Every so often during my childhood, my mom, brother, and I went to a buffet-style salad restaurant for dinner. We usually planned our visits along with my brother’s best friend and her mom, so we ended up snagging a big booth for the five of us to sit together.
As fairly picky eaters, my brother and I rarely grabbed much from the salad bar line. We skipped past the pre-made salads and plain salad greens, put a scoop of plain cold pasta salad on our plates, and added a small amount of corn or carrots and crunchy croutons. But we always promised Mom that we’d grab a plate full of fruit in the back of the restaurant once we paid at the register at the end of the salad bar line!
In addition to the fruit, we also picked out a few things from the hot food bar, like the little rectangular slices of four-cheese pizza just 1” wide and 3” long (definitely our favorite!). One day while waiting for the kitchen to set out fresh slices, I grabbed a cornbread muffin, but I didn’t realize there were whole corn kernels hidden inside… So I picked out each little piece because I hated “bits” in my food back then (corn in cornbread, nuts in brownies, even onions in spaghetti sauce!), and I never reached for another one of those cornbread muffins again.
Then the very best part of every meal (for us kids!) was always dessert. We placed a warm brownie into a little bowl, topped it with lots of vanilla, chocolate, or swirled ice cream from the restaurant’s soft-serve machine, and showered that with sprinkles and crushed Oreo bits. Pure bliss to little kids!
When I recently drove past a shopping center in Southern California with the same restaurant chain, I smiled at all of the memories that came flooding back… And because I’m adult and not so picky about “bits” in my food, I decided to bake these Ultimate Healthy Cornbread Muffins, a more wholesome version of the ones from the restaurant!
These ultimate healthy cornbread muffins are just as moist and tender as the originals, even with no oil, refined flour or sugar, and they’re super simple to make. No mixer required—and almost as easy as a boxed mix! Even better, they’re just 116 calories!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY CORNBREAD MUFFINS
Let’s talk about how to make these ultimate healthy cornbread muffins!
You’ll start with a blend of cornmeal (like this!) and white whole wheat flour (this kind!). White whole wheat flour is named because it comes from a special type of soft white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour is made from a heartier variety of red wheat. They have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture. That makes these ultimate healthy cornbread muffins really tender and also lets the cornmeal flavor truly shine!
I prefer my healthy cornbread muffins to actually taste corny (if that makes sense!), so I always use more cornmeal than flour. Both finely ground and medium-grind cornmeal will work!
Nerd alert #1! Not all brands of cornmeal measure and weigh exactly the same. Look at the side of your box or bag of cornmeal, and find where it displays the serving size in both cups and grams.
You need 180g of cornmeal for this recipe. For some brands, that’s 1 ½ cups, or 30g per ¼ cup… But for others, ¼ cup is 33g or 36g or even 43g. Yikes! So if you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s the nerdy thing to do to make sure your cornbread turns out perfectly.
Step 1: Divide 180g by the number of grams in ¼ cup of your cornmeal. For example, if your cornmeal is 33g per ¼ cup, divide 180 by 33. That equals 5.455.
Step 2: Divide that number from Step 1 by 4. In our example, that would be 1.364. This is the number of cups of your cornmeal that you need!
Step 3: If your decimal places look a little funky, like in our example, multiply just the decimals by 16. For our example, that’s 5.82. This is the number of tablespoons, in addition to that 1 cup of cornmeal, that you need! So for our example, we’d use 1 cup + a scant 6 tablespoons.
Lots of math! Are you still with me?? Because here comes…
Nerd alert #2! It’s extremely important to measure the cornmeal and flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either ingredient will make your cornbread muffin turn out dry, rather than moist and tender.
Psst… If you have a kitchen scale, you don’t need to do the math to figure out cups + tablespoons. You just need to weigh 180g of your cornmeal!
Now let’s move on to easier things… Like the rest of the ingredients!
Because you’re just using ½ tablespoon of butter (hooray for keeping them low calorie!), the rest of the tender texture in these ultimate healthy cornbread muffins comes from Greek yogurt. You know how much I love baking with it! Greek yogurt adds the same moisture to the batter as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories… And it gives your ultimate healthy cornbread muffins a protein boost, too!
Nerd alert #3! To also increase the moist and tender texture, you’ll add in a small amount of white vinegar. I know, it sounds a little crazy… But I promise you can’t taste it! The acid in the vinegar reacts with the baking soda (a base!), and this makes your ultimate healthy cornbread muffins rise better and turn out with a more tender texture.
Nerd alert #4! One more not-so-common ingredient in these ultimate healthy cornbread muffins… Vanilla extract! The vanilla actually enhances the flavor of the butter, so it makes these healthy cornbread muffins taste as rich as traditional recipes. Pretty cool, right??
Because I know many of my friends and family love to drizzle their warm cornbread with honey, I only added a tiny amount of honey to the batter. I didn’t want anyone to get a sugar rush just from eating ones of these ultimate healthy cornbread muffins! 😉
And just like I mentioned earlier, I bravely added whole corn kernels to these ultimate healthy cornbread muffins. Although my childhood self wouldn’t approve, my adult self does! I used canned corn that I rinsed and drained for an easy shortcut. (Just make sure the only ingredients are corn, water, and maybe salt!) You can definitely use fresh corn instead if it’s in season! Frozen corn also works. Just remember that your muffins may take an extra minute or two to finish baking!
I think I’ll skip the chili… And maybe even those irresistible tiny slices of pizza… Just give me a few of these and I’ll be all set! 😉 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 ultimate healthy cornbread muffins!
| The Ultimate Healthy Cornbread Muffins | | Print |
- 1 ½ cups (180g) cornmeal (measured like this; see Notes!)
