You guys, I don’t even know where to start.
These muffins need to be made. End of story.
These 1-bowl beauties were inspired by the seasonal muffins served at Bijou Cafe in Portland – one of my favorite brunch spots in town. (See our whole Portland Dining Guide here!)
I’m a sucker for anything cornbread* and blackberry, so recreating these at home was a no-brainer.
*Note: you can learn about the origins of cornbread here.
While Bijou’s version was only slightly infused with cornmeal, I desired a heartier texture.
So I did some experimenting, and what I got was gold: a cornbread muffin studded with juicy blackberries. Yum.
Friends, this is success.
I think you guys are going to LOVE these muffins! They’re:
Hearty
Tender
Studded with blackberries
Cornbread-esque
Perfectly sweet
Simple
& Satisfying
These muffins turned out so delicious I can’t decide if they’re breakfast or dessert. They’d also make a great midday snack or side dish to savory meals like Tortilla Soup, Masala Tofu Scramble, and Mediterranean Baked Sweet Potatoes.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment and be sure to rate it. And don’t forget to tag a picture #minimalistbaker on Instagram! We’d love to see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
1-Bowl Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal (to make flax eggs)
- 5 Tbsp water (to make flax eggs)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (DIY recipe)
- 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup or agave nectar (sub honey if not vegan)
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar (or sub coconut sugar)
- 1/4 cup melted vegan butter (or sub avocado oil or olive oil)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1 cup fine cornmeal
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour*
- 1 cup blackberries (roughly chopped and tossed in flour)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line a standard muffin tin with 10 paper liners, or lightly grease 10 tins and coat with flour (use fewer/more cupcake liners if adjusting the default number of servings). Shake out excess. (I found the butter/flour method to work well!)
- Prepare flax eggs in a large mixing bowl by mixing flaxseed meal and water and let rest for 5 minutes. Also measure out almond milk in a liquid measuring cup and add apple cider vinegar and baking soda. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- To the flax egg, add maple syrup, organic cane sugar, and melted vegan butter (or oil) and whisk vigorously for 1 minute to dissolve sugar.
- Add applesauce and salt and whisk to combine. Then add almond milk mixture and whisk again to combine.
- Add almond meal, cornmeal and flour and whisk until just combined and no large lumps remain. The batter should be quite thick and scoopable. Add blackberries dusted with flour and gently fold into the batter.
- Scoop batter into muffin tins until almost full – there should the perfect amount for 10 (or 11) muffins (as original recipe is written // adjust if altering default number of servings).
- Bake on a center-positioned rack for 25-30 minutes (I found 26 minutes to be perfect) or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan (to continue baking/firming up a little). Then loosen with a butter knife and gently lift out. Let cool completely on a plate or cooling rack.
- Will keep covered at room temperature for several days. Freeze for long-term storage (up to 1 month).
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.
S says
Today the website is going weird/reloading and freezing up the screen so I have to speed type before it reloads. I made the cornbread with mods, it worked great. Remove maple syrup and blackberries for savoury cornbread. Grated apple and soured cream for applesauce/apple purée. White rye flour for plain flour – looks the same, tastes better. Grainy cornmeal – soak in liquids for 15 minutes before combining and baking. Added 1/2tsp baking powder. Interested to see how it compares to my previous cornbread recipe (still have leftovers), I think this version is better texture. Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them. Thanks so much for sharing your modifications! xo
Shola says
I rarely see a muffin recipe without baking powder. I know chilling batters with baking powder overnight helps the muffins rise, but baking soda-only recipes must be baked immediately.
QUESTION/TROUBLESHOOTING: Have you tried adapting to include baking powder? If not, do you have any tips to help increase the rise in these muffins?
Baking soda fresh and tested; no overmixing; oven temp checked; no modifications.
I’m trying to troubleshoot flat tops and don’t want to rate before trying again with any tips/suggestions (in case it’s my error). Thank you!
Hi Shola, sorry the tops didn’t turn out right! We haven’t tried baking powder in this one. Is it possible you were using a less absorbent cornmeal (such as medium grind) or a different flour? Or the muffin tins weren’t filled until almost full? Those are some factors we can think of that could contribute to flat tops.
Shola says
Fine corn meal and ~3/4 full liners; there wasn’t enough batter to fill to the very topl. I’m wondering if I should have added baking powder. Thoughts?
