Chopped jalapeño adds the perfect amount of kick to this delicious cornbread muffin recipe! Paired with the subtle sweetness of honey and brown sugar, these easy cornbread muffins are a wonderful snack and side dish.
It’s been approximately 24 hours since my last cornbread muffin. My stomach is craving. My day seems incomplete. It’s the scattered jalapeños. And the honey and melty butter. The sweet ‘n spicy. It’s all so good.
Fellow bakers, you’re going to be obsessed with these cornbread muffins too!
How to Make Cornbread Muffins
I recently shared my favorite cornbread recipe. It’s tender, buttery, and—the best part of all—it’s NOT dry. It’s supremely versatile, too. Bake the cornbread in a skillet, add blueberries, cheese, dried cranberries, walnuts, bacon, anything! You can even 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 these savory muffins are no different.
Let’s review some power ingredients:
- Butter: Butter is one of the main flavors in this cornbread muffin recipe.
- Oil: Unlike in my cornbread, I add a little oil to the muffins. The oil lightens up the crumb and helps prevent the cornbread muffins from crumbling all over the muffin wrapper.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk makes cakes, muffins, and breads extra moist.
- Cornmeal: Equal parts cornmeal and flour makes the BEST cornbread muffins. With 1 cup of cornmeal, you get lots of flavor and mega crunchy edges. You can use stone-ground cornmeal or regular. I use Indian Head Yellow Corn Meal (not sponsored, truly a fan!).
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar and honey complement the corn and jalapeño flavors.
Read more about how I created the cornbread recipe.
How Spicy Are These Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins?
These muffins are NOT overly spicy. I’m not normally one who flips for spicy food and I love these! In fact, I prefer them over plain cornbread muffins. The great news, however, is that you control the spice. If you prefer extra spicy food, add more chopped jalapeño. If you can’t take spicy food at all, leave it out.
These cornbread muffins are:
- Buttery
- Savory & sweet
- Mildly spicy
- Moist
- Easy to make—no mixer needed!
Cornbread muffins are my go-to forever favorite and I can’t wait for you to try them. Put them in your weekly rotation because these are delicious in an unforgettable way!
Serve Cornbread Muffins With…
- Taco Spice Chili
- Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Light Chicken Corn Chowder
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
- Sweet Chili Chicken
Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Yield: 14 muffins
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Chopped jalapeño adds the perfect amount of kick to this delicious cornbread muffin recipe! Paired with the subtle sweetness of honey and brown sugar, these easy cornbread muffins are a wonderful snack and side dish. These muffins are mildly spicy with 1 jalapeño. Feel free to increase or reduce the amount of jalapeño based on your preference.
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 (113g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) canola or vegetable oil (or melted coconut 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*
- 1–2 chopped jalapeño peppers*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with liners or spray with nonstick spray. This recipe makes about 14 muffins, so there will be a 2nd batch. 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 overmixing.
- 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 around 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 5-10 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 | Rubber Spatula
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is required for this recipe. If you don’t have any, you can make a DIY sour milk 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.
- 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.
Keywords: jalapeno cornbread muffins
This corn bread recipe is sooo good! Thank you sally for sharing! The combo of butter and corn is just heavenly. By the way, can i add a can of “creamed” corn to this muffin recipe? If so, whats the ideal quantity of creamed corn ? Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Bianca, you can add up to a cup of corn to this recipe. Try not to add too much of the canned liquid (drain the corn as best you can) so that there isn’t too much additional liquid in the batter. Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I only got 9 muffins. Followed ingredients to the tee. First time this has happened
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Can you use olive oil instead of canola, veg or coconut? Also has anyone tried adding actual pieces of corn. My friends mom makes cornbread with actual corn and it was soo good (buts a secret recipe) so I dont know if I could use this one and just add the corn?
Hi LLK, you can use olive oil, although the taste may be slightly different since it is not as neutral-tasting as vegetable or canola oil. You could add up to a cup of corn kernels. Enjoy!
Can I make in the jumbo muffin tin?
Hi Stephanie, 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.
Made these twice this week -excellent recipe. Made once with fresh jalapenos and once with pickled. I’m sure blueberries and lemon zest would also be great.
Used another recipe before this, in a loaf pan, but after one success, the loaf came out mushy inside twice so wanted an easier recipe and found Sally’s — now I’m just as happy with muffins rather than a loaf.
Interestingly, the recipe only made 9 muffins, filled to top as written, but not in paper cups, just in a regular sized muffin tin. Also, after 5 mins at 425F, they only took 10 mins at 350F.
Thanks!
★★★★★
Good recipe but it only yielded 8 muffins, not 14. I had to make a second batch. I double checked measurements, using a kitchen scale. I filled to the top of the cups, as directed and they look looked like you would expect. Not sure how it could make 14.
Anyway, taste was very nice and loved the addition of jalapeños! Only issue, besides the yield, was that the bottom of muffins were a little too oily/greasy for my taste.
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These were AMAZING! I omitted the jalapenos and also made the mini muffin version which came out perfect. Soft, ,moist and the flavors were very well- balanced. Do you have the nutritional value of these and would this work by using Almond-meal or Flaxseed -meal in place of all-purpose flour to make it Gluten free? Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Hi Jo Anna, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076 We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flours, but some readers have reported success using 1:1 flour substitutes (like Cup4Cup). If you try it, let us know how it goes!
Another winner recipe!
My recipe made 12 regular sized muffins plus12 mini. Muffins!
Thank goodness…cause warm from the oven, those little mini muffins were soooo good…they made a good appetizer!
This is a keeper recipe!
Thank you, Sally!
