During my high school years, Mom occasionally put soup or chili and cornbread on our dinner menu. While she typically turned to the canned variety for the former, or tubs from the grocery store’s deli hot food bar, she actually baked the cornbread from scratch.
If you know my mom, you realize just how monumental that is! I only remember her consistently baking three things from scratch… Chocolate chip cookies, banana muffins, and Grandma’s famous peach pie.
Then cornbread somehow was added to that list!
She used the recipe on the side of the cornmeal box, with its classic ingredients of flour, sugar, milk, oil, and an egg… Plus salt and baking powder, of course! She followed the instructions, mixing together the batter and spreading it into a greased 8”-square baking pan just like directed, and popping it into a preheated 400°F oven…
Yet while the sides always turned deep golden brown, the center stayed almost raw—basically every single time! We ended up cutting off those the edge pieces to eat with our dinner, and after covering the top of the pan with foil, we popped it back in the oven to let the center slices finish baking all the way through.
Although we puzzled over the mushy middle problem, we eventually stopped trying to come up with reasons why and just accepted our new cornbread baking process… Bake the sides, eat, bake the middle, and enjoy that the following night!
When I recently whipped up a batch of these Healthy Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Mini Muffins, I actually laughed out loud… We never thought to bake the batter in muffin tins instead of the square pan! That totally would have solved our raw middle problem!
But with how amazing these cornbread mini muffins turned out, I have no desire to play with that other recipe! These are perfectly moist and tender, not one bit dry or crumbly, and they’re bursting with classic cornbread cozy comfort food flavor…
Along with a hint of spice from those peppers. Just enough to tickle your taste buds! My mom is somewhat averse to spicy food (she’s a mild salsa kind of lady!), and she loved these healthy cornbread muffins! She didn’t even reach for her water glass after enjoying one!
So let’s briefly go over how to make these healthy gems! {Psst… Just 49 calories each!!}
You’ll start with a combination of cornmeal (like this!) and white whole wheat flour (like this!). White whole wheat flour has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour! It just comes from a special type of soft white wheat, which has a lighter taste and texture.
It’s extremely important to measure the cornmeal and flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. ← That’s the one I own and love! It only cost $20, and I use it every single day… And to make every single recipe I share with you here! It ensures my recipes turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time I make them. I highly recommend it!
Because this recipe calls for a mere ½ tablespoon of butter (yes, coconut oil will work… but butter and cornbread go together like peanut butter and jelly! or peanut butter and dark chocolate, in my case?) and 1 egg white, the rest of these muffins’ tender texture comes from Greek yogurt! It adds the same moisture as extra butter for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your muffins a protein boost, too!
To make this cornbread taste a little fancier, you’ll also mix finely grated cheddar and finely minced jalapeños into the batter. Yes, finely—for both! I always prefer to grate my own cheese because it tastes fresher, but store-bought finely shredded will also work.
Just like I promised you earlier, these muffins are not very spicy at all! You’re just using a scant 2 tablespoons of diced jalapeño… Or about 1 tiny pepper, with the ribs and seeds removed. (Those parts have the most heat!) Chop them up into itty bitty pieces so they’re evenly distributed throughout the batter. And remember to thoroughly wash your hands after!
There’s something about cornbread that just screams fall and fleecy blankets and slow-paced evenings and cozy comfort food, isn’t there?? ?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cornbread muffins and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Mini Muffins | | Print |
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) cornmeal (measured like this)
- ½ cup (60g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) honey
- 5 tbsp (75mL) nonfat milk
- ¼ cup (28g) finely grated sharp cheddar cheese (see Notes!)
- scant 2 tbsp finely minced fresh jalapeño (about 1 small, see Notes!)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 24 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the honey. Alternate between adding the cornmeal mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the cornmeal mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the cornmeal mixture in 3 equal parts.) Fold in the cheddar and jalapeños.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 10-13 minutes or until the centers feel firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
It’s very important to measure both the cornmeal and flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (I always use this kitchen scale because it makes sure my baking recipes turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time. It’s only $20!) Too much of either will dry out your cornbread, instead of the moist and tender texture it should have.
I know vanilla sounds like a strange ingredient for cornbread, but trust me! Vanilla enhances butter’s flavor, so it makes this cornbread taste just as indulgent as traditional recipes. (I highly recommend using butter instead of coconut oil, for that reason!)
