This recipe for Easy Homemade Corn Muffins is pure perfection! These simple muffins have a crusty exterior and a tender cornbread interior.
Serve the delicious muffins for breakfast or as a side with Chili Con Carne.
It’s hard to beat a light and fluffy cornbread muffin with a buttery, brown exterior. They can be enjoyed in so many ways – from breakfast to a side for Chili Con Carne.
Why This Recipe Works
- No special ingredients are needed – No buttermilk, or canned creamed corn – just simple, fine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, butter, milk, and eggs.
- It’s simple to prepare – no soaking the cornmeal or special equipment – just a bowl and a wooden spoon are needed for this recipe.
- Melted Butter adds flavor to this recipe instead of the usual vegetable oil most recipes call for. It’s also added to the pan to promote that beautifully browned exterior.
Should Corn Muffins Be Sweet?
This is a There is much debate on whether Corn Muffins should have sugar. Where you stand, usually depends on where in America you live.
These corn muffins can be made with or without sugar to suit your taste.
I make them semi-sweet, but you can adjust the recipe according to how you like your cornbread.
Test the sweetness of the batter by making a mini pancake in a frying pan and adjusting the sweetness as needed before baking the muffins.
What Cornmeal Is Best
For this recipe, I recommend fine cornmeal (known in some countries as ‘Polenta Flour’). Fine cornmeal makes a much more moist and tender muffin.
Getting A Crispy Exterior On Cornbread Muffins
The trick to the buttery, golden crust on these corn muffins is brushing a metal pan with melted butter and heating the pan in the oven before adding the batter.
It doesn’t take much butter, so I just add an extra teaspoon to the recipe. Dip a brush in the melted butter and brush it over the sections in the pan.
Place the buttered pan in the preheated oven while you mix the batter. Then add the batter to the heated, buttered pan.
How To Make Corn Muffins
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Form a well into the middle of the mixture.
Add the eggs, milk, melted butter, and oil into the well of dry ingredients.
Mix until combined.
Divide batter into the heated, buttered pan.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until light golden brown.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
These muffins are served warm with butter (and maybe a little honey or jam)
Tips For Best Results
- This recipe calls for fine cornmeal. Using coarse cornmeal may result in a dry muffin.
- Be sure not to over mix the batter. I recommend using a simple wooden spoon instead of an electric mixer as the overworked batter will result in a heavy, dense muffin.
- Lumps are fine. When making corn muffins, you want a few lumps in the batter. They’ll hydrate during baking give texture.
- Always check cornmeal for freshness. Cornmeal can go bad. Good cornmeal will have a sweet smell. Rancid cornmeal will smell stale and musty.
More Great Recipes
- Blueberry Muffins
- Crumb Cake
- Award Winning Banana Bread
- Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins
- Easy Homemade Cornbread
Variations
- Bacon & Cheddar Corn Muffins: Add ¾ cup of grated cheddar and 1 cup of cooked, chopped bacon before adding to the pan.
- Honey Corn Muffins: Add 1 cup of honey to the batter when adding the other wet ingredients.
FAQs
Wrap well or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you want your corn muffins to stay fresh for longer, store it in the fridge for up to a week.
Yes, they freeze well. To freeze, add the cooled muffins to a freezer bag or freezer-safe airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to use, leave to thaw at room temperature for 1 hour.
This recipe uses fine cornmeal (the photo below) also known as Polenta flour in the UK and Europe. This results in a light, fluffy and moist texture. Using coarse cornmeal will result in a much drier muffin.
Did you make this?
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Let’s Make Easy Homemade Corn Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups fine cornmeal
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar more or less depending on how sweet you like your muffins
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs beaten
- 2 cups milk
- 1 stick (plus 1 teaspoon) salted butter melted and cooled
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400°f/ 200°c Prepare a muffin pan by brushing a thin coating of melted butter over the sections in the pan. Place the buttered pan in the preheated oven while you mix the batter. Note: this step is optional and the recipe can be made using a greased, nonheated pan instead.
- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and form a well into the middle of the mixture.
- Mix egg, milk, melted butter, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Pour into the well of dry ingredients; mix well.
- If using a preheated pan, carefully remove the heated pan from the oven. Divide batter into the sections of the pan, filling them ¾ of the way. This makes a large muffin (20 to 24 muffins).
