These Delicious, Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins Are Just Begging for a Side of Chili

Hungry for some cornbread? Try these spicy-sweet, gluten-free cornbread muffins.

As a staple of Southern cooking (and a uniquely American dish), people tend to have very strong opinions about cornbread—especially when it comes to the savory-sweet ratio. In the latest episode of Alt-Baking Bootcamp, baker, trainer, and nutritionist Sashah Handal shares her very personal favorite version: spicy jalapeño corn muffins.

"My baking trajectory started at a wonderful quaint coffee shop in San Francisco, California, called Andytown," she says. "They obviously specialize in coffee and making coffee, but they also do these fantastic gluten-free corn muffins." Inspired by that recipe, Handal says she's tried to riff on it over the years to make it her own.

Handal's version includes, of course, the classic base—cornmeal. "I really like the grittiness of the medium ground," she says. "If you're like, 'I would rather it be a little bit smoother and more chewable,' then go with the finer ground—it's your life, and we want you to live it the best way you can."

From there, she improvises a bit on tradition. For starters, there's no butter in her recipe (*collective gasp*). Instead, she mixes white rice flour, almond meal, almond milk, and a few other standard baking ingredients. Handal also uses cane sugar and a little honey to add a touch of sweetness—although she says you can use coconut sugar instead of cane sugar if you like.

From there, she tosses in the jalapeños, noting that if you are a bit conservative when it comes to heat level, you probably want to de-seed yours first. She also recommends another mix-in, but you have to watch the video to get the intel on that. Press play to see if alt-baking, San Francisco-inspired cornbread can compete with your favorite version. (Sorry, grandma, but it does mine!)

Gluten-free jalapeno cornbread muffins

Ingredients
1 cup medium grind cornmeal
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup cane sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup jarred jalapenos, finely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease large muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. (Alternatively, can be made as cornbread in loaf or cake pan if no muffin tin is available.)

2. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

3. Combine all wet ingredients, except jalapeños, in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk until yolks and honey are fully emulsified into oil and milk.

4. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients, stirring to incorporate.

5. Stir in jalapeños—tailor amount to taste.

6. Divide batter evenly among muffin tin. Bake for 10 mins, rotate, bake for another 7-10 mins, or until desired golden color is achieved. Best eaten warm with butter!

This story was originally published on February 24, 2021. It was updated on February 26, 2021.

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