Savoury Lentil Cornbread Muffins

These savoury lentil cornbread muffins are made with pantry staples like flour, cornmeal and brown lentils.

I've heard that most people either start off as a sweet or savoury cook. Meaning, either you start off learning how to bake and make desserts, or you start learning how to make savoury dishes. I definitely started as a savoury cook, and honestly, I've never had much interest in baking.

My mother, on the other hand, is and always has been an excellent baker. So when I decided to try making a savoury muffin, I turned to my mom for help. I was sure I could figure out how to make the flavours work, but I needed her expertise to make sure the darn things would actually be edible!

We started by adding cooked brown lentils to my mom's regular cornbread recipe. This not only makes these muffins more hearty, but it also adds fibre and an earthy flavour that I really like.

We then added cumin to give it more of a Southwestern flavour, but by the second batch, we realized that they still needed a little something-something, and I thought that caramelized onions would do the trick. Our third batch yielded several moist brown muffins that were earthy, savoury and just a little sweet.

These lentil cornbread muffins pair really well with soups, stews and especially chilli. Or you could eat them with a dab of butter and a couple of slices of cheese (jalapeño Havarti!) for a substantial breakfast.

I haven't included how to cook lentils in my recipe, however, if you need help this page from Lentils.org explains how to cook lentils properly. To learn how to cook the onions, check out this detailed post on caramelizing onions from Bon Appetit. 

I also strongly advise you not to use cupcake/muffin liners in your baking tray, because they will stick to the muffins. Besides, these muffins are much tastier when the sides have been able to brown against the hot baking tin.

Like most bread recipes, these muffins are best eaten fresh, however, they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

I hope you try making these lentil cornbread muffins, and if you do please let me know how they turn out.

Recipe Card

Savoury Lentil Cornbread Muffins

Recipe By: Shareba Abdul

5 from 1 vote

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Servings: 12 muffins

These savoury lentil cornbread muffins are made with pantry staples like flour, cornmeal and brown lentils.

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Canadian

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Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup all purpose flour, , sifted
• ▢ ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 cup cornmeal
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon paprika
• ▢ ¾ cup brown lentils, , cooked
• ▢ 3 eggs
• ▢ ¾ cup buttermilk
• ▢ ½ cup melted butter
• ▢ ⅓ cup caramelized onions, , chopped into small pieces

Equipment

• Muffin Tin

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Grease a muffin tin.
3. In a large bowl combine the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cornmeal, cumin and paprika. Mix to combine, then stir in the cooked lentils.
4. In a second large bowl, whisk the eggs with buttermilk and melted butter.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and gently mix the batter until just combined. Fold in the chopped onions.
6. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
7. Serve with a pat of butter, if desired.

Notes

Tips:
- Don't use muffin liners for this recipe. The muffins get a nice golden brown crust from sitting directly in the pan.

See blog post for links on how to cook lentils and caramelize onions. 

Please note that the nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate, and has been calculated using a plugin. 

Please read the full blog post for all of my tips, variations, and recommendations for this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories250kcalCarbohydrates32gProtein8gFat10gSaturated Fat6gCholesterol63mgSodium199mgPotassium319mgFiber5gSugar7gVitamin A366IUVitamin C1mgCalcium81mgIron2mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary depending on specific ingredients and brands used. Accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

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