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The perfect addition to a piping hot bowl of Red Lentil Chili is lightly sweetened whole grain corn muffins. Easier to serve and eat than cornbread, these tasty vegan muffins were built to please a crowd.

By Julieanna Hever,

Ingredients

  • 1½ tablespoons ground flaxseed
  • 1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
  • ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
  • ½ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 cup corn meal
  • 1 cup oat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • In a small bowl, combine flaxseed with almond milk and set aside to allow it to gel for 5 minutes.
  • In a large mixing bowl, stir applesauce and maple syrup together and add flaxseed mixture. Then sift in cornmeal, oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until well-combined, but avoid over-mixing. Add the corn kernels.
  • Either using a silicone 12-cup muffin pan or a 12-cup muffin pan lined with paper, spoon out equal portions of batter into the cups.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Serve warm.

Comments (44)

(5 from 27 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Natalie

We had these with some chili tonight and they were great! I didn’t have apple sauce or the frozen corn, so I blended up 3 apples to go in it instead, and they turned out delicious!

Adrianne

these are a little too sweet for my taste and because of that, I don't think the corn flavor comes through.

Mk

This is spectacular! I’m new to vegan, so the only thing I thought was missing was meat. Served it it’s corn muffins, recipe also found on here.

Henri

Yum yum! Making these every week with variations - blueberries, raspberries, etc…. This is a great recipe to have on hand!

Stephanie

Easy. Delicious. Will make again!

Robin

Delicious! Moist, tasty, and easy to make.

El

Swapped out blueberries for the corn and added lemon zest. Everything else kept the same. Yum!

Ann Stone

Julieanna Hever these were so hearty! Delish!! I did swap out the flax seeds for an egg replacement - but who knew!

Louise

I have been making these awesome muffins regularly since first published a while back. We love them slathered with cauliflower "buttah" (Cooking With Plants - Oil-free vegan butter) and served with soup or chili, or just as a quick breakfast. I also chop the corn up in the food processor to reduce the size of the pieces and disperse them a bit better in the batter. You MUST try them!

Paula

This is my standard bread to go with soup! They freeze well also! I make 48 of these to take to the local shelter to go with baked beans. They are well received! Really nice recipe!!

Bobbie Jean Kerrigan

Need nutritional info. Carbs... fiber...calories

Brooke

This is a private individual's recipe. Normally Large Food Companies have to pay people to provide that information. You can figure it out yourself from the ingredient package labels.

Bobbie Jean Kerrigan

How much fiber calories carbs ... info please

Brooke

This is a private individual's recipe. Normally Large Food Companies have to pay people to provide that information. You can figure it out yourself from the ingredient package labels.

Jill

This is now my go-to recipe for muffins. I play around with it a lot, substitute in millet, barley, sorghum flour for the oat flour; homemade date syrup, unsulphored blackstrap molasses for the maple syrup add psyllium husk for extra fiber. All different kinds of nut milks. Substitute different mild fresh peppers and other veggies or dried fruit or sun-dried tomatoes for the corn. I always keep that cornmeal in there though, who doesn't love cornbread?

Pat

Fabulous ideas. Thanks!

Lauchlen

These were yummy! I don't like corn kernels, so left them out and they cooked in 16 minutes. Roughly 1/4 cup each filled all 12 to the top. They weren't quite sweet enough for my liking, BUT I am not a USian or from the southern US and I like my cornbread more dessert-y.

Debbie

These muffins are delicious and easy to make. I used date syrup instead of maple syrup and I left out the salt. They were perfect! I love to freeze them and have them on hand.

Sonia Nasser

Made this several times always good this time is read of maple syrup I put date syrup and don’t hav dapple sauce so used a banana.

Diane

Made these for company and they were wonderful. Will make them more often. Moist, but not too moist. Goes perfect with salad and soup.

Yasemin Sonmez

It is a great recipe, and the muffins were delicious!

