These Paleo Cornbread Muffins taste amazingly like traditional cornbread and are sweet and almost cake-like! They're great as a side or served as a dessert with coconut oil or butter and maple syrup.
Paleo Cornbread Muffins
Last week my sister-in-law Amanda made our family what I would consider the best cornbread I had ever eaten! She said it was her mom's sweet cornbread recipe.
She made it gluten-free by replacing the cup of all-purpose flour with almond flour and it turned out fantastic!
It tasted like cornbread, but it was sweet and almost cake-like. I think that's why we loved it so much 🙂
And while her recipe could in no way be improved to taste better, I did adjust it so it would be Paleo-friendly while keeping the cornbread taste.
To do this I replaced the cup of cornmeal with ¼ C of coconut flour because coconut flour can taste surprisingly like cornmeal.
Then, I added an egg, reduced the non-dairy milk by half, and replaced the ½ C of sugar with honey. ...other than that I didn't change anything, lol 🤣
Easy steps
In a large bowl, whisk together some almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and sea salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 eggs, honey, and non-dairy milk.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. Then, stir in some melted coconut oil.
We don't add the coconut oil with the cold eggs and milk to keep it from solidifying 😀
Evenly divide the batter between 9 baking cups.
Bake at 350 degrees for 17 to 19 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely to properly set up. They will very slightly sink in the middle but that's totally normal!
Storage
- Store: Place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: Allow to cool completely. Then wrap each muffin in plastic wrap then place it in a freezer-safe baggie. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Top tips for the perfect cornbread
- A tip when using coconut flour: When using coconut flour a basic rule of thumb is to replace 1 C of flour with ¼ C of coconut flour, add an egg, and slightly increase the wet ingredients. Then, I refine the recipe from there.
- All coconut flours are not made the same! Some are much more absorbent than others. I recommend using Bob's Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills because they are nice and absorbent. If you need to buy a different brand make sure the texture is soft and fluffy, not grainy. Otherwise, your muffins will turn out too wet.
- These are fairly sweet. If you like your cornbread more savory, you can reduce the honey to 2 Tbsp, but please don't omit it.
- I've tried replacing the honey with erythritol to make these keto-friendly, but unfortunately, it didn't work. If you're looking for a low-carb cornbread, please check out my Keto Cornbread Recipe!
- These are great to eat as a dessert with some butter (can use non-dairy) and pure maple syrup - YUM!
Looking for more paleo bread recipes?
I love these Grain-Free Tortillas and Paleo Hamburger Buns. I make these recipes regularly and they are staples at my house!
And these Gluten-Free Stuffing Cups look delicious too! I'm unsure if this cornbread would work in the recipe in place of the bread. But if you give it a shot please come back and let me know how it went!
Or if low-carb is more your thang, check out my Keto Cornbread Recipe!!
If you’ve tried these Paleo Cornbread Muffins or any other recipe on the blog please let me know in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Paleo Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 C Blanched Almond Flour - very finely ground
- ⅓ C Coconut Flour
- 2 Tsp. Grain Free Baking Powder* - {updated amount, see notes below}
- 1 Tsp. Sea Salt
- ¼ C Honey
- 3 Eggs - room temperature
- ½ Cup Dairy Free Milk
- 2 Tbsp. Coconut Oil - melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with 9 baking cups.
- Whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the eggs, honey, and milk to another bowl and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well, then stir in the coconut oil (so it doesn't solidify)
- Evenly divide the batter between the baking cups.
- Bake 17 -19 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Cool completely to properly set up.
Add Your Own Notes
Notes
- All coconut flours are not made the same! Some are much more absorbent than others. I recommend using Bob's Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills because they are nice and absorbent. If you need to buy a different brand make sure the texture is soft and fluffy, not grainy - otherwise your muffins will turn out too wet.
- These are fairly sweet. If you like your cornbread more savory, you can reduce the honey to 2 Tbsp, but please don't omit it.
- I've tried replacing the honey with erythritol to make these keto-friendly, but unfortunately, it didn't work. If you're looking for keto, please check out my Keto Cornbread Recipe!
- These are great to eat as a dessert with some butter (can use non-dairy) and pure maple syrup - YUM!
- For grain-free baking powder combine 1 part baking soda with 2 parts cream of tartar and 2 parts starch (potato, arrowroot, or tapioca)
- After some helpful reader feedback, this recipe was updated in July 2021 reducing the baking powder from 4 teaspoon to 2 tsp.
