Easy gluten free blue corn muffins are sweet, tender, with a golden crust. Made WITHOUT all-purpose gluten free flour, and there is a dairy free option.
Gluten Free Blue Corn Muffins
Last month my husband and I took a trip to Ojo Caliente, New Mexico to soak in the famous mineral hot springs. Ojo Caliente is about two hours north of us, so we made a day of it. Before we left, I reached out to the marketing team who offered us a tour, a sock in a private pool and entrance to the springs along with a certificate to use at their on-site restaurant so I could share our experience.
Gluten Free Travel can be a challenge and can even be a bit scary. I often don’t know where I’ll be able to get a safe meal and have a habit of packing a multitude of safe snacks before I go anywhere. Not only did we relax, I was pleasantly surprised with how knowledgeable the staff at Ojo Caliente is. As always, I asked lots of questions, and they safely preparing gluten free food for me. At dinner, they served gluten free blue corn muffins. I think I asked our server three times if they were really gluten free! As I’m sure you know, there can be a lot of anxiety that comes when you dine with Celiac disease. He assured me that the muffins were indeed gluten free and were made with blue cornmeal and tapioca flour.
My favorite Gluten-Free Eats at Ojo Caliente
Besides the blue corn muffins at The Artisan Restaurant, we also enjoyed some amazing fish tacos (maybe even the best fish tacos I’ve ever had), delicious trout, and the Ojo Farm salad.
(Those fries go in a shared-fryer, so I didn't eat them. However, the bun on my hubby's burger is gluten-free because if it wasn't, I wouldn't kiss him.)
We visited Ojo Farm
Before dinner, we got to tour the on-site farm where they grow much of their own produce for The Artisan Restaurant. It is still early in the season, but they have lettuce and greens growing in greenhouses. I felt very much like a city girl, oohing and ahhing over the bright green rows of lettuce. They were so pretty!
After seeing where the Ojo Farm salad came from, it was a no brainer for me to order it at dinner. Also, the red chile Caesar dressing on the Caesar salad my hubby ordered was delicious.
There is a suprising number of gluten free snack options available in the El Mercado gift shop. They even have their own gluten-free granola! (Since I know you’ll ask, I confirmed it is made with gluten-free oats but the person I spoke with didn't know if they are purity protocol oats.)
If you want to read more about my gluten-free travel you can read about my family's relaxing gluten free weekend at The Tamaya or about our week eating gluten free on mission beach.
As soon as we got home, I emailed Ojo Caliente and asked if I could get my hands on their gluten free blue corn muffins recipe!
I was ecstatic whenI got an email with a scanned copy of their recipe. Of course, the recipe amounts are scaled for food service, not for a small family kitchen. I didn’t need to make a batch of muffins with 16 cups of cornmeal! After a little recipe testing, I scaled back and adapted Ojo Caliente’s blue corn muffin recipe so I could make it for my family.
gluten free blue corn muffins success!
The blue corn muffin batter whisks up quickly, with just a few ingredients. I baked mine in a greased mini muffin tin, just like the muffins that The Artesian Restaurant served.
The batter made better muffins after sitting for a few minutes. The blue cornmeal and tapioca flour soak up moisture the batter thickens slightly.
These blue corn muffins were the perfect opportunity to use my New Mexico towel. I only pull it out for special occasions but I just love the way is displays everything awesome in the "Land of Enchantment".
Can you make gluten free blue corn muffins dairy free?
I made my muffins dairy free, but if you can use dairy I would recommend using melted butter instead of the oil. It brings great flavor to the muffins!
Can you freeze gluten free blue corn muffins?
Yes you can freeze gluten free blue corn muffins! A reader commented that they froze extras, and then heated them up before serving and they were just as good!
Where to find blue cornmeal?
I had a little trouble hunting down blue cornmeal locally. If you can’t find it in a store near you, you can order it online (I found this blue cornmeal on Amazon) or you can substitute a yellow cornmeal.
I made some chicken noodle soup in my Instant Pot to go with our gluten free blue cornmeal muffins. So yummy! Of course, my kids both ate more corn muffins than soup.
The next time I am daydreaming about our next visit to Ojo Caliente, I’ll whip up another batch of these sweet blue corn muffins to tide us over!
Now, bake some Gluten Free Blue Corn Muffins of your own!
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Blue Corn Muffins
Easy gluten free blue corn muffins are sweet, tender, with a golden crust. Made WITHOUT all-purpose gluten free flour , and there is a dairy free option.
