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30-Minute Swirled Cranberry Cornbread Muffins

V Vegetarian
Posted by Jess Larson on November 6th, 2018 (Updated September 23, 2024)
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE SALES LINKS. PLEASE SEE MY FULL DISCLAIMER POLICY FOR DETAILS.
Festive Swirled Cranberry Cornbread Muffins are here to jazz up your Thanksgiving table! Fluffy cornbread muffins are swirled with cranberry sauce, giving them the perfect balance of savory & sweet. With less than 10 ingredients required, these cranberry corn muffins are just as easy to make as they are impressive to serve. A great side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas!
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Featured In Best of Thanksgiving
Swirled cranberry cornbread muffins shown on top of a black plaid napkin atop a white surface. Some fresh cranberries are scattered around the muffins.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Yield: 20-22 muffins

A Treasured Family Recipe with a Twist: Swirled Cranberry Cornbread Muffins!

Of all the amazing Thanksgiving recipes we’ve shared on PWWB over the years, this recipe is nearest and dearest to my heart.

These cranberry muffins are the product of swirling (literally!) a little bit of PWWB flare into one of my most treasured family recipes, Grandpa Clarence’s cornbread. The result? A perfect combination of heartfelt tradition and newness.

Cranberry cornbread muffins arranged in a vintage muffin pan. The muffin pan sits atop a black plaid linen napkin on a white surface, with some fresh cranberries scattered around it.
Swirled cranberry cornbread muffins are a perfect savory-sweet bite to pair with an Herb-Roasted Turkey and all of your favorite sides.

Grandpa Clarence was my maternal grandfather. I’ve written about him a few times here on the blog, as his cooking and baking are central to some of my fondest childhood memories. Grandpa lived in Hawaii for most of my life so we didn’t get to spend too much time together throughout my childhood. Any time we were together, though, was always a special treat, figuratively and literally.

Grandpa was a fantastic baker. Our childhood visits to the island were always filled with Banana Muffins, Oatmeal Crispies, and of course: Grandpa Clarence’s Famous Cornbread.

This is truly the perfect cornbread. Grandpa’s recipe is light, fluffy, and super flavorful, and I’ve kicked it up a festive notch by adding swirls of cranberry sauce right into the muffins. They’re easy to make, a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving or Christmas line-up, and a delicious fall breakfast option, too!

Side angle of cranberry cornbread muffins stacked on top of a vintage muffin pan.
These muffins are gorgeous, moist, tender, and perfectly savory-sweet.

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Whole berry cranberry sauce shown in a small glass mixing bowl.
Many cranberry cornbread recipes call for dried cranberries, but I much prefer using whole cranberry sauce. It’s so pretty swirled throughout the muffins, and the flavor from the sauce is much richer.

How to Make Festive Cornbread Muffins

These muffins are made with just a handful of staple ingredients, making it a pretty straight-forward muffin-making operation!

Cranberry Cornbread Muffins dry mix whisked in a mixing bowl.
Step 1. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisking to combine.
Cranberry cornbread batter shown in a large glass mixing bowl.
Step 2. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring to combine.

Try not to overmix the batter! Overmixing activates the proteins in the flour, which makes muffins tough. Mix the wet into the dry, just until combined.

Swirling cranberry sauce into cornbread batter with a toothpick.
Step 3. Prepare the muffins and swirl in the cranberry sauce.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners, then add a little bit of batter to each of the cups. I like to use a 2-tablespoon scoop to keep everything uniform. Add some cranberry sauce over top. Use a toothpick to swirl the cranberry sauce into the batter. Repeat the layers once more, creating the most perfectly swirled muffins.

A muffin pan with cranberry sauce swirled into cornbread muffin batter.
Step 4. Bake the cranberry cornbread muffins until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Recipe Variation

Prefer a cornbread loaf instead of muffins? No problem! Add the batter to a greased 9×13 baking dish, then swirl the cranberry sauce throughout it. Bake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Butter & cranberry sauce spread overtop a sliced cranberry cornbread muffin.
All that’s left to do is slather on some butter (or salted honey butter – yum!) and devour!

