These sweet and savory Ham and Cheese Cornbread Muffins are soft, chewy, perfectly moist, and simple to make. Inspired by the sandwich classic, this fun, flavorful, savory cornbread muffin recipe is loaded with ham, cheddar cheese, and thinly sliced green onions.
Jump to:
Cheese and Ham Cornbread Muffins
Make a batch of these savory Cheese and Ham Muffins, and you will give yourself the gift that keeps on giving. They can be easily warmed up throughout the week for breakfast on-the-go or as a hearty side dish for dinner. They also taste great at room temperature, making them the perfect grab-and-go lunch for work or to toss into lunch boxes.
If you’re looking for serving ideas, we love combining this sweet and salty muffin with a rich and creamy soup, like Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup or our Easy 30-Minute Chili. They are equally incredible warmed up for breakfast with a little Honey Butter or jam - it's the perfect duo! For dinner, they would taste great with a grilled BBQ entree, like Monterey Chicken or Buffalo Chicken Drumsticks.
And if ham and cheese isn’t quite your thing, don’t worry! We’ve got plenty of ideas for easy variations that you can try below. Let us know what you loved in the comments.
Ingredients in Cornmeal Muffins
- Cornmeal - use a fine or medium grind of yellow cornmeal, or try grinding your own!
- Flour - you’ll want to use all-purpose flour for this recipe.
- Sugar - a little sweetness makes these perfectly sweet and savory. You could also replace some of the sugar with honey if you’d like.
- Baking Powder - this will help your muffins rise in the oven.
- Garlic Powder - this adds a great layer of savory flavor to the muffins.
- Milk - any percentage of milk that you have on hand will work. You could also substitute buttermilk!
- Eggs - any type of large eggs will work great.
- Cheddar Cheese - you can use pre-shredded cheese to save yourself a step. We like sharp cheddar in this recipe, but any type will do.
- Green Onions - it’s best to slice these before you start to mix any ingredients together. You could also substitute with chopped fresh chives.
- Ham - these muffins are a perfect way to use up leftover holiday ham! You’ll want to chop the ham into approximately ½” bits.
- Butter - melt your butter just before mixing.
How to Make the Best Ham and Cheese Muffins
- Mix together the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and garlic powder and stir until well-mixed.
- Add the wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, add the egg and whisk to break it up. Add the milk and melted butter, and whisk together. Add the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula just until combined. The batter will be slightly lumpy - don't overmix!
- Fold in the ham and cheese. Finally, gently fold in the cheese, ham and green onions.
- Bake. Spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and add paper liners if you want. Spoon or scoop in the batter, filling each muffin tin ¾ full. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown.
- Serve. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy!
Corn Muffin Recipe Variations
- Add sliced jalapeños or sliced olives.
- Try a different cheese, like pepper jack or a cheddar blend. You want something with a little kick as opposed to a more neutral cheese.
- Skip the ham completely and make them vegetarian!
- Turn this recipe into cornbread by baking in an 8”x8” baking dish instead of muffin tins (Note: you will need to bake for 30-35 minutes instead).
- Instead of ham, use bacon bits or sausage.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can find various types of cornmeal in the baking section of your grocery store. There are different grinds, colors, mixes and even names (polenta, masa, stone-ground, etc). Without getting too into it here, we recommend a fine or medium-grind of yellow corn for this recipe because it will yield the best texture.
Yes! My absolute favorite cornmeal to use is homemade! Did you know you can grind popcorn seeds in a wheat grinder? I've been doing it for years and it makes moist and tender cornbread every time. Just be sure to check your wheat grinder specs before grinding popcorn. Store any leftover cornmeal in a plastic bag in the freezer to keep it nice and fresh.
We recommend refrigerating them because of the ham. Store in an airtight container or freezer bags in the fridge for up to 5 days, then reheat slightly before serving.
Storing
- Refrigerator: store cornbread muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: place completely cooled muffins into freezer bags and store frozen for up to 2 months. To thaw, transfer to the fridge overnight or pull out to room temperature for a couple of hours.
- To reheat: either warm in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds on high, or reheat gently in a 300 degree F oven for about 10 minutes, or until warmed through.
Ham and Cheese Cornbread Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup Yellow Cornmeal fine or medium ground
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 large Egg
- 1 cup Milk
- ¼ cup Butter melted
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
- ½ cup Ham chopped
- ¼ cup Green Onions sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and garlic powder and stir until well-mixed.
- In a separate mixing bowl, add the egg and whisk to break it up. Add the milk and melted butter, and whisk together.
- Add the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula just until combined. The batter will be slightly lumpy - don't overmix! Finally, gently fold in the cheese, ham and green onions.
- Spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray and add paper liners if you want. Spoon or scoop in the batter, filling each muffin tin ¾ full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More of the Best Muffin Recipes to Try
- Easy Pumpkin Muffins
- Applesauce Muffins
- Greek Yogurt Banana Muffins
- Einkorn Pumpkin Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Triple Berry Muffins
- More Easy Quick Bread Recipes
- More Best Side Dishes
If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it and leave a comment on this post. I love hearing feedback from you helps me and other readers too! If you love Pinterest, feel free to leave a comment and photo there too. Also, if you like to share, use the hashtag #thecarefreekitchen on Instagram and tag me @thecarefreekitchen so I can find you and give your post some love. You can also find me on Facebook at The Carefree Kitchen. Thank you!!
These Ham and Cheese Cornbread Muffins are sweet, savory, perfectly moist and so simple to make. They make the best side to a bowl of soup, or warmed up for breakfast with a little slab of butter.
Kevin
I tried this recipe, but I used Pre mixed batter. I added the ham, cheddar and cut up jalapeños for a little Erick, then brushed them with honey butter.
They are so good, my wife asked me not to make them again, because she hate 4 out of 6 of them.
She loved them!!!!we all loved them.
I made another batch the following day!!!
Lol