Crab Cornbread Muffins

These Southern Crab Cornbread Muffins combine sweet cornbread and savory jumbo lump crab for a flavorful coastal twist. Perfect for holidays, potlucks, and family gatherings!

Course Bread, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Southern

Keyword crab-corn-muffins, kickin-crab-corn-muffins

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings muffins

Calories 222kcal

Author Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

1 7 oz box Martha White Sweet Yellow Cornbread and Muffin Mix OR similar
1 cup self-rising flour
2 tsp seafood seasoning [i.e. Seafood Magic or Old Bay]
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup whole buttermilk
1 8 oz can cream style corn
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
8 oz jumbo lump crab meat
1 medium jalapeno pepper chopped
4 Tbsp chopped red bell pepper
2 medium green onion chopped
2 Tbsp butter

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spritz 16 muffin cups with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl use a whisk to sift together the corn muffin mix, self rising flour, seafood seasoning and garlic powder.
In a separate medium bowl whisk together the buttermilk, cream style corn, vegetable oil and eggs. Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until fully moistened.
On the stovetop over medium-high heat, sauté the chopped jalapeno, red bell pepper, green onion with 2 Tbsp butter. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste. Cook for 1-2 minutes until softened and beginning to brown.
Add cooked vegetables to the batter along with the crab meat and shredded cheese. Mix well. Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full.
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center shows moist crumbs.
Serve hot with butter.

Notes

Use Quality Crab Meat - Crab meat is pricey we all know this. Even so, it's important to start with quality crab meat being careful to pick through and remove any debris prior to adding to the cornbread batter. I haven't tested this recipe using imitation crab meat.
Pan Options - These easy crab corn muffins can also be made in a standard size muffin-cupcake pan. Round cups don't hold quite as much cornbread batter as the cups in this square pan, so your yield may be greater. This could be a good thing if more servings are needed!
Cheese - I use pepper jack cheese to add a kick to these corn muffins. You can adapt using your favorite flavor of cheese. Try sharp cheddar cheese, monterey jack cheese or colby jack cheese, if you prefer a milder approach.
Jalapenos - You could replace with a small can of chopped green chiles. Drain well adding to the batter with the crab meat, cheese and sautéed veggies.
Oil - It's important to use a neutral flavored oil for cornbread, skip the olive oil for this recipe.

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