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Let me tell you about corn muffins. Corn muffins (I will interchangeably use corn muffin or cornbread here, but be assured, I am talking about the same thing) have been a family staple for as long as I can remember, as long as my mother can remember, and as long as my Nana can remember. My Nana, born and raised in a small town in western Kentucky, has used the same muffin tin for many, many years. I think she told me since she married our grandpa at the age of 16. My mom has a memory as a young girl of hearing the corn bread batter sizzle as it hit the heated muffin tin when nana was cooking. I remember my great-grandfather telling me one of his favorite meals was cornbread soaked in buttermilk. I’ve had more meals at Nana’s house that have included corn bread than excluded this accompanient. So that is to say, cornbread and my family have a long history.
One of the things I missed the most when going gluten free was my Nana’s cornbread. I would always split it in half and load it up with hefty pats of butter before demolishing. Then it hit me — eating gluten free meant no more butter soaked corn bread. I lived this sad life for about 5 years. However, recently after a disappointing batch of sweet Bobs Red Mill gluten free cornbread, I started googling “southern style cornbread” and I stumbled upon this amazing article/recipe by Serious Eats which explains in detail everything I wanted to know about cornbread and explained why so many cornbread recipes now call for sugar! I was raised on savory cornbread, and truly hate the sweet stuff. While the recipe in the article creates cornbread that is a little “hearty and corn-y” as my family said over Christmas, I’ve slightly tweaked it to be truly reminiscent of Nana’s southern corn muffins.
Recipe notes: I noticed a texture difference when I let the batter rest/soak for 30 minutes prior to baking. When I didn’t let it rest, the resulting muffin was more crumbly and slightly more dry. If you have the time, let the batter rest before baking. Also, please use the highest quality corn meal you can find! As you will learn in the Serious Eats article, this makes all the difference!
Look at that beautifully golden corn muffin! 
Don’t forget the butter! (Even though there is a full stick baked inside ;))
I’ll take a stack of ten for myself, please. 
Gluten Free Savory Southern-Style Corn Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups stone-ground cornmeal I prefer Arrowhead Mills yellow stone-ground cornmeal or Bob's Red Mills stone-ground cornmeal
- 1/4 cup cassava flour I prefer Otto's cassava flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
- 1 knob butter approximate, for greasing the muffin tins
Instructions
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Place your muffin tin in the oven on the middle rack and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
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Combine the cornmeal, cassava flour, kosher salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Mix to combine.
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In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk and eggs together until they are homogenized. Whisk the butter into buttermilk and egg mixture.
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Stir the buttermilk, egg, and butter mixture into the dry ingredients until combined. You don't want to over mix it, but there shouldn't be too many lumps. Let the batter rest for about 30 minutes.
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Once oven has preheated and batter is ready, grease tins with the butter knob. Fill tins 3/4 of the way full. Bake until tops are golden brown and a fork comes out clean when inserted in the middle, about 20 - 25 minutes. Let muffins cool slightly before popping out and serving. Enjoy!!
Recipe Notes
- To serve as cornbread vs. corn muffins, use a 12 inch cast iron skillet. Preheat the skillet, and grease with about 1 tbsp melted butter before pouring batter into the skillet. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until golden brown and a fork is clean when inserted in the middle.
- Recipe adapted from Serious Eats
- If needed, add 1 - 3 tsp. sugar to the dry ingredients.
India, I feel so blessed and honored to read this❤️🙂😎😀💜💚💙💛🧡
Nana
India- I love this! Glad you’re carrying on the family tradition. Cornbread always brings good memories. It was on the menu at Brooke’s wedding in NJ and the chef kept consulting Jan about how to make Southern cornbread and sweet tea. He never did get it quite right, but he eventually ended up calling her Aunt Jan along with all Brooke’s friends.
I accidentally left my mother’s cornbread skillet in the stove drawer when I moved. I still nearly cry every time I think about it.
Love from Aunt Jennifer in South Carolina
It should be 3/4 tsp baking soda and 2tsp baking powder. Recipe destroying mistake. I recommend following the recipe from serious eats or correcting this one.
Hi Parry,
The recipe as written is correct and has 2 teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, similar to the Serious Eats recipe . I prefer to add cassava flour so the cornbread doesn’t crumble as much and is a little less “corny” without sacrificing any great corn flavor. Thanks for your comment!!