★★★★★
These were delicious! Didn’t have any jalapeños but used a Hungarian hot wax chilli and it was a lovely flavour without being hot. Used medium cornmeal and worked well.
★★★★★
OMG! So delicious! We actually made these as mini muffins with rosemary for my daughter. We have yet to try the batch with jalapeños. I can’t stop eating them; they are so good!
★★★★★
Advice on doubling this recipe? I need to make a big batch for preschool Thanksgiving and wondered if ok to double all ingredients or if some stuff should not be fully doubled…? Thank you! Love the site and all your recipes!
Hi Mandi! For best taste and texture, we recommend making two batches instead of doubling. Hope they’re a hit!
Can I replace butter with oil?
Thanks
Maria
Hi Maria, we highly recommend using the melted butter. Without it, the flavor could be lacking. Best to stick with the recipe as is. Hope you’ll give it a try!
Muffins were great. Texture was a little crumbly. Used jalapeno from a jar so not spicy at all. Will definitely try again with fresh jalapeno. Will also use less brown sugar.
I’ve always had such good luck with Sally’s recipes, but this one missed the mark . It was way too sweet for us.
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Can I replace the buttermilk with plain Yogurt?
Hi Sybil, you can use a mixture of half yogurt and half milk to make a buttermilk replacement. Enjoy!
Agreed, although the texture was good, I found them sweet. I was hoping for more savoury. Needed a bit more flavour.
★★★
Delicious! Made a few jalapeño and a few regular corn muffins, both were great! All your recipes I try are always a hit! Thanks for sharing!
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Could I substitute 1 cup strawberries instead of jalapenos for a sweet option? Or would that add too much liquid to the recipe? I want to bake one spicy option and one sweet option for the Farmer’s Market! 🙂
Hi Kate! We’ve never tested a strawberry version of these muffins but please let us know if you do!
I subbed the jalapenos for one cup of diced fresh strawberries (patted some moisture out) and then threw in the zest of 3 lemons. They turned out perfectly and had the same wonderful texture of the jalapeno version. Yay! 🙂
★★★★★
Fab recipe! I made it as written last week and everyone loved them. Made them again this morning but added lime zest and some frozen blueberries instead of jalapeño and they were also great!
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I have sour cream and yogurt. Can I make buttermilk using either of these please ? If yes could you please let me know how much water should I add to make this buttermilk ?
Hi Niharika! You can use a mixture of half sour cream and half milk to make a buttermilk replacement. Enjoy!
Hi Sally,
Love, love this website. Use your recipes for all my baking. You truly are an inspiration 🙂
For this cornbread 2 tbs on honey. Can I swap in pure maple syrup instead of the honey instead? Run out of honey..
Hi Isabell, Thank you for using our recipes! We haven’t tested this cornbread recipe with maple syrup but it should be ok. Let us know if you try it!
These came out so well! I had tried a different recipe a few weeks back that I didn’t love so have this recipe a try and, wow! They have the delicious corn flavor but with a really nice, moist texture. I left the jalapeños out of a few muffins (I’m a big baby when it comes to spice) and they were delicious on their own! I can’t wait a different variation with cranberries, as suggested.
★★★★★
Would like to add cheese to recipe-how much should I add.
You can add up to a cup of shredded cheese. Enjoy!
Can always rely on Sally’s recipes coming out delicious! The muffins are not too sweet and just a tiny touch of heat with the jalapeno peppers. Nice and moist – I used cornmeal – I’m guessing medium, but next time will try with corn flour which is a very fine blend. Definitely recommend you try this recipe.
★★★★★
Fantastic recipe! If you make it in a skillet, do you preheat the skillet first?
Hi Anthony, you certainly can. Pre-heating a cast iron skillet helps seal a delicious crispy crust.
Fantastic! Thank you
★★★★★
Love the taste of these but found when adding the buttermilk that the subsequent reaction turns it into a mousse-like mixture very quickly and difficult to spoon into individual cases. Is there a way around this? Thanks
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I use a large piping bag. That makes it easy to get the batter into your muffin tins.
Scrape the batter into a large pitcher/measuring cup with a spout, and pour the batter into the muffin cups.
Really very good recipe explained in simple. Must try recipe. Thank You.
★★★★★
Can I use fine ground cornmeal for this? That’s what I have in my cabinet.
Hi Mary! Yes, you can use fine ground cornmeal. That is what I typically use.
I’m eating the cornbread as I am writing this. This is the BEST cornbread I have ever tasted. Perfect combination of sweet and spice with super moist texture and flavor. Simply out of this world. I didn’t have a muffin pan so baked in a regular square pan. Amazing!!!!
Thank you, Sally.
★★★★★
This is my second time using this recipe and all I can say is SIMPLY DELICIOUS!!!! During this time of staying home, my husband and I are cooking more and trying different recipes. This one is so easy to make and SO moist! I used jiffy mix for the dry ingredients and added chopped colorful mini peppers with the jalapenos. I now understand why these are addictive! Thanks for sharing your favorite recipe with us novice cooks!!
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I had a problem with this recipe. The heat was definitely too much on this one & mine came out too brown around the edges. It is very moist in the center & the flavor is good but disappointed that they over baked. In my oven at least.
Hi Leanne, I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor! I recommend checking your oven temperature. An oven thermometer has saved me many times! Check out #7 in my Baking Tips post.
I’m very picky about corn muffins and I love these corn muffins- I don’t currently have a jalapeño but the next time I have one on hand I will definitely be adding it to this recipe. Thank you Sally.
Hi! Can I make these not using a muffin tin? I want it to be more like a bread? Also what would be the cooking time?
Hi Katie, You can use this recipe and follow the baking instructions on my Favorite Cornbread Recipe.