Easy Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins [+VIDEO]

In my house, cornbread is usually reserved for holidays and the occasional pairing with vegan chili. Welp, not anymore! A few weeks ago I was whipping up a little soul food dinner. Some black-eyed peas, white rice, collard greens and these beautiful Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins! This cornbread is certainly my best yet! My #PickyAssHusband agrees, so I know it’s true!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

• unsweetened plant milk of choice – for most recipes on my blog, I use unsweetened almond milk just because that’s the default in my house. However, feel free to substitute this with another plant milk variety if almond milk isn’t your thing.
• apple cider vinegar – acv is used in this recipe to create a vegan buttermilk. When combined with plant milk, it makes whatever you’re baking moist and delicious!
• all-purpose flour – if you’re looking to try and make this dish gluten-free, feel free to substitute the all-purpose flour in this recipe for your favorite gluten free flour mix.
• organic yellow cornmeal – when purchasing cornmeal, you want to make sure that you’re purchasing the best quality ingredients. Whenever possible I reccomend finding a high-quality, stone ground, organic version for the best texture and flavor. Stone ground variations have not been industrially processed. Industrially processed versions are finely ground which result in a more uniform texture and a less distinctive forn flavor.
• baking powder – no one wants flat cornbread, so we’ll use baking powder to ensure that the vegan cornbread rises.
• organic cane sugar – to balance out the spiciness of the jalapeños in this recipe, we’ll be using sugar to sweeten things up.
• vegan butter – every good cornbread recipe has the perfect amount of rich buttery flavor and this vegan cornbread is no exception. We’ll use vegan butter to add moisture and flavor to this classic dish.
• jalapeńos – these are essential for making this recipe and will provide that special kick you’re looking for. You can adjust the spiciness by adding or omitting the amount of seeds used to your likeness.
• vegan cheddar cheese – though not 100% necessary, vegan cheddar cheese is always a nice compliment to this recipe. Feel free to use whatever brand you enjoy most.

How to Make Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins

You wont believe how easy it is to make these Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins! My favorite part is that they can be made in one bowl! You’ll want to begin by first dicing your jalapeños.

Just be mindful to slice a few pieces to place on the top of each muffin. The slices not only work as a garnish, but they add to the flavor as well!

Are you a fan of spicy foods? If so, keep as many of the seeds as you’d like. Luke warm on spicy foods? You’ll want to be sure to remove a great deal of the seeds from the jalapeños before placing them in the batter.

I decided to add about half of the seeds to my batch because my husband and I are a fan of the heat! Not to mention, these muffins are fairly sweet, so it balances out pretty well.

Once your jalapeños are diced, you’re ready to start preparing the batter. The first step to doing this, is to combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar in order to create a vegan buttermilk. This will help ensure your muffins are perfectly moist and soft!

While the vegan buttermilk is forming, you can gather your dry ingredients and whisk them together. Next, you’ll add in the wet ingredients (including the vegan buttermilk), vegan cheese (I used the Vegan Cheddar Shreds from Good Planet Foods- found them at Sprouts) and whisk until just combined.

The batter will still be lumpy and that’s okay! Evenly disperse the mixture into a greased muffin pan, place the sliced jalapeños on top of each and bake!

Once they’re done baking, allow them to cool outside of the oven for 5 minutes or so, then use a knife to go around the sides of each muffin to help retrieve them from the muffin pan and transfer them to a cooling rack or plate.

Pair these Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins with my 3 Bean Chili or Beefy Vegan Chili and ejoy!

FAQ

How to Store Jalapeño Cornbread

I’ve found that the best way to store these Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins is to place the muffins in an airtight container, then transfer them to the refrigerator.

Whenever you’re ready to eat them, you can warm them in the microwave for about 10 seconds and you’re all set! Take it from me, my husband and I have been happily eating them all week!

Can this recipe be frozen?

Yes, these Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins can be frozen. Once they’ve cooled, transfer them to an air tight container and separate the layers with parchment paper to keep them from sticking together.

You can store these muffins for up to 3 months! When you’re ready to eat them, transfer the muffins from the freezer to the fridge the day before to allow them to thaw, reheat in the microwave for 10 seconds and then enjoy!

How do I adjust the spiciness?

You can make these cornbread muffins as mild or as spicy as you’d like by controlling the amount of seeds you add to the batter. As mentioned earlier, I used about half the seeds from the jalapeños and it provided the perfect amount of spiciness to balance out the sweetness.