These Cranberry Cornbread Muffins embody everything that the holiday season is about: honoring family traditions passed down through the generations and creating new traditions to celebrate year after year. I can’t wait for you to try them.

If you do give them a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about and seeing your PWWB creations! Happy cooking! ♡

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Swirled cranberry cornbread muffins shown on top of a black plaid napkin atop a white surface. Some fresh cranberries are scattered around the muffins.

30-Minute Swirled Cranberry Cornbread Muffins

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  • Author: Jess Larson
  • Prep Time: 15 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 Minutes
  • Total Time: 35 Minutes
  • Yield: 20–22 Muffins 1x
  • Category: Side Dish Recipes, Desserts
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian
Print Recipe

Description

Festive Swirled Cranberry Cornbread Muffins are perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas! Fluffy cornbread muffins are swirled with cranberry sauce, giving them the perfect balance of savory and sweet. They’re just as easy to make as they are impressive to serve!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup milk of choice
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 cup whole berry cranberry sauce, divided

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin liners and set aside.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients: Add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt to a large bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
  3. Finish the muffin batter: Add the eggs and milk to a medium bowl, whisking to combine. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Take care not to overmix the batter!
  4. Prep the muffins: Add 2 tablespoons of the cornbread muffin batter to each of the prepared liners. I like to use a 2 tablespoon scoop, to keep everything uniform. Add 1 teaspoon of the cranberry sauce over top, using a toothpick to swirl the cranberry sauce into the batter. Repeat once more with 2 more tablespoons of muffin batter and 1 more teaspoon of cranberry sauce. The muffin liners should be about 2/3 full.
  5. Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes, until the centers are just set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, allow to cool slightly.
  6. Serve warm slathered with butter or salted honey butter (yum!). Enjoy!

Equipment

Notes

  • Storage: Leftover cranberry cornbread muffins will keep, stored in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 1 week. You can also freeze baked cornbread muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave before serving.
  • Portions: As written, this cranberry cornbread recipe yields a large batch of 20-22 muffins, up to 15 as a side dish. For a different sized crowd:
    • Scaled down: To serve up to 8 as a side dish, halve the recipe, yielding 10-11 muffins.
    • Make it a mini: To serve a cozy crowd of up to 4, quarter the recipe, yielding 5-6 muffins.
  • Make it a loaf: If you prefer to make a loaf vs individual muffins, you can definitely bake cranberry cornbread instead of cranberry cornbread muffins. Add the batter to a greased 9×13 baking dish, then swirl the cranberry all throughout it. Bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Follow along with Plays Well With Butter on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest for more unfussy recipes that pack a big punch of flavor!

Hi there, I'm Jess!

If there’s 1 thing to know about me, it’s this: I am head-over-heels in love with food. I’m on a mission to make weeknight cooking flavorful, fast, & fun for other foodies, & PWWB is where I share foolproof recipes that deliver major flavor with minimal effort. Other true loves: pretty shoes, puppies, Grey’s Anatomy, & my cozy kitchen in Minneapolis, MN.

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Comments

  1. 11.25.18
    Kathleen Dorsch said:

    Made these this morning, prior to drinking my coffee, and forgot to add the sugar! Turns out, they are still pretty delicious!

    Reply
  2. 11.12.18
    CJ | A Well-Read Tart said:

    This is such a brilliant idea!! My husband was just saying last night that he would love to see more cranberries in baked goods…and since we both love cornbread, this seems like the perfect recipe to try with our leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing!! 🙂

    Reply
    • 11.12.18
      jess said:

      hey cj! so glad you’re loving the idea of these muffins!! they’re honestly so good, & yes! totally perfect for thanksgiving dinner or leftovers. please let me know if you try them! xo

      Reply