The fluffy, moist gluten-free cornbread muffins recipe you’ve been waiting for! These gluten-free corn muffins combine simple ingredients & a few easy techniques to create soft, fluffy muffins every time.

gluten-free cornbread muffins drizzled with honey

My best gluten-free cornbread recipe has consistently been one of the most popular recipes on my site, and I’ve gotten several requests for a muffins version. I’m here to deliver!

Basically, this easy gluten-free cornbread muffin recipe is are everything I’m looking for. They’re:

DELICIOUS. Buttery, a little sweet, and delightful in every way.
SUPER EASY To Make. One bowl + no mixer or special equipment needed!
MOIST & TENDER. No dry or crumbly muffins here!
VERSATILE. Pair these muffins with chili, soup, salads, Thanksgiving dinner…you name it!

And–maybe best of all–these yummy gluten-free corn muffins start with simple ingredients and pantry staples…

Simple Ingredients To Get Started

If you’ve made our cornbread recipe, this ingredients list should look familiar! The only difference is in our technique. (More on that in a minute!) First, you’ll need:

ingredients for gluten-free corn muffins

Gluten-Free Flour. To keep our corn muffins gluten-free, we’re starting with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend. Our go-to is King Arthur Measure-For-Measure gluten-free flour, but if you use another flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum! Almond flour, oat flour, coconut flour, etc., will NOT work in this recipe.
Gluten-Free Cornmeal. Next up is gluten-free cornmeal. We usually use Herbaila (from Amazon) or Bob’s Red Mill (Their GF Option!). Be sure that the cornmeal you use is certified gluten-free to avoid cross-contamination! (More on this in the FAQ below) Yellow cornmeal works best!
Sugar. These gluten-free cornbread muffins are on the sweet side (my preference), so we’ll be adding granulated sugar (white sugar).
Baking Powder. Plenty of baking powder helps these muffins rise!
Salt. To balance the flavors. A must!
Milk. Then, you’ll need room temperature milk. We’ve made these with both dairy milk and dairy-free options like unsweetened almond milk and cashew milk. They all work!
Butter. Melted butter adds moisture and delicious flavor.
Eggs. Room temperature eggs work best!

What Brands Of Cornmeal Are Gluten-Free?

You want to look for the “certified gluten-free” or “gluten-free” label to be sure your cornmeal is free from cross contamination or cross contact with gluten. Our favorite brands of gluten-free cornmeal are:

Bob’s Red Mill (Gluten-Free Variety Only) – Amazon, Vitacost, iHerb
Herbaila – Amazon
P.A.N. – Amazon (Check near the Latin/Hispanic foods section at grocery stores!)

Many common brands of cornmeal, like Martha White cornmeal, Quaker cornmeal, and Albers cornmeal are NOT considered gluten-free, as they’re made on shared equipment with gluten. Look for the “certified gluten-free” designation to be sure you’re buying gluten-free cornmeal.

How To Make Gluten-Free Corn Muffins, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

making gluten-free corn muffins step by step

Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan (ideally light metal!) with parchment paper muffin liners.
Combine Dry Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine well.
Add Wet Ingredients. Then, add in milk, melted butter, and eggs and mix until well blended and no dry spots remain.
Let Batter Rest. For the best rise, let the batter rest 45-60 minutes before baking. (If you don’t have time, you can bake the muffins right away, they just won’t be as tall.)
Scoop Batter. Use a 1/4 cup scoop to measure the batter into the prepared muffin pan. The muffin cups will be quite full! If you want super-tall muffins, you can divide all the batter between the 12 cups. Or, you can use a heaping 1/4 cup scoop of batter in each and end up with 13-14 muffins total. (You’ll need to bake the extra 1-2 muffins in a second batch.)
Bake Muffins. Then, bake muffins at 425 degrees F. for 5 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue baking another 12-14 minutes, or until done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean with just a few moist crumbs, and the muffins will be starting to turn golden brown.
Cool. Allow muffins to cool 2-3 minutes in the muffin pan before transferring to a wire rack.
Serve & Store. Enjoy muffins warm with butter, honey, and more! Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature 1-2 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

Our Secrets For Tall Corn Muffins

We’re using a few tricks with this gluten-free corn muffins recipe to get the tallest rise possible. I recommend following all of them for best results!

Let Batter Rest. This gives the flour and cornmeal time to hydrate (which gives the muffins a more tender texture), and allows the baking powder a chance to work longer (which gives you a higher rise!)
Switching Up The Temperature. Baking 5 minutes at 425, then reducing the temperature to 350 for another 12-14 minutes helps encourage the muffins to rise tall and fast. It makes a big difference!

gluten-free corn muffins drizzled with honey

Extras & Variations To Try

We love these gluten-free corn muffins exactly as written, but when you’re looking for a change of pace, you can try adding some mix-ins!