Ingredients
- ½ cup tapioca flour or starch
- 1 ¼ cup blue corn meal
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ¼ cup oil or melted butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup milk (I used almond milk) mixed with 1 teaspoon vinegar to make "buttermilk"
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°f and lightly grease a mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, blue corn meal, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Make a "well" in the dry ingredients.
- To the "well" add the oil, eggs, and "buttermilk." First whisk the wet ingredients together, and then combine them with the dry ingredients.
- Celebrate that you only have one dirty bowl.
- Fill each of the mini muffin tins about ¾ full and bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Let cool briefly before removing from the muffin tin.
Nutrition Information
Yield 36 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 52Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 11mgSodium 111mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 0gSugar 2gProtein 1g
All nutrition info is a guestimate and will vary depending on the ingredients you use.
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Lavonne Slusher
Wow, I live in Santa Fe, NM and have blue corn meal that I want to serve, but needed the gluten free recipe. Thank you!
flippindelicious
Hi Lavonne, So happy I could help you, neighbor. Happy Baking! -Brianna
Javonni
I made this awhile back and loved it. I just took some out of the freezer and heated it up and it was just as good. I had some Indian corn cornmeal that I used. Thank you!
flippindelicious
Hi Javonni, So happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for letting me know that they froze so well. I'll update the post to include that.
Happy Baking! -Brianna
Alesia Kunz
These are the best!!
I don't like sweet cornbread so I put less than 1 tablespoon of sugar. Next time I'll try almost none.
Also, I made some with fresh blueberries and some with fresh raspberries. Oh my gosh! Delicious. I cut the blueberries in half and put 3 halves in each cup. The others I put 3 segments of a raspberry in each cup. On top, actually and pushed them slightly into the batter. Not out of sight.
Of course my first round I made only one each, plain, blueberry, raspberry. This was my test. The plain one I ate with butter. Yum! The other two without. Yum. Then I baked the whole batch.
Tomorrow I will take some to a milonga (if there are any left).
I love blue corn and am always on the lookout for great things to make with it.
Thank you.
flippindelicious
Hi Alesia, Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I'm so happy you enjoyed my gluten free blue corn muffin recipe. They are very sweet muffins! I love the addition of blueberries and raspberries. That sounds delicious!
Happy Baking! -Brianna
Tina
Can this recipe be used to make cornbread as well?
flippindelicious
Hi Tina, I haven't tried baking it as cornbread, but it should work. You'll have to adjust the baking time. If you give it a try, comment back and let me know how it turned out. You also can try my gluten free cornbread with honey.
Happy Baking!
JoAnn
Just wanted you to know that I made these for my Vegan daughter with 2 flax eggs and cut the oil in half and they came out great. I used my regular muffin tins and it made an even dozen. Baked to perfection in my convection oven for 17
minutes at 400 degrees. We are at a higher elevation here in Las Vegas NM and I find I usually have to adjust my baking time so it probably would be different for others.
Great recipe and we loved eating these at Ojo Calente. Can't wait to get back there when its safe to do so.
flippindelicious
Hi JoAnn, I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipe. Thank you for letting me no that it worked using flax eggs. Using a convection oven definitely speeds up baking time, and high altitude does too. I'm at 5000 feet, near Albuquerque.
I can't wait to go back to Ojo Caliente! I'm glad that until then, you are enjoying these muffins.
Happy Baking! -Brianna
Janet
I made this recipe this evening exactly according to the recipe. I liked it but found it a little spongy. Is that from the xanthan gum? This is the first time I've ever used xanthan gum.
flippindelicious
Hi Janet,
It is hard for me to tell why they were spongy without being in the kitchen with you. I think the texture has a lot to do with the number of eggs in the recipe and the tapioca flour.
Hope that helps!
-Brianna
Jeannie
Not sure if I ever left a comment for you, but I am addicged to these muffins, I make them at least once a week. Also I have used this mixture in my waffle iron and the waffles came out wonderful!! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
flippindelicious
Hi Jeannie,
I've never thought to make it into waffles, I can't wait to try it! I'm so glad that you've been enjoying my recipe. Thank you for taking the time to comment and tell me!
Best,
Brianna
Diane Patterson
These corn muffins were amazing!! Thank you so much. I only have regular sized muffin tin, so 19 minutes at 400 did the trick. I used canned coconut milk for the milk, olive oil for the oil, coconut-monk combo for the sugar, followed all your amounts, and voila! I let them cool 5 minutes in the tin and then another few minutes on the rack. Bravo!!!
flippindelicious
Hi Diane,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipe! Thank you for sharing the substitutions you made so that they can help others. Happy Baking! -Brianna