These fluffy, moist Cheddar Corn Muffins have an amazing, healthy, super secret ingredient! It’s the perfect dinner side to help sneak more vegetables into your diet with no complaints!
If you have been reading long, you know I like to hide as many fruits or vegetables in my recipes as possible. I will eagerly shove some sort of baked good Mr. Maebell’s way and ask with unmasked anticipation, “So what do you think?!” When he gives me some sort of approval, I blurt out, “Guess what’s in it?!” Then he looks at me fearfully until I answer.
This time was no different. When Mr. Maebell got home from work I shoved one of these beauties in his mouth before he even said hello. As he was still chewing his eyes got big, and I got a thumbs up. “There are THREE WHOLE SQUASH in there!” I yelled. He was way less excited about that then I was.
Three whole squash! I thought that was pretty impressive. Of course, the vegetables are balanced out with some cheese and butter. Magical things happen when cheese and butter are involved, right? 🙂
These are seriously easy and seriously good. It just tastes like good ole comfort food! And a huge plus is that they come together very quickly! Add these to your menu for next week, you won’t be sorry!
Cheddar Corn Muffin Ingredients
- Cornmeal and Gluten Free Bisquick
- Baking Powder, Salt, and Black Pepper
- Summer Squash (shredded and dried)
- Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
- Egg
- Butter (melted)
- Sour Cream
- Buttermilk
How do I make Healthy Cheddar Corn Muffins?
These come together like most other muffins, but we have to include the secret ingredient! Here’s a step-by-step guide to making these healthy muffins!
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Shred your squash (2-3 small/medium summer squash) and drain off as much water as possible. (See my tips below to best do this)
- Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper, then mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Spoon into a greased mini muffin tin. Bake 10-12 minutes until they are lightly brown and set.
How do I drain water from shredded squash?
This step is absolutely vital to creating these moist, soft muffins! The first step is to shred the squash (I use a cheese grater). Then to remove the water, you have some different options.
- Option 1: Place the shredded squash into a mesh strainer. Press down on the squash to drain the water until no more water drips out.
- Option 2: Place the shredded squash on a hand towel and roll up. Then press down on and/or twist the towel to wring as much water out as possible. You could do this with paper towels, but it may take several attempts to get all the water out.
- Option 3: Grab a handful of shredded squash and squeeze! When no more water is dripping out, place that handful in a bowl and continue doing this with the remaining squash until all water is drained.
Tips, Tricks, and Substitutions for Amazing Cheddar Corn Muffins:
- Try different cheeses! Parmesan, gouda, or mozzarella would be fantastic. You could even try a combination of multiple cheeses–Just make sure they all total a half cup! Personally, I want to try these with a smoky Chipotle version someday for something different!
- The sour cream is necessary in this recipe, but you can use a low-fat version if you are trying to reduce calories.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, don’t worry. You could use regular milk if you’d prefer–It will just lose some of the tangy goodness that works so well with the corn and cheese flavors. If you’d like to make a buttermilk substitute, you can check out my tips below.
What if I don’t have buttermilk?
No worries! You could make this recipe with normal milk, but you’ll lose a little of the tangy-ness that works so well with the cheddar and corn. If you’d like to make a buttermilk substitute, that’s super easy to do as well!
- Milk + Lemon Juice: Combine 3/4 cup milk with 3/4 Tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar. Stir then let sit for 5 minutes before pouring into this recipe.
- Milk + Cream of Tarter: Combine 3/4 cup milk with 1 rounded Tablespoon of cream of tarter.
- Yogurt: You can use an equal amount of yogurt instead of buttermilk
More Gluten-Free Bread Recipes:
We love our bread here! Check out these safe options for people avoiding gluten:
- Sweet Potato and White Cheddar Corn Muffins – Another way to sneak healthy ingredients into your gluten-free bread!
- Buttermilk Biscuits – So light, fluffy, and perfect with sausage gravy!
- Rosemary Garlic Keto Dinner Rolls – These add such a great savory flavor to any meal! They make perfect leftover roast beef sliders.
- Keto Cheddar Garlic Biscuits – These are a great low-carb copycat of Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits!
- Keto Sausage Cheddar Biscuits – These are a great breakfast on the go or side for your favorite brunch!
Cheddar Corn Muffins
These fluffy, moist corn muffins have an amazing, healthy, super secret ingredient! It’s the perfect dinner side to help sneak more vegetables into your diet with no complaints!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup corn meal
- 1/2 cup Gluten Free Bisquick
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup packed shredded squash (three small/medium squash)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Shred your squash and drain off as much water as possible by placing it in a small mesh strainer and pressing it against the side. Alternatively, you can just squeeze the water out of the shredded squash one handful at a time.