CHEESE! About 3/4 cup grated sharp cheddar or pepper jack cheese is delicious!
Sliced Jalapeño
2 Tablespoons Chives or a sprinkle of green onions
1/2 cup Cooked, Crumbled Bacon
Corn. Love corn in your corn muffins? Great! Stir in about 1 cup of cooked corn kernels with the wet ingredients.

Or, just play with the toppings! We love serving these cornbread muffins with whipped honey butter or our fan favorite cinnamon honey butter!

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins

Use The Right Kind Of Pan! The material of your muffin tray makes a big difference in the time & quality of your bake. We recommend a light-colored metal muffin tin for even baking. If you’re using ceramic or silicone muffin pan, your muffins will take longer to bake then mine. If you’re using a dark-colored metal pan, they may cook faster (and brown more).

Can I Reduce The Sugar? Yes, to a point. Sugar provides sweetness, but it also helps keep these gluten-free corn muffins moist. You can reduce the sugar to about 1/2 cup without the muffins getting too dry, otherwise, you’ll need to add a bit more liquid or fat to the recipe to help keep these muffins moist.

Can I Use Honey Instead? If you like, you can use 1/2 cup sugar and 2 Tablespoons honey. I don’t recommend all honey, since it can lead to more dry muffins.

Serving Suggestions. This gluten-free corn muffins recipe is the perfect side dish for classic gluten-free chili, cozy soup recipes, hearty salads, and more. It’s also beautiful enough to serve for Thanksgiving dinner as a great substitute for dinner rolls!

More Recipes You’ll Love To Try

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🌟 Did You Make This Recipe?

Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our Gluten-Free Corn Muffins recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!

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Gluten-Free Corn Muffins

5 from 1 vote

Author: Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

The fluffy, moist gluten-free cornbread muffins recipe you’ve been waiting for! They combine simple ingredients & a few easy techniques to create soft, fluffy muffins every time.

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Optional Rest Time: 45

Total Time: 1 15

Print Pin Rate

Servings: -14 muffins

Calories: 213kcal

Ingredients

1 ½ cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour* (180 grams)
½ cup gluten-free cornmeal* (76 grams)
⅔ cup granulated sugar* (133 grams)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk 236 ml, room temperature
½ cup butter, melted (113 grams/1 stick)
2 large eggs room temperature

Instructions

Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan (ideally light metal!) with parchment paper liners.
Combine Dry Ingredients. In a large bowl, combine gluten-free flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine well.
Add Wet Ingredients. Then, add in milk, melted butter, and eggs and mix until well blended and no dry spots remain.
Let Batter Rest. For the best rise, let the batter rest 45-60 minutes before baking. (If you don’t have time, you can bake the muffins right away, they just won’t be as tall.)
Scoop Batter. Use a 1/4 cup scoop to measure the batter into the prepared muffin pan. The muffin cups will be quite full! If you want super-tall muffins, you can divide all the batter between the 12 cups. Or, you can use a heaping 1/4 cup scoop of batter in each and end up with 13-14 muffins total. (You’ll need to bake the extra 1-2 muffins in a second batch.)
Bake Muffins. Then, bake muffins at 425 degrees F. for 5 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. and continue baking another 12-14 minutes, or until done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean with just a few moist crumbs, and the muffins will be starting to turn golden brown.
Cool. Allow muffins to cool 2-3 minutes in the muffin pan before transferring to a wire rack.
Serve & Store. Enjoy muffins warm with butter, honey, and more! Store leftover corn muffins in an airtight container at room temperature 1-2 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

Notes

Ingredient Notes:

Flour. We highly recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure gluten-free flour, but if you use another 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum! Almond flour, oat flour, coconut flour, etc. will NOT work in this recipe.
Cornmeal. Be sure your cornmeal is labeled gluten-free to avoid cross contamination. We like Herbaila (from Amazin), or Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free cornmeal.
Sugar. If needed, you can reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup, but reducing it further than that will mean your muffins are less moist. Sugar acts like a wet ingredient and adds moisture here, so reducing it by a lot will change the structure of your muffins unless you add additional liquid or fat.
Milk. You can use regular milk or dairy-free milk (like almond milk or cashew milk) here.

Tips For Tall Muffins:

Let Batter Rest. This gives the flour and cornmeal time to hydrate (which gives the muffins a more tender texture), and allows the baking powder a chance to work longer (which gives you a higher rise!)
Switching Up The Temperature. Baking 5 minutes at 425, then reducing the temperature to 350 for another 12-14 minutes helps encourage the muffins to rise tall and fast. It makes a big difference!