Pure maple syrup or agave may be substituted for the honey. We prefer our cornbread on the not-so-sweet side since we usually serve it with a drizzle of honey (and a small pat of melted butter, if you’re feeling indulgent!). If you like sweeter cornbread, substitute additional honey, pure maple syrup, or agave in place of an equal amount of the milk.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
I highly recommend grating your own cheddar cheese! Store-bought shredded cheese has a coating on it that prevents it from melting quite as well, although it will work. For a much more prominent cheddar flavor, double the amount of cheese!
For the jalapeño, I removed the ribs and seeds. These contain most of spicy heat! As written, using just 2 tablespoons of finely diced jalapeño (the green flesh), these muffins aren’t overly spicy. My mom, who only likes mild salsa, enjoyed these muffins! For a spicier flavor, increase the jalapeño by an additional 1-3 teaspoons, or add in the ribs and seeds too. And make sure you cut the jalapeño very finely. The flecks should be itty bitty, like the size of minced garlic!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Cornbread
♡ Healthy Broccoli, Cheddar & Turkey Quiche
♡ Baked Spicy Cinnamon Sweet Potato Fries
♡ Healthy Spinach & Goat Cheese Cornbread Muffins
♡ Easy & Healthy Spicy Orange Chicken
They look awesome, Amy! Regretting that I didn’t buy one of the nice jalapenos I saw at the Farmers Market yesterday.
Thank you!!! 🙂
My pleasure Susan! And thank YOU!! 🙂 Great minds must think alike! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these!
YUM! Cornbread is one of my favorite things, and one of the few things my Dad ever baked! (he also went through phases where he made raisin bread from the bread machine and apple pies using store-bought crust) His was always this “low-fat cornbread” from a Jenny Craig cookbook that was super dry, so we all slathered it in honey-butter. Totally defeated the purpose of the “low-fat,” but we loved it. 🙂
Awww that’s too funny about your Jenny Craig cornbread + oodles of butter! My mom (the queen of butter) would be SO proud!! 😉 The raisin bread sounds amazing too!
I’ve been waiting my whole dang life for a healthy cornbread recipe! AND this one has jalapeno involved? So much yes. Love this!!
You’re such a sweetheart Karly — you just made my heart MELT!! ♡ I’d love to hear what you think if you try this recipe!
Its funny that your mom used to have to bake the cornbread twice, lol. I love the pictures, the recipe and your funny story to go along with it. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Karl! 🙂
I just took the muffins out of the oven and I think they are terrific. You are right, Amy, with that amount of jalapeno not too spicy for me at all. I love your website. It’s my favorite and I hope you keep up the good work for a long time to come. Thank you , and enjoy your new city!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Susan! And thank you SO much for your kind words about my website and recipes — that means the world to me! I’m honored! 🙂
Amy;
Hi,your cornmeal jalapeño muffins look so good.what can I use in please of jalapeño in your cornmeal muffin recipe?I don’t like eating them in recipes.
Can your recipe be made to put in mini 24 muffin pan?
I have some of the ingredients including the cornmeal,but I don’t have all of the ingredients yet to make your muffins.I tried making regular cornmeal muffins and the muffins turned out dry,which was from another recipe that I found on the internet or computer.so my cornmeal site in its container until I figure out what recipe that I can use it up in.
Kim
You can just omit the jalapeños Kim! This recipe yields 24 mini muffins, so I’m not quite sure I understand your second question… I can’t wait to hear what you think of these! 🙂
what type/brand of cornmeal did you use? thanks!
If you click on the pink text in the Ingredients list, that’s actually a link (all of my links are pink!) — and it’ll take you to the exact product that I used! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cornbread muffins Alina!
This was very nice. Still, a teensy bit dry, and I even used half cream and half milk.I would add more yogurt or milk/cream next time. Weirdly, I would like it a little sweeter, too. But the jalapeno amount is perfect. I will keep this one!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Theresa! It means a lot to me that you’d call this recipe a keeper. 🙂 Nothing wrong with wanting them to be a little sweeter at all! Many of my family members drizzle some honey on top of their cornbread, which is why I generally keep my cornbread recipes on the not-so-sweet side. You can easily swap more sweetener for an equal amount of milk in the batter if you prefer!
Also, I’d love to help you out with that dryness issue! I have a feeling of what the cause might be, but I’d love to ask you first… What brand of cornmeal did you use, and how did you measure it?