Pulled Pork Stuffed Cornbread Muffins

5 from 3 votes

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Swap out those boring pulled pork sliders with these BBQ stuffed cornbread muffins! The tender, smoked pork is stuffed right into these fluffy cornbread muffins for a fun appetizer that’s quite literally packed with mouthwatering barbecue flavor.

side view: pulled pork stuffed cornbread muffins with a dollop of sour cream and jalapeno on top


So you have some incredible leftover pulled pork, what to do? The other day I made this scrumptious Southern pulled pork with an orange sauce and wanted to do something fun with the leftovers. You could always make sandwiches, nachos, a topping for stuffed potatoes, throw it in with some beans or a soup, right?

Well I chose to make these Pulled Pork-Stuffed Cornbread Muffins because we were invited to a party and needed to come up with an appetizer. I think they turned out fantastic and seemed to be a hit at the party. Almost like a cupcake so everyone got their own individual sample of tasty, sweet and delicious Pulled Pork in a moist cornbread muffin that I had hollowed out. I also added a nice little dollop of sour cream and a candied jalapeño on top.

Lately I’ve been in a candied lemons, candied kumquats, candied everything mode and thought why not a jalapeño? Don’t scoff at that last item! It is so good and the jalapeño loses it’s potency while simmering in the sugar water and leaves you with a subtle flavor that really adds to this. Give it a shot, be adventurous!

Since we’re doing all of that from scratch, I take a tasty shortcut with boxed Jiffy cornbread mix — though you’re more than welcome to make the cornbread from scratch.

overhead: a platter of stuffed cornbread muffins with sour cream and jalapeno on top

Candied jalapeños, tender pork, smoky BBQ sauce, and tangy sour cream. You might think that’s almost too much flavor to stuff into one cornbread muffin, but I make it work!

When it’s all put together, sweet and fluffy meets saucy and spicy. Topped with a dollop of sour cream, pulled pork stuffed cornbread muffins offer richness at every level, from the first bite until the last!

overhead: making candied jalapeño

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

  • Jiffy Cornbread Muffins – These are the easiest, tastiest cornbread muffins I’ve come across — I use two boxes for this recipe. To make them, you’ll need milk and eggs. You can use any homemade recipe, even Mexican cornbread, but you’ll need to leave out any added vegetables.
  • Pulled Pork – The night before, prepare your favorite pulled pork. I use either my smoked pulled pork shoulder or Instant Pot pulled pork — which is much quicker.
  • BBQ Sauce – If your pork of choice doesn’t come with plenty of sauce, make some extra when the time comes to make the stuffed cornbread. Try my homemade sweet and spicy BBQ sauce!
  • Sour Cream Fatty, tangy sour cream is perfect for quelling heat from the BBQ and chiles. Plain Greek yogurt is a fantastic substitute that makes almost no difference in flavor.

Tip From Kevin

Don’t throw out the muffin tops!

Once those muffins are cooled, use a knife to carve out a conical piece of each muffin at its center. I like to break the pieces up and place on a baking try. Pop them under the broiler to crisp up and use as corn muffin croutons on soups, chili or top salads!

overhead: assembling the stuffed cornbread with pulled pork

How to Make Stuffed Cornbread Muffins

  1. Candy the Chiles. Slice the jalapeño into ¼ inch rings. Heat the water and sugar in the skillet over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the jalapeños, lower the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes while occasionally flipping the rings over. Transfer to parchment paper to cool. 
  2. Make the Cornbread. Whisk the cornbread mix, milk, and eggs together. Line the cups of the muffin tin with parchment paper, and pour the batter in each cup until ⅔ full. Bake per package instructions and let cool.
  3. Create Room to Stuff. Once cooled, use a knife to carve out a conical piece of each muffin at its center — insert the knife at an angle and turn the muffin to make this easier. If you want a little more sweetness, squeeze just a bit of honey into each muffin.
  4. Prepare Pulled Pork. Chop the pulled pork and add to the skillet. Cover with some more BBQ sauce and heat until warmed through and bubbling. 
  5. Stuff, Top & Serve. Carefully fill each muffin with the pork, adding more BBQ if desired. Top stuffed cornbread muffins with a dollop of sour cream and a ring of candied jalapeño, and enjoy!
  • Corer If you have a cupcake corer handy, it will make hollowing each muffin so much easier! Otherwise, just use a sharp knife and take care.

Storing and Reheating

Transfer any leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. To reheat, stick them in the oven until warmed through or give them a quick trip in the microwave. 

I will say stuffed cornbread muffins aren’t the best for saving, and BBQ-soaked pulled pork stuffed cornbread muffins are particularly ill-suited for leftovers. The sauce just makes everything soggy and harder to eat.

If you were banking on having leftovers, store a portion of the pork and muffins separately and reheat separately as well, assembling the stuffed cornbread just before serving.

side view: a plate of stuffed cornbread muffins with pulled pork, sour cream, and jalapenos

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you prevent Jiffy stuffed cornbread muffins from crumbling?


Crumbly cornbread is usually dried out and overbaked. Make sure your muffin pan is properly lined and/or greased before adding the batter. 

Watch them as they bake—– once the edges begin to brown, test with a toothpick to see if the center has cooked through. If it has, remove from the oven immediately to prevent overcooking.

Additionally, letting the muffins rest and cool is important! Grabbing a muffin too soon will almost always leave you with a crumbled pile of corn crumbs.

Why are my corn muffins dry?


You may have overworked the batter. It’s important to mix only until the mix, milk, and eggs are just combined. 

The batter may also be too dry. To make your muffins more moist, you could always add an additional egg yolk. A little bit of honey also suits the flavor of these stuffed cornbread muffins overall and will moisten the batter in tandem. 

Finally, if this is a recurring issue, cover the muffins after they come out of the oven to trap the steam and keep the bread moist.

Can you freeze pulled pork stuffed cornbread muffins?


You could, yes. Wrap individually in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Let thaw in the fridge — it shouldn’t take too long — before reheating the stuffed cornbread in your oven or air fryer.

a pulled pork stuffed cornbread muffin on a plate with the wrapper removed

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Pulled Pork Stuffed Cornbread Muffin on plate

Pulled Pork Stuffed Cornbread Muffins

5 from 3 votes
Fluffy stuffed cornbread muffins are packed with saucy pulled pork and topped with spicy candied chiles — a super fun and unique BBQ treat!
Servings: 16 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 18 minutes
Total: 28 minutes

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • To candy the jalapeño slice them into quarter inch rings and set aside. In a skillet add the sugar and water over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add the jalapeño rings and simmer on low for 15 minutes, flipping over occasionally with a fork. Remove onto parchment paper and set aside to cool.
  • Blend the cornbread mix, eggs and milk in a bowl and pour into parchment lined muffin cups, 2/3 full. Bake per package instructions. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Using a sharp knife, cut at an angle and the circumference of the top of the muffin to remove a conical piece of the cornbread. You want to make a nice pocket to stuff with the pulled pork. I added a squeeze of honey on the inside of each. Save removed cornbread for other use.
  • Rough chop the pulled pork. Add the pulled pork and BBQ sauce of choice to a skillet over medium heat and heat through until bubbling. Carefully stuff each muffin with heated pulled pork and orange sauce.
  • Top each with a dollop of sour cream and a candied jalapeño. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  1. For this recipe I used two 8.5 ounce boxes of Jiffy Cornbread, purchased from the market. Feel free to use my Mexican Cornbread recipe, but double the recipe and omit the jalapenos and corn.

Nutrition

Calories: 267kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 351mg | Potassium: 149mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 291IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course: Appetizer, Dinners
Cuisine: Southern
Have You Made This Recipe? Let Me Know on InstagramTag @keviniscooking or tag me #keviniscooking!
titled image (and shown): pulled pork stuffed cornbread muffins

Kevin

Whether in the kitchen or on the grill, you’ll find me cooking American favorites with a love for BBQ, Mexican and Tex Mex. I’m passionate about making tasty food because life’s too short to be bland!

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19 Comments

  1. Hi Kevin,
    Tip – once I tried Marie Callender’s honey butter cornbread mix I was hooked. Looking forward to making these muffins with my next pulled pork or baby backs!
    Rick

  2. The candied jalapeños are so easy, I’ll definitely be making them. Also, this recipe for every and any sort of BBQ this summer. Perfecto! I also had left over pulled pork last week. Not sure what’s wrong with me, but something is wrong with that picture, right?

    1. Thanks Chrissy, they were fantastic. Although I am not sure I follow your comment “Not sure what’s wrong with me, but something is wrong with that picture, right?” Which photo are you referring to?

      1. Sorry for the confusion! Your pics are fine, I just meant that maybe I should work on not having leftover pulled pork! Lost in translation.

  3. 5 stars
    Wow, Kevin, these are incredible! So creative! Whoever thought to candy jalapeños, anyway? Awesome appetizer idea.

    1. Appreciate you stopping by and the kind words Meggan. The idea came to me to candy the jalapeño when they were in the same bowl as the kumquats I did the other day for an ice cream. They were fantastic. What I liked best was it was as if all the heat from the pepper went into the syrup. The peppers themselves were great, but I need to find a way to utilize the peppered syrup for sure.

  4. Kevin, these muffins are the most outstanding savory ones I’ve ever seen. It was the perfect idea to incorporate the pulled pork. Now could you introduce me to these bad good guys, please?:)

    1. Thanks so much Ben, I’m definitely making these again. And the candied jalapeño was so darn good. What I liked best was it was as if all the heat from the pepper went into the syrup. The peppers themselves were great, but I need to find a way to utilize the peppered syrup for sure.

  5. 5 stars
    Whoa. When you said I should come back Friday to see what you did with that gorgeous pulled pork, you weren’t kidding. These are totally drool worthy!!

    1. Thanks Marissa, maybe after making your pulled pork you’ll have enough to try this one too! 😉

  6. Hey Kevin! Are you keeping your “Southern roots” a secret? I mean pulled pork and cornbread! I’d use a dollop of sorghum just because I happen to love the stuff!

    1. I feel I have been in many areas and countries in past lives Dorothy, my tastes are so all over the place!

      1. Hey Kevin! I’m with you on past lives. I am German and Dutch, but my favorite foods are Mexican and Spanish (and Cajun and Creole and Southern US) ! Go figure!

  7. What a genius idea, Kevin! We always have loads of pulled pork around here. I have a problem with my smoker come summer. The problem is I can’t stop smoking stuff. So that means we have a freezer full of pulled pork…this is such a creative way to use leftovers! Also, that candied jalapeno. Yes.

    1. Thanks Dave, always trying to think of new ways to put that good stuff to a new use! As for that candied jalapeño, it surprised me how good they came out and truly were. Check them out!