These are the Best Cornbread Muffins—lightly sweetened, soft and tender, and so delicious.  Serve with everything from butter and honey to winter chilis and soups, or even your summer BBQ favorites.

My family loves spreading a little Honey Butter over these little corn muffins and eating them as a snack.  They taste amazing like this, especially fresh out of the oven. I also recommend pairing Cornbread Muffins as a side dish to recipes like this easy Chili, Turkey and Rice Soup, Easy Baked Ziti, or this Baked BBQ Chicken Breast.

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Best Cornbread Muffins

This recipe for Cornbread Muffins makes it so easy to ditch the box mix forever.  Nothing beats homemade, and you won’t believe just how simple this Cornbread Muffin Recipe is to make!  The end result is so much more light and fluffy and delicious than anything you could ever get from a box.

There are no crazy ingredients in this recipe – just stone ground cornmeal, sour cream, melted butter, milk, and a few basic pantry items.  I like slightly sweet Cornbread Muffin, but if you prefer yours to be more savory you can reduce the sugar or try leaving it out completely.

And if you’re looking for more cornbread recipes, be sure and try our classic cornbread, perfect for slathering with homemade honey butter and cranberry butter, or our creamed corn casserole or ham and cheese cornbread muffins.

Cornbread Muffins Video Tutorial

Best Corn Muffins Ingredients

  • Cornmeal – we prefer to use stone ground yellow cornmeal for this recipe.  It has a little texture, but still stays nice and soft.
  • Flour – we use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
  • Sugar – we usually use regular granulated sugar, but you could also substitute honey and/or maple syrup.
  • Baking Powder and Baking Soda – you’ll need to use both of these ingredients in order to get the little rise in the oven.
  • Salt – sea salt works best.
  • Egg – any type of large egg will work.
  • Butter – you can use salted butter, but you may want to reduce the added salt just slightly.  Otherwise, you can just use unsalted butter.
  • Milk – we prefer to use whole or 2% milk for this recipe.
  • Sour Cream – either full fat or lite will work.
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How to Make the Best Cornbread Muffins

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix until combined.
  3. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, milk and sour cream until combined. 
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Don’t overmix – the batter should be just a little lumpy.  Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes and then mix again lightly.
  5. Pour batter into 12 greased muffin tins or paper liners.  They should be about 3/4 full.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on edges and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and serve warm with your favorite butter or spread.  Enjoy!
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Frequently Asked Questions

How should I store Cornbread Muffins?

Let your muffins cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. 
You can also store them in the fridge for up to a week, but we highly recommend rewarming just slightly, or at least pulling out to room temperature for 30 minutes before eating.

Can I freeze Cornbread Muffins?

Yes!  Just wrap well, or transfer to an airtight container, and store frozen for up to 3 months. Once you are ready to eat them, remove from the freezer and let thaw at room temperature for a couple of hours, or even overnight.  You can rewarm slightly in the microwave or a low oven if you’d like.

What is the best kind of cornmeal to use for cornbread muffins?

For muffins, you want to use a fine or medium grind of yellow cornmeal. Yellow cornmeal has a stronger corn flavor than white cornmeal, and the coarse grind cornmeal will leave your muffins rather gritty.

Cornbread Muffins Recipe Variations

These muffins make a great base to add mix-ins to!  Try and of the following, or even combine a couple if you’d like:

  • Drained and chopped canned green chilis 
  • Cayenne powder (just a pinch or two)
  • Shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
  • Maple syrup and/or honey
  • Fresh corn, creamed corn or (drained) canned corn
  • Fresh chopped rosemary or thyme

Storing Cornbread Muffins

  • Room Temperature: if wrapped well in foil or placed into an airtight container, these will stay fresh for up to 2 days at room temperature.
  • Refrigerator: to store for a bit longer, wrap leftover muffins in foil or transfer to an airtight container and store for up to 1 week in the fridge.
  • Freezer: cornbread muffins may be frozen for up to 2 months as long as they are wrapped well and transferred to freezer bags or another airtight container.
5 from 4 votes

Best Cornbread Muffin Recipe

Author The Carefree Kitchen
These lightly sweetened, soft and tender cornbread muffins are quick, easy and so delicious.  Serve with everything from a simple slab of butter and honey to winter chilis and soups, or all of your summer BBQ favorites.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Yields12 people

Ingredients

  • cup yellow cornmeal
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup sour cream

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined.
  • In another bowl, add the egg, melted butter, milk, and sour cream and whisk together until combined.
  • Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined.  Don't overmix—the batter should be just a little lumpy.  Let the batter rest for about 5 minutes and then mix again lightly.
  • Scoop batter into 12 greased muffin tins or paper lined tins, about 3/4 full.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on edges and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and serve warm with your favorite butter or spread. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Storing instructions: store in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature, up to 1 week in the fridge, or up to 2 months in the freezer. 

Nutrition

Calories: 204kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 372mg | Potassium: 135mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 322IU | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg
Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
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More Easy Muffin Recipes

These moist Cornbread Muffins are light and tender, quick and easy and so delicious. Nothing beats homemade, and you won’t believe just how simple these are to make!

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5 from 4 votes (1 rating without comment)

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3 Comments

  1. Alan Rosenberg says:

    The muffins came out great . I did make them with chocolate chips and they were delicious

  2. Oh yum! These cornbread muffins look delicious. The texture is amazing. SO soft and buttery. I have to make them.

  3. These are SO good! I think it’s the sour cream which creates the best texture. Will be making a batch for the upcoming holiday.

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