Easy Mini Cornbread Muffins Recipe

Make these easy mini cornbread muffins for your family, and watch all of them come running to the table! These sweet mini muffins are easy to mix up fast, make a great breakfast, or are a perfect side dish for BBQ, holidays like Thanksgiving or with a big bowl of chili.

Bake up a batch of mini cornbread muffins for your family, they are a favorite with mine and this recipe has been made and shared with so many people.

Easy Mini Cornbread Muffins Recipe

Did you know there are some places that do not have cornbread? For those of us used to fluffy, crumbly and sweet bites of cornbread this almost seems confusing. This mini cornbread muffin recipe has been a staple at my table to bake for as long as I can remember

We lived in Montreal for three years. It’s cold many so many days of the year that chili and soup were often on the menu. At the time we had moved from Atlanta (I know right, that’s a switch!) where delicious southern food was everywhere. This meant pretty much you could walk into ay BBQ, soup or southern food restaurant or grocery store and find delicious cornbread ready for the picking.

Very quickly I learned not only was their not any cornbread to be found, but most of the new friends I had made had never tried cornbread… ever!

Sweet and slightly crumbly cornbread and they had never tried cornbread or cornbread muffins.

I grew up eating cornbread, usually for breakfast in my family. Fast forward to moving to Atlanta and I started to learn more about what makes a cornbread muffin amazing and how to make really good southern-style cornbread.  Slightly sweet, a good crumb but not so crumbly that it falls apart.

Not  a single place in Montreal while I was living there had cornbread or even a Jiffy mix of cornbread. So I made my own cornbread recipe. Then I made some more… It wasn’t long before the neighbors started showing up at our door and we became friends the more I shared. We started making this cornbread recipe as a regular Thanksgiving side dish.

These cornbread muffins are so good, I even started bartering with them. Need help with something small with your car, to borrow a shovel, or need a basic haircut for your child? Cornbread muffins were always welcomed with open arms. I also taught a few friends how to make cornbread mini muffins.

This mini size muffins came from bringing these sweet and simple cornbread muffins to playdates. The mini cornbread muffin size is perfect for young kids. The portion size is just right for little hands and is easy to make in mini muffin cups.

How To Make Cornbread Muffins

Making cornbread muffins is super easy, in fact, I’ve even seen some people prepackage the dry ingredients together beforehand. Then you can mix the wet ingredients to bake a super quick homemade cornbread batter any time.

What Does Cornbread Taste Like, I’ve NEVER Had It Before

Most cornbread is sweet with a slight cake-like crumb texture, but not quite as sweet as a cake. The amount of sweetness is purely a preference of taste. Some cornbread is dry while others are light and creamy. This cornbread has a light and airy cake-like texture with moist crumbs and is just a great recipe.

When I lived in Montreal for a few years cornbread just wasn’t something they served. I introduced all of my neighbors to it and used to barter with muffins for help from them. My neighbor across the hall was a hairdresser and would cut my daughter’s and my husband’s hair in exchange for a batch of these delicious corn muffins!

What’s The Difference Between Cornbread Muffins And Cornbread?

Traditionally cornbread muffins are a little sweeter than cornbread. Cornbread muffins are baked in a muffin pan while cornbread is baked in a sheet or a cast-iron skillet.

Often cornbread muffins are served for breakfast, but they are also sometimes severed as dessert. Cornbread is served for breakfast, lunch or dinner as a side often with butter.

How Do I Know When To Bake These Muffins

Muffins can be a little tricky sometimes if you haven’t made many. What often happens is people overmix muffins and they end up more dense than expected. With this recipe, you can mix until just combined with a spatula or whisk and they turn out great. I would not mix with an electric mixer, just give the batter a couple good stirs until the dry batter is fully mixed with the wet ingredients. A few little lumps are ok, but mix a little more if there is larger chunks of dry batter forming big lumps.

My Cornbread Mini Muffins Keep Sticking To The Pan Or Muffin Liner

If you use paper muffin liners I do find this cornbread muffin recipe does stick to the liner when still warm from the oven. If serving to guests I recommend letting them cool completely before serving.

If using a pan without a paper muffin liner, use a good coating of pan spray to keep the muffins from sticking to the pan. Alternatively, a silicone muffin pan can be used for easy removal.

Can These Cornbread Muffins Be Made Into Standard Sized Muffins

Yes, this recipe will make six standard size cornbread muffins or a mini muffin tin. When I am making full-sized muffins I almost always double the recipe when I mix it. The bake time will increase on bigger muffins to closer to 15-20 minutes for full sized muffins.

Are These Cornbread Muffins Sweet?

These mini cornbread muffins do have a touch of sweetness to them from the honey and from the corn. The honey can easily be adjusted to make this recipe slightly more or less sweet to your own taste.

Can I Give These Honey Cornbread Mini Muffins To Babies and Young Children

Babies can not have honey if they are under the age of one as it can pose some risks to them. ( I’m no doctor, this is what the CDC recommends.)

I wouldn’t give these muffins as is without substituting another sugar into the recipe. I have made this recipe with traditional white granulated sugar in place of the honey. It is still a great cornbread recipe and is safe for babies.

Other sweeteners (such as stevia or maple syrup for example)  you may be able to experiment with but the amount of sweetness they add per tablespoon can vary. The sweetness in this recipe is a personal taste preference, so you can include slighty more or slightly less and it should still taste yummy.

Why Are My Cornbread Muffins Dry?

This cornbread muffin recipe usually gives a nice moist muffin with a hint of sweetness. If your muffins are dry, here are a few things to check.

• Did you overbake the muffins?- Over baking the muffins too long can dry them out and make your muffins too crumbly.
• Is your oven temperature set too high?– Ovens can vary and some ovens just bake hot! I’ve moved around a lot, and in some of our homes, we’ve had to adjust our oven by as much as 25 degrees. You can check if your oven is too hot with an inexpensive oven thermometer to make sure the temperature you set it at is the same temperature it’s reading.
• Did you cool the muffins in the pan?- If you cool the muffins in the pan it can sometimes dry them out as they keep cooking. Instead, as soon as your are able to remove them, place the cornbread muffins on a wire rack or clean kitchen towel to keep cooling.

Variations To Try

• Add 1/2 cup of corn kernels to the recipe, folding them in at the very end. You can use fresh, canned or frozen corn.
• Add hot dogs to make mini corn dog muffins. You can either use a piece of a regular-sized hot dog or about half of a little smokie sausage placed in each muffin before baking.

How Do I Store Cornbread Muffins?

These delicious muffins will last for 3-4 days on the counter stored in an airtight container. They also can be frozen after baking and defrosted later. Frozen muffins wrapped in freezer paper and placed in zip-top freezer bags will last for 3-4 months and still taste fresh.

Love quick muffins? Try these Easy Pancake Mix Muffins and make three flavors of muffins in one muffin tin. Perfect for breakfast and snacks.

So have you ever made cornbread for your family? What about baked mini sized cornbread muffins? Tell me all about making these muffins, or any questions you may have about cornbread down in the comments!