Cheddar Chili Bean Muffins #MuffinMonday

Made with leftover chili con carne, these cheddar chili bean muffins are a wonderful savory bake, perfect alone or as an accompaniment to your meal.

When researching recipes for another post, I came across a dish I had never heard of called fritoque (pronounced free-toh-kay.) It was on the menu of a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio way back when, made with cooked beans, broken tortilla chips and cheese. One variation on the recipe was a substitution of chili con carne for the beans. 

I made the chili then I made a hybrid fritoque that was half beans and half chili. Then I ran out of time to edit the photos and create the post before the event deadline, so I’ll have to share it another day. It was really tasty! 

But meanwhile, I had leftovers of the chili-bean mixture and using it in muffins seemed like a great idea. I’ve made chili cheese dog muffins before and they were fabulous. This recipe is very similar but no weenies. 

Cheddar Chili Bean Muffins

If you don’t have leftover chili con carne, you can use canned but keep in mind that the moisture content of the canned chili may be higher so strain it somewhat if it’s really wet.

Ingredients

1 cup or 125g flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 oz or 57g extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated, plus extra for topping, if desired

1 cup or 260g chili with beans

1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for the muffin pan

1 egg

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 6-cup muffin pan by brushing it with a little oil. 

Combine your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cheese in a large mixing bowl.

In another smaller bowl, whisk together your egg, oil and chili with beans.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones and stop when it’s still quite dry looking.

Divide your batter between the 6 muffin cups.

Sprinkle the tops with the extra cheese, if using.  

Bake for 20-25 minutes in your preheated oven or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove to continue cooling on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

It’s Muffin Monday, our first of 2023! Check out all the great muffins my friends are sharing with you today. 

• Almond Flour Banana Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Apple Bran Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Bran Buds Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheddar Chili Bean Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Cinnamon Crumb Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Dried Fig and Pineapple Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Persian Love Cake Muffins from Magical Ingredients
• Small-Batch Double Chocolate Banana Muffins from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Cheddar Chili Bean Muffins!

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Leftover Mashed Potato Muffins (Small Batch) #MuffinMonday

These leftover mashed potato muffins are fluffy, tender and cheesy. They are the perfect way to use up any leftover spuds. This recipe makes six muffins but it is easily doubled to make 12. 

I’ve finally succumbed to the lure of the air fryer! But only because I found the Ninja one that flips up and restores my counter space when not in use. It can supposedly also bake a 13- inch pizza, but we haven’t tested that. We have used it just about every day since we brought it home last week. 

The funny thing is, we haven’t actually employed the air fryer function yet. We’ve baked and broiled and reheated though. All good! The most amazing part is how quick it preheats compared to the big oven. Mere minutes! 

I baked this small batch of muffins in it and they took exactly as long as they would have in my big oven, 20 minutes on 350°F or 180°C, but the Ninja was on for only a total of about 22 minutes. That would have been a good 15 minutes more for preheating time in the big guy. 

All in all, so far, we have been pleased with the purchase. (No one is paying me to say any of this! I bought it in-store at Costco for a bargain $139.99 + tax. Here’s an Amazon affiliate link to the same model, if you’d like to check it out: https://amzn.to/3EGPbME)

Leftover Mashed Potato Muffins

This small batch recipe makes 6 muffins and can be baked in a conventional oven or a big air fryer/oven like the Ninja Foodie flip up. Baking time and temperature are the same for either. Recipe adapted from this sweet muffin one on Simplify Create Inspire. 

Ingredients

Canola or other light oil for greasing 6-cup muffin pan

1 cup or 125g flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional 

2 tablespoons chopped green onions (green part only)

1/2 cup, grated, or about 60g extra sharp cheddar

1/2 cup or 120g leftover mashed potato

1 egg

1/4 cup or 60ml buttermilk

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 6-cup muffin pan by greasing it with oil. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. 

Add in the grated cheese and green onion, reserving a little bit of each for topping. Stir to coat them with the flour.

In another bowl, whisk together the mashed potatoes, egg and buttermilk.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. 

Divide the thick batter between the muffin cups and top with the reserved cheese and green onion. 

Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm.

Enjoy! 

