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Clean Eat, Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarian, Sides, Vegetarian

Easy Cornbread Muffins (made with whole wheat)

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A close up angled image of honey being drizzled off a honey dripper onto a cornbread muffin with other muffins and a jar of honey in the background

Simple and easy to make, these little cornbreads are perfectly portioned with just the right amount of sweetness contained within them. Light and moist on the inside, the outside is perfectly browned with a wonderful crust.

A close up image of a rectangular plate with three cornbread muffins on it with the middle muffin cut in half

💕 Here’s why you’ll love this recipe:

  • It’s so easy to make!
  • It takes less than 30 minutes to throw together.
  • It’s made using wholesome clean label ingredients.
  • They keep well and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
  • They are the perfect balance of sweet and savory.
  • You can add to them to amplify the flavors (for example, adding in some chopped jalapenos to make a heavenly jalapeno cornbread!)
  • They are perfectly portioned
  • They reheat beautifully (especially if you have an airfryer or toaster oven!)

Here’s what you need to make these cornbread muffins:

An overhead image of bowls of ingredients for homemade cornbread muffins

  • Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: I like to use whole wheat pastry flour because it’s fine grind gives all the benefits of whole wheat while allowing my muffins to be light and airy. You can also use white whole wheat flour if you like.
  • Cornmeal: I’m using a med-grind stone ground cornmeal for both the texture and flavor. The medium
  • Cane Sugar: I’m using a finely ground raw cane sugar.
  • Water: While you can use cold or room temp water, lukewarm water works best.
  • Yogurt: Use a plain and unsweetened yogurt.
  • Oil: I’m using an extra light olive oil.
  • Baking Powder: Our main rising agent we’re using what might seem like an excessive amount but it really helps our muffins to attain that light texture.
  • Egg: Working as binder, our egg also adds moisture and richness as well as rise to our muffins.
  • Salt: I’m using a pink Himalayan but you can also use sea salt if you prefer
  • Black Pepper and Dried Parsley (optional): This adds a small touch of earthy spice and flavor but I personally like the speckled look it gives the muffins.

What else can I add in? 🤔

  • Jalapenos: fresh or jarred, little bits of diced jalapenos are an iconic addition to cornbread.
  • Corn: whole kernel sweet corn gives your cornbread both a bump of texture and flavor. Opt to use about 1/4 cup of fresh cut or canned that’s been patted dry kernels.
  • Diced Red and/or Green Bell Pepper: the contrast of color makes this addition so pretty and the slightly earthy and fresh flavor pairs well with the muffin’s corn and sweetness.

Want your cornbread to be even more moist?

Honestly these muffins are not dry nor are they crumbly, however if you want to attain more of a soft/moist/cake texture you can try any one of the following options:

  1. Add in an extra egg to the batter.🥚
  2. Swap the cane sugar for honey.🍯
  3. Combine your flour and cornmeal together with the water and yogurt and let it rest for anywhere from 1 to 8 hours to allow the flour to fully hydrate and the cornmeal to soften.🕒

Here’s how insanely easy these muffins are to throw together:

A composite image of two bowls of wet and dry ingredients being mixed

Into one bowl goes our dry ingredients and into another smaller bowl our wet ingredients. Combine the ingredients in each bowl completely.

An overhead image of wet ingredients being poured into the dry ingredients for cornbread muffins

Then pour your wet mix into your dry mix.

An overhead image of mixed cornbread batter in a bowl.

And using a spoon or spatula, stir it together until fully combined and there are no large lumps.

Want to mix in your kernels of corn and/or diced jalapenos or diced bell peppers? Go ahead and do so now.

An overhead image of cornmeal muffin batter divided evenly into a dozen muffin pan molds

Evenly divide your batter between 12 regular sized muffin molds that have been generously oiled (I used extra light olive oil to grease my pan but you can also use butter or ghee).

You can also use a mini muffin tray if you like to make 24 bite-sized corn muffins (just be sure to reduce the bake time to about 9-10 minutes!)

A composite image of cornbread muffins baking in the oven.

Pop your muffins into your oven that you preheated to 400F (you DID preheat your oven, right?? 🤨) and bake them for 15-18 minutes until the tops are just beginning to brown and they pass the toothpick test.

I literally sat myself in front my oven door and watched my muffins rise and cook up…and not for the first time! Is it just me or is it fascinating and magical to watch baked goods bake up??

A composite image of baked cornbread muffins.

Once done, remove your muffins from the oven and allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan. The tops should have a wonderful almost crispy crust to them.

An overhead image of a dozen cornbread muffins angled and cooling in a muffin pan

Once cooled, run a blunt, thin edge of a butter knife or similar tool around the edges and pop your muffins out of their molds. This is always a potential “oh no” moment and nothing bums me out more than stuck food. If the bottoms seems stuck, run the knife all the way around the edge and then slowly and gently push the edges towards the middle as you work your way around (don’t go so far that your top starts to crack! Just the tiniest wiggle press all the way around should do the trick!).

a composite image of a cornbread muffin being sliced and topped with butter and honey

Once your muffins are cooled and removed from the pan, all that’s left to do is enjoy them! Either by themselves, topped with butter that will melt under their fresh-baked warmth, and maybe even a touch of honey for a little extra sweetness, these muffins are SO GOOD. My favorite way to enjoy them is to have one with a bowl of Chili con Carne!

A close up image of a honey drizzled cornbread muffin with a jar of honey and a stack of muffins in the background
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Easy Cornbread Muffins (made with whole wheat)

Quick and easy, this recipe produces a dozen moist and sweet cornbread muffins that are just perfect for topping with butter and maybe a touch of honey.
Prep Time7 mins
Cook Time18 mins
Total Time25 mins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12
Calories: 144kcal
Author: Kitrusy

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole grain stone ground cornmeal med grind
  • ¾ cup stone ground whole wheat pastry flour
  • ¼ cup raw cane sugar finely blended
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
  • ½ tsp ground black pepper optional
  • ½ tsp parsley optional
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup plain whole milk yogurt or Greek Yogurt or sour cream
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup extra light olive oil

Oil or butter for greasing muffin pan

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 400°F and generously grease 12 muffin molds with oil or butter.
    • Combine dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another (you can use stick blender to fully mix the wet ingredients if preferred).
    • Add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients and mix until combined.
    • Pour batter into well-oiled muffin molds and bake for 15-18 min until they passes the toothpick test and the tops are beginning to brown.
    • Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes before lightly running a butter knife around the edges to loosen and help them to release from the pan.
    • Enjoy by themselves as a side, topped with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey, or paired with come Chili con Carne.
      Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to three months.

    Notes

    • You can use paper or silicone muffin liners in lieu of greasing and baking your muffins directly in the muffin tin.
    • For more flavor and texture you can add in 1/4 cup of drained whole kernel sweet corn.
    • Add 2-3 tbsp of jalapenos to your batter to make a spicy-yet-sweet jalapeno cornbread.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 218mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 33IU | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg

     

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    ABOUT KITRUSY

    Hi there! Welcome to Kitrusy where we devise and share our clean-eating culinary creations. We aim to keep things clean and simple, so feel free to look around and I'm sure you'll discover something just for you!

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