Cheesy Chili Zucchini Cornbread Muffins with Chili Honey Butter
If you are looking for tender, moist, and crazy delicious Zucchini Cornbread Muffins, these are for you. They're topped with a little Chili Honey Butter and totally addictive. Eat them for breakfast, as a snack, or alongside a giant bowl of your favorite chili.

Warning all you cornbread lovers out there: this may be the last cornbread recipe you will ever try. Total happy/sad statement there I KNOW, but it's true.
When something's good, you know, really good, it's all I ever want. Like when I go to a restaurant and order something I dream about every day for a week and then every time I go back to the restaurant I order the exact same dish. Every. Single. Time. So much for trying new things and expanding my food horizons. How am I even a food blogger?
Are you with me? Or are you one of those totally adventurous types who order a new dish each time, not caring if it doesn't hold up to the magic of that first meal? Feeling a little pang of food ordering jealously at all you brave and daring folk who change your orders as often as you change your underwear.
How are we now talking about underwear? This is a FOOD BLOG. Right, back to these Zucchini Cornbread Muffins …

Do you know how cornbread can sometimes be a little dry? It's nothing a little butter or a dip into a bowl of chili can't solve. Still, it's always mildly disappointing. Then there's day-old cornbread that's cold and dry and dense. It's the kind of thing that turns my face into that teary-eyed emoji.
But wait … THESE Zucchini Cornbread Muffins are nothing like dry ol' cornbread. They're deliciously tender straight out of the oven AND the next day.
Inside these beauties is a full zucchini, grated into little zucchini bits, that keep the muffins moist. I know some of you might not like that word (I've heard an affliction to the word ‘moist' actually exists) but that's what they are. You know, the 180 degrees opposite of dry.
And because we're talking cornbread, and nothing goes better with Zucchini Cornbread Muffins than cheese and jalapeƱos, these babies are cheesy and a little spicy.
Then there's the chili honey butter. Let me tell you, it is everything. Think sweet, buttery and with a tiny hint of spice. I'm only a touch embarrassed to tell you that I wiped the bowl with my finger so not a drop would go to waste.

These delicious Zucchini Cornbread Muffins wouldn't be a thing without my super awesome sister and her super awesome garden. Seriously, her garden is what every wannabe green thumb condo dweller dreams of. There's big time garden envy going on here.
The last time she came to visit she brought me a giant zucchini. Half went into those Summer Veggie Skillet Enchiladas I shared with you the other week. (They were amazing, btw.) The other half went into these Zucchini Cornbread Muffins.
Thank you super awesome sister for making these super awesome muffins happen!

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More Savory Muffins and Delicious Chili Recipes:
- Healthy Southwest Quinoa Muffins
- Dairy-Free Cornbread
- Black Bean and Corn Chili with Avocado Salsa
- Vegetarian Chocolate Quinoa Chili
- Chipotle Bourbon Pumpkin Chili
- Guinness Spiked Irish Chili
- Easy Turkey Chili

Cheesy Chili Zucchini Cornbread Muffins
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
Zucchini Cornbread Muffins
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, sub gluten-free, if needed
- ¾ cup cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, omit if using bacon fat
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk, or sub any milk you have on hand
- ¼ cup butter, melted (sub half with bacon fat for a delicious smoky flavor)
- 1 medium zucchini, about 2 packed cups grated and squeezed of liquid
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- Optional: 1 jalapeƱo, minced
Chili Honey Butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sea salt, and chili powder. Make a well in the center and add the eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter and whisk to combine. Add the zucchini, cheddar cheese, and, if using, the jalapeño, and stir together.1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup cornmeal, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 2 large eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, ¼ cup butter, 1 medium zucchini, 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese, Optional: 1 jalapeño
- Divide the batter between the 12 muffins cups and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean.
- While the muffins are baking, make the honey butter. Melt the honey and the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Stir in the chili powder.2 tablespoons honey, 1 tablespoon butter, ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- Let the muffins rest for 5 minutes then remove them from the tin and let them cool on a baking sheet. Serve the chili honey butter on the side or drizzled over top.
If l were to make these cheesy chili zucchini muffins the day before would they be to hard or dry out to serve with the chili . Want to make this but need to bake the day before ?
No they’ll last. Just keep them in a sealed container after they are completely cool.
This cornbread recipe was a Huge hit at my social distancing backyard election get together. We used the small can of jalapeƱos instead of risking it with cleaning fresh. So good!
These cornbread muffins and sweet chili sauce are life changing! I was asked to make cornbread for an event, but I’m not a big fan of cornbread since it dries out so quickly and often tastes a bit flavorless to me. After finding the recipe for vegetarian chili on this site, I thought I’d search for a cornbread recipe, and luckily o found one! The muffins with sweet chili sauce and vegetarian chili are a perfect pairing!
That makes me so happy to hear! Chili and cornbread are made for each other!
I have made these delicious muffins twice now. Second time I also made the chili butter sauce and used buttermilk instead of milk. Wow! So tasty. .
I also used a local habanero hot sauce in the batter, in place of chili powder – which was a great result.
Thank you for sharing this recipe
Great call on the buttermilk! I’m so happy you like the recipe!
These are very good and dare I say ‘moist’ but be warned they are not at all sweet (no sugar or honey)
So happy to hear you like the recipe!
Wow these look delicious!
Thank you so much!!!
This is a nice recipe and photos. What a great use of zucchini!
Thank you!!