It’s the last Monday of the month so that means it’s Muffin Monday, that magical day when we gather to celebrate how easy it is to bake muffins! Check out the list of recipes below from my Muffin Monday friends. 

• Almond Cranberry Orange Muffins from Magical Ingredients
• Cheddar, Bacon, and Potato Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Coconut Papaya Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Cranberry Sauce Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Leftover Mashed Potato Muffins (Small Batch) from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Leftover Mashed Potato Muffins! 

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Small Batch Banana Walnut Muffins #MuffinMonday

These small batch banana walnut muffins are perfect for breakfast or snack time, full of sweet banana flavor and crunch from the nuts. Serve them with a cup of hot tea or a glass of cold milk!

It’s the last Monday of the month so it’s time for Muffin Monday! Also, happy Halloween! I’m not going to suggest you hand out muffins because kids want candy, but muffins would be good for snacking on while you hand over the sweet stuff. 

Make sure to scroll down to see the other muffin recipes my friends are sharing today. 

Small Batch Banana Walnut Muffins

This recipe is adapted from one on One Dish Kitchen. I have a feeling that my bananas must be larger than hers because I could easily have stretched the batter out to another muffin or even two. As it was, a couple of mine spilled over while baking. I’ve amended the ingredient list to say “medium” bananas. Perhaps that will help. I will say, we loved the muffins and I would make them again! 

Ingredients

2 overripe medium bananas

6 tablespoons or 85g butter, melted and cooled, plus extra for the pan

1 large egg

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup or 125g flour

½ cup or 100g sugar

1 oz or 28g walnuts, chopped (about 13 shelled walnut halves) 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Optional for decorating: 6 shelled walnut halves 

I set six aside and then forgot to put them on top before baking. Oh, well. 

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 6-cup muffin pan by buttering it or lining it with paper liners. Alternatively, you can use silicone muffin cups, as I did. 

In a large bowl, mash your bananas with a fork. 

Add in the cooled, melted butter, the egg and the vanilla extract and whisk till all are incorporated. 

Fold in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, along with the chopped walnuts, until just mixed. 

You might have a little flour still showing and that’s just fine. 

Divide the batter between your prepared muffin cups. Top each with a walnut half, if desired. (Or if you remember.)

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned, today is Muffin Monday. Check out the recipes my fellow muffin bakers are sharing. 

• Apple Cinnamon Streusel Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Cinnamon Pecan Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Pulled Pork Corn Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Raisin Bran Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Small Batch Banana Walnut Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Potato Walnut Muffins from Passion Kneaded

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Small Batch Banana Walnut Muffins!

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Spiced Cheddar Cornbread Muffins #MuffinMonday

These spiced cheddar cornbread muffins are baked with cumin, kalonji and cayenne pepper, tasty savory treats perfect for breakfast or snack time.

 

The weather has already turned chilly and my husband has a toothache which makes chewing hard things painful. Those two things mean soups have been on the menu. Not that I’m complaining, of course. I love soup. 

I also love crusty bread or muffins to serve with them. Those complete the meal for me. Since crusty bread is hard to chew, this time I chose savory, spicy, cheesy muffins.

(P.S. For those who are concerned, he has a dentist’s appointment tomorrow morning. With any luck, he’ll be back to chewing again by dinner time.)

Spiced Cheddar Cornbread Muffins 

This recipe was adapted from one on BBC Good Food. It makes 8 regular sized muffins. 

Ingredients

1 cup or 125g flour

1/3 cup or 60g cornmeal or polenta

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 1/4 teaspoons kalonji aka nigella seeds

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon mustard powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 oz or 85g extra-mature cheddar, grated

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for the muffin pan

1 egg

Method

Heat the oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your muffin pan by greasing eight holes. (Or use silicone cups on a pan. Mine are from Crate and Barrel but they are sold in many stores! I love them.) 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, mustard powder, cayenne and salt. Add in 1 teaspoon each of the cumin and kalonji seeds, reserving the last 1/4 teaspoon of each for sprinkling on top the muffins before baking. 

Add the grated cheddar, reserving a couple of tablespoons for topping, to the dry ingredients and stir to coat. 

In another smaller bowl, whisk the milk, oil and egg together and pour them into the dry ingredient bowl. Fold until just combined. 

