You can call this a recipe for cheese muffins or for corn muffins, because they get lots of flavor from both of those ingredients.
This savory muffin recipe is not only really tasty, it is pretty healthy too. They are made using cornmeal with some all purpose or whole wheat flour added.
The corn meal gives the muffins a lovely texture and great taste.
I have added some corn kernels into the mix too because I love the texture they add and that little extra pop of flavor. They can easily be omitted if you don’t have any on hand.
There is no white sugar in this recipe at all, just a small amount of honey.
Honey adds that touch of sweetness that corn muffins love. And of course, we add a good amount of strong cheese.
You might like to add some fresh or dried herbs to these yummy muffins. I love to use dried chives, dill, parsley or even oregano to the muffins. Chives work wonderfully.
If you have fresh herbs they are always best, but the dried work well too. If you use fresh herbs you will need to increase the amount from 1/2 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon. Fresh herbs are a bit milder in flavor.
The recipe calls for milk (any fat level) but you can certainly use a milk alternative. I have made muffins many times using almond milk and they come out wonderfully. You can substitute other milk replacements like oat milk, soy milk or hemp milk, but I’ve never used them so I can’t recommend them or comment on the taste.
Tips for Making Cheese Muffins
I’ve given you a few tips above but if you are a beginner to baking, there are a couple of things to keep in mind as you make these wonderful savory muffins.
This first tip is for making muffins in general. When you make muffins you always want to mix the batter as little as possible. Over mixing the batter will make the muffins less tender than you want them. So here is what to do:
You’ll notice that the recipe instructions tell you to mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then mix them together.
That’s something that I always do. When you mix the dry and wet ingredients separately it allows you to mix and stir as much as you want to make sure everything is well mixed. Then, when you’ve got that done add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir it all together just enough to make sure the dry ingredients have been fully mixed into the batter.
Don’t beat the dough or keep stirring beyond that point. Your muffins will be nice and light as long as you don’t overmix the batter.
The second point I want to cover is the kind of cheese you use in cheese muffins.
A strong hard cheese, like strong cheddar, is best for this recipe. You need the strong tasting cheese so you can actually taste the cheese. If you use a very mild tasting cheese, you won’t have as much cheesy flavor in your muffins.
You also don’t want to use a super soft cheese like ricotta. It has too much liquid in it for the muffins to turn out properly without adjusting the recipe.
Altogether these muffins are a great taste sensation.
You can serve these muffins for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
I love them as part of a brunch bread basket, served with an assortment of breads and muffins. They are also great for dinner, especially with a warm bowl of chili or some fantastic Mexican food. Or for lunch, cheese muffins with a wonderful salad or quiche.
These savory muffins are also great on their own, as a snack. I add a bit of butter and I’m in heaven.
I hope you like these muffins as much as I do. Let me know in the comments below.
Cornmeal and Cheese Muffins
Equipment
- 1 12 cup muffin tin
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chives, (or dried dill, parsley or oregano)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons oil, (olive oil, avocado oil, melted coconut oil or vegetable oil)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 cup corn kernels, (optional)
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, strong, shredded
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour and baking powder.
- In a medium bowl, combine the milk, egg, oil and honey.
- Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just blended, being careful not to over mix the batter. Fold in the corn and cheese.
- Coat 12 muffins cups with nonstick spray. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full with the batter.
- Bake at 375° F for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.
- Makes 12 muffins.
Notes
Add 1 cup of cooked, chopped bacon or ham.
If you love things hot, add a bit of finely chopped jalapeno pepper to the batter.
Use Monterey Jack cheese instead of cheddar.
The corn kernels are optional, but I but I love these muffins with the addition of the corn. You can use either fresh corn if you are lucky enough to have it or frozen or canned kernel corn. Any of them work well.
You can certainly use regular milk, any fat level, as the wet ingredient in this recipe but I often use almond milk. I have had great success using almond milk in muffins. You can also use coconut milk although it might change the taste a bit, soy milk or hemp milk, although I haven't tried those so I can't tell you if they work as well. It's up to you.Nutrition
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