Nutrition
NET CARBS = Total Carbs - Fiber - Allulose - Xylitol
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary. Sugar alcohols, xylitol, and allulose are included in the total carbs and fiber.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out my
Yoli says
Hello, I made these yesterday and they really don't last like corn bread but taste yummy. They don't look like your picture. It looks like light brown. Any ideas why?
Thanks so much
Cassidy says
Hi Yoli, I don't know why they look different? All ovens cook differently so maybe it's just the variations in ovens, but again, I'm not really sure - sorry!
Mildred Dugan says
any suggestions on making them egg free?
Cassidy says
Hi Mildred! Sorry, I'm not very experienced in egg free baking so I'm not sure 🙁 If you try this recipe without eggs let me know how it goes!!!
-Cassidy
Christina says
Excellent recipe! My husband & I love them!
Cassidy says
Thanks so much Christina, we love them too 🙂 🙂
leanna says
So thankful to have found these and made them! Thank you Cassidy, I love them.
Cassidy says
YEAH - I'm happy you like them!!!! Thanks for taking a moment to leave a comment 🙂
-Cassidy
Erin says
Do these muffins work with an eggs substitute, such as flaxseed eggs? Thanks for the recipe!
Cassidy says
Hi Erin, I have never tried it so I just don't know, sorry 🙁 If you give it a shot let me know how it turns out!
Hicunni Chandler says
These were so yummy! I thank God that I have found this website. I feel there is hope for my cooking skills now! We have tried lots of recipes where everything tasted like eggs and sugar. It is amazing how much these taste like "real" cornbread 🙂 Thank you! Oh, also, we made your apple pie recipe earlier today...it was gone in about 30 minutes!
Cassidy says
Thank you SO much!!! I'm really happy you like my recipes 🙂
XO,
Cassidy
Ginger says
Great recipe! Wanted cornbread to have with hearty vegetable soup, so I left out the honey and used cashew milk. Not knowing how it would turn out using cracklings, I only put them in half of it and cooked it in two pones. Yes, y'all, I am southern! It was delicious! My 18 month old grandson (picky eater) ate almost as much as the adults! Thanks for a really good cornbread substitute! Can't wait to have it with peas and butterbeans this summer!
Also going to try using molasses for the sweetener when I do want a sweet bread. My grandmother made corn sweet bread and it had molasses, so think it may come close to being as good as hers. Thanks!
Cassidy says
Thanks Ginger - glad to know your substitutions worked and you liked them!!! ...I'd imagine molasses would be really good in these 🙂
-Cassidy
Jeanie says
I just made these at the last minute, while I was in a big hurry to get dinner on the table. I kind of did everything wrong, but they were still amazing! I used Rob's Red Mill Finely Ground Almond Flour (because that's what I had), maple syrup instead of honey (again, because that's what I had), my eggs were straight out of the fridge cold (it was the last minute!), and I didn't even use two bowls (gasp!) I just mixed dry stuff together and then plopped the wet stuff right on top. Anyway, despite my best efforts, these muffins turned out perfectly and passed the ultimate test--my toddler and hubby both loved them! Will definitely make again. Thanks.
Cassidy says
YAY!!! I love that these worked for you!!! It's good to know that Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour works and you can just mix it all together in one bowl - thanks for taking the time to comment!
-Cassidy
Bonnie says
I made these last night to go with my hearty chicken soup. They turned out great! Had 2 left over today for game day chili and they were just as good the second day! I used coconut milk and Kroger's fine ground almond flour.
Thank you for the recipe. I think I will add them to my thanksgiving menu.
Cassidy says
Awesome Bonnie, I'm SO happy you liked them!!! I made them again this week too to go with roast instead of potatoes 🙂
-Cassidy
Bonnie says
Cassidy,
I folded some fresh blueberries into this recipe and they turned out great. Thank you again for the recipe!
Cassidy says
No problem Bonnie, I'm happy you liked them 🙂 🙂
-Cassidy
Karissa says
Any ideas on a sub for almond flour/meal? We are GF but also can't tolerate almonds (or corn). These sound amazing and would love to try them almond free! 🙂
Cassidy says
Hi Karissa!
