-Also they do not take 20-23 minutes to bake. Especially with the initial higher temp for the first 5 minutes. Total baking time is more like 15-18 minutes and that is for larger muffin pans.
I use alot of Sally’s recipes in my baking so I can’t help but think this is a mistake in the printed recipe.
I completely agree on the salt comment. I ended up adding more pinch by pinch and I probably ended up using about 1/4tsp and it still could have used more.
I’m planning to make this recipe soon. Has anyone (including Sally) tried this with gluten free flour instead of AP flour?
Hi Carol, we don’t have much experience baking gluten free, but a cup-for-cup GF flour should work well.
Hi Carol, I made them with GF flour and used the same amount (1 cup) and they turned out great.
I used mostly gluten free flour, about 3/4 gluten free and 1/4 regular flour, and the muffins turned out great. Also made with all gluten free flour and they were good too but maybe not quite as nice a texture.
it was amazing and I will use it again!
Delicious! Another fabulous muffin recipe. Great with blackberry jam and tea.
Anxious to try these cornmeal muffins……..my mom use to make what she called Johnny Cake but was actually cornmeal cake I have now discovered! It was delicious with butter and syrup! Am assuming muffins will taste the same!
Excellent! Nice and crispy on the outside, buttery and lovely on the inside.
These were very good. However, coming from NC where we don’t like our cornbread too sweet, I think next time I will cut back a little on honey and brown sugar, but they did seem to add some additional flavor. I added 3/4 cup of Mexican cheese and the family did like them, just requested them to be less sweet.
I made these and they didn’t rise at all. I followed the exact instruction, even using a kitchen scale to measure everything. I make your recipes all the time with no problems and they always turn out. Can’t figure out why they didn’t rise. We are at 7000 feet elevation but I haven’t found that to be a problem with muffins in the past.
Hi Shells, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Love this recipe, but I find it always sticks to paper liners!
Silicone ones work nicely, but I don’t have mini silicone ones.
I’ve even tried spraying the cups with cooking spray and they still stick (albeit not as badly). Any tips?
It’s so delicious though, it’s worth having to pick it out of the liners haha
Hi Katie, Let the muffins cool a bit longer, and try again. Sometimes the muffins are just too warm and will stick. If it keeps happening, try switching to parchment paper liners if you try these (or any muffins) again. We like the ones by the brand Paper Chef.
Katie, I’ve had really good luck using 6-count silicone muffin pans. I use a thin coat of oil before adding the muffin batter, but I’m not sure the oil is necessary. The silicone is a bit floppy so I sometimes place them on cookie sheets in the oven. I’ve never had any problem with the breads sticking in the pans.
I made these for an event and they were so dry and fell apart. Very disappointed with this recipe ad Sally doesn’t usually disapoint
Hi Jennifer, did the batter seem dry? How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. Also be very careful not to over-bake and check on them periodically while they bake in case they’re done sooner. Thank you for giving these a try!
Hi, Sally! I love this recipe! This is the second time I’ve made them. The first time, the batter was pretty thick (if I’m remembering correctly) but this time the batter was pretty light and fluffy. The only difference was that I used olive oil the first time and avocado oil this time. They seemed to have turned out okay (they’re currently cooling so I haven’t tried them yet!), but they didn’t seem to dome this time – they more mushroomed.
Could avocado oil make that much of a difference? You might not know but I’m trying to make sense of the difference between the two batches! Thanks!!
Hi Shelby, the oil shouldn’t be the culprit here. Were any of the other ingredients mis-measured by chance? Be careful not to overmix the batter either, which can incorporate more air and make the batter fluffier. Hope you enjoyed the muffins!
Could you add blueberries to your cornmeal muffins?
Hi Kerry, can’t see why not! Let us know how they turn out!
Hey! What would you recommend for time for baking in jumbo muffin tins?
Hi Veronika, For jumbo muffins bake for 5 minutes 425°F (218°C) then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce heat to 350°F (177°C) and continue baking for another 22ish minutes. It will make 5-6 muffins.
These are delicious mine came out a little dry but I did notice my batter was on the dry side so I will definitely try them again and add a touch more buttermilk thanks for the recipe they are so good
I have made these muffins twice now, following the recipe exactly, and both times they came out very dry. I baked them in a muffin pan sprayed with PAM. Do they come or better if you use paper liners?
Hi Chuck, that shouldn’t make much of a difference in the dryness of these cornbread muffins. Does the batter seem dry? How did you measure the flour? Make sure to spoon and level (instead of scooping) to avoid packing in too much flour into your measuring cups – or use a kitchen scale. You can read more about properly measuring baking ingredients in this post. Also be very careful not to over-bake and check on them periodically while they bake in case they’re done sooner.
Going to give this recipe a try.
Wondering if it’s okay to use blueberries as add-in
Hi Liz, we haven’t tested it, but other bakers have reported adding berries with success.
Excellent recipe! Husband loves these. Delicately crisp top, moist interior. They last well too – pop them in the micro for 15 seconds wrapped in a paper towel to revitalize.
This recipe was SO good!! I used several add ins- grated cheddar, diced jalapeños and 1 c creamed corn. The muffins were amazing! Super moist, very tasty! All of your recipes are reliably good!
Absolutely amazing recipe! In my country, yellow cornmeal is hard to come by so I used white cornmeal with a pinch of turmeric for colour and it came out so wonderfully. My family can’t get enough!
Just give me the recipe, ingredients, sequence of events. You can add details at end. I dont like scrolling, scrolling, scrolling wondering if Ive passed the recipe or whether Ill ever get to the recipe.
Hi Licy, next time you can use the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page if you would not like to read the additional details and recipe process. Hope you enjoy these cornbread muffins.
If I make the Mini Muffins, do I still do the initial 5 min. at 425. Thanks
Hi Mike, No, we recommend baking mini cornbread muffins at 350F the whole time.
I thought these might bake a little higher than my results. But, they were light and delicious! I made just the original recipe with no additions using whole buttermilk.
These are wonderfully moist, buttery, tasty muffins. I made your cornbread last month and it was also great. This time I used White Whole Wheat flour instead of All Purpose flour. It gave the muffins a more robust flavor. I like them both. The only thing I didn’t. Ike was I only got 9 muffins. My muffin pans are standard size but they are 33 years old. So I’m wondering if muffn pan sizes have downsized over the years. I have used your muffin recipes many times in this pan and I get 12. I’ll definitely make these muffins again. Thanks for the recipe!
I tried this recipe instead of my usual corn muffins I make for Thanksgiving, and I think I have a new favorite! These are slightly denser and have a stronger corn flavor, which is what I wanted. I made a couple of tweaks: used some really good blue cornmeal instead of yellow or white. And I used mostly unfiltered Texas wildflower honey, for a robust flavor, but did around 10g of a chipotle-morita-infused honey to make the rest of the measurement. That little hint of heat was so good. Also, after I took them out of the oven and transferred to a cooling rack, I brushed a little soft honey butter (with some flaked sea salt mixed in) onto the tops. I love doing this with my cornbread, because it melts in and leaves a nice “glaze” on it.
These had a great crumb texture, and weren’t dry at all. Love that buttermilk. Might actually make these with my muffin top pan next time, and just adjust the bake time, if necessary.