Blueberry Cornbread Muffins
You can’t help but love these little muffins. The slight crunch and savory flavor of the cornmeal make a perfect foil for the blueberries, which burst as they bake, creating pockets of juice that keep the muffins tender. Plus, they’re so simple to make: with just a few bowls and a whisk, you can whip them up in 15 minutes, and enjoy them warm out of the oven with your coffee 30 minutes later.
Begin by zesting the lemon (you’ll use the zest later) and combining the milk and lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, and you’ll have homemade buttermilk. (You could just use buttermilk, but since the recipe calls for lemon zest, you might as well just use the juice and avoid buying buttermilk.)
Meanwhile, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt and in a large bowl. I like to place the ingredients in the bowl neatly, so I can see what I’ve already added — otherwise, I’m likely to forget.
Whisk until well combined.
To keep the berries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins, toss them with 1 teaspoon of the flour mixture. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the milk and lemon mixture with the eggs, vanilla and lemon zest.
Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, along with the melted butter. Stir until just blended.
Add the flour dusted blueberries.
Stir until just combined.
Spoon the batter into a muffin pan lined with paper liners. They will be very full.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until set and lightly golden.
Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a rack.
Serve warm with butter. Enjoy!
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Blueberry Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (see note)
- 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup blueberries (see note)
- 2 large eggs
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 lemon (about 1-1/2 teaspoons)
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners (don't skip the liners or the blueberries will stick to the pan).
- Combine the milk and lemon juice. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Place the blueberries in a small bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon of the flour mixture. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk/lemon mixture, vanilla and lemon zest. Add to the dry ingredients, along with the melted butter. Stir until just blended; and then stir in the blueberries. Do not overmix.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup very full. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are set and golden around the edges. Cool the muffins for a few minutes in the pan, then serve warm with butter or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Notes: Be sure to zest the lemon before juicing it. Don't be tempted to increase the blueberries: one cup is just the right amount -- if you jam-pack the muffins with berries, they'll be too tart and wet.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 228
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated fat: 5g
- Carbohydrates: 33g
- Sugar: 15g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Sodium: 275mg
- Cholesterol: 53mg
Reviews & Comments
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Excellent recipe – came out perfect in 28 minutes cooking time. The only addition I did was added some clear Sanding Sugar on top for that extra sparkle.
Can you use frozen blueberries? Do you have to let them thaw before using?
Yes, Deborah, using frozen is fine. Don’t defrost them, though, or your batter will turn purple, 🙂
This are a family favorite. I freeze summer berries and make them all year long.
Whole family loved them!! Great for a busy morning or after school snack, too!
Hi Jen…hands down THE best blueberry muffins! The corn meal gives them such a lovely texture….I find most blueberry muffins are too cakey, these are perfect. I’ve been making them with frozen huckleberries we picked last summer. This recipe doubles really well, I make 12 large muffins, and reduced the sugar by one cup for a double recipe.
Thanks so much for all your recipes, I love your website!!
Can I substitute buttermilk for milk? Should any other adjustments be made? Can’t wait to try, they wound wonderful!
Hi Alisa, It’s fine to use buttermilk; just omit the lemon juice as well.
These are excellent. They’re moist and tender and not too sweet. I doubled the lemon zest and didn’t find it overpowering. One cup of blueberries is ample as noted in the recipe. The muffins don’t rise much so filling the cups very full as instructed is important. I used fresh blueberries that had been washed and air dried and they didn’t bleed into the batter as frozen ones tend to do. My muffins were done in 26 minutes. I used cast iron muffin pans without paper liners and didn’t have a problem removing the muffins. They’re light and fragile until they cool but came out of the pan easily once cooled.
I want to make these gluten free. Can I just sub gluten free flour?
Hi Toni, I haven’t made these with gluten-free flour, but I think it should work. I’d love to know how they turn out if you prepare them!
A little disappointing for me. I was expecting a lot more taste. I followed the recipe exactly, but they were bland.
I spend an enormous amount of time in the kitchen baking and cooking and these weren’t anything special.
I served them still warm, but also had one after it completely cooled, sorry to say, very disappointed.
Delicious! I made these one morning and they didn’t last too many mornings after the first. I had some buttermilk I wanted to use up, so just used that instead of the milk/lemon juice mixture, and they were still wonderful.
Is this recipe in your book? It should be! It’s great, instructions, measurements, baking time all just right and it tastes wonderful. The lemon juice and zest is perfect. It’s not too sweet, too heavy, too hard to make or “too” anything. It’s just right! YUMMMMM.
Hi Pam, so glad you liked the muffins! This recipe won’t be in my book (but you can always find it here :).
Made these today. So nice and light. Not overly sweet. Just a lovely lemon taste with a few blueberries. Good suggestion not to overdo it with blueberries. Like the little crunch of the cornmeal.
Will be making these again and again! 🙂
Oh Jenn, these muffins are dangerous! Thank you for this amazing recipe. I baked them this afternoon … they’ve been out of the oven, for precisely 10 mins. & I’ve eaten 2!!! (Freezer, here we come!) 😉
These are delicious. I made a double batch just to try them out 2 days ago, and my family has gobbled them up!
Made these this afternoon and my husband and I love them. The lemon zest adds that little extra. Recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
what do you think about making mini muffins?
Hi Cheryl, Yes, I think mini muffins would work. I’d bake them at the temp that the recipe specifies and start checking for doneness around 12-15 min. Hope you enjoy!
Wonderful flavor and so easy to make. I will be making these often. Thank you!
Just made the muffins and they turned out great. just like all your other recipes I’ve tried from your site. Always looking forward to your weekly emails.
Most muffins are somehow disappointing – these were WONDERFUL. My only note is that it only made ten muffins for me. Thank you Jen!
Perfect. I swear Chef Jenn you will make a baker out of me yet! These are very tasty, love the sweet blueberry with the savory cornbread! They looked just like yours, my husband was so excited to see I made something special. Thank you!
Looks delicious!! I usually make large muffins.. What would be the bake time?
Hi Sue, I’ve never made these jumbo-sized, but I think should you should add about 5 – 10 minutes to the baking time. (I’d start checking them after 5 extra minutes.)
Do these freeze well?
Yes Sandu, these should freeze nicely!
My hubbie has diabetes and I would love to make him these cute little bites of goodness! Can Splenda be used in place of sugar in this recipe?
Hi Thalya, I’ve never baked/cooked with Splenda, so I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s likely to work. I’d love to hear how they turn out if you prepare them with Splenda!
Could this recipe be made with more corn meal and less flour, for gluten free alternative?
Hi Kate, I’m afraid without the flour that the muffins wouldn’t rise and would be very crumbly. You could always substitute the all purpose flour with a gluten-free variety.