I would normally say that the only substitute that might work would be sunflower seed flour, HOWEVER - in the original recipe that I adapted this from, I just replaced the 1 C of all-purpose flour with almond flour, which hardly ever works! So I would suggest replacing the almond flour with a gluten free all purpose flour that you like. If you are not grain free, Shirley from Gluten Free Easily just posted an easy all purpose flour recipe that you could try. I can't say for sure that a 1:1 replacement with all purpose flour will work because I changed the entire recipe so much, but it might be a good starting point 🙂 Here's the link to Shirley's recipe: http://glutenfreeeasily.com/two-ingredient-best-gluten-free-all-purpose-flour-mix/
If you try it let me know how it turns out!
-Cassidy
Cassidy says
Hi again!
I also just want to mention that I reduced the non-dairy milk by half from the original recipe, and I imagine that if you use GF all-purpose flour, you will probably need to add some additional non-dairy milk back to the recipe to keep it from being too thick 🙂
Hope this helps!
-Cassidy
Sheryl says
added chopped jalopeno to recipe
Kat says
These are delicious!!!! I used ghee instead of coconut oil, and reduced the honey to 1/4 cup. I didn't have grain-free baking powder, so used the regular kind. Hope the Paleo Police don't get me 😉 The only thing I would change is to reduce the salt to 1/2 or 3/4 tsp. I LOVE the idea of doing sausage layered inside the muffin. Yum!
Cassidy says
Thanks Kat, I'm glad you liked them! I use regular baking powder sometimes too, so far the Paleo Police haven't come to my my house 🙂 Thanks for the tip on the salt!
-Cassidy
Elizabeth says
We enjoyed this recipe! The muffins were light and fluffy, and quite delicious.
My only question is about the amount of baking powder. It seemed a lot, and if fact, although I measured the amount carefully, the muffins did taste making-powdery.
Have you tried the recipe using less, or does the recipe need that much?
Thanks for any advice. (I hate to waste almond and coconut flour for a trial, and then get an error!)
Cassidy says
Hi Elizabeth!
I've always used this amount of baking powder because that's what the original recipe called for and I have not tried it with a different amount. I'd imagine you could replace a portion of the baking powder with baking soda (but not equal portions, maybe 1 part soda to 2 or 3 parts powder?) and it would work. But again, I haven't tried it so can't say for sure! If you give it a shot, let us know how it turns out!!!
XO,
Cassidy
Liz says
Yes - I took a double take when seeing the amount of baking powder, and reduced to nearly half. And still they were a taste flop. All we can taste was the powder. Sad to waste my pastured eggs, raw honey, and spendy almond flour 🙁
I'd made again and maybe use the standard 1t per dozen muffins.
Becky says
I've used this recipe twice (exactly as written. Once with coconut milk and once with almond milk) as a sort of dumpling over 2 different dishes (chicken and dumplings and a Morrocan style beef dish). It works amazingly well. I know I didn't use it for its intended purpose, but I thought I would share its versatility 🙂 thank you for a great recipe!
Cassidy says
Thanks Becky, I'm glad it worked for you in those recipes!!! I'm going to try it as corn dog muffins (as another reader commented) and as traditional corn dogs, we'll see how it goes!
Thanks for your nice feedback and taking the time to comment!
-Cassidy
Vanessa says
WOW !! So, we live here in Texas, and cornbread is one of the few things we did not want to give up or MODIFY !!! However, we did, sigh......
I found your recipe and since my kiddos were craving "corndogs", I decided to give it ago and make a "corndog" muffin !!! I used 1/4 cup of honey but followed your recipe exact on the rest. I put a little batter in each cup then 1/3 of a chicken hot dog in each muffin cup and covered it with the rest of the batter. THEY ARE AWESOME !!!!!! Fell apart a little but, I did not let them cool all the way. Covered with mustard and eaten with a fork, ( Until, I figure how to keep them from falling a part, or really caring that much to work on it more) a definite hit in our paleo home !!
I will however cut the hot dogs in smaller pieces next time and layer them.
Thank you for your awesome recipe !!! Cornbread and chili coming this fall !!!!!
Vanessa
Cassidy says
Hi Vanessa!
I'm glad you liked them, that's such a great idea!!! I'm sorry they fell apart a little, I didn't have that problem? You could try adding a Tbsp. of arrowroot or even 1/4 tsp. of guar or xanthan gum (but I'm not sure they are paleo?) to the batter and it would probably help.
Thanks again!
Cassidy
Christa Shauger says
Hi can you use almond meal instead of blanched? I have a very big family and the almond meal is cheaper..:-)
Cassidy says
Hi Christa!