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until light golden brown.
Tips + Notes
What Cornmeal
This recipe uses fine cornmeal (the photo below) also known as Polenta flour in the UK and Europe. This results in a light, fluffy and moist texture. Using coarse cornmeal will result in a much drier muffin.Top Tips
- Be sure not to over mix the batter. I recommend using a simple wooden spoon instead of an electric mixer as the overworked batter will result in a heavy, dense muffin.
- Lumps are fine. When making corn muffins, you want a few lumps in the batter. They’ll hydrate during baking give texture.
-
Always check cornmeal for freshness. Cornmeal can go bad. Good cornmeal will have a sweet smell. Rancid cornmeal will smell stale and musty.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This post was originally published in February of 2014, but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions, tips, and FAQs in March of 2018.
Robert L. Seyler says
more of a question
where can I find the. amounts used?
I’m a newbie
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Robert! If you click on the “recipe” or “print” button you will be brought to the recipe with the actual ingredient amounts. Hope that helps!
Anna says
I made these as is with Azure Standard’s unfinite yellow corn flour and they were delicious. I wouldn’t change a thing. This recipe could easily be adaptable to add more sugar, to taste. They would be a good base for lemon blueberry corn muffins.
Erren's Kitchen says
Absolutely delighted to hear that you enjoyed the muffins! It’s fantastic that you found the recipe delicious as is. Your idea of using this as a base for lemon blueberry corn muffins sounds divine! The versatility of this recipe allows for such creative adaptations. Thank you for sharing your positive experience, and happy baking!
JOYCE WHITE says
I buttered the muffin tins and put them in a pre-heated oven at 400° The butter burned and I had to clean them. I would never do that again, made too much work, and smoke was coming out of the oven. I would definitely skip that step! I haven’t tried the muffins yet, but I’m expecting them to be delicious! I made them for a family gathering after my Aunt’s funeral.
Erren's Kitchen says
I’m sorry to hear about the inconvenience with the butter in the pre-heated muffin tins, especially during such a sensitive time. I appreciate your feedback on that step, and I hope the muffins bring some comfort to your family gathering. Wishing you and your family all the best during this time.
Rachel g says
Rating this a 3 because it was super easy to make but totally not sweet. I cut the recipe in half and added an additional 2 tablespoons of sugar but the muffins still came out bland 🙁
Erren's Kitchen says
Thank you for sharing your feedback on the Easy Homemade Corn Muffins recipe. I appreciate your honesty about the sweetness level. It’s unfortunate that the adjusted sweetness didn’t meet your expectations.
If you decide to give the recipe another try, you might consider further increasing the sugar to suit your taste. Corn muffins can indeed vary in sweetness preferences, and adjusting the sugar content to your liking is a great way to customize the recipe. Additionally, you could experiment with incorporating other sweeteners like honey or maple syrup.
Lonny says
this was so easy and tasted so good.. would highly recommend.
Erren Hart says
I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the recipe and found it easy to make! Thank you for your recommendation. I hope you come back to try more recipes!
Cook says
Very delicious!
Erren Hart says
I’m delighted to hear that the recipe turned out well for you. Your positive feedback means a lot.
Margaret says
A good recipe. Heating the pan with your cooking oil or butter in it, makes the best crunchy crust. I use a cast iron pan and that amps up the crunchy crust. I make cornbread 2-3 times a month.
I never put any sugar in my cornbread or corn muffins. Corn is naturally sweet- syrup can be made from it! Putting sugar in cornbread or corn muffins, changes the flavor and becomes the forward flavor. Try it without sugar and taste corn being the forward flavor. Also, it is more healthy to leave out added sugar.
Erren Hart says
Thank you for trying the recipe and for sharing helpful tips and feedback! Heating the pan with cooking oil or butter is a great way to achieve a crunchy crust, and using a cast iron pan can certainly enhance the texture even further.
I appreciate your suggestion of making cornbread without sugar and your point that corn is naturally sweet. Experimenting with different variations and seeing what works best for personal taste preferences is always great. Thank you for sharing this insight and highlighting the health benefits of omitting added sugar.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for trying out the recipe. I hope you continue to enjoy making cornbread and muffins in the future!