Sloppy joe cornbread muffins make great finger food for football, movie nights, New Years, or just about any time you’d like to serve them up.
Why this recipe works
These muffins are a fun take on the classic sloppy joe, but instead of sandwiching them between two buns, we piled the meat mixture on top of delicious cornbread muffins.
This recipe also makes an awesome way to use up leftover sloppy joe!
RELATED: you might also like this recipe – Bacon Sloppy Joes
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
MEAT – We’re using ground beef for our Sloppy Joe mixture, but any ground meat will work.
VEGETABLES – We’ve kept this simple with onions and creamed corn. You can add bell pepper to the Sloppy Joes or even spice it up with some Jalapeno!
CRUST – Making the crust from scratch is fun and it’s what we’ve opted for here, however you can absolutely use a cornbread muffin mix instead.
How to Make Sloppy Joe Cornbread Muffins
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Prepare cornbread bowls: Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and mix well.
- Pour in the cream corn and canola oil. Whisk to combine.
- Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, or line with liners. Pour batter into the muffin tin/liners and fill ¾ of the way. Bake for 12 minutes.
- Brown ground beef with onion then drain fat. Add ketchup, Worcestershire, Dijon, brown sugar, garlic powder, pepper, and dry mustard to a large bowl.
- Whisk well, then add the ground beef. Stir to evenly distribute.
- Remove the cornbread from the oven. Take out the center of the muffins to create a bowl for the sloppy joe to sit.
- Add a scoop of sloppy joe mixture to the center of the cornbread muffins. Top with cheddar cheese and place back in the oven for 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- When removing the center of the cornbread, try to leave about 1cm along the sides and the bottom of the muffin. Scoop with a spoon, or use a knife.
- Save the center of the cornbread and reuse to make chili and cornbread stuffed peppers or cornbread pudding/casserole.
- Garnish with fresh chives, ground black pepper, or green onions.
- You can substitute cornbread mix instead of making it from scratch. They can also be made with leftover sloppy joes.
- Feel free to add whatever you’d like into the sloppy joe mixture. Green pepper and jalapeno make delicious additions!
Bite sized Sloppy Joe Cornbread Muffins are the perfect finger food. Great for leftover sloppy joe, ideal for football, as a New Years appetizer, and more. If you love cornbread like me, check out my Sweet Cornbread recipe as well!
Ingredients
- .5 lb ground beef
- 1 white onion diced
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 can cream corn
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- shredded cheddar cheese optional, as topping
Things You’ll Need
- Mixing bowls
- Muffin pan
Before You Begin
- When removing the center of the cornbread, try to leave about 1cm along the sides and the bottom of the muffin. Scoop with a spoon, or use a knife.
- Save the center of the cornbread and reuse to make cornbread pudding or casserole.
- Garnish with fresh chives, ground black pepper, or green onions!
- You can substitute cornbread mix instead of making it from scratch. They can also be made with leftover sloppy joes.
- Feel free to add whatever you like into your sloppy joe mixture. We kept it simple here, but green pepper and jalapeno make delicious additions!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
Preparing the Cornbread Bowls
- Add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and mix well. Pour in the cream corn and canola oil. Whisk to combine.
- Spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray, or line with liners. Pour batter into the muffin tin/liners and fill ¾ of the way. Bake for 12 minutes.
Making the Sloppy Joe Mixture
- While the cornbread muffins are baking, cook the sloppy joe mixture. Brown ground beef with onion then drain fat. Add ketchup, Worcestershire, Dijon, brown sugar, garlic powder, pepper, and dry mustard to a large bowl. Whisk well, then add the ground beef. Stir to evenly distribute.
- Remove the cornbread from the oven. Take out the center of the muffins to create a bowl for the sloppy joe to sit.
- Add a scoop of sloppy joe mixture to the center of the cornbread muffins. Top with cheddar cheese and place back in the oven for 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
