Mini Corn Dog Muffins Recipe (Easy Family-Friendly Snack Idea)
This mini corn dog muffins recipe makes perfectly poppable bite-sized snacks!
These mini corn dog muffins are full of sweet & savory flavors!
If you enjoy corn dogs, then you’re going to love this recipe for mini corn dog muffins! These little corn dog bites are a mini replica of the full-size corn dog but without the burden of having to eat around that pesky wooden skewer.
This easy recipe comes together quickly and it’s a total crowd-pleaser (especially with the kiddos). They make a great party appetizer or game-day snack for hungry grown-ups, too!
Mini Corn Dog Muffins
yield: 12 SERVINGS
prep time: 20 MINUTES
cook time: 8 MINUTES
total time: 28 MINUTES
Mini corn dog bites made in a muffin tin as a fun and delicious snack!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup melted butter (or 1/4 cup butter + 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8-10 all-beef hot dogs, cut into 1″ bites (pictured are Open Nature brand nitrate free all beef hot dogs)
Directions
1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together butter and sugar.
2
Add eggs and stir well.
3
Add buttermilk and continue to whisk together.
4
In a separate bowl, combine baking soda, cornmeal, flour, and salt, and stir to combine. Whisk into wet ingredients in two batches.
5
Spray your muffin tin with cooking oil, spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter into each mini muffin cup, and place one hot dog bite into the middle of each muffin cup.
6
Bake for 8-12 minutes at 375 degrees or until the cornbread is golden brown.
7
Cool in mini muffin tin for 5 minutes before serving. Makes around 36 mini corn dog muffins.
Additional Notes
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats
Hip tips for making this Mini Corn Dog Muffins recipe:
- Any mini muffin tin will work for this recipe, but a flexible silicone mini muffin pan makes it super easy to pop your muffins out when they’re done.
- If you’re using a metal pan, don’t skip the cooking spray! If you don’t spray, you’ll likely have a hard time getting your muffins out of the tin without butchering them. They’ll still be yummy, but not nearly as cute!
- We really enjoyed eating these as-is after cooling a bit straight from the oven, but they would also be good served with ketchup and mustard for dipping.
- If you have any leftovers (doubtful, but just in case…), these mini corn dog muffins reheat really well and are delicious the next day!
They’re both a kid and adult-favorite snack!
My kids were seriously impressed with these fun little snacks. In fact, I heard “This is the best thing ever, Mom.” 😊 If you have any corn dog enthusiasts in your house, I think they’ll love them, too. This is the kind of thing I know my kids will be requesting over and over again!
One warning, though: without the wooden stick found in traditional corn dogs to slow you down, it’s a little too easy to eat a large quantity of these poppable treats in one sitting! These bite-sized corn dog muffin snacks are the perfect mouthful of sweet and savory bliss, and you seriously won’t be able to eat just one. Enjoy!
Make the easiest bagels ever with our 2-Ingredient air fryer bagel recipe!
Hi from Taiwan. Can i use something else to replace the applesauce? Thanks
Use 1/2 cup melted butter, only. The applesauce is only if you want to lower the fat, so you’d use 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup butter.
hello! there. i moved from taiwan to seattle, WA 20+ years ago. nice to see collin’s fan all over the world.
Another hi from Taiwan! I moved to Chicago 10 years ago! Collin is everywhere!!
Could you use the corn muffin mix instead?
Hi , i made de cord dog muffins today for lunch , I added 50 grams of sour cream instead of the Apple sauce , and the corn meal with all purpose flour and they turned out so good , I baked them around 34 minutes because I made corn dogs cupcakes no mini ones. They were great thanks for the recipe. My family .enjoyed them so much , I made only 12.
Great news! Thanks for sharing Yoli 😀
No, i cant, we don’t find it here. Thanks for replying.
Do you think these would freeze well or would they get soggy?
I freeze them and they do beautifully. My boys live taking them for lunch so I make double batches and freeze. They have saved my butt on many a morning!
Thinking of Making a Bunch at a time, would these Freeze & reheat well??
About to make for my daughter. Did you end up freezing them? If so were they ok?
Yes, they freeze great!! I just pop them out of the freezer and pop them into the microwave. Alternatively, you could wrap in foil and stick it in the oven to defrost and warm.
Yes. I freeze them all the time. Take them out either the night before to defrost or in the morning and defrost in the microwave. Then heat in the microwave for a bit or reheat in the oven. Toss in a lunch thermos and they are still warm for my girls lunches.
OMG!!! I died and went to heaven!!! So delicious. I can’t wait to make them again. I didn’t have buttermilk and I used evaporated milk instead.
Hello from Germany!:)
I found your recipe on Pinterest and thought yes that would be nice to eat. so 15 minutes ago i did it and yes they are awesome!!
thx for this awesome recipe😝❤
Great! Thanks for stopping by Julia!
