Ham and Cheese Cornbread Muffins
A savory and satisfying make-ahead breakfast that will pick you up when you are hungry.
Equipment
- 2 12-cup muffin pans
- 1 Large bowl
- 1 medium bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
- 1 whisk or fork
Ingredients
- olive oil spray
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ cup cornmeal
- ⅛ cup coconut palm sugar or palm sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 large eggs beaten (or equivalent egg replacement)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil or olive oil
- ½ cup milk
- ⅔ cup Greek yogurt or yogurt
- 2 cups ham diced
- 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, colby jack, jack, mozzarella, gouda, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray the muffin pans with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, cornmeal, palm sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, olive oil, milk, and Greek yogurt until well combined. There should be no visible clumps of Greek yogurt.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moist but not fully incorporated. Add the ham and cheese and mix until just combined. (Overmixing will result in dense, hard cornbread.) Pour batter into the prepared muffin pans.
- Bake for 18 to 21 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes on a baking rack. Remove muffins from the pan and cool on the baking rack for another 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Tips and Tricks
Can I bake this in advance?
You can bake it the night before you plan to eat it. Keep leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat one muffin in the microwave for about 15 to 30 seconds. Increase the time if you are heating more than one muffin.
Another way to save time while baking this cornbread for breakfast is to mix the dry ingredients together the night before. Then when you wake in the morning, mix the wet ingredients together then combine it with the dry ingredients while the oven is preheating. Bake and let it cool for at least 5 minutes before serving; it will still be hot if you don’t wait the additional 10 minutes recommended in the recipe, so break it open to let the steam out and blow on it before you take a bite!
You can bake this cornbread and freeze it for later. It freezes very well (especially as cornbread muffins) and keeps for up to three months in the freezer. Reheat the muffin from frozen for 30 to 50 seconds depending on the wattage of your microwave. Increase the time if reheating more than one at a time.
Other cornbread muffin mix-in ideas:
Instead of ham, try Spam, bacon, or diced sausage. Make it meatless by adding a 4-ounce can of diced green chiles. Other vegetables that pair well in this cornbread muffin are spinach, zucchini, yellow squash, and corn.
Is this recipe gluten free?
This does have gluten because of the whole wheat flour. I have not baked it with gluten free flour, but you can try oat flour, almond flour, or ulu flour instead. If you do, let me know how it turned out!