Ready in under 30 minutes, my favorite corn muffins are lighter, fluffier and a touch sweeter than your average corn muffin. These have an incredible depth of flavor and pair perfectly with chili or barbecue.
Quick & Easy Cornbread Muffins From Scratch
Need a fast side dish for your chili? My 100% from-scratch corn muffins take just 10 minutes to prep and are oh so satisfying. They’re moist and flavorful, and while they’re a staple chili side, you can serve them with just about any dish. Try them once, and I promise you won’t reach for that little blue box ever again!
While cornbread muffins are usually known for being dense and crumbly, mine are a bit lighter and fluffier than average. They still have some of that crumble factor (which great for crumbling over or under a big spoonful of turkey chili) but something about them leans into your more traditional muffin texture than classic cornbread.
My cornbread muffins are also on the sweeter side, as that’s how I like my cornbread (northern-style, if you’re from the south!).
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Makes a fast dinner side. Just 10 minutes of prep time before they head into the oven. Personally, I like to whip up a batch while my chili simmers.
- Fluffier and lighter than your average cornbread. They also have an incredible depth of flavor, thanks to some carefully chosen ingredients (more on this below!).
- Pairs well with so many dishes. From pulled pork or pulled chicken to taco soup or even chicken corn chowder, this side dish works well with them all.
- Customizable. While they’re obviously (in my unbiased opinion) tasty on their own, these muffins can be enhanced with diced jalapeno or fresh corn (instructions below). Oh, and don’t forget some honey butter for spreading on top–yum.
Ingredients
While there are a few ingredients in the photo below, I promise these corn muffins are still just as easy as stirring together a box of muffin mix.
- Cornmeal. I use yellow cornmeal, but white will work just as well. Note this is not the same thing as cornstarch (also known as cornflour in the UK!).
- Sugar. I prefer my corn muffins and cornbread slightly sweet (a tradition north of the Mason-Dixon line!), so I add both granulated and brown sugar. Brown sugar adds a depth and richness that I love–I use it in my graham cracker crust for the same reason!
- Sour cream. Lots of sour cream gives an incredible depth of flavor and makes these muffins perfect for pairing with chili.
- Egg. Just one! If you don’t have time to set yours out ahead of time to let it come to room temperature, just us my easy trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature.
- Butter. We’ll add ⅓ cup of melted unsalted butter to the batter. I know this seems like a strange amount (5 ⅓ tablespoons), but I promise it’s exactly what you need for the best results!
SAM’S TIP: If you prefer your corn muffins less sweet, you can omit the granulated sugar. I do recommend trying this recipe as written at least once though–all of my taste testers preferred the version I’m sharing here!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Corn Muffins
Make the batter
Dry ingredients (plus sugar) get whisked together in one bowl, then everything else in a separate one.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, then use a spatula or wooden spoon to gently fold wet and dry together until completely combined and no streaks of flour remain. You do not want to over-mix or use an electric mixer to stir the batter.
Something you’re going to notice about this batter is that it’s very very thick. This is normal and necessary to get the type of corn muffin I was looking for. If you’ve tried my blueberry muffins, you’ll notice the batter is similar to that one in thickness.
Divide into liners
Portion the batter into a lined 12-count muffin pan, making sure to fill each liner so you use all of the batter. If you don’t have any liners, you could make my parchment paper liners or just lightly grease each muffin tin cavity. For portioning, I use an ice cream scoop for this for the fastest and cleanest results!
Bake + cool
Bake for 14 minutes or until cooked through–do NOT over-bake, or your muffins will be dry and crumbly (too dry and crumbly, even for a corn muffin!). I like to use the toothpick test to make sure my muffins are done (look for a clean toothpick or a few moist crumbs).
SAM’S TIP: Remove the muffins from their pan after about 5 minutes to avoid those dreaded soggy bottoms! I find it’s easiest to use a butter knife to gently pry the muffins out of the pan, then lift them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Frequently Asked Questions
While you could, I specifically designed this recipe to be used for cornbread muffins and highly recommend you use my cornbread recipe instead.
Yes! I love freezing these so I always have a few on hand. Make sure to wrap them well in plastic (a layer of foil doesn’t hurt either!) and store in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
To thaw, let sit at room temperature or pop in the microwave.
Yes! If adding jalapeno, make sure to de-seed and finely dice. I recommend about ¼ cup of jalapeno. If you’d like to add corn, you can use drained canned corn or thawed frozen corn; I recommend about 1 cup of corn.
Enjoy!
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Corn Muffins (Perfectly sweet!)
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Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 203kcal
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375F (190C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (165 g) cornmeal, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon table salt, 2 Tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
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In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together sour cream, melted butter, and egg.
1 cup (240 g) sour cream, â…“ cup unsalted butter, 1 large egg
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Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a spatula to gently fold together until completely combined and no dry streaks remain. Batter will be dry and stiff, this is normal!
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Evenly divide batter into prepared muffin tin. Transfer to center rack of 375F (190C) oven and bake for 14 minutes, until muffins are baked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs (no wet batter).
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Allow to cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes then carefully remove to a cooling rack before enjoying.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Muffins may also be cooled completely, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and frozen for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 203kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 235mg | Potassium: 91mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 297IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.