Hi Shola, they should rise without baking powder (baking soda + apple cider vinegar is having a similar effect), but you could try baking powder! We’d recommend filling the muffin liners more, even if that means it makes fewer muffins.
Ashley says
Mine didn’t rise and were stodgy. I only missed until combined and the only substitution I made was medium cornmeal instead of fine. Any thoughts why mine didn’t work?
Oh no! Sorry that happened, Ashley. It sounds like the batter was too wet. Fine cornmeal is more absorbent than medium grind, so that could be the issue.
Reenie says
Hi! Anyone have any luck using white whole wheat flour instead of AP? (Not gf)
Hi Reenie, yes! Another reader reported success using white whole wheat flour. Enjoy!
J says
hi! can i replace almond meal with anything else? i have AP flour, millet flour, oat flour. and how much should i use? thx!
Hi! Another reader had success using oat flour instead of the almond meal! Hope you enjoy. xo
Juliet says
Love these! I added a spoonful of blackberry jam and a sprinkle of coconut sugar on top before baking to add some extra flair. Like other commenters, I also subbed oat flour for almond meal. Great breakfast muffins!
Ooo YUM! Thank you for sharing, Juliet! xo
Kat says
Hi.
What purpose or purposes does the applesauce serve here?
Thanks.
Hi Kat, the applesauce in this recipe adds subtle sweetness, moisture, and structure!
Jordan says
This is delicious! I have made it several times. I used rolled oats that I put through the food processor and oat milk rather than almond meal and milk. Also added a splash of lemon juice.
I deducted 1 star because this was more of a 3-4 bowl recipe, rather than the 1 in the title. I had 1 bowl for setting the oat milk/apple cider/baking soda aside, 1 for the berries/flour, one for general mixing.
Thanks so much for sharing, Jordan!
Vanessa says
We have an annual batch of blackberries from our invasive but delicious Himalayan blackberry bush and I knew I needed to make this recipe!
I only had medium ground cornmeal and a random combo of sugar (turbinado and coconut) but everything else was per the recipe and the muffins turned out really well!
I like cornbread savory or sweet so because of the sweetness of the berries I may use 1/2 the sugar next time (but it’s still not overly sweet as is)! Thanks for another tasty recipe, Dana!
We’re so glad it turned out well! Thank you for sharing, Vanessa! xo
Sara says
These a delicious. I made them with frozen blackberries. I also used a fan forced oven and they only needed 22 minutes. So easy to make and clean up was quick because it’s one bowl, a cup, and you measuring equipment. 100% recommend :)
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Sara! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Kerry says
I did a few subs: I used frozen mixed berries, ground oatmeal/flax instead of almond meal, brown sugar instead of coconut sugar, olive oil instead of vegan butter, and I think my corn meal was coarse.
They turned out really well – they’ve got a really nice texture and feel very hearty, taste is excellent and I would make them again.
HOWEVER – I feel like the “one bowl” is a bit misleading, as my kitchen was a disaster after making these. Because of the amounts of ingredients, I ended up using most of my measuring cups, and most of my measuring spoons. As well, using the measuring cup as a separate dish to mix the ACV + milk is a little cheeky as I think it counts as a dish. I also had to grind the flax for the eggs, and process the oats, so depending on what you have in the pantry it might make things a little more complicated.
Loss of one star for that, but overall still very delicious and would make again, just not “minimalist” – which is likely more of a “me” thing :)
Thanks for sharing your ingredient modifications, Kerry! We’re glad you enjoyed the final results!
Karen says
These are just delicious as a summer change from traditional cornbread. I froze them to serve along with Mexican foods at an upcoming dinner outdoors. I used 2 (local organic) eggs and also local organic marionberries instead of blackberries. I also used Bob’s medium- ground cornmeal I had on hand, as well as Bob’s 1-1 gf flour. Instead of applesauce I used 1/2 c of vegan sour cream, not sure if it was needed.
They are moist and just slightly sweet. Thank you for another inspired recipe!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Karen! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Ruchama B says
We only have frozen blackberries. Can we use them? If so, should we defrost first?
Other readers have had success with using frozen blackberries Let us know if you try it!
Callie says
Delicious! They’re perfectly sweet and very moist. I used olive oil. The cornmeal adds a nice texture. I didn’t have any blackberries so used one cup of frozen raspberries (not defrosted) and that worked well. The only issue was that the muffins overflowed a little bit—I should have done 11 muffins instead of 10.
