Easy Sourdough Corn Muffins Your Family Will Love

Sourdough corn muffins are the perfect way to use up sourdough discard and make a healthy snack or side dish! They are even great served with eggs for breakfast or alongside a bowl of chili or soup on a chilly winter day. They use simple ingredients that most at home cooks keep in their fridge and pantry.

While regular cornbread muffins are great, when you add either active sourdough starter or sourdough discard and let it have time for fermentation to occur, it gives a deeper flavor. Additionally, there are also more health benefits when you allow the wild yeast to eat the sugar and gluten in the sourdough corn muffins.

This is a super easy recipe. Sourdough discard makes healthier muffins and is a great idea to use up older discard.

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Ingredients for sourdough corn muffins

Wet ingredients

• 225g or 1c sour cream
• 75g or 1/4c sourdough discard or active starter
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 30g or 2T avocado oil or melted coconut oil

Dry ingredients

• 100g or 3/4c white cornmeal, yellow cornmeal, OR coarse cornmeal
• 120g or 1c all purpose flour (or whole wheat flour or freshly milled flour)
• 50g or 1/4c sugar
• 2t baking powder
• 3/4t. pink Himalayan salt
• ADD LATER: 1/2t baking soda

Instructions for sourdough corn muffins

Wet and Liquid Ingredients:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients together and stir to combine. That will be the sourdough discard or active sourdough starter, 1 large egg, and oil (avocado oil, melted coconut oil, or vegetable oil), and sour cream. Surprisingly, this is really the secret ingredient because the sour cream helps keep the cornbread recipes from drying out!

If you want to try to make your own sourdough starter, check out my guide HERE>

Dry Ingredients:

Next, in a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients – cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, all purpose flour or whole wheat flour or freshly milled flour. If you use all purpose flour, I love this King Arthur one.  

(DO NOT ADD BAKING SODA YET! Let it sit overnight. Because both the sour cream and the baking soda work together as a leavening agent to help it rise, I always add it after it has a chance to ferment.)

Mix

Put the liquid ingredients and dry ingredients together and use a wooden spoon or whisk to combine. I am absolutely loving the danish whisk for thick batters like this one. It works like a whisk but the thick batter doesn’t get stuck in the middle. It’s much easier for cleanup!

Do not overmix. If you mix the batter too much, it develops the gluten and makes it tough. Consequently, make sure to stop whisking as soon as it comes together. 

Always ferment sourdough recipes for best results – even a few hours will help the yeast to go to work on the sugar and gluten. As a result, I usually make this the night before and cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, I add the baking soda and continue on. Write on the plastic wrap like I did below to help you to remember to add the baking soda in the morning! Trust me on this. Unfortunately, I have forgotten one too many times and it’s SO disappointing!!!

The Next Morning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the morning, add the baking soda and give it a gentle mix.

The next thing you do is to prepare the muffin pan by either spraying with cooking spray, or using muffin liners. Divide the batter between the muffin cups in the prepared muffin tin, filling each 2/3 full.

Then, bake in the preheated oven set at 350 degrees for 20-23 minutes until golden brown. Finally, when they come out of the oven, you can brush them with a bit of melted butter or melted unsalted butter if desired. I really love a silicone and wood pastry brush like THIS ONE.

Take sourdough cornbread muffins out of the pan and let them cool on a wire rack. Eat immediately for the best result. Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-5 days.

These muffins are absolutely delicious. They are not overly sweet like you’d find in Jiffy muffin mix. They also aren’t dry like many cornbread recipes are. The sour cream keeps them moist. If you’re looking for something that tastes more like it came out of a box, you may want to kick up the sugar a bit to give that flavor.

But I think you’ll find these cornbread muffins with the deeper flavor of sourdough and the homemade taste will beat a box mix every time! There’s nothing like being able to control the ingredients that go into your family’s bodies!

FAQs

Do I have to let it sit overnight?

Nope! Letting the sourdough corn muffins ferment will give it the biggest health benefits. But you could make it in the morning and let it sit in the fridge until you bake them for dinner, or you can whip them up and cook immediately.

Variations and toppings for sourdough corn muffins:

*My personal favorite is to top the sourdough cornbread muffins with a little bit of butter and jam

*Swap out dairy products for oat milk, coconut milk, or another non-dairy milk and sour cream for a dairy free version!

*Use whole wheat flour or fresh milled flour for an even healthier option.

*Use the sourdough corn muffins in cornbread stuffing

*Skip the muffin liners and pour in a 9×13 baking dish for 15-30 minutes

*Make into what my mom called “ho-cakes” or “Johnny cakes” and cook them on a hot skillet or cast iron skillet like pancakes instead of in muffin tins. It makes them cook SO fast!

*Use gluten-free flour or almond flour for a version that has no gluten in it!

*Pour into a greased loaf pan for a sourdough corn quick bread -lengthen baking time and cook 45min-1hour

*Place dollops of cornbread on top of an oven proof pot of chili and cook as directed for cornbread topped chili! Or just serve the moist cornbread muffins next to a bowl of chili!

*Add vanilla extract and a little more sugar for a sweet cornbread version.

*Serve with a pat of butter and a drizzle of honey

*For a very savory side, omit the sugar, and add chopped jalapeños and cheddar cheese before baking for a cheesy and spicy perfect side dish.

*Swap out the white sugar for maple syrup for a refined sugar free sourdough cornbread recipe

*Add fresh corn cut off the cob for an even sweeter sourdough corn muffin with a delicious texture and even more corn flavor.

*Brush the tops with a melted butter mixture to make them even softer.

How to store sourdough corn muffins

Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag for 3-5 days.

Freeze in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container for 3-6 months.

Heat leftover muffins in the microwave or toaster oven.

I hope you try this cornbread muffin with a sourdough twist! It will become one of your new favorite sourdough muffin recipes I’m sure! It’s the perfect addition to a cozy fall or winter dinner and it’s a great way to use up older discard that you have sitting in the back of your fridge. If you try any of the variations, please let me know. I always love to hear how your ideas turn out. Happy baking!

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