The Best Cornbread Muffins

These easy, made from scratch cornbread muffins are the perfect delicious side for soups, chilis and stews! You can adjust the sweetness as desired.

Two golden cornbread muffins are stacked on white plates, with more muffins in a tray and a bottle of milk in the background on a white table.
5 from 1 vote(s)2 comments
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These easy, totally made-from-scratch cornbread muffins are the perfect accompaniment for soups, chilis, and your holiday ham or turkey! Feel free to adjust the sweetness as desired to suit your palate, as you do with my Jiffy Cornbread – not everyone likes sweet cornbread like I do!

Cornbread muffins are a Southern tradition for a reason – they are not only made with affordable and easy-to-get ingredients, but they also taste amazing piping hot as a side dish, especially when slathered with salty butter! Whether as the base for chilli or served underneath some sopping wet and juicy brisket, cornbread is the perfect carb for any meal!

There are lots of different variations of cornbread out there, from authentic Dixie Southern Cornbread to Northern Yankee Cornbread, but this basic muffin recipe will suit any taste. 

For more cornbread-based recipes, try my seriously fantastic (and personal favourite!) Jiffy Corn Casserole or my honey-sweetened Skillet Cornbread.

Two cornbread muffins with visible corn kernels, each topped with a pat of butter, sit on a stack of white plates with two metal spoons beside them on a white surface.

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

  • Skill Level: These are easy to make and the perfect accompaniment for soups, chillis, etc.
  • Total Time: This recipe comes together fairly quickly and will take approximately 30 minutes from prep to finish.
  • Variations: There are so many ways to customize these cornbread muffins. Want something a bit more savoury? Try adding bacon and maybe even some cheddar cheese. Or you can go a bit spicier and try adding some jalapenos.
  • Tools For This Recipe: To make these muffins, you will need a 12-well muffin tin. You can use either non-stick cooking spray or muffin liners. For mixing, you will need a small bowl and a medium bowl, along with a whisk to combine all the ingredients.
Two golden cornbread muffins are stacked on top of each other, placed on a white plate with a blurred background that includes a bottle of milk and more muffins.

What You’ll Need For Ingredients

Butter, Eggs, Sour Cream, Buttermilk: The use of buttermilk and sour cream not only provides a rich and nutritious flavour base for the muffins but also provides some much-needed sourness to help cut through all the richness.  

All-Purpose Flour, Cornmeal, Baking Powder, White Sugar, Honey, Salt: The use of sugar and honey doesn’t really turn this into a proper sweet cornbread, but helps to amplify the already slightly sweet flavour of the yellow cornmeal. Karlynn’s Tip: Adjust the sugar in this recipe to your personal tastes. I like a good sweet cornbread!

Corn: The addition of actual corn kernels makes for an even tastier base, as it provides a ton of textural difference and some unique flavours.

A flat lay of cornbread ingredients on a white surface: flour, cornmeal, sugar, sour cream, milk, butter, oil, two eggs, corn kernels, measuring spoons, and a white towel with red stripes.

How To Make The Best Cornbread Muffins

This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, or use muffin liners.
  2. In a bowl, whisk butter, honey, eggs, sour cream, and buttermilk until well combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring gently until just combined.
  5. Stir in the corn until just mixed through.
  6. Divide batter evenly between muffin wells.
  7. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  8. Remove from the pan and cool for 5 minutes; serve warm.
A metal baking pan lined with parchment paper holds a batch of freshly baked golden cornbread muffins. White plates are stacked in the blurred background.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Cornbread Muffins

  • Stop the Sticking: Muffins, especially, tend to stick to the pan, forcing you to lever them out with a spatula or simply eat them straight out of the tin with a spoon. To avoid sticking, you have several options. A simple option is some non-stick cooking spray. Spray the entire tray and pour in the batter; the only problem is that it is easy to miss some of the tray accidentally, and you end up with unwanted sticking anyway. The other option is muffin liners. These work great, but it is so easy to accidentally overfill or spill as you’re pouring the batter in, resulting in some burnt batter around the muffin well. Your tastiest option might be to rub the entire tray with softened butter or bacon grease! Not only will it stop sticking, but it will also make the outside taste buttery, bacony, and rich, helping to crisp up the exterior as it bakes. Choose what works best for you!
A rectangular metal baking dish lined with parchment paper holds several golden brown cornbread muffins, arranged closely together on a white surface.

Storage Instructions

I love enjoying these fresh out of the oven, but storing cornbread muffins is pretty easy!

Refrigerator: Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the fridge for up to a week.

Freezer: For longer storage, you can freeze cornbread muffins in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To reheat, simply thaw your muffins and either bake for 10-15 minutes at 350°F or wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave in intervals of about 15 seconds until warm.

More Delicious Thanksgiving Recipes

  • Roasted Parsnips: Delicious roasted parsnips with a decadent herb and garlic butter sauce.
  • Corn Fritters: The most flavourful corn fritters you’ll ever make!
  • Creamy Corn Pudding: Easy, made from scratch with creamed corn and kernel corn, and bakes up like a dream.
  • Creamed Corn: Sweet, delicious and made from scratch, this homemade creamed corn is the perfect side dish.

Comfort in a muffin! And these taste FAN-TASTIC!

Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out and if you leaned more savoury or sweet. You know I always love hearing about your cooking adventures.

Happy Cooking!

Karlynn

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The Best Cornbread Muffins

These easy, made from scratch cornbread muffins are the perfect delicious side for soups, chilis and stews! You can adjust the sweetness as desired.
5 from 1 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 211

Ingredients 

  • ½ cup salted butter, melted and cooled
  • 2 tablespoons honey, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup canned corn kernels, drained well

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 12 well muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. You can line the wells with muffin liners as well, but greasing the tins ensures a crispy exterior.
  • In a small bowl, whisk the melted butter, honey, eggs, sour cream and buttermilk together until combined.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, then stir gently until JUST combined. Stir in the corn kernels until mixed though.
  • Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin wells.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
  • Remove from the oven. Let the pan cool for 5 minutes, then turn out the muffins onto a plate. Serve warm for the best texture.

Notes

  • Adjust the sugar in this recipe to your personal tastes. I like a good sweet cornbread! 

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 217mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 341IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

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Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Pamela Carmen says

    The muffins ended up being really great. I added the sour cream & buttermilk a bit too soon though. I should’ve made sure to whisk the honey & butter together until smooth before adding cold ingredients. The butter hardened & was really difficult to blend the rest of the time. Currently have another batch in small loaf pans.. 🤞🏼5 stars

  2. Lisa says

    I think your recipe sounds great, however, when I was reading the double and triple the recipe ingredient list, I noticed the 1 cup flour seemed to be missing from the .5 and .75 amounts. Is this correct?

5 from 1 vote

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