We’re so glad you enjoyed them. Thanks so much for the lovely review, Callie! xo
Natalie says
I made these for the first time this morning and they turned out great. I missed the gluten free note so just substituted 1 cup of America’s test kitchen gf flour without alternating the amount of flour and almond flour. Next time I’ll do as suggested.
Also the only berries i had were dried cranberries. I softened them with a tablespoon of liquor while preparing the batter and then stirred them with flour.
Thank you for your recipes!
Sounds lovely! Thank you for sharing, Natalie! xo
Pascale says
Hi,
How much Aquafaba would I need to use in replacement of the flax eggs?
Thank you
Hi Pascale, we haven’t tried this recipe with aquafaba so we cannot guarantee results, but another reader seems to have had success using 6 Tbsp aquafaba in place of the flax. Hope this helps!
jacquie says
These look great. I tend to like a less sweet cornbread so can lower significantly or even remove the sugar?
thanks.
jacquie
Hi Jacquie, other readers have had success reducing the sugar by half!
Marilyn YEE says
I looked up Sea Salt:
One teaspoon of sea salt weighs 5 grams and contains 1,872 mg sodium, 2 1872mg/12 = 156mg of salt. Where is the rest of the 626mg coming from.
Hi Marilyn, thanks for pointing this out! We’ll double check our numbers and adjust.
Marilyn YEE says
I love Blackberries and I love Cornbread………so this Muffin was a match made in Heavenly Baking! My question however is looking at the Nutritional content, that’s alot of sodium in one muffin. where is all that sodium coming from……that 1 tsp of Sea Salt?
So glad you like it, Marilyn! The sodium content comes from the sea salt and the vegan butter.
LB says
These are delicious! I made them gluten-free, using the recipe instructions. I had two chia eggs already made, so subbed those for the flax eggs. The only fine cornmeal I had was blue corn — which complements the blackberry color.
My batter was quite dry, which I believe was due to the type of flour blend and / or the cornmeal I used. I added additional almond milk and applesauce to achieve a better consistency, and additional baking soda as well for get them to rise a bit. The flavor and texture is really nice. Thanks for a great way to use fresh blackberries!
Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! Next time, would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo
Shola says
How much additional baking soda did you add and did you add any baking powder? I also got flat muffins and sadly am a “looks” person for baked goods. I eat first with my eyes and flat muffins…not appealing.
Lauren Diamond says
My husband is a cardiac patient, plant based no oil. What can I sub for the oil? These look great. Thx!
Hi Lauren, we haven’t tried these without oil so we cannot guarantee results, we think using applesauce in place of the oil might work, or possibly nut butter or a yogurt of your choice? Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Deirdre says
What can I use instead of oil?
Hi Deirdre, we haven’t tried these without oil so we cannot guarantee results, we think using applesauce in place of the oil might work, or possibly nut butter or a yogurt of your choice? Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Katie says
Could I get away with using two regular eggs instead of making the flax eggs?
Hi Katie! We haven’t tried the recipe with eggs and can’t guarantee results, but other readers have had success with regular eggs. Let us know if you try it!
Joyce says
Hi there, these muffing look fantastic. I would love to be able to oil free or minimal oil. Any thoughts on a substitute?
Thank you!
Hi Joyce! We haven’t tried these without oil so we cannot guarantee results, we think using applesauce in place of the oil might work, or possibly nut butter or a yogurt of your choice? Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Rachel says
Great recipe! I altered the recipe for 12, still came out to 11, but that’s OK!! Subbed almond flour for almond meal and some of the regular flour and cut sugar to approximately 2 1/2 tbsp and it was still plenty sweet for me. Used frozen blackberries that I picked last fall and was fine. Will make again with blueberries, I think, and maybe just a tablespoon of sugar or none at all.
Nice! Thanks so much for the great review and for sharing your modifications, Rachel!
Anne-susan says
I absolutely love these muffins. Ther are very easy to make and keep well in the fridge. Made them every week for 3 weeks now. I have subbed the blackberries for frozen blueberries and the flour for whole meal flower. Used half the amount of sugar. They are a great for a snack or even breakfast. The boyfriend loves them too.
Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Woohoo! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Anne-Susan. So glad it’s such a flexible recipe that you both enjoy!