Divide the mixture between the muffin cups. Combine the reserved cheese, cumin and kalonji and sprinkle this over the tops.

Bake the muffins for 20-22 mins until puffed up and golden. Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Enjoy! 

It's Muffin Monday, the last Monday of every month, when we share our love of muffin baking and recipes. Check out the links below!

• Cinnamon Pear Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fresh Fig and Orange Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Honey Oat Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Sourdough Maple Pecan Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spiced Cheddar Cornbread Muffins from Food Lust People Love

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Spiced Cheddar Cornbread Muffins! 

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Crawfish Cornbread Muffins #MuffinMonday

Made with the bottom of the bag cracklin crumbs, extra sharp cheddar, onion and jalapeños, these tasty crawfish cornbread muffins are over the top cheesy, spicy and delicious. 

The last time I went to Louisiana to visit family, I happened to spy some cracklin crumbs in bags on the counter at one of the local butchers. I couldn’t resist buying them since the price was so good compared to the actual cracklin which has reached the astronomical price of more than $20 per pound. I pictured myself sprinkling it on things to add flavor, salt and spice, and so I have. 

 

But what I really wanted to do with it was make cornbread. I’m finally getting around to that!  And since I happened to have some crawfish in the freezer as well, that got added in too. Because why not? 

Crawfish Cornbread Muffins

If you can’t find cooked crawfish in the freezer section of your local stores, substitute shrimp. Also, I recommend baking these in silicone muffin cups. As you will see in the photos below, mine stuck on the bottom despite a generous brushing of the muffin pan with oil. If you don’t have cracklin crumbs, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the mix.

Ingredients

1/2 yellow onion, finely diced (about 5 oz or 140g)

1-2 fresh jalapeños, stemmed and finely chopped (deseeding optional)

1 cup or 180g yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup or 32g flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I use Slap Ya Mama since it’s lower in sodium than some of the other brands.)

3 eggs

1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for sauté and muffin pans

4 oz or 113g extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/4 cups or 170g frozen corn, thawed

6 oz or 170g crawfish tail meat, roughly chopped

1/2 cup or 60g cracklin crumbs, optional, or 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 350° F or 180°C. Grease 12 silicone muffins cups and put them in a muffin pan or on a large baking pan. 

Sauté the onion and jalapeños in a skillet with a drizzle of oil until softened. Set aside to cool. 

Stir the cornmeal, cracklin crumbs (if using), baking powder, salt and creole seasoning together in a large bowl. 

Add the grated cheese and stir to coat. 

Add the crawfish and stir to coat again. 

Add the corn and the onion/jalapeño mixture and stir to combine. 

Note: You will notice that you don’t see the onion and jalapeños in that photo. That is because I had already added the eggs and oil and then turned around to see them, all nicely cooled in their pan on the other side of the sink. So in reality they went in after the eggs but they sure would be mixed in more easily with the corn when all the ingredients were still relatively dry, which is what was meant to happen. 

In another bowl, whisk the eggs and oil together. Pour this into the muffin mixture and stir to combine. 

Divide the cornbread mixture into your prepared silicone muffins cups. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. 

This is the debacle you can expect if you don't use silicone muffin cups or liners. You have been warned! 

I must confess though that we used a spoon to scrape those stuck bits out and they were delicious and crunchy! They did not go to waste. 

Leave to cool for a few minutes, then release them from the silicone cups and leave on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with extra butter, if desired. 

Enjoy!

It’s the last Monday of the month so that means it’s time for Muffin Monday! Check out the great muffins my friends are sharing below: 

• 4 Ingredient, Small Batch, Nutella Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Crawfish Cornbread Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• S'mores Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sourdough Mango Banana Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Crawfish Cornbread Muffins!

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Brown Sugar Nectarine Muffins #MuffinMonday

These Brown Sugar Nectarine Muffins are the perfect snack or on-the-go breakfast, not too sweet and filled with healthy fruit. Your family will love them! 

Seasonal fruit-filled muffins are one of my favorite things to bake. I always feel just a little more virtuous when I know my ingredients are mostly sourced locally and I’m fortunate that my nearby grocery store proudly displays the origin of their produce. 

