Honey Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins

Love sweet and spice together in one balanced recipe? This Honey Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins recipe is the perfect accompaniment to any meal! These fluffy cornbread muffins, sweetened with honey and given heat by a chopped jalapeño pepper, bake up quickly and serve a crowd! Makes 12 servings.

Cornbread lover? Make these muffins, then give Hatch Chile Mini Cornbread Muffins, Honey Cornbread and Creamed Cornbread Casserole a try!

I’ve got four little words for y’all this morning: Honey Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins.

These beauties are delicious, slightly sweet with a hint of spice, and they’re kind of my new favorite fall side, especially when paired dishes like Beef and Buffalo Chili, Shiner Bock Chili and basically any autumnal soup or stew.

They’re perfect for dipping… and I kind of want to whip up another batch of these right now because I can think of so many meals I’d love to eat them alongside.

Why I love this recipe:

Honestly, these savory cornbread muffins with just a hint of sweetness really strike a beautiful balance.

These tender muffins are made with fresh jalapeños—and you can choose your own adventure on spice level by leaving in the jalapeño seeds or removing those before adding them to the cornbread batter.

Unlike some sweeter cornbread muffin recipes, we’re not using brown sugar or granulated sugar to sweeten these. We’re using honey instead.

The end result is a tender muffin that is the perfect complement to so many different dishes.

They have a rich flavor without being overwhelming. They pair with most entrees. (Hello, all my favorite wintery comfort food dishes!)

And they’re excellent served warm with a little butter, homemade honey butter or a drizzle of honey.

Recipes to pair with these cornbread muffins: Slow Cooker Beef Stew | Roasted Butternut Squash Soup | Texas Chili | Instant Pot Gumbo | Bacon Collard Greens

What you need to make this recipe:

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• Standard 12-cup muffin tin
• Cupcake / muffin liners (I love the parchment paper kind)
• Large Bowl
• Liquid measuring cup or a medium bowl
• Rubber spatula
• Cookie scoop

Here’s what you need:

• Stoneground yellow cornmeal—or white cornmeal, if you prefer that. Do not use a cornbread mix or blend.
• All-purpose flour—known as AP flour, we keep the unbleached kind in our house. The regular kind should work, though. I have not tried this with gluten free flours, so please do not substitute.
• Baking powder—this is our leavener. Make sure yours is fresh. If it’s not, the cornbread muffins might not rise.
• Kosher salt—or another medium-grain salt, like sea salt.
• Fresh jalapeño—you’ll just need one medium jalapeno, minced. If you’re sensitive to spice, remove the seeds and consider wearing gloves while you chop these or chop, then immediately wash your hands vigorously. If you like it spicy, leave in the speeds or even add an extra pepper!
• Honey—we keep local honey at our house, but whatever type of honey you have will work!
• Egg—I like to use large eggs, at room temperature.
• Unsalted butter—or you can use salted butter and cut out some of the salt above. I do not recommend using oil in place of the butter.
• Milk—use whatever you’ve got on hand. We’ve made this traditionally with whole milk, but 2% and 1% milk also work here.

How to make the best Cornbread Muffins

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients. Measure the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and chopped jalapeño into a large mixing bowl. Stir until combined.

Combine the wet ingredients. In a smaller bowl or a liquid measuring cup, measure in the honey, egg, melted butter and milk. Whisk until incorporated, taking the time to ensure the egg has completely mixed with the other wet ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir with a rubber spatula until the batter comes together.

Use a spoon or a cookie scoop to spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin.

Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops have golden brown. Also, an inserted toothpick should come out clean.

Enjoy warm with your favorite entree or main dish.

Erin’s Easy Entertaining Tips

Cornbread is one of my recipes that I always trot out in the fall and winter months because it goes great with so many dishes.

I especially love this recipe because they’re easy to make.

Here are a few ways to serve them:

• Serve ‘em with a spicy chili at a tailgate.
• Place them on the buffet table of summer barbecues to pair with Memphis Style Ribs (Dry Rub Oven Baked Ribs Recipe) or any meat and veggie combination. (Hi, can you see my Southernness showing?)
• Make ahead alert: Bake ‘em a day or two before so you don’t have to sweat cooking them up the day of… they’re great at room temperature!

Quick tips for making Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins

• Store the muffins in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature. (My bets are they won’t last that long, though!)
• For extra spice and flavor, add an extra jalapeño pepper! Jalapeño slices would be really beautiful placed on top of the muffins before they go into the oven, too.

Pop on over to My Cooking Spot to check out the recipe and make your own this beautiful Monday morning!

Also, tell me how you like your cornbread (and what you like served with it!) in the comments section!