Heather says
I saw your note to make them gluten free, but am wondering if I could also just use my King Arthur gf all purpose flour blend instead, same amount, with success?
Also, I’ve only been able to find medium grind cornmeal and don’t think I care for it as much as I would fine grind. Have you tried putting it through a coffee grinder to make it finer? Or does corn flour work as a substitute?
Thanks!
Hi Heather, we prefer a combination of GF flours for best texture. A coffee grinder should work well for grinding cornmeal. Corn flour is more fine than corn meal and will affect the consistency, but it might be okay. Let us know if you do some experimenting!
Maria Francesca Ranocchi says
I am in love with this recipe and would like to try it but as gluten free loaf. For how long should I bake it and at which temperature? xoxo
We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe, Maria! We’d suggest lining the loaf pan with parchment paper and baking at same temp for 35-50 minutes. Let us know how it goes!
Pauline says
Surprised at how well these turned out They taste lovely! I like lots of fruit so added about half a cup more blackberries, was a bit worried they would be too wet but the cornmeal worked well with this. Would make these again. Thanks.
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Pauline! xo
Charisma Bystrom says
I’m excited to make these. What would you sub for almond flour? How many eggs should I use instead of flax?
Other readers have had success substituting two eggs for the flax and water. As for the almond meal, it is necessary for the texture in this recipe. We haven’t tried it and can’t guarantee results, but you could try substituting cashew flour!
Amy says
Hello! Can I use masa flour in place of cornmeal?
Hi Amy! We have’t tried this recipe with Masa flour, and it will probably be much more absorbent than cornmeal, but it could work. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try! xo
Brooke Thompson says
I make these so often that I almost have the recipe memorized – they are that good! The reason I still double check is because one time I accidentally messed up the apple cider vinegar quality – instead of measuring spoons, I went the cup route. Wt actual heck was I thinking?! Worth sharing my flub because they still turned out great, which is a testament to how truly forgiving this recipe is!! Love the texture and subtle sweetness 💜
We’re so glad you enjoy this recipe, Brooke! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Katelyn says
I made these the other night and they are exceptional! I subbed regular eggs for the flax eggs but kept the rest of the recipe the same and they turned out beautifully. I’m not a huge baker, so the simplicity of this recipe worked really well for me. I only had one small muffin tin, so I baked the rest of the batter in a small baking dish to make cornbread squares. I left the “loaf” in the oven for a few extra minutes to ensure the center cooked through and that turned out just as well as the muffins. Highly recommend this recipe!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Katelyn! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Colleen Reynolds says
I used oat milk and organic cornmeal (not fine) and white spelt (for the AP flour) and buckwheat flour (in place of almond meal) and blueberries. Greased my muffin tin with coconut oil.
Sooo fabulous!
Thank you MB!!!!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Colleen!
Lori says
These are excellent muffins as written, but my family also loves them with chopped strawberries subbed in if we don’t have blackberries handy!
Love that modification! Thanks so much for sharing, Lori!
Alissa Blackman says
Hi there. Made these today and the whole family loved them! (I did bake a bit longer due to our weird oven and they still came out delicious). I am wondering how to adjust the ingredients if next time I reduce the sugar (hubby going on a reduced sugar diet). I am not a very experienced baker so wondering if changing proportions on a dry ingredient will leave them too mushy. This time I used (Bob’s) GF flour and a mix of coconut sugar, brown sugar and maple syrup. If I reduce dry sugar should I increase the flour proportionately? If I reduce wet sugar (maple/agave?) would you recommend adding water. Thank you!
Hi Alissa, we think it might work to reduce the brown sugar/coconut sugar by half without making other adjustments. Let us know how it goes!
maya says
seriously the most delicious, moist muffins ever! i used mashed banana instead of applesauce, added cubed mango tossed in flour instead of blackberries (we don’t have them), used whole wheat flour in place of the AP flour, used oat flour instead of the almond meal and it came out DELICIOUS!! almost like cornbread.
love how adaptable your recipes always are!!
We’re so glad they turned out well! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Maya! xo
Ellie says
These look great! Is there anything I could substitute for the almond meal?
Maybe another nut/seed meal such as cashew? Or perhaps a lesser amount of oat flour? Let us know if you try it!
