Homemade Breakfast Corn Muffins! These sweet cornbread muffins are easy to make - and an endlessly customizable recipe - for a tasty breakfast on the go!
Originally published July 19, 2013. Updated on 1/6/2024
So here I am with new photos - and a bit more information - but the same great recipe.
In terms of it beting great recipe for breakfasts:
These moist cornbread muffins are less a "cupcake without icing" muffin, and more of an "entire breakfast in the palm of your hand" kind of muffin - especially with the sausage version.
They can be - depending on the variation you do - like a skillet cornbread, just in muffin form.
In that sense, you can use these cornmeal muffins as a substitute for dinner rolls!
Not only are these great fresh out of the oven, but they’re also the perfect muffins to use as a great make-ahead breakfast for the rest of the week.
They’re also a great way to make use of the fresh sweet corn when it’s in season and popping up at farmers markets everywhere.
No worries, though - you can use frozen corn for the rest of the year.
Anyway, let’s get to it!
Ingredients
This breakfast cornbread muffins recipe uses really simple ingredients that you’ll be able to find in any grocery store. I only have a couple ingredient notes for you, on this one.
Corn Kernels
As this recipe was developed for my sweet corn cookbook*, it was made to use fresh corn kernels.
That’s what I tend to do - when corn is in season, anyway!
These homemade cornbread muffins are too tasty to relegate to just a month or so per year, though.
The rest of the time, you can use frozen corn in this corn muffin recipe.
Just measure first - 1 ½ cups - defrost, and drain well before adding them to the batter!
* Originally “Sweet Corn Spectacular”through a publisher, overhauled and re-released as “Maize Craze” after I got the rights back!
Milk
When I first created this cornbread muffin recipe, I was using regular milk - 2% dairy milk - to make them.
I used to demo these delicious muffins for the book promotion, and sometimes the venue host would provide whole milk - it worked great as well.
Sometime in the following years, I switched over to using unsweetened almond milk for everything, and it works well in this recipe.
Really, you can use whatever milk you like. Buttermilk would be especially great with the savoury variations, btw.
Everything Else
Rounding out this recipe, you will need:
All Purpose Flour
Yellow Cornmeal
Granulated Sugar
Unsalted Butter
Large Eggs
Honey
Baking Powder
Salt
... I just really don’t have anything to add, for these last few ingredients.
Breakfast Corn Muffin Variations
Corn is such a versatile ingredient, the possibilities for these easy cornbread muffins are endless! While I'm providing a few suggestions, feel free to run with it!
Blueberry
Add 1 cup of fresh blueberries along with the corn kernels.
Optionally, you can swap the honey out for maple syrup - it goes really well with the blueberries!
Peanut Butter and Banana
Decrease sugar to ½ cup.
Add ½ cup peanut butter when creaming the butter and sugar together, and 1 chopped banana with the corn kernels.
Jalapeno, Bacon, and Cheese
Decrease sugar to ¼ cup.
Add 1 finely chopped jalapeno, 6 slices of crispy bacon (crumbled), and 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese along with the corn kernels. These variation (pictured throughout this post) is great for breakfast, but is ALSO fantastic with a big bowl of chili!
Sausage
Decrease sugar to ¼ cup.
Add 1 cup of crumbled or sliced cooked breakfast sausage, ¼ cup finely chopped onion, and 1 cup of shredded cheese along with the corn kernels.
Sour Cream & Onion
Decrease sugar to ⅓ cup, decrease milk to ½ cup.
Add ½ cup sour cream with the milk and eggs. Add ½ cup finely sliced green onions with the corn kernels. (This is also great with bacon!).
How to Make Loaded Corn Muffins
The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the visual walk through:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin pan with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and honey until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and milk, stirring carefully until well incorporated. Set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients, stirring just until combined.
For frozen, measure, then defrost, then strain well before adding to the batter.
Stir corn into batter - as well as any add-ins - mix just until distributed.
Note: I used to use a small measuring cup, but now I like to use a cookie scoop to divide batter among the muffin cups.
Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer a cooling rack to cool a bit more, if you like.
Leftover Muffins
Once cooled to room temperature, muffins can be transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge.
If you don't use meat in them, they'll last up to a week. Muffins with meat added should be eaten within 3 or 4 days.
More Sweet Corn Recipes
Fan of sweet corn? I’ve got more recipes for you!
Beer Battered Corn on the Cob
Corn-On-The-Cob-uccino
Hearty Corn & Black Bean Soup
Homemade Creamed Corn
How to Cook Corn on the Cob
Marie's Low Country Boil
Quick Sweet Corn Soda
Roasted Corn Chowder
Roasted Corn & Potato Salad
Roasted Corn Salsa for Canning
Roasted Corn Salsa Verde for Canning
Scalloped Corn
Southwest Hot Dish
Sweet Corn Bruschetta
Sweet Corn Ice Cream
Sweet Corn Panna Cotta
Sweet Corn Relish
This recipe is one of many spectacular sweet corn recipes featured in my cookbook, Maize Craze. It’s available through Amazon, or through any major bookseller.
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Homemade Breakfast Corn Muffins [With Fresh Corn]
Equipment
- Muffin Tin
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cups All-Purpose Flour
- ¾ Cup Cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ Cup Butter Softened
- ⅔ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 tablespoon Honey
- 2 Large Eggs
- ⅔ Cup Milk
- 2 Ears Fresh Corn Husks Removed. (or 1 ½ cups corn kernels)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare cupcake tin with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. Add eggs and milk, stirring carefully until well incorporated. Mix in the flour mixture, stirring just until combined.
- Using a sharp knife, carefully cut kernels off the ears of corn. Stir corn into batter - as well as any add-ins - mix just until distributed.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan.
- Bake for 24-26 minutes, until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Once cooled to room temperature, muffins can be transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge.If you don't use meat in them, they'll last up to a week. Muffins with meat added should be eaten within 3 or 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
More Muffin Recipes!
Are you a fellow fan of muffins? I have some more marvelous muffin recipes for you!
All-Bran Muffins
Apple Blueberry Muffins
Banana Nut Muffins
Cardamom Pear Streusel Muffins
Carrot Cake Muffins
Cranberry Orange Pistachio Muffins
Eggless Banana Muffins
Gingerbread Muffins
Healthier Apple Oatmeal Muffins
Maple Pumpkin Spiced Muffins
Orange, Date, and Almond Muffins
Peach Cobbler Muffins
Pina Colada Muffins
Stuffed Banana Nutella Muffins
Sweet Potato Muffins
Original Photos
This post was recently completely overhauled, including new photos. Here are the original photos from an earlier version of this post, for posterity:
Annie L
Dang, you wrote an entire sweet corn cookbook? I hope you're peddling it at the Plainview Corn on the Cob festival...
Barb Andersen
This is the best way to have sweet corn for breakfast. I also freeze them for a handy on the go snack or breakfast. I think I will freeze some for winter hygge.