However, this is going to largely depend on your individual preferences.

Can this recipe be made gluten-free?

I haven’t personally tested it, but you should be able to easily swap the all-purpose flour for a gluten-free flour blend from your local grocery store.

What could I top my cornbread with?

A drizzly of vegan honey, agave, or vegan butter are all great toppings to add overtop of your vegan jalapeño cornbread muffins.

Should cornbread be served hot or cold?

I always enjoy cornbread most when it’s served warm or fresh out the oven. Cold cornbread has never appealed to me, but it sounds good to you, go for it!

What should I serve with this recipe?

There are lots of things you could serve with this cornbread as it’s great alongside any stew, chili, soup, or holiday meal! Here are a few ideas, Crispy Baked Breaded Tofu, Black Eyed Pea Fritters, Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Easy Vegan Collard Greens, and Easy Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese.

What cornmeal is best to use?

I haven’t personally tried a lot of different cornmeal brands, but my go-to for the past few years has been Bob’s Red Mill. It’s a medium, yellow, stone-ground, organic variation that has always produced quality results for me.

Can I use Jiffy cornbread mix in place of the dry ingredients?

I haven’t tried it personally, but it may be worth experimenting if you’re in a pinch. I’ll always prefer homemade cornbread over box mix though!

Tips for Making Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins

Measure your ingredients carefully – to avoid vegan jalapeño cornbread muffins that are too dense, be sure to spoon the flour and cornmeal into the measuring cup and use a straight edge to level out the top.

Check on your muffins when baking – I recently purchased a new muffin pan and I noticed that the muffins cooked a bit faster in the darker colored pan than they did in the lighter pan. Also, each oven is different so I would check on them after 15 minutes to ensure they’re baking up as desired.

Slice the jalapeños safely! I typically don’t wear gloves in my kitchen because, I’m at home and don’t feel the need to. Unforunately while making this recipe I forgot to wash my hands after slicing the jalapeños and rubbed my eye. It was on fire!

All that to say, be careful and use caution when dealing with jalapeños so you don’t end up like me! You could also consider wearing gloves for extra precaution.

Add-ins and Recipe Variations

Fresh herbs – you can experiment with adding fresh herbs like rosemary to this recipe for a little something different.

Cast iron pan – you can make this recipe in a cast iron pan by simply transfering the cornbread batter to a well oiled cast iron pan instead of using a muffin pan.

It’s important to note that the cooking time will need to be increase to around 45 minutes. I would check on it’s progress in 10 minute increments after 30 minutes have passed.

Vegetables – thinking about adding corn? Be my guest! I would start by adding ½ – ¾ cups of frozen or canned corn.

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This recipe was updated on October 24, 2023.

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4.67 from 12 votes

Easy Vegan Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins [+VIDEO]

A twist on the classic cornbread muffin, these jalapeño cornbread muffins are sprinkled with diced jalapeño pieces and mixed with vegan cheddar cheese for the perfect side dish!

Prep Time 8 minutes minutes

Cook Time 23 minutes minutes

Total Time 31 minutes minutes

Servings 12 muffins

Equipment

• Muffin Pan
• Mixing Bowl
• Cupcake Liners
• Whisk
• Measuring Spoons
• Dry Measuring Cups
• Liquid Measuring Cup

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup all- purpose flour
• 1 cup organic yellow cornmeal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp organic cane sugar
• 3 tbsp vegan butter melted
• ¼ cup jalapeńos diced (+ 12 thin pieces to top each muffin. keep seeds according to spiciness preference)
• ½ cup vegan cheddar cheese

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Combine the almond milk and apple cider vinegar to create a vegan buttermilk. Set aside.
  1 cup unsweetened almond milk, ½ tbsp apple cider vinegar
• In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and sugar together and whisk.
  ½ cup all- purpose flour, 1 cup organic yellow cornmeal, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt, ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp organic cane sugar
• Next, add in the the melted vegan butter and buttermilk mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the diced jalapeños and vegan cheese.
  3 tbsp vegan butter, ¼ cup jalapeńos, ½ cup vegan cheddar cheese
• Evenly transfer the mixture to a well-oiled muffin pan (or use cupcake liners). Top each of the muffins with a sliced jalapeńo then transfer to the oven to bake.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes. Once done, muffins should promptly bounce back up after being gently pressed down.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10-15 minutes before removing each of them from the pan.

  Tip: use a butter knife to go around the edges of each muffin to loosen them and then pry them out using the butter knife.
• Enjoy!

Video

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