Zucchini Cornbread Muffins with Chili Honey Butter
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These zucchini cornbread muffins will take your humble bowl of beans to the next level! They’re moist, cheesy, and slightly sweet with a hint of heat from minced jalapeño. We serve them with homemade chili honey butter, and it’s all ready in just 35 minutes!
These zucchini cornbread muffins are savory, cheesy, and incredibly hard to stop eating. Packed with grated zucchini, sharp cheddar, and a little jalapeño for gentle heat, they bake up tender in the middle with golden edges and plenty of flavor. The sweet-and-spicy honey butter on top takes them completely over the edge.
I love serving these alongside a big bowl of chili, but they’re just as good warm from the oven on their own. The zucchini keeps the muffins moist without making them heavy, and the cheddar and jalapeño give them that cozy, savory cornbread vibe that makes you immediately reach for another.
Tip: You can also bake this recipe in a skillet instead of muffin tins. Just increase the baking time — in a cast-iron skillet, start checking around 30 minutes, though it may take up to 45 minutes to bake through.
Two things to note about the ingredients
- Cornmeal: I find that a fine or medium-grind cornmeal works best for cornbread. The medium-grind will give it slightly more texture.
- Buttermilk: you can either buy buttermilk or make your own by mixing 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar for each 1 cup of milk.
Variations to try
These tender zucchini cornbread muffins are pretty versatile so feel free to try one of these variations:
- Add a ¼ cup of fresh or thawed frozen corn into the batter.
- Mix in some sliced green onions for added flavor.
- Swap the cheddar cheese for goat cheese or feta cheese for a different (but delicious) cheesy spin!
Can I freeze zucchini cornbread muffins? Yes! Like most muffins, these zucchini cornbread muffins freeze well. Store them in a sealed container or freezer bag in your freezer for up to 3 months.
Zucchini Cornbread Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
Zucchini Cornbread Muffins
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk (can use milk)
- ¼ cup butter (melted)
- 2 medium zucchini (about 2 packed cups grated and squeezed of liquid)
- Optional: 1 jalapeño (minced and a few slices)
Chili Honey Butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon butter (melted)
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter. Grate the zucchinis using the large holes of your box grater. Take a handful of grated zucchini and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Repeat until you've squeezed dried all the zucchini.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sea salt, and chili powder.1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup cornmeal, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 2 large eggs
- Add the eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter and whisk to combine.1 cup buttermilk, ¼ cup butter, 2 medium zucchini, 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, Optional: 1 jalapeño
- Add the zucchini, cheddar cheese, and, if using, the minced jalapeño, and stir together.
- Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups – you can fill them all the way to the top. If you'd like, top the muffins with a thin slice of jalapeño. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
- While the muffins are baking, make the honey butter. Mix the honey, melted butter, and chili powder in a small bowl.2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon butter, ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes and then remove them from the tin and let them cool on a baking sheet. Serve the chili honey butter on the side or drizzle over top.
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
If l were to make these cheesy chili zucchini muffins the day before would they be to hard or dry out to serve with the chili . Want to make this but need to bake the day before ?
No they’ll last. Just keep them in a sealed container after they are completely cool.
This cornbread recipe was a Huge hit at my social distancing backyard election get together. We used the small can of jalapeños instead of risking it with cleaning fresh. So good!
These cornbread muffins and sweet chili sauce are life changing! I was asked to make cornbread for an event, but I’m not a big fan of cornbread since it dries out so quickly and often tastes a bit flavorless to me. After finding the recipe for vegetarian chili on this site, I thought I’d search for a cornbread recipe, and luckily o found one! The muffins with sweet chili sauce and vegetarian chili are a perfect pairing!
That makes me so happy to hear! Chili and cornbread are made for each other!
I have made these delicious muffins twice now. Second time I also made the chili butter sauce and used buttermilk instead of milk. Wow! So tasty. .
I also used a local habanero hot sauce in the batter, in place of chili powder – which was a great result.
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Great call on the buttermilk! I’m so happy you like the recipe!
These are very good and dare I say ‘moist’ but be warned they are not at all sweet (no sugar or honey)
So happy to hear you like the recipe!
Wow these look delicious!
Thank you so much!!!
This is a nice recipe and photos. What a great use of zucchini!
Thank you!!