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    Home » Vegan Recipes

    The BEST Polenta Breakfast Muffins

    Published: Jan 1, 2022 · Modified: Mar 10, 2023 by Tajda Ferko This post may contain affiliate links

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    JUMP TO RECIPE JUMP TO VIDEO

    My savoury polenta breakfast muffins are super easy and packed with flavour for a perfect breakfast, snack, or appetizer. This tender, healthy, vegan recipe can also be made gluten-free. Studded with all these crowd-pleasing Italian flavours: garlic, oregano, chives.

    A hand reaching out for a corn muffin placed on a dark cooling rack.
    Jump to:
    • 💌 Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • 🌱 Ingredients
    • ⏲️ Steps
    • 💡 Expert Tips
    • ❓ FAQ
    • 📦 Storing
    • 🍽️ Serving
    • 🔪 Substitutions
    • 🍴Recipe

    💌 Why You'll Love This Recipe

    Think mushy polenta or rustic cornbread are the only ways to use cornmeal? Meet my lunchbox staple polenta muffins!

    • Works as a side or a standalone snack
    • So flavourful
    • Easy to customise
    • Made in 1 bowl in 30 minutes
    • Great when served with soups & stews 
    • No added sugar
    • Made in a standard cupcake or muffin tin
    • No fancy equipment needed
    • Approved by vegans & non-vegans alike

    And if that’s not convincing enough, you’ll also get step-by-step photos & video to guide you through making these easy polenta muffins.

    🌱 Ingredients

    You’ll need simple, staple ingredients for this delicious baked polenta dish.

    PS - I know polenta/cornmeal can be a bit confusing. I’ve written about the difference between cornmeal and cornstarch here.

    All ingredients needed to make polenta muffins placed on a flat surface.

    Polenta (cornmeal): I used ready-to-cook, fine polenta. Any cornmeal (fine or coarse) will do.

    Plain flour: also called all-purpose flour. Make sure you’re not using strong bread flour.

    Oil: I used olive oil but feel free to substitute for any other vegetable oil such as sunflower, hemp, etc. Can’t be substituted with coconut oil.

    Chives: I used fresh chives, but this can be subbed for dry chives or other herbs too.

    Seeds: I used a mix of sunflower, pumpkin & flaxseed, but you could top it off with any seeds of your choice.

    ⏲️ Steps

    This polenta muffins recipe is SO easy you practically can’t go wrong. It’s perfect for beginners and even kids can get involved. Here’s a quick visual overview.

    PS - The full ingredients list with instructions is waiting for you at the bottom of this post. Or scroll to the top and click on Jump to Recipe. 

    A collage of six images showing all the steps in making polenta muffins.

    💡 Expert Tips

    Weight the ingredients: while I do provide measurements in cups, using kitchen scales to measure out your ingredients in grams is a lot more precise. This will give you the best results.

    Don’t overmix: your polenta muffin batter should be light & fluffy. Once you’ve added liquids, stir until the mixture is just combined and then stop right away.

    Let them cool: if you’re trying to eat these straight out of the oven, they’ll get stuck to the cupcake liner and end up being a mess. Let them cool down first.

    ❓ FAQ

    A close-up view of a yellow corn muffin with an open centre.
    Do I have to use cupcake liners?

    I strongly recommend that. Alternatively, you could try greasing the tin well with oil. However, this might make it harder to remove the muffins.

    I baked them for 20 minutes and they’re still raw.

    Every oven behaves differently - I was SO surprised to learn that a few years back.

    This means that even though I tested this recipe to perfection (if I may say so myself!), your baking times might be different.

    It's so important to get to know your oven which will help determine whether or not you need to bake things for longer or shorter.

    The easiest way to tell if your polenta muffins are baked is to stick a skewer in the middle of 1 muffin and see if it comes out clean. If not, you need to bake it for longer and then repeat the skewer test.

    📦 Storing

    These muffins taste by far the best when they’re fresh. Aim to eat them on the same day of baking. If you’re not sure you’re gonna be able to eat them all, make a smaller batch.

    If you do have some leftovers, the best way to store them is in an airtight container at room temperature. They should keep good for 1-2 days.

    🍽️ Serving

    An overhead view of corn seed muffins in a cupcake tin.
    • Eat them alone as a snack or starter
    • Pair them with a hearty, feel-good stew 
    • They form a natural pairing with my tomato, broccoli or vegan chicken soup
    • Serve them with a good dipping sauce like my mint & mango chutney
    • Enjoy them with a healthy salad for a refreshing meal

    🔪 Substitutions

    • Make it gluten-free by swapping plain flour for GF plain flour (tried & tested)
    • Customise it by adding veggies (extra sneaky portion of veg, great for fussy kids!)
    • Add cheese on top for that extra comfort - I love adding smoked vegan cheese
    • Add other herbs instead of chives - basil, parsley, cilantro, thyme & rosemary would all works well

    If you enjoyed these polenta muffins, check out my savoury muffins, one of the most popular recipes on this blog!

