If you love cornbread and are looking for a way to make it a nutritional powerhouse for breakfast, then I’ve got an…

Easy and Hearty Breakfast Muffin Recipe for You

 

Do you ever go through your pantry and wonder how did you ever get a box of such and such?  It’s crazy how things appear out of no-where.  As a true northerner, I always pass on cornbread.  So why would I have a cornbread muffin mix in my pantry?  I haven’t figured that out.  But, shortly after discovering it (and wondering who I could pass it off to) a cornbread breakfast muffin recipe landed in my inbox.  Typically I wouldn’t have opened that email. Because. Cornbread.  Yet, this time, that was the very reason I opened the email!  And, at that moment, I knew exactly what I was going to do for my entry in the Ultimate Recipe Challenge hosted by my friend Kim.

 

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The recipe that came in my email is a scratch recipe and inspired me to do something fabulous with my boxed cornbread muffin mix.  Let’s face it, scratch is always my first choice, but sometimes we just need to get the food on the plate.  Yes?

The original recipe called for using some jumbo muffin pans.  I did not have a muffin pan, so I picked up a little one for just 88 cents at Walmart.  It was okay, but it made me wish for my good pans.  The quality of the pan, especially in regards to the weight does make a difference in baking performance.  I would have preferred using this muffin pan.  However, my little one did the job.

 

Delicious ingredients to make your morning muffins amazing.

 

Do you love bacon? The original recipe called for bacon. I’m a fan for sure, but bacon takes time to cook.  If you’re using a box mix, it’s probably because you’re short on time.  What’s almost as good as bacon?  Ham.  And ham is also a little more filling than bacon, so that makes it a great choice for our power-packed muffins. And it’s a great way to use up leftover ham.

I wouldn’t call these Southwest-style muffins, but they certainly give a nod in that direction.  They have a little jalapeno pepper, red pepper, and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.  Yum!  I love the green onion and of course, who doesn’t LOVE some sharp cheddar?!

These muffins can be made two ways.  With eggs or without.  To clarify that, the mix will require an egg for sure.  But, what makes these muffins extra fun, and definitely beefs up their nutritional content, is the addition of an egg… to each muffin.  It’s sort of like the nougat in your candy.  You will cover the bottom of your muffin cup/pan with some of the muffin batter and make a depression with your spoon in the batter, then crack your egg and fill the depression with a raw egg.

 

Make cornbread muffins hearty with an egg nougat in the center

 

NOTE: Because I made my muffins in a regular-sized muffin pan, as that’s a good serving size for me, there really isn’t a lot of room for the egg yolk and white, so I separated the white from the yolk and carefully placed the yolk in the little depression I made for cradling the yolk. Then I gently added more of the batter on top.

I always forget, but the box says to wait 3-4 minutes to allow the muffins to set before putting them in the hot oven.  It’s supposed to help them form a nice crown.  Let it be said… I move too fast for that and immediately popped them into the oven.  Do what I say, not what I do, and you’ll have a prettier muffin than me.  Okay?  Promise?

 

Quick corn muffin with a southwest flair

 

I made these delicious breakfast muffins on different occasions — two ways… with egg and sans egg.  It takes a little bit more time to add the egg to each muffin.  But, probably not more than 5 minutes or so.  My husband said that he doesn’t prefer the muffins one way over the other.  I guess if you want to grab and go and have a more nutritious breakfast, you can pop them in the oven or microwave and enjoy them rewarmed and have a heartier beginning to your day.  Personally, I like the novelty of the egg in the muffin, but I would just as soon enjoy them without the egg center alongside my cheesy scrambled eggs.  My brain requires two eggs in the morning and I don’t want to have to eat 2 muffins to get that.

 

Treat your family and guests with a quick easy breakfast of cornbread muffins

 

Did I tell you how yummy these are?  Oh my! I really enjoy that little bit of heat from the jalapeno and sprinkle of cayenne contrasting with the slightly sweet cornbread. They are so good.  Amazingly good.

Because you’ll want to make some too… here’s my recipe:

 

Get the Recipe to Start the Day with Quick & Easy Cornbread Breakfast Muffins

 

Quick Cornbread Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients
  • 1 Box of “Jiffy” Corn Muffin Mix
  • 1/3 Cup Milk
  • 1 T Butter
  • 1 Egg for the Mix, Set aside 6  Eggs to fill the Muffins
  • 1/2 Cup Ham Diced
  • 1/4 Cup Red Pepper Diced
  • 1/2 Small Jalapeno Pepper Diced
  • 1/2 Cup Shredded or Diced Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
  • Sprinkle of Cayenne

 

Instructions

Recipe makes 6-7 delicious muffins.