Connie

These were so very good! I did make changes, however: I didn't use the maple syrup and instead added another 1/2 cup of my homemade apple/date sauce (just made apple sauce and whizzed dates in to make it sweet). I did also forget the corn but these muffins were still very delicious!

Barbara

Should we use coarse cornmeal for this recipe, or the regular, finer grind?

Yasemin

I used medium grind, it worked well. Next time, I will try fine grind cornmeal

Ginnie Lebosse

Just made these - very good! Here in the South some of us like jalapeños in our cornbread so I added one. This recipe is a keeper!

Paula Rochelle

I just made 60 of these muffins for the homeless shelter. They are so good and so easy to make! This is my go-to muffin recipe! I keep all the dry ingredients, already measured out, in jars in my pantry so I can cook a batch in a hurry! A great recipe!!

Jeffery

Great idea on the dry ingredients! How long have you stored the dry ingredients before you made the muffins? I plan on using date powder instead of maple syrup.

Layla

I subbed the 1/2 cup maple syrup with another 1/2 cup of apple sauce, for a total of 1 cup apple sauce. And I didn’t use corn. Turned out great! Still sweet, but only lightly. I’m super impressed. This is a keeper of a recipe. And so easy.

Carol

Wanted to print the recipe, but first it wanted my email address.

Lynde paule

Can oat milk be substituted for the almond milk?

Erin Wolfman May

I’ve made it with a few different plant milks and all worked great.

Donna

Very good, made it in little bread pans. I will make again

Dan

Excellent - I use blueberries instead of corn.

Hilary

I followed recipe but subbed blueberries for the corn for a sweeter dessert muffin. If I was going to do a savoury cornbread muffin I would reduce the maple syrup.

Sharon L Brunet

This was an amazing recipe. I made these for my mom and she's not gluten-free or vegan, but she LOVED these and so did I. Thanks for the recipe.

CK

Only a 5 minus the corn kernels and Maple syrup. We like spicey cornbread and your base was good enough for a wfpb version that we could spice up. This was cornbread that fed a soul food, southern eating bunch..and they loved it. They ate it with collards and Brussel sprout leaves for dinner. They ate it plain for breakfast with hot coffee and added it as a side to a salad for lunch. Definitely a hit here. Thanks

Denise

Awesome recipe - and oil-free! I used half corn kernels and half minced jalapeno peppers as the add-ins. My cooking time was 30 minutes, but definitely check in at 20. Perfect accompaniment to a soup or chili.

Phyllis Smillie

I just brought the book made muffins so yummy I am following Plant-base diet

Jama Beasley

I love this formula which I bake weekly. I reduce the sweet & add chili powder, onion & garlic powder, & a few pepper flakes & sometimes diced jalapeno peppers. This makes it more savory. Also substitute frozen corn (when I do not have) with drained whole corn which I give a few whirled in the blender. But this "formula" lends itself for diversity - so play with what you have!!

Tish Lambert

My kids LOVE these. They eat them for breakfast and they think they are dessert; I guess they are chili’s dessert. Hahaha. Of course, I make it with .5 cup of maple syrup, but it really is too sweet and I think it would do well at .25 cups.

Angie

Yummy, these were great. Will make again.

Steve

Delicious! These are our favorite corn muffins. Very moist with the right amount of sweetness. Easy and quick to prepare. Highly recommend.

Hector G.

Excellent recipe! Comes out very moist and has a great texture. I also substituted the flaxseeds with chia seeds and it turned out just as good!

Mary

A bit sweet for me as written but good if you reduce or eliminate the maple syrup. If you like sweet corn muffins, this will probably be just right. Some jalapeno is a nice addition too!

About the Author

Headshot of Julieanna Hever, RD

About the Author

Julieanna Hever

Julieanna Hever is author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition, columnist for VegNews magazine, and a special consultant to Forks Over Knives. Hever is also a nationally sought-out speaker and was featured on The Dr. Oz Show. For updates from Hever, visit PlantBasedDietitian.com and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
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