These cornbread muffins are soft, fluffy and slightly sweet with delicious cornbread flavor. So easy to make (mix up the batter in 10 minutes!), they’re perfect served with chili, soup, grilled chicken and more!
It’s soup and chili season, which can only mean one thing: time to break out the cornmeal and make cornbread muffins! This recipe is an adaptation of my all-time favorite cornbread recipe, but what I love about these cornbread muffins is that we get individual servings of cornbread, baked in a muffin tin. Serve them warm spread with honey butter for a real treat.
I’ve made other cornbread recipes on the internet and honestly, they don’t compare to these cornbread muffins. My secret ingredients include buttermilk, honey and applesauce, plus a bit of real butter, which combine to make the most soft, tender, sweet cornbread muffins you’ve ever tasted. Let’s get baking!
Does Milk or Buttermilk Make the Best Cornbread Muffins?
I tested this recipe a number of ways – I even made 3 batches of cornbread muffins in one day to compare different ingredients and methods side-by-side.
I tested these cornbread muffins with buttermilk and milk and the clear winner was buttermilk. The muffins made with buttermilk were softer, moister and more flavorful. I’ve also made these with my buttermilk substitute (made with milk + lemon juice) and that worked great, too.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: I’ve made these muffins with all-purpose flour and white whole wheat flour; both work well. Measure the flour using the spoon and level method, or use a kitchen scale and the weight measurements provided in the recipe below.
- Cornmeal: Look for fine ground yellow cornmeal at the grocery store.
- Baking Powder: We’re using a full tablespoon of baking powder (not baking soda) to help the muffins rise.
- Salt: Brings out all of the flavors.
- Butter & Applesauce: Unsweetened applesauce allows us to use less butter in this cornbread recipe. The applesauce makes the cornbread extra moist and adds a touch of natural sweetness, while the butter adds richness.
- Egg: You’ll need one large egg
- Buttermilk: The secret to the best-tasting cornbread muffins, buttermilk makes the muffins so tender and moist and helps them to rise in the oven.
- Vanilla: For warm sweetness.
How to Make Cornbread Muffins
Plus, my best tips for making them!
Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. First, whisk together the melted butter, honey and applesauce. Then whisk in the egg, buttermilk and vanilla.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir together with a rubber spatula until just combined. Try not to overmix the batter – you don’t want any large clumps of flour but some small lumps are ok. The batter will become somewhat airy when the buttermilk interacts with the baking powder. This is fine, just be sure to bake the muffins right away.
Scoop and bake! I use a trigger-style large scoop to scoop the batter into a greased muffin pan. Then bake at 400° F for 13-15 minutes.
Enjoy the muffins warm spread with butter or honey, or freeze them for later. These cornbread muffins freeze wonderfully. At one point my freezer had about 3 dozen of them in it after I finished recipe testing. We had cornbread muffins to go with our meals for weeks!
More Easy Bread Recipes
- Biscuit Recipe – I’ve made this recipe dozens of times – they’re flaky, buttery perfection!
- Drop Biscuits – Simply scoop the biscuit batter onto your baking sheet.
- Brioche Bun Recipe – Only one hour to make these, start to finish!
- Dinner Rolls – A must-try recipe for Thanksgiving and to serve with soup.
- Garlic Bread – A family favorite and so simple to make!
Made this recipe? I’d truly appreciate if you leave a comment and star rating below! Your review will help others who want to try this recipe. Thank you! 💛
Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour, or white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (120g) fine ground yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- ⅓ cup (113g) honey, or pure maple syrup
- ½ cup (123g) unsweetened applesauce
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup (240mL) buttermilk*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Grease a muffin pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Set aside.1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (120g) fine ground yellow cornmeal, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, honey and applesauce. Whisk to mix. Add the egg, buttermilk and vanilla and whisk until well combined.4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, ⅓ cup (113g) honey, ½ cup (123g) unsweetened applesauce, 1 large egg, 1 cup (240mL) buttermilk*, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix. The batter may be slightly lumpy and it will become thick and somewhat airy due to the baking powder mixing with the buttermilk. This is fine, just be sure to scoop and bake the muffins right away.
- Scoop batter into the greased muffin pan, dividing it evenly between the 12 wells.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Serve warm, with butter and honey or as desired.
Notes
- Buttermilk Substitute: If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own buttermilk substitute: Juice a lemon (half if it’s a large lemon) into a liquid measuring cup. Add milk to make 1 cup; stir gently. Set aside for 5 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients. In a pinch, you can substitute regular whole milk for the buttermilk, but the cornbread may be a little less moist, tender and flavorful.
- Storage: Store cornbread muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
