Mixed Berry Cornbread Muffins

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Sweet and crumbly are two of the characteristics of these gluten-free Mixed Berry Cornbread Muffins that make them so delicious. They’re dense in texture and bursting with raspberries, blueberries, and a strawberry jam.

Powdered sugar covering a tin filled with mixed berry cornbread muffins.

Healthier Muffins

Muffins have easily become my children’s favorite food to consume at just about any point during the day. They love them for snacks, breakfasts, and just because they’re in the house, but honestly, sometimes muffins aren’t always the healthiest.

These gluten-free mixed berry cornbread muffins are the perfect ratio of crumbly and dense, but they’re also not too sweet because of the cornmeal. It’s not necessary to make these gluten-free, in fact, when I first made them back in 2017 they were prepared with all-purpose flour, but I swapped it for this recipe. I love gluten-free muffins like these pumpkin spice muffins.

Since I knew my kids would devour these muffins the moment they walked through the door from school though, I wanted to also have a healthy version. I swapped out regular flour for coconut flour, and there’s healthy fat from the coconut milk. You can also increase the maple syrup to 2 tablespoons and omit the brown sugar.

I also love these cinnamon sugar banana muffins which are also a slightly healthier option.

Powdered sugar coated mixed berry cornbread muffin with blueberries and raspberries surrounding it.

Ingredients

These aren’t your standard fluffy muffins and there are some unique ingredients such as canned coconut milk and maple syrup in them. Many of the ingredients though are standard pantry items.

If you plan on making these gluten-free then please check all your labels to ensure there isn’t any hidden gluten.

Flour (use gluten-free flour if making these without gluten) – for this recipe I used coconut flour, but you could also use your favorite gluten-free flour.
Cornmeal
Baking Powder
Brown Sugar
Salt
Butter
Maple Syrup – I recommend using a high-quality maple syrup when you’re baking because it does enhance the flavor.
Eggs
Canned Coconut Milk – try to use a combination of the coconut cream at the top of the can and the milk at the bottom for a smooth mixture once it’s beaten into the batter.
Vanilla Extract
Raspberries
Blueberries
Strawberry Jam (optional) – at the last minute I decided to stir in some of this strawberry sauce, but you can use jam as well. This is a purely optional ingredient.

How to Make Mixed Berry Cornbread Muffins

Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper muffin liners.
In a mixing bowl whisk the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt together.
Using an electric mixer or a handheld mixer beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Dry ingredients for muffin in a glass mixing bowl on left and wet ingredients in a silver mixing bowl on right.

While the mixer is set to low add the dry ingredients to the bowl and combine.
Add the raspberries, blueberries, and strawberry jam (if using) to the batter and use a spatula to gently fold the berries into the batter.

Muffin batter in mixing bowl on left and muffin batter topped with blueberries and raspberries in mixing bowl on right.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the tops begin to turn a golden brown.

How to Store

To Store – these muffins will last for about 4 or 5 days if stored in an air-tight container. There’s no need to place them in the fridge.
To Freeze – these muffins don’t freeze particularly well, however, it is possible. They will just be a tad dry when they thaw, which isn’t a bad thing. Wrap the muffin individually in plastic wrap and store them in an air-tight freezer-safe bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipe Notes and Expert Tips

Low sugar: to lower the sugar or change the refined sugar content of this recipe you can remove the brown sugar and increase the maple syrup by 1 tablespoon.
For some added sweetness you can dust the muffins with powdered sugar as I did in the photos. This information is not in the recipe card below, but you’ll need about 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar.
The strawberry jam is optional. You can use a mixture of fresh blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries if you’d like.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can these be made dairy-free?

I have not tried to make them dairy-free, however, I do think it can be done. To do so swap the butter for a dairy-free butter alternative and use flax eggs instead of regular eggs. A flax egg consists of 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons of warm water. Double that for this recipe since it calls for 2 eggs.

If you’re trying to make these cornbread muffins dairy-free and are not concerned with gluten then I recommend using regular all-purpose flour instead of gluten-free flour. This will ensure the muffins end up a little more fluffy instead of super dense.

What’s the secret to making moist muffins?

In order to make super soft and moist muffins, you will need to swap the coconut milk for buttermilk, sour cream, or plain yogurt, which improves the texture.

What’s the difference between cornbread and corn muffins?