- ¾ cup (90g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) honey (see Notes!)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) distilled white vinegar
- ½ cup (120mL) nonfat milk
- ¾ cup (115g) corn kernels (see Notes!)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line 12 muffin cups with paper muffin liners. Coat the liners 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 whites, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the honey and white vinegar. 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.) Gently fold in the corn kernels.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 19-22 minutes or until the centers feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
I know vanilla sounds like a strange ingredient for cornbread, but trust me! Vanilla enhances butter’s flavor, so it makes these cornbread muffins taste just as indulgent as traditional recipes. (I highly recommend using butter instead of coconut oil for that reason!)
I know vinegar also sounds like a strange ingredient for cornbread, but trust me on this, too! The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the cornbread muffins rise and give them a more tender texture.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
IMPORTANT CORNMEAL NOTES: Not all cornmeal is the same! You want 180g of finely ground or medium grind cornmeal (like this!) for this recipe. Also, not all cornmeal brands weigh the same. Look at the side of your box or bag of cornmeal, and find where it displays the serving size in both cups and grams. If you’re measuring by cups (not grams) and ¼ cup of your cornmeal doesn’t weigh 30g, then see the Nerd Alert #1 in my blog post above to determine how much of your cornmeal to use! (It’s really important to use the correct amount; too much will dry out your cornbread muffins!)
It’s very important to measure both the cornmeal and flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I have!) Too much of either will dry out your cornbread muffins, instead of the moist and tender texture they should have.
GLUTEN FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend as follows: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, and ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.
HONEY + SWEETENER NOTES: 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 muffins, substitute additional honey, pure maple syrup, or agave in place of an equal amount of the milk.
CORN KERNELS NOTE: I used canned corn that I rinsed and drained as a shortcut! If doing so, make sure the only ingredients in your canned corn are corn, water, and possibly salt. Fresh corn kernels and frozen corn kernels will also work. If using frozen, you may need to bake your muffins for a few additional minutes.
If you aren’t a fan of corn kernels in your cornbread (trust me, I get it!), then you can easily omit the corn kernels!
RECIPE VIDEO: To see how this recipe is made, watch this video of mine. (It’s for my regular baked-in-a-pan cornbread recipe instead of muffins!)
MORE TIPS: For more information about this recipe's ingredients and instructions, see the Nerd Alerts in my blog post above the recipe!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Cornbread
♡ Healthy Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Buttermilk Cornbread
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Whole Wheat Rolls
WOW!! these muffins look so healthy and delicious!!
Thanks so much Sheenam! 🙂
OH BOY! I just got my oven… this will be the first thing I bake!
YAY!!! I’m so excited that you got your oven Amanda!! I’m truly honored that you’d consider making one of my recipes as your first thing to bake in it — and I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cornbread muffins! 🙂
Hi, Amy, I made these corn muffins yesterday to give to a friend who was bringing vegetables from her garden. She texted later to tell me how much she likes them. So did I! I had to have one, In the interest of research you know! 🙂 I see you have a pumpkin waffle coming up which is very exciting since I only have one buttermilk waffle left in my freezer stash. You can believe I will be making those!
Thanks for all the great healthy recipes.
You’re so sweet to bake these cornbread muffins for your friend Susan! She’s so lucky to have you! 🙂 I’m so glad both of you enjoyed these cornbread muffins. I totally approve of that kind of research too! 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the pumpkin waffles once you get a chance to try them!!
Could you make these just with cornmeal, and not add flour? Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Leigh! I actually haven’t tried that, but my main concern is that the cornbread muffins wouldn’t rise properly and turn out more dense and crumbly. (If you’re asking because don’t have white whole wheat flour, then I do provide alternatives in the Notes section, located directly beneath the Instructions!) 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try them!
Hi! What kind of milk could be used? This looks awesome!
Thanks for catching that Mary — all fixed! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cornbread muffins!
Hi Amy! Thank you so much for the awesome recipe! So fluffy so light yet so clean!!!!
Are they freezer friendly?? Don’t want to let them go to waste 🙁
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cornbread muffins Char! Thank you so much for sharing your picture of them with me on Instagram! 🙂 Yes, these muffins are freezer friendly! If you’ve used paper liners like I did in the photos, then I’ve found it’s best to peel those off before freezing. (They tend to stick more after freezing and thawing for some reason!)
Thanks Amy! I live in Amsterdam, so I have a convection oven! I have baked several batches to find out the good bake times, and I just wanna share the bake time and temp for anyone who struggles to find a good bake time! I did 165c for 13mins! It turns out perfect! (I also adjust the recipe to savory, so only 20g of honey, and 5g of cheddar sprinkled on top!
Thank you so much for sharing Char! Such a great tip about sprinkling cheddar cheese on top — I definitely need to remember that! 😉
Can you make these with masa harina flower instead of white wheat?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Kel! Masa harina flour is actually a better substitute for the cornmeal than the white whole wheat flour. I don’t recommend substituting it for the white whole wheat flour because it doesn’t have any gluten (the way wheat-based flours have!), and gluten is the protein that allows these cornbread muffins to rise and maintain their shape while cooling. Without that protein, the muffins would collapse and turn out really dense. If you’d rather not use white whole wheat flour, then I recommend using one of the alternatives that I’ve shared in the Notes section of the recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!) instead. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of these cornbread muffins if you try making them!
The recipe calls for 2 large eggs whites, yet in your video, you add “one small egg”. ???
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Lysa! Both this recipe and the video are correct. The video is demonstrating how to make a slightly different recipe (my pan of cornbread!) that does call for one full egg, whereas this recipe is for muffins (not the pan of cornbread!) and calls for two egg whites. I understand it can be a bit confusing! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cornbread muffins!