A couple of years ago, I ordered a box of Georgia peaches from the The Peach Truck – you’ve probably seen their ads on social media lately – and while the peaches were wonderful, they had come a good distance to get to me. Also, the minimum order is 25 lbs. I must have lost my mind to think three people could eat 25 lbs of peaches!

I made pie. I made jam. I made spicy chutney. We ate COUNTLESS peaches! Finally, I cut them off the pits and froze sliced peaches with a little sugar in Ziploc bags. I learned my lesson though. Never ordering from The Peach Truck again! At least not alone. Perhaps someday I’ll share a box. 

Besides, I really do prefer nectarines with their smooth skins. Just me?

Ingredients for 6 muffins

3/4 cup or 94g all purpose flour

1/4 cup or 50g brown sugar, plus extra for topping

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 ripe but firm nectarine (about 6 oz or 170g whole)

1/3 cup or 80ml milk

1/4 cup or 57g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 6-cup muffin pan with baking cups or grease the pan with a little oil or butter.

Discard the pit from the nectarine and cut it into small pieces. Set aside six pieces to top the muffins. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir in the big pile of chopped nectarines and separate the pieces, coating them all with the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, melted butter, egg and vanilla. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold until just combined. 

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Top each with the reserved piece of nectarine and sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on top of each muffin. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Set on a wire rack to cool. 

Enjoy!

It’s the last Monday of the month and that means it’s Muffin Monday! How is June almost over already? Check out the lovely muffins my blogger friends are sharing with you. 

• Brown Sugar Nectarine Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sausage Pancake Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Sourdough Brownie Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Zucchini Carrot Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Brown Sugar Nectarine Muffins!

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Peanut Butter Muffins with Peanut Butter Streusel

Peanut Butter Muffins with Peanut Butter Streusel are the perfect muffins for the peanut butter lovers in your life, so full of peanut butter flavor inside and out!

Regular readers will notice from the photos that I am not in my usual kitchen. But such is my dedication to Muffin Monday that in my suitcase I packed the disposable muffins cups, flour, and baking powder just so I could bake these muffins. And a spatula. Also two sharp knives and my little knife sharpener, but those had nothing to do with these peanut butter muffins!

I love staying in Airbnbs because of the kitchen but often they are ill equipped, with the most common missing items being a decent knife and a non-stick pan. I get it. Casual renters can ruin good knives and scratch non-stick pans but, dang, those would really elevate my cooking experience. I draw the line at packing pans (for a flight – road trips maybe!) but I often do bring one or two good knives in my checked bag. 

Is there something you travel with when you know you’ll have a kitchen to cook in? I'd love to hear what it is.

Peanut Butter Muffins with Peanut Butter Streusel 

This recipe makes 8 regular sized muffins. To make the streusel, it is essential that the peanut butter be well chilled so you can make crumbles. Since this is an unusual number of muffins, you might want to follow my lead and use a flat baking pan and disposable muffin cups, like these Reynolds brand foil baking cups. They are foil outside with a paper muffin cup inside so they don’t need the support of a muffin pan. Back when I was baking large quantities of cupcakes and muffins for my daughters' school fundraisers, these were a godsend. 

Ingredients

For the muffins:

3/4 cup or 94g flour

1/2 cup or 100g sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/3 cup or 80g smooth peanut butter (I use reduced fat Jif)

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

1 egg 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

For the streusel:

¼ cup or 32g all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons or 25g sugar 

3 tablespoons or 45g creamy peanut butter, well chilled 

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your muffin pan by greasing it or lining it with paper muffin cups. 

Make the streusel by combining the ingredients in a small bowl and using a pastry blender or the tines of a fork to mix them lightly to create crumbles. Put the bowl in the fridge until you are ready to use the streusel. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 

In another bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, milk, egg and vanilla. 

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones until just combined. 

Divide the batter between your 8 muffin cups.

Top with the streusel. 

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack, if you have one! My little kitchen did not.

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, it's Muffin Monday today, the last Monday of the month when my friends and I share our favorite muffin recipes. Check them out below. 

• Hot Cross Bun Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Peanut Butter Muffins with Peanut Butter Streusel from Food Lust People Love
• Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Sourdough Strawberry Chocolate Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Peanut Butter Muffins

with Peanut Butter Streusel!

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