- Mix the flour, corn meal, baking powder, salt and pepper and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined.
- Spoon into a greased mini muffin tin. Bake 10-12 minutes until they are lightly brown and set.
Notes
- Make sure to drain as much water as possible from your squash! If you don't, the batter will be very runny, and the muffins will take much longer to cook.
- If using a standard muffin tin instead of a mini muffin pan the cooking time will increase to 12-15 minutes or until set.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: Nutrition Calculated Per Mini MuffinAmount Per Serving: Calories: 57Total Fat: 3.2gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 5.5gNet Carbohydrates: 5.2gFiber: 0.3gSugar: 0.4gProtein: 1.7g
Jocelyn (Grandbaby cakes) says
Squash IN the muffins? OMG that is amazing!!
Maebells says
I know, right?! These were so good!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
Wow I’m so impressed that there are three squash in these muffins, Annie! And even better that they’re husband-approved! 🙂 These muffins look so cute and tasty! I love finding recipes like this! Pinned!
Kristine @ Kristine's Kitchen says
Three whole squash? Wow! These look sooo good, especially with the added cheddar! Pinned!
marcie@flavorthemoments says
This is such an awesome idea, Annie, and because the squash is yellow, it really hides well from veggie haters in those golden muffins! Love it, and pinning!
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
I totally love that you added veggies to these beautiful muffins! What a great idea!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
i don’t use enough cornmeal.. need to create these muffins. they definitely look cheesy and delicious!
Danielle says
Haha, I do the same exact thing to my husband. The look on his face waiting to find out is priceless! I love the veggies in these little muffins. Pinning these!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
I love savory muffins! The flavor combination in these muffins is just perfect!
Sarah@WholeandHeavenlyOven says
Hahahaha! Annie, we are SO alike! I LOVE freaking people out by stuffing weird ingredients in delish things. It’s just so fun to see their eyes pop. LOL. These muffins are definitely calling out to me—I adore savory muffins especially cheesy, squash ones! 🙂
Kathy @ Olives & Garlic says
Sounds just like what I would do and my hubby would be less excited about it as well. 🙂 Can’t wait to make them and have him try. 🙂
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
These savory muffins look amazing, Annie! I love all the summer squash in here – such a fantastic way to sneak in some veggies for those veggie haters. They sound amazing with all that wonderful cheese!
Katie says
Loving these muffins and very impressive that you managed to sneak 3 squash into them..I might have to try these out on the kiddos anyway to sneak in more veggies 🙂
Maebells says
You should try it! They would never know that there are so many veggies in them!
Crystal | Apples & Sparkle says
Wow! I think this is such a great idea! I can’t believe you were able to put 3 whole squash in there. I want to try this out on my kids. : )
Maebells says
They will never guess it is loaded with veggies!
Mary Frances says
Haha, you’re the best 🙂 I can just imagine that happening … mainly because I’ve done something very similar. And the recipient is NEVER as excited. Ever. Oh well, I’m super excited! Three whole squash is quite the feat, and you can’t even tell its in there!
Maebells says
I am glad someone else is excited Mary Frances! ha! They were really great!
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
Ooooooh yes! Hiding veggies in anything is awesome 🙂 These look terrific!
Maebells says
I agree Julie! 🙂
Isadora says
Haha! I feel like I have to do the same thing with my husband, except I don’t think I’ve quite mastered it yet. Once I shoved some “mashed potatoes” down his throat and after he almost gagged on them I had to admit that it was actually just cauliflower and white beans! I think he might actually go for these muffins though! They look so delicious and I never would have guessed that there were three whole squash in them!
Maebells says
OMG! You are cracking me up! I have also tried to pass of cauliflower as mashed potatoes, but I didn’t add the white beans! I can only imagine how unsucessful I would have been! ha! Our poor husbands! 😉
Ashley @ ashleymarieskitchen says
I love the use of summer squash in these muffins!They look delicious 🙂
Maebells says
Isn’t it fun? Zucchini gets all the love in baked goods, but summer squash was awesome in these little muffins!
Rachael @ Cabot Cheese says
These are perfection! I can’t wait to try them – I think EVERYONE is always looking for delicious (and cheesy) ways to use up all of the garden veggies! Nice work 🙂 ~Rachael