Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins
This might be a record-breaking week here on Brown Eyed Baker. First Quiche Lorraine Pizza, and now corn and pepper muffins. Two savory recipes in one week… it’s shocking even to me! Don’t worry, tomorrow is all geared up to be a sweet sensation (and perfect for summer), so stay tuned. Now, onto these muffins. Oh, these muffins. They are soft, moist, peppery, a tad spicy and the most perfect of companions for a bowl of chili, tortilla soup, or even a quick breakfast when you are in the mood for something savory. One whiff of the batter and I already wait for them to get in and out of the oven so I could snag a bite. They were only cooling for a few minutes when I finally gave in to temptation and stole my first taste. I was immediately hooked. These are one of the most tender muffins I’ve made in quite awhile and the texture is a great contrast to the peppers and the bite from the chili powder; perfect balance. In other words… spectacular.
Like all fabulous muffin recipes, this is super easy to throw together – it requires very little time and minimal equipment. In less than 15 minutes your muffins will be in the oven and you will only have one, maybe two bowls to wash, along with a whisk, a spatula and a couple of measuring spoons. Easy doesn’t get much… well, easier than that! You can store these at room temperature and they will freeze very well too.
I’m thinking next time I may try folding in a little shredded cheese. Sharp cheddar or pepper jack would be great choices for these muffins. Cheese does make everything better, right?
What’s your favorite savory muffin or scone?
Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (159 g) yellow cornmeal
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) freshly ground black pepper
- 1 stick, 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ cup (41 g) corn kernels, fresh or frozen
- 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
- ¼ (0.25) red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
Instructions
- 1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.
- 2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chili powder and black pepper. In a large measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter and egg yolk together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. The batter should be lumpy. Stir in the corn kernels, jalapeño and red pepper. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
- 3. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before removing each muffin to finish cooling.
Did you make this recipe?
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Hi. Recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of baking powder or 1 teaspoon?? Just wanted to confirm. Thanks
Hi Tanisha, 1 tablespoon is correct.
Thank you so much!! :)
my girlfriend can’t stop raving about these muffins that I made for her earlier this week. Thank you for the delicious recipe! i’m racking up the “points” =)
I tried to make these today, but they came out super crumbly. As soon as I took them out, they crumbled. Whenever I try a recipe that combines buttermilk and the melted then cooled stick of butter, I have a lot of trouble blending the two. (hope that doesn’t sound stupid, but I am just beginning to learn to bake) The butter gets really crumbly and ends up just kinda being a series of clumps in a puddle of buttermilk, no matter how much or how hard I whisk. I’ve tried mixing with a fork and spoon too, but same results. Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! :)
Hi Alisha, I’ve had a similar problem, mostly when making homemade pancakes, but not with this recipe. Try letting the milk come to room temperature and allowing the melted butter to cool a bit before combining them.
I think I’ve discovered the problem: it’s the butter! I’ve been buying the Wal-Mart brand of unsalted butter, just because I’ve been going through so much. But after making a few things, especially the buttercream frosting, I noticed a really off-putting taste so I looked at the ingredients of the “butter” and it was not actually butter at all. So I replaced it with a butter that is actual butter with only three natural ingredients instead of weird chemicals that shouldn’t be in butter. And next time I made biscuits and these muffins, the butter and buttermilk combined perfectly together and then made small lumps just like it’s supposed to!
Fantastic!!!! Made these beauties yesterday! sooo good and easy too.
Your recipe sounded amazing, and it inspired me to make a healthier version that turned out delicious too. I’m munching on one while I’m writing this :)
Here are the changes I made:
(1) substituted 1 cup whole meal in place of the cornmeal,
(2) skipped the butter completely and added an extra egg instead. I also increased the buttermilk by a 1/4 cup,
(3) skipped the sugar, adding 1/2 cup each of caramelised onions and green peas to give the muffins sweetness.
The muffins baked perfectly in 20 mins.
This is the first time I’ve made savory muffins, and I cant wait for my husband to try these when he gets home. Thank you for the wonderful recipe and the inspiration. I LOVE your blog!
Wow, these are really awesome. We had chili a while ago and I made these to with dinner. They are colorful, tender, and they are certainly spicy. I was pretty apathetic about cornbread, but from now, I will be making these muffins with chili. I liked how tender they are, but i think that I would add a little bit more buttermilk because the crumble pretty easily.
I use almost the exact same recipe… cheese IS fabulous in these – and so is bacon!
These look just delicious. I know what I will be making next time I make chili (I love corn muffins with chili for some reason).
These muffins look great! I’ve been dreaming up some corn muffins lately… So perfect this time of year!
looks tasty! i was planning on making some cornbread this week so i just may have to make these instead!
I am so dying to make all the corn bread and muffins from your site but I just cant seem to find cornmeal out here!!! These look so good.
I am such a fan of savory muffins. :)
Yum! Toss some cheese on top and you might as well call it breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner for me!
Love savory muffins, and I like this combination :)
Looks delicious and healthy
Yum I am always on the lookout for savoury baked goods!! Sharp cheddar sounds like it would be an excellent addition. My favourite savoury baked good – ooo tough question! I really liked these cheddar & black pepper scones (http://www.eatmedelicious.com/2010/02/cheddar-and-black-pepper-scones.html) and these caramelized onion, sage and cheddar muffins (http://www.eatmedelicious.com/2009/01/caramelized-onion-sage-and-cheddar.html).
I love the pepper combination with the corn. One of my favorite savory scones are ham and cheddar!
Oh I love ANY type of corn muffins and I love the addition of peppers!
Just my kind of recipe! And how perfect would these be, as you said, with a bowl of chili when the weather turns a little cooler.
I’ve always thought savory muffins were under appreciated. Looks delicious :)