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  • Grease your muffin tin or line with baking papers.
  • Assemble your ingredients.
  • Melt your butter.
  • Dice your ham, red pepper, jalapeno pepper, and cheddar cheese.
  • The package of muffin mix is coarsely crumbly, so after emptying the mixture into a medium mixing bowl, use a pastry blender or fork to get rid of the lumps.
  • Sprinkle a little cayenne over the dry muffin mix and blend in.
  • Mix the egg, melted butter, and milk together and then gently mix into the dry corn muffin mix.
  • Add the ham, peppers, and cheese and fold in evenly, being careful to not over mix.
  • Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling about 1/3 of the cup.
  • Make a depression in the center of the batter in each muffin cup.
  • Crack an egg for each muffin, separating the white and yolk.  I let the white slide out and keep the yolk in the half cup of the cracked egg.  Then carefully slide the yolk from half of the cracked egg into the center of the batter.
  • Carefully top the egg with batter to fill the cup and then some.
  • If you want to have a “plain” muffin without the egg center, simply leave out that step and fill your muffin cup with batter as usual.
  • Let sit for 4 minutes.
  • Place in a preheated 400-degree oven.
  • Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  • Remove from oven, cool on wire rack (about 10 minutes) and then remove muffins from muffin pan and place on rack until slightly cooled.
  • Serve while warm.

If you are making muffins ahead, after cooling, pop them in a sealed refrigerator container and keep in the fridge up to 3 days.  Rewarm them in the oven for 7-10 minutes at 350 degrees before serving.

On a cold snowy morning, enjoy your Easy Cornbread Breakfast Muffins with a cup of real homemade hot cocoa made with whole milk or cream.  Mmmmm.  Over the weekend, we did that for a quick lunch.  It was the best!

I’m sure you’ll find lots of occasions and many excuses for whipping up a batch of breakfast yumminess.

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Get the recipe for easy nutritious cornbread breakfast muffins to start your day

 

 

Do you love cornbread?  Is it a southern thing, or is it just me?

Are you a breakfast lover or hater?

 

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I’m joining a few other food loving friends
for the Ultimate Recipe Challenge.

Delicious Breakfast Recipes You'll want to Try from the Ultimate Recipe Challenge

Scroll to the bottom of this post and check out their tasty breakfast recipes. Breakfast just might become more exciting with the addition of these amazing ideas.

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Comments

  1. This sounds like a good Southern Breakfast to me. Can’t wait to give it a try. By the way it is 71′ here right now. Up just a little from the 12′ over the weekend. Gotta love Arkansas weather.

    • Thanks, Betty!! Let me know if you do try the muffins. I’d love to hear what you think.
      We’re in the mid 40’s but it will drop tonight and snow tomorrow night again. I have to say I don’t mind a January thaw. Hope you get outside to enjoy those warm temps.

  2. Lisa says

    I always love a recipe that I can easily adapt to meet my gluten-free dietary restrictions. This will be on my menu for next week!

    • Thanks, Lisa, have fun with it! Sometimes all we need is a little inspiration to tweak a recipe and love it.

  3. Marci says

    Mmmmmm… This recipe sounds delicious AND I have all the ingredients on hand right now! Win! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

  4. Such a wonderful recipe for breakfast! Will add this to my recipe list of Favorite for Breakfast.
    Maria

  5. Cornbread at every meal please. 😉

    Pinning and sharing.

  6. Hi Diane!

    That muffin looks wonderful! My hubby would love it if I made it for him, but alas I hate to cook. I might make an exception for him though…LOL
    Pinned

  7. Wow, this looks good! I love cornbread, make it at least once a week. And I always use Jiffy!
    Brenda

  8. I love having eggs in the morning and the addition of the second yolk in this muffin is what seals the deal for me! Pinning so that I can make tomorrow!

  9. bj says

    I have these in the oven as we speak…I didn’t add the egg to ea…I’m not that much of an egg eater…
    and I added Rotel and Green Chili tomatoes, drained…I can’t wait for them to get done so I can put a bit of butter on one or two….:) thanks for the recipe and when I blog about them, I will send them to your site for the recipe and a comment.

  10. bj says

    omygosh…Girl, these are soooooooo good…

  11. bj says

    …just back to say they aren’t just for breakfast any more…we had them for lunch with a bowl of homemade veggie soup and they were the star of the lunch. 🙂

    • I LOVE it!!! Oh YUM!! They would be wonderful with a bowl of homemade soup!! Thank you for popping back!! {{hugs}}

  12. Linda says

    BJ sent me here to get this recipe! I think I’ll try it with the drained Rotel tomatoes. Guess I will figure out whether to leave out any of the additional liquids. If any one lives where their is an HEB Grocery – do try their Honey Sweet Cornbread mix rather than Jiffy – oh my goodness, it is wonderful!

  13. BJ sent me. Your bakes look great. Yum.

  14. Molly says

    This looks delicious! Cornbread muffins remind me so much of my grandmother. She would make them for us when we’d come to visit. I honestly haven’t thought about it in a while, I’m just going to have to give your recipe a try. Beautiful photography, btw! Pinning now, thanks for sharing!

    • Thank YOU, Molly! Your grandmother must have been a pretty creative cook. They would have been a wonderful treat to enjoy at her house. Thanks for your kind words about my photos, too.
      All the best for an extraordinary day!

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