Bacon Blue Corn Muffins with Hatch Chiles are the greatest corn bread upgrade you never knew you needed!
I admit to not being the hugest fan of cornbread in the traditional sense. These muffins definitely have similar traits. But with an upgrade in corn meal – from yellow to blue – and the addition of Hatch green chiles and bacon, you’ve got the makings of perfection.
Bacon blue corn muffins are great on the side of chili, stew, enchiladas, chile rellanos, hot breakfasts, chowder, steak and plenty more. I always mean to serve them as a side dish, but I’m a monster and I always end up eating the majority of them straight out of the pan.
Could you use yellow cornmeal in this recipe? Sure. But the magic really is in the blue cornmeal – it’s so much more delicious. Plus it’s loaded up with wayy more antioxidants than its white and yellow counterparts. There’s some more information HERE. Finding it may be a little challenging. The Denver-area Natural Grocers stores started selling it in the refrigerator section with flours and other meals. I thought it was going to be a limited-time thing so I grabbed several bags; but as of this writing it remains in stock. I would probably first look at any health-conscious grocer in your area, and if not there, try Hispanic markets next. The closer you are to the American Southwest, the easier it will be to find.
This is a pretty straightforward recipe. As one piece of advice, cook your bacon crispier than you would normally eat it. It’ll soften up while baking. I can also tell you that I have successfully used dairy-free milk alternatives when making these and they turn out great. The apple cider vinegar in the milk acts as a buttermilk substitute, but if you’ve got buttermilk go ahead and use that!
Looking for more recipes with Hatch green chiles? Try my Denver Green Chile, New Mexican Style Green Chile Sauce or Colorado Salsa recipes!
Bacon Blue Corn Muffins with Hatch Chiles
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon
- 1 cup (8 fl oz) milk
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup (135 g) blue corn meal
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp (30 g) sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (14 g) green onions, green parts only (about 1 bunch)
- 1/4 cup (55 g) salted butter, melted
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/4 cup (65 g) diced roasted Hatch green chiles (about 2-3 chiles)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease muffin pan.
- Cook bacon to desired doneness. Cook it crispier than you would normally eat it, as it will soften some while the muffins bake. Drain on a paper towel and dice.
- In a small bowl, combine milk and apple cider vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes. If you have buttermilk on hand, skip this step and use a cup of that instead.
- In the meantime, combine blue corn meal, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Stir in the diced bacon and the chopped green onions.
- Add the milk mixture (or buttermilk), melted butter, beaten egg, and Hatch green chiles. Combine well.
- Distribute muffin mix evenly into greased muffin pan. The bacon tends to sink to the bottom so stir often to distribute evenly.
- Bake on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.
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