Easy Vegan Cornbread Muffins

These easy vegan cornbread muffins are the best muffins I’ve ever made. They’re moist and light, yet sturdy enough to handle a little dipping action. And y’all KNOW I love a dipping bread.

What’s more? There are only four ingredients! As the our queen Ina Garten says, “How easy is that?” Foolproof, that’s how easy. Beginner bakers: start here!

Jump to:

• Equipment
• Ingredients
• Frequently asked questions
• Vegan Cornbread Muffins
• Make it with me!

Equipment

We’ll need some basic equipment for these corn muffins.

Muffin tin(s): you can find a muffin tin at most grocery stores. Stick with the standard size – about ½ cup for each muffin. I suggest purchasing two of these – more on that in a little bit.

Cupcake liners: I like parchment liners, but use whatever you have.

Medium mixing bowl, whisk, and measuring cups/spoons

Ice cream scoop for portioning muffins. I recommend a 2 oz disher scoop (or ~¼ cup). This is optional, but will make it easier to fill the muffin tins AND produce more uniform muffins.

Scoops are quite versatile, despite the name. It scoops ice cream, cookie dough, muffins, AND cupcakes. In a pinch, you can even use as a measuring cup.

Sharp knife and cutting board for slicing jalapeños

Small saucepan for reducing aquafaba. Alternatively, you could use the juice from a can of white beans instead of chickpeas.

Ingredients

There are 4 ingredients in these delish easy vegan cornbread muffins:

1. 2 packages of Jiffy Vegetarian Corn Muffin mix – it is vegan as packaged
2. 6 Tbsp reduced aquafaba – aquafaba is the juice from a can of chickpeas or white beans. Typically, aquafaba replaces eggs as a binder. Sometimes aquafaba can be too watery. So to be safe, I recommend reducing your aquafaba by ⅓. If you’re in a rush, I suggest using the juice from a can of light beans instead. Typically it’s thicker than the chickpea juice.
3. ⅔ cup oat milk or plant-based milk of choice
4. 1 jalapeno, sliced – mandatory if you like spice!

Frequently asked questions

But Eliza…

Why do I need two muffin tins? Here comes your resident chem TA. Science haters, skip to the next question.

Let’s start with another question.

What makes our cornbread muffins rise?

Leaveners! We typically use chemical leaveners in baking. Baking soda and baking powder are our main players.

Different ingredient mixes require different chemical leaveners, depending on the acidity of the other ingredients in the recipe.

These easy vegan cornbread muffins use Jiffy Corn Muffin mix that contains baking powder-like ingredients. Baking powder is an “all-in-one” leavener that has both an acid AND a base that react and produce air. The air makes our muffins fluffy.

I can hear it now…”wait a minute, if baking powder contains both an acid AND a base, why haven’t they reacted already?”

Most baking powders are “double acting” which means they activate twice. First, when it gets wet, and again with heat. So the sooner we get these muffins in the oven, the better!

Hence, it’s a great idea to have a second muffin pan. It will nest nicely with its partner, and won’t take up much more space, promise.

Where does the corn come from in cornbread muffins? The corn element typically comes from cornmeal. You may find dried corn kernels or pieces in box mixes, or fresh or creamed corn in homemade recipes.

What is the difference between cornbread and cornbread muffins? The main difference is in shape. Cornbread is to a sheet cake as a cornbread muffin is to a cupcake.

What goes well with cornbread muffins? Well, cornbread muffins are fabulous with some jalapeno for spice and vegan butter for decadence. I keep it simple with cornbread add-ins.

But side-dishes are another story. For a full-on Southern carb feast, serve with a full complement of jackfruit sliders, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. Finish it off with some vegan banana pudding, and enjoy the food coma.

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Make it with me!