A few people have tried this with Bob's Red Meal almond meal brand and they didn't turn out, you really need to use the finely ground, blanched almond flour. If you do decide to go ahead and use almond meal I would recommend adding more than 1 C as the finely ground, blanched almond flour weighs more than almond meal - you need approximately 6 oz, I don't know how many cups that would be using almond meal.
Oh, and if you buy your almond flour in bulk online from nuts.com or honeyville.com, it's cheaper per pound than buying it retail 🙂
Hope this helps!!!
-Cassidy
Ruth M. Henshaw says
These look delicious. I love muffins and I am sure they would be a tasty addition to a meal.
Eva@Whole Food Mom on a Budget says
You've been featured at Savoring Saturdays!
http://www.wholefoodmomonabudget.com/2014/03/savoring-saturdays-5.html
Tessa@TessaDomesticDiva says
These look great Cassidy! I look forward to giving these a go! Featuring your recipe this week!
Cassidy says
Thanks Tessa! Your Paleo & Egg free muffins look DELISH - I can't wait to try yours either 🙂
-Cassidy
Melanie says
Thank you for great recipes! Would love it if you would consider adding the "zip list" option to your recipe format to make them easy to save!
Cassidy says
Thanks Melanie! I'll look into adding the "zip list" option 🙂
-Cassidy
Jennifer says
Quick question, did you use Almond Milk for the dairy free milk?
Cassidy says
I used coconut milk from a carton but almond milk would work 🙂 Hope you like it!
-Cassidy
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
Can't wait to try these, Cassidy! I love corn muffins (and the sweeter ones at that), but don't want to eat corn. Thanks!
Shirley
Cassidy says
Thank you Shirley, I hope you like them 🙂
-Cassidy
Eva@Whole Food Mom on a Budget says
I've pinned and can't wait to try these! I would love it if you shared your sweet cornbread muffins at Savoring Saturdays!
http://www.wholefoodmomonabudget.com/2014/02/savoring-saturdays-4.html
Lisa says
Made these tonight, big hit. They tasted alot like some gf coconut muffins my 5 YR old had at a restaurant recently and has been wanting me to make at home.
Cassidy says
Thank you for taking the time to comment Lisa! I'm happy and your 5 yr old liked them, kids are the true test 🙂
Nancy @http://glutenfreetravels.blogspot.com/ says
Discovered your blog through Fat Tuesday. Love the sound of this recipe, and will be making these for dinner tonight! I've really missed cornbread since going Paleo. Thanks for the post.
Cassidy says
Thanks Nancy! Let me know how you like them 🙂
-Cassidy
Nancy @http://glutenfreetravels.blogspot.com/ says
These turned out great! I did reduce the honey to 1/4 cup so they wouldn't be quite as sweet, but left the coconut oil at 1/4 cup (in spite of your note), because I prefer a moist "cornbread". Thanks again for the post.
Cassidy says
Thanks for the review Nancy! I'm so happy you liked them 🙂
Leslie says
I cannot have coconut, either. If I use brown rice flour instead of coconut flour and ghee instead of coconut oil and I can use real dairy milk, I wonder how these would turn out. Have to make my own baking powder as well - cannot have any corn or tapioca, etc.
Cassidy says
Hi Leslie! Rice flour is a lot different that coconut flour so I don't think it would work as a 1:1 replacement. If you use rice flour, I'd imagine you would need a lot more maybe closer to cup and maybe even slightly reduce the liquid in the recipe. Since I have not tried it though, I cannot tell you the exact measurements or how they would turn out, sorry!
-Cassidy
Charlotte Moore says
These would be a sweet muffin to me.I would like these for a snack or breakfast. I only use cornmeal to make my cornbread. I know some people use more flour than meal but I like the full taste of the corn meal to eat with a meal.
Cassidy says
I really like cornmeal in my cornbread too, but this is a good substitute for those who follow the Paleo diet and cannot tolerate grains 🙂
Meg says
Corn isn't paleo...
Cassidy says
Meg, there is no corn in the recipe. Cornbread is in italics because the muffins taste like cornbread.
SAUNDER says
No. Corn is a grain. which is isn't allowed in the Paleo diet.
Cassidy says
If you notice, "cornbread" is in quotes and there is no corn in the recipe making it Paleo compliant.
Tiffany says
not only that.... but corn is not a grain either... corn is actually a fruit. To be specific, a berry.
Catherine says
Simply delicious. Also love the fact of using more almond flour that's low carb vs coconut flour which is high in carbs. Next batch I will tweek with less coconut flour.