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Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins

Looking for a knock-out jalapeno cornbread recipe? Look no further! This easy recipe brings out the best of the pickled jalapenos and mild cheddar for perfectly moist muffins perfect for any meal.

Don't you love when your kid mispronounce a word and it just sticks?

When my daughter was under two she called breakfast breafkist one time. Seven years later, both my kids STILL mispronounce that word from time to time. Now that she's reading, she occasionally mispronounces words that she’s read, but always corrects herself.

A man's hands holding a cornbread muffin that was torn in half.

Her job, as the reader, is to navigate the grocery list when we’re at the store. Last time we were at the grocery store, she hit jalapenos, she mispronounced it. 

Japaleenos. 

We ended up with a beautiful bunch of japaleenos that day. 

And when we got home, we whipped up some japaleeno cheddar cornbread muffins. 

This recipe is dedicated to japaleenos. 

A stainless steel bowl containing all the ingredients for these jalapeno cheddar cornbread muffins.

Cheddar Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins Tips:

USE real cheese. Get out the grater, and shred it. The pre-shredded cheese has a starch coating on it that does not perform well in baked goods. 

PREHEAT the muffin tin with the oven.

LARD is your friend! I use lard a lot around the kitchen, and especially when I’m cooking with my cast iron, but I shared in my Skillet Cornbread Recipe that lard is the trick to a perfect crust in the cast iron pan, so too is true in the muffin tin. 

REST the dough! This gives the baking powder time to activate. 

DON’T overcook the muffins. Check them for doneness with a cake tester, clean knife, or toothpick.

I use my smoked salt every time I bake cornbread. I find it adds just a hint of smokiness that is simply divine in cornbread.

A hand holding a muffin scoop filled with airy jalapeno cornbread mix.

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Corn bread muffins

This recipe is a variation of my base cornbread recipe. In my opinion, the skillet recipe is perfect, but Kevin insisted I bake him some muffins. 

Boy, did I deliver. 

What can I say, I am a good wife from time to time! Haha

A jalapeno cornbread muffin cut in half with melting butter on one half and a bite missing.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Ingredients

  • Flour
  • Cornmeal
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Baking powder
  • Honey or maple syrup
  • Butter
  • Milk or cream
  • Eggs
  • Pickled jalapenos
  • Shredded cheddar
Close up view of the airy jalapeno cornbread mix scooped into a black muffin tin.

How to make cornbread muffins

  1. Whisk dry ingredients
  2. Whisk wet ingredients
  3. Mix together wet ingredients, dry ingredients, jalapeno and cheddar cheese. Set aside
  4. Preheat oven and muffin tin
  5. Bake cornbread muffins
Bonus 6th step: 

Enjoy the fruits of your labour!

A collage of images depicting mixing the dry ingredients.
A collage of ingredients depicting the whisking of the wet cornbread ingredients.

Bake in a skillet

YES! Absolutely you can bake this recipe in a skillet. Please follow the baking instructions on my Skillet Cornbread Recipe!

A mans hands holding a jalapeno cheddar cornbread muffin and tearing it in half. You can see visible strings from the melted cheese.

Got Leftovers?

This recipe makes approximately 18 muffins, which is way too much for us to eat in a reasonable time, so I individually wrap each one in plastic wrap and place inside of a freezer bag. These muffins will keep in the freezer for up to a month. 

To thaw, simply remove the cornbread muffins from the freezer, unwrap and allow to come to room temperature for about 30-45 minutes before serving.

A close up view of the jalapeno cheddar cornbread batter in a silver bowl. You can see how fluffy and airy the batter is by the large number of air bubbles.

What to serve with cornbread

I serve my cornbread with:

I'd love to hear what your favourite meal to serve with cornbread is --> Leave me a comment below!

📖 Printable Recipe

cut jalapeno cornbread muffin
Yield: 18 muffins

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

These easy cheddar cheesy jalapeno cornbread muffins are the best! Homemade, from scratch, this recipe is easy and produces a moist muffin that your whole family will love!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour or bread flour *see notes
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt, smoked or regular
  • 4 tbsp butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup, melted
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar
  • 1/3 cup diced pickled jalapenos
  • lard, for greasing

Instructions

  1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisking well. Once combined, make a well in the centre of the bowl, and set aside.
  2. Combine the wet ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking well to ensure the wet ingredients are smooth.
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients, add in the shredded cheese and the jalapenos at this time and quickly whisk all the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Don't over-mix.
  4. Allow the batter to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400f, and place two 12 cavity muffin tins in the oven.
  5. Remove the muffin tins from the oven and use a small dollop of lard to each muffin cavity.
  6. Using a muffin scoop, filled 3/4 full, carefully scoop the batter into each greased muffin cavity.
  7. Bake at 400f for 12-15 minutes or until a cake tester stick comes out of the middle clean.

Notes

* Please use a flour that has 12% or higher protein content. Using a flour that has less protein content will affect the finished product. Please see this post for more information: Whole Wheat Bread.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

18

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 201Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 327mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 5g

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Sharon H

Wednesday 3rd of August 2022

As an American we love our cornbread with beans......navy beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas, you name it. We like skillet baked but love muffins. We also like it with most any of my home-made soups, especially vegetable beef. I'm going to try your recipe, it sounds good and tasty. I like adding cheddar cheese to mine also.

Ally

Friday 5th of August 2022

Awesome, love to hear how you like it!

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