This cornbread muffins recipe makes the perfect side dish or appetizer with moist cornbread muffins filled with cream cheese and topped with jalapeno pepper slices. Watch them disappear.
Cornbread Muffins Recipe
Cornbread Muffins in the house! Raise your hand if you love cornbread? I certainly do, and when the holiday season rolls around, I tend to start thinking about a good batch of cornbread to serve.
Cornbread is always popular and it can be served as either a side dish or an appetizer, or both! Whichever you prefer.
They're also quite essential to serve alongside your favorite chili recipes. We recently had a big neighborhood party and I was in charge of the cornbread, so I whipped up this batch and they disappeared. These are slightly different, however, than your typical cornbread recipe. Why? Because these cornbread muffins are...
Cheesy Cornbread Muffins! With the cream cheese and jalapeno slices, it's quite a bit like a Jalapeno Popper Cornbread Muffin recipe. You're going to love these, my spicy food loving friends! Talk about a great mashup!
Jalapeno Cornbread + Jalapeno Poppers = AWESOMENESS.
YES! Watch them disappear.
These cornbread muffins are filled with a dollop of cream cheese, then topped with a slice of jalapeno pepper, so every single muffin bite gets a taste of cream cheese and burst of jalapeno flavor.
Of course you can purchase a cornbread box mix from the grocery store, but not this time. We're making our cornbread batter from scratch, and it is so much better.
Make these for your next chili cook off or neighborhood gathering, or hey, just make them so you can enjoy them all for yourself, like we do!
Let's talk about how we make these wonderful cornbread muffins, shall we?
Cornbread Muffin Ingredients
- The Dry Ingredients. Use 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup corn meal, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon baking soda.
- The Wet Ingredients. Use 1 cup buttermilk, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and 2 large eggs beaten.
- The Seasonings. Use 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon chili powder and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Extra Corn. 1 cup corn - frozen is OK.
- Cream Cheese. Use 6 ounces cream cheese.
- Jalapeno Peppers. 3 jalapeno peppers sliced thinly (you’ll need about 48 slices)
How to Make Cornbread Muffins - the Recipe Method
Preheat the Oven. Preheat oven to 375 to 400 degrees F and lightly oil your mini muffin pans. You can make these with larger muffin tins, the size of an ice cream scoop, but they are so fun and flavorful when they are more bite-sized.
Make the Cornbread Batter. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, garlic, chili powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir - buttermilk, melted butter, oil and eggs. Stir until you have a slightly lumpy batter. You don't have to over stir, just make sure everything is uniform and incorporated.
Fill the Cornbread Muffin Tins. Stir in the corn, then spoon the batter mixture into mini muffin tins until each tin is ¾ full. You'll use about 1/4 cup each or so.
Cream Cheese and Jalapeno Slices. Next, scoop a small piece of cream cheese down into the center of each muffin batter. Use a spoon to cover it up. Top each with a jalapeno slice. This is all extra flavor right here, my friends! It makes your cornbread really stand out.
Bake the Cornbread Muffins. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the batter is set and firm, and golden brown. They should be very moist in the center with huge flavor, nice and light and fluffy. Such a great recipe!
Boom! Done, my friends! What do you think? I love this recipe. So tasty! The best cornbread muffins you'll ever make. At least I think so! This recipe will make you about 48 mini muffins, so prepare accordingly. It serves a crowd!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Muffin Tins. I used mini muffin tins in this case, and the recipe makes 48 mini muffins, but you can easily use larger muffin tins if you'd like. Just be sure to adjust your baking times to accommodate. You can use paper liners if you'd like, but they usually pop right out with this corn muffin recipe. Very easy!
- The Batter. Some people like to include sour cream in their cornbread batter, but it really isn't needed here. The batter is already quite moist and you'll get an extra boost of creaminess from the cream cheese filled center. So good. Better than any Jiffy mix or other store bought mixes.
- Cheddar Cheese. Another great addition to corn bread is cheddar cheese. I often like to stir in a cup or more of shredded cheddar cheese. It melts through the entire batter and adds some outstanding flavor. I skipped it for this recipe, as we are using cream cheese instead, but try it with both and see how you enjoy it.
- Serving. As I mentioned, these make and outstanding side dish, but I also like to serve them as appetizers. Serve them at room temperature, or you can heat them slightly and serve them warm. Great stuff! Try them with a bit of butter and honey, especially hot honey. Amazing. Serve them as dessert! They are that good.
Let me know how they turn out for you. I hope you enjoy them. -- Mike H.
Storage & Leftovers
Storing your Cornbread Muffins in an airtight container in the fridge may allow you to store them for up to 3-4 days (2-3 months in the freezer). To maximize the storage life, make sure to refrigerate them promptly.
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
- Jalapeno Cornbread
- Mexican Cornbread
- Skillet Cornbread
- Cornbread Dressing
- Mexican Brownies
- Chocolate Covered Jalapeno Peppers
- Candied Jalapenos
- Hot Honey (drizzle it over your cornbread!)
Serve Your Cornbread Muffins with These Recipes
- Chili con Carne
- Chili Colorado
- Slow Cooker Southwest Beef Chili
- Pork Chili
- Beef Chili
- Texas Chili
- Honey Baked Ham
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! -- Mike H.
Cornbread Muffins Recipe with Jalapenos and Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1 cup corn frozen is OK
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 3 jalapeno peppers sliced thinly (you’ll need about 48 slices)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly oil mini muffin pans.
- Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, garlic, chili powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the buttermilk, melted butter, oil and eggs. Stir until you have a slightly lumpy batter.
- Stir in the corn, then spoon the batter mixture into mini muffin tins until each ¾ full.
- Next, scoop a small piece of cream cheese down into the center of each muffin batter. Use a spoon to cover it up.
- Top each with a jalapeno slice.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until set.
Notes
Nutrition Information
A great Review of these cornbread muffins from a reader: "These were so much fun to make and so good! I took them to a party and they were a hit, and they were also great leftover the next day. I ended up with some jalapenos that were not hot enough for me, so I added some jalapeno powder to the muffin mix and it added just enough heat."
NOTE: This recipe was updated on 10/5/20 to include new information. It was originally published on 11/8/17.
Kevin Moser says
What a great recipe! So good!
I added a few diced smoked Jalapeños to the batter for some added kick!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
There you go, Kevin! I love it. More jalapenos for me, please! Nice.
Debra Sanders says
My pepers are about gone for the season. Can I use my pickled peppers instead?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Hi, Debra. Yes, pickled peppers work. I like fresh peppers, but no problem with pickled!
Susan S says
These were so much fun to make and so good! I took them to a party and they were a hit, and they were also great leftover the next day. I ended up with some jalapenos that were not hot enough for me, so I added some jalapeno powder to the muffin mix and it added just enough heat. My muffin pan always leaves me with leftover batter (mine makes 48 but they must be smaller than the ones in this recipe). I had enough batter for 3 regular sized muffins. Thanks for another great recipe!
REPLY: Awesome, Susan! -- Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.