Sausage and Cheese Cornbread Muffins
Packed with cheddar cheese and Italian sausage, these Sausage and Cheese Cornbread Muffins are the perfect side dish next to a hot bowl of chili or soup!
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Dressing or stuffing? It’s one of the internet’s greatest debates – especially during the Thanksgiving season. For me, it’s easy. Dressing is baked outside of the turkey while stuffing is baked inside of the turkey. I personally prefer dressing. My mother has been making a Southern-style cornbread dressing for years, and it’s truly one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. That cornbread dressing beats the turkey easily, and it almost beats the dessert. Almost.
This year, I decided to put an end to the debate. No more discussion of dressing vs. stuffing. Now it’s just muffins! Yup, I took many of the flavors from that family recipe and used them in this recipe for Sausage and Cheese Cornbread Muffins. They’re delicious! And they’re individually portioned, so it’s easy to serve these homemade cornbread muffins as a side dish.
Sausage and Cheese Cornbread Muffins
One of the biggest changes I made to this recipe is the addition of cooked Italian sausage. Growing up, we didn’t include Italian sausage in our Thanksgiving dressing recipe. Heck, I don’t think I ever saw a pack of Italian sausage come through our kitchen.
However, once I met Laura, I became very familiar with Italian sausage. She comes from a large Italian family, and Italian sausage shows up in all sorts of recipes. Her family’s traditional dressing recipe calls for cooked Italian sausage to be included in the mixture before baking. Delicious! The only problem? They call them stuffing balls even though they are baked outside of the turkey. *sigh – the debate continues*
In addition to the sausage, I also included some shredded cheddar cheese (I used Cabot’s Seriously Sharp Cheddar – one of my all-time faves). I find that the sharpness of that cheese is fantastic in savory baking recipes. The sweetness from the corn combined with the sharp cheddar cheese is quite tasty.
If you’re looking for one heck of a tasty cornbread muffin, then put these Sausage and Cheese Cornbread Muffins on the menu! These aren’t just any cornbread muffin. There’s sausage. There’s cheddar cheese. There’s a can of creamed corn. In short, there’s a ton of flavor in these muffins! We actually ate these as a meal along with a batch of mashed potatoes. Comfort food at its best right there – perfect for these chilly autumn days.
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover cornbread muffins should be cooled to room temperature and then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, place in an oven or toaster oven at 350°F for about 8-10 minutes, or until heated through. These muffins also freeze well. Just wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and store ’em in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating as normal.
I hope you enjoy these easy cornbread muffins as much as we do here in our house. The texture is nice and tender, and the taste is amazing! Cheers!
Did you make a batch of these Sausage and Cheese Cornbread Muffins at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me (@Spicedblog) on Instagram – I’d love to see your version!
Sausage and Cheese Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 16 oz. ground Italian sausage hot or mild
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and diced
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk can substitute whole milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 15-oz. can cream-style corn
- ¾ cup diced yellow onions
- ½ cup chopped green onions
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided, I used Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 muffin tins with 18 paper liners; spray liners with nonstick cooking spray. Set tins aside. (See note.)
- Add olive oil to a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes.
- Add bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 more minutes, or until sausage is fully cooked. Remove skillet from heat and drain any excess grease. Set skillet aside.
- Using a large bowl, add flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder.
- Using a separate mixing bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, melted butter, vegetable oil, cream-style corn, yellow onions, green onions, cooked sausage and peppers.
- Pour wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients; stir until just combined. Fold ¾ cup of cheese into batter and then spoon muffin batter into prepared muffin pans. Sprinkle remaining ¼ cup of cheese on top of muffins.
- Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
Notes
You can use traditional muffin liners, but you will wind up with more muffins (I’d guess 24 instead of 18) and they will bake in a shorter amount of time.
Looking for more cheesy recipes? Check out some of my other favorites!
Thanks for making me hungry BTW can’t wait to make your recipes soon for me
These savory muffins are really, really tasty for sure. Thanks, Ramya!
I love a savoury muffin. When we used to have a big roast turkey or chicken lunch at christmas, I would make a similar dish to go with… Dressing? that goes over a salad David – hehehe …
sherry
I hear ya, Sherry – the stuffing vs. dressing wording is always confusing. I guess it’s what you grew up calling it, huh? Either way, these savory muffins are delish!
So, will both Dressing muffins and stuffing balls be on yalls table 🙂
JK JK
I’m not a huge muffin fan, but this savory combo is making me drool! Fantastic idea to make these for Turkey-day dinner and leftovers for breakfast the next day!
Oh yes – we definitely have multiple types of stuffing/dressing on our Thanksgiving table! It’s a little crazy, but then again it’s what we respectively grew up with…so of course, we want our favorites. 🙂 These savory muffins are quite delicious for sure!
Love the addition of the Italian sausage to the cornbread muffins! Such a yummy savory pairing…. perfect as a side for Thanksgiving!
The Italian sausage crumbled into the cornbread muffins is such a fun addition. And it’s delicious! Thanks, Michelle!
These look fantastic, David! Sausage and cheddar are such a perfect combo, and I love how you’ve turned classic cornbread into hearty little muffins.
Sausage + cheddar + cornbread is a magical combination! And when you cook ’em all up in muffin form, it’s just fun. Thanks, Ben!
These do sound good, David! They’d be an excellent accompaniment to a Thanksgiving meal. They’d also be the kind of thing I’d have for breakfast the day after Thanksgiving. I’d have one on its own, or I’d have one with a cheese omelette, or maybe I’d made hash out of leftover turkey and have one with that!
You and Laura would get along well, Jeff – she’s all about savory breakfasts! Leftover muffins would be fantastic in the morning. Perhaps toast ’em in a toaster oven lightly so they get those crispy little nubbins on the edges? Yup, that’s how to wake up!
These Sausage and Cheese Cornbread Muffins sound like a cozy autumn treat! It’s like Thanksgiving stuffing in muffin form, but easier to serve.
Exactly! These muffins feature all of the Thanksgiving flavors that we love, but in a fun smaller size. Thanks, Raymund!
This sounds like something I could have written about how I grew up with certain foods. My Italian husband would be very happy with your muffins with sausage, creamed corn and cheese…I know I would too.
This is a fun mash-up of favorite foods, and it turned out really well. Thanks, Karen!