    Lastly, thanks for stopping by! Any questions just leave them in the comments below and I’ll be happy to help you out as soon as I see them!

    🍴Recipe

    The BEST Polenta Breakfast Muffins

    5 from 22 votes
    My savoury polenta muffins are super easy and packed with flavour for a perfect breakfast, snack, or appetizer. 
    PRINT PIN RATE
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 199kcal
    Author: Tajda Ferko

    EQUIPMENT

    • Measuring cups or scales
    • Muffin/cupcake tin
    • Muffin/cucpake liners

    INGREDIENTS 

    Dry ingredients

    • ½ cup (80 g) polenta / cornmeal
    • ½ cup (62.5 g) plain flour
    • 2 teaspoon baking powder
    • ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) salt
    • 4 tablespoon fresh chives half this amount if using dry chives
    • ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) garlic powder
    • 1 pinch turmeric
    • 1 teaspoon dry oregano

    Wet ingredients

    • 2 tablespoon olive oil or other vegetable oil
    • ¾ cup (180 ml) water

    Toppings

    • 4 tablespoon mixed seeds I used a mix of sunflower, pumpkin & flaxseed

    INSTRUCTIONS

    • Add all your dry ingredients to a bowl. Mix well.
    • In a large cup/mug, mix together your wet ingredients.
    • Pour the wet ingredients over your dry ingredients and stir until combined. Do not overmix.
    • Slowly pour the muffin mixture into a lined muffin tin.
    • Top off with seeds.
    • Bake at 356°F/180°C for 18-20 minutes.

    Video

    Notes

    This recipe makes 4 muffins. Toggle the serving size in the recipe card above for a bigger/smaller batch. 
    Tip 1 / Weight the ingredients: Using kitchen scales to measure out your ingredients in grams is a lot more precise than using cups. 
    Tip 2/ Don’t overmix: Once you’ve added wet ingredients, stir until the mixture is just combined and then stop right away.
    Tip 3 / Let them cool: Let the muffins cool down first to prevent them from sticking to the cupcake liner.
    Make it gluten-free by swapping plain flour for GF plain flour (tried & tested)
    Serving ideas - Enjoy as a snack, appetizer, pair them with a soup or stew, serve them with a dipping sauce or with a refreshing salad.
    To store - Best enjoyed when they’re fresh (on the same day of baking). If you do have some leftovers, the best way to store them is in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days.
    Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean, Vegan
    Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

    Nutrition

    Calories: 199kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 442mg | Potassium: 297mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 131IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 2mg

    Disclaimer: The nutritional information above is calculated automatically. The author of this post cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of this data.

    Tried This Recipe?Leave a comment below!

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    • Easy Lavender Hot Chocolate - Gourmet Hot Cocoa
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    Comments

    1. Paula says

      April 05, 2022 at 5:09 pm

      The rexipe says seeds and tou wrote you ise a mix of ……. But there’s nothing listed

      Reply
      • Tajda Ferko says

        April 05, 2022 at 5:14 pm

        Thanks for noticing! Added the details of what seed mix I used (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds & flaxseed).

        Reply
    2. Christine Eaton says

      November 03, 2024 at 1:27 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you for posting such a super recepie! The muffins are delicious in flavour and light in texture. I had no chives and added chopped garlic instead. Looking forward to trying your other recipes!

      Reply
      • Tajda Ferko says

        November 03, 2024 at 7:14 pm

        So happy to hear than Christine, thank you so much for leaving a great review!

        Reply
    3. Kristin says

      November 03, 2024 at 4:26 pm

      5 stars
      These are SO good! I’ve had polenta in my pantry for months, and just hadn’t found a recipe I was sold on. These turned out moist, tender, and satisfyingly savory—and this coming from someone who tends towards sweet things. I made a few minor tweaks:

      I used the recipe for 8 muffins and all the proportions turned out perfectly!

      For flour, I used Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.

      I have reflux and get triggered by specific spices, so I used Rosemary instead of garlic, oregano, and turmeric.

      I didn’t use baking cups, and the muffins slid out smoothly from a metal muffin tin, no problem, and no burnt edges.

      Thank you for this recipe!

      Reply
      • Tajda Ferko says

        November 03, 2024 at 7:14 pm

        Thanks so much for taking the time to leave your wonderful review Kristin! Glad to know it worked so well with GF flour.

        Reply
    5 from 22 votes (20 ratings without comment)

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    Hi there! I'm Tajda (pronounced tide-ah) and I share playful, plant-forward recipes that celebrate simple & joyful cooking.

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