Sandra says
Love these! I ground up 3 small apples in the vitamix with juice from a lemon to make applesauce. Added the zest from the lemon to the batter and some cinnamon. Used blueberries from the freezer tossed with some flour. Whenever I have a taste for something I can usually find a compelling version of it on your site. Thanks!!
Love those modifications, Sandra! Thanks so much for sharing!
Carrie says
LOVE! Have made 3 times – even my parents (in their 70s) loved them. Subbed blueberries and reduced sugar by 15-20% and oil by a tbsp or so and still perfectly delicious. Cornmeal is the best.
Whoop! Thanks so much for sharing, Carrie!
Kim says
Easy and tasty!
Kim says
I made this for the third time and didn’t have apple sauce so used the plain full fat yogurt instead. I used the same amount in weight. Turned out fantastic! I also substituted half of the ap flour with whole wheat flour.
Thanks for sharing, Kim!
Bobbi Finkelstein says
Loved this recipe! I didn’t have apple sauce so I used 2 ripe mashed bananas instead, and they turned out delicious 😊
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Bobbi. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Jenny Lanice says
Perfect muffin recipe!
So moist and delicious.
They disappeared quickly in my house. 😃
Yay! We’re so glad your household enjoyed them! Thank you for the lovely review, Jenny! xo
Dani says
How do I modify the recipe to make these without any added sugar? Can I use bananas or more applesauce?
Hi Dani, unfortunately the sugar in these muffins is important not only for taste, but for the right texture as well. We haven’t tried it without the sugar so we cannot guarantee results, but you could try increasing the applesauce, and possibly the flour, in place of the sugar. Let us know how it goes!
Kay says
Delicious! I just threw everything together without regard to the order and it turned out really well!
We’re so glad it turned out well! Thanks for sharing, Kay!
Josh says
Not quite sure where I’ve stuffed up but they have come out quite doughy and dense when baked. The batter was quite thick when putting into the muffin cases. Any tips much appreciated as I’m keen to get them right. Thanks!
Hi Josh, sorry to hear that was your experience! Did you make any modifications? What type of flour(s) did you use?
Josh says
Thanks for coming back to me – I’m committed to getting these right! I used unbleached white flour and cornmeal. The replacement I made was to use coconut sugar rather than raw sugar? Also I’m wondering if by cornmeal do you mean polenta? In Australia Cornmeal and Polenta are slightly different things. Thanks for you help!
Hmm! We wouldn’t expect coconut sugar to make a difference, but it’s possible! We used Bob’s Red Mill fine cornmeal. Did you use the metric measurements? We just double checked them and the butter was slightly off (but only by 4 ml so that probably wouldn’t make a difference). Our only other guess would be if you reduced the number of servings, but used 2 flax eggs instead of 1. Hope that helps!
Leah says
How would you recommend making this oil-free? Thank you!
Hi Leah, perhaps a mix of applesauce and nut butter? Let us know if you try it!
Iris says
This is a great recipe!
I made it twice already in a loaf pan with raspberries. I also added orange zest.
The only problem with raspberries is that their edges are turning the cake blue and it looks like mold :-(
Alicia says
These are so delicious and easy. I made half the recipe and used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose. Had blueberries on hand so I used those instead of blackberries. Added lemon zest. Super delicious, not too sweet, and a great texture.
Deb V says
Made this today as I had some leftover blueberries. It was the only substitution. The muffins are delicious. Will be making them again. I was able to get 12 good size muffins from the batter. Thanks for this easy recipe.
Jessica Payne says
These were so delicious! The texture was awesome and I loved the cornmeal. I was a little afraid because the muffins were a little dark in the oven, but I could’ve let them go for another like 5 mins or so like the recipe suggests.
Ess says
I made these today and they were amazing! I used chicken eggs and 2% milk, I added strawberries instead of blackberries, I halved the amount of cane sugar (which was absolutely perfect to my taste), I used almond flour instead of almond meal (maybe the same thing…?), and I used white whole wheat flour instead of AP. Delicious!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Ess! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Robyn K says
Made these muffins on Tuesday morning (as I was up way too early – thanks to jet lag!). They were so good I’m making a new batch for a brunch tomorrow!
Kristen says
Loved these! I made the recipe as written and used avocado oil. I think I’m going to make them again tonight! I may experiment with different berries in the future, but I love the combination of blackberries and cornmeal.