What a waste of ingredients! Followed instructions and all stuck to muffin tin! Big mess 😞
Oh no! So sorry that happened -darn
Have you ever thought of spraying the muffin tins with oil?
If you use silicone muffin cups they will just come right out.
If you use silicone muffin cups they will just come right out. I don’t like using too much oil even just to line it so this works well.
I find that non stick doesn’t mean non stick. Always have to butter or spray.
we used a cephalon mini pan and they fall out.
What does the applesauce do for the recipe? I have cornbread mix and I was going to try it with that but was wondering if I should add applesauce?
So applesauce can be a substitution for oil is all. Some people like to use it instead for health reasons. You can definitely just follow boxed mix instructions and basically accomplish the same idea. – Thanks for the question!
Do you have to cook the hot dogs first?
No they will cook in oven
I just made the mini corn dogs! It was a success! Instead of apple sauce and butter, I added 1/4 c of butter and 1/4 c of coconut oil. They are cute and delicious. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
These are a must try! Something different!
…and sounds so simple! Thanks so much for sharing Lina! Your pics are awesome!
how long are these mini corn dog muffins good in the freezer? thanks
These are SO easy to make and my kids gobbled them up – and they are major critics! I’m freezing these for lunches!
Can these be left on the counter like regular muffins?
Never store anything with meat on the counter. They must be kept in the fridge or freezer.
how cute! my son will love these!!!! great for a sleepover. Thank you
I made these yesterday. They are delicious. Froze some and packed for today’s lunch. Thank you!
I’m so glad!
Went out tonight expecting to have to make dinner upon my return–My 13 year old daughter surprised us and made dinner tonight with this recipe! Easy and yummy!!!!
That is so awesome! Thanks for sharing 👍🏻
These are great and easy to make. They taste like the State Fair corn dogs.
I am going to make them using Little Smokie cocktail sausages. I am going to lie the cocktail smokies across the top. I am hoping they will be covered by the muffin. Then you get the surprise of the sausage inside.
How did they turnout?
What would be the best way to make these gluten free?
Just substitute the flour for a gluten free flour blend and they should come out just fine! Or use a gluten free corn muffin mix (Aldi carries a great one). 🙂 I’ve made these gluten free a few times with great success!
This is a go-to receipe in our house, my boys LOVE these. I recently tried them with honey substituted for sugar and it was fantastic. I filled the half cup measure about 3/4 the way full and reduced the buttermilk to 3/4 cup and it worked out perfect.
We made these last night and they were a hit! I froze half and refrigerated half.
For those of you that pack for lunches, can you tell me how you pack them? Do you reheat then stick in lunch thermos? Reheat and put in their lunch? My son is in Kindergarten, so haven’t had a chance to experiment too much with how hot things stay, etc. Thank you!
I do not have cornmeal so is there any other alternative?
Could you use Jiffy corn muffin mix ~ add hotdog and bake according to box?
Yes. I have done this as well 👍
Is using this recipe worth the extra time and effort compared to just picking up a box of jiffy and using the box recipe??
Would like to know that as well.
I make these often or my kids! they love them.
Just a tip, when I first started making these I would buy the buttermilk but then found that I would have a lot of buttermilk left over. I would find that I would often waste the rest of the buttermilk. Therefore, I started using a substitute for the buttermilk by mixing 1 cup of milk (I use 2% milk) and mixing either 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in place of the buttermilk. The corn dog muffins come out exactly the same and I don’t waste any unused buttermilk.
Is there a link of some sort to just the recipe? I would like to print it out to save. Thanks!
Hi there! If you click the “Print” button at the bottom of the post you’ll be able to print just the recipe. Hope that helps!
Thank you, still new to this! Also, is there any substitutes for buttermilk? Like would almond milk do?
Making these tonight but with just jiffy mix! For those with the question about using juicy mix, I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Hi, plan to cook and take these for an outside family gathering at Easter. Do they still taste great if served at room temperature??
I was just about to ask this same question as I want to bring them to my son’s birthday party which is not at our house. Has anyone had any luck with serving these at room temp?
Yes, I served at room temperature and they were very good
These are great! I think I’m gonna put breakfast sausage instead of hotdogs for an awesome breakfast/brunch addition!!! Will be perfect!
That’s such a great idea Lori!
Do you cook the hot dogs before you put them in the batter…I use hot dogs that don’t have preservatives
can i not add the baking soda?
The baking soda is going to give it it’s fluffy nature. Unless you substitute another leavener, leaving out the baking soda will really change the texture.
I haven’t had a corn dog since high school lol. Definitely will try this recipe. Thanks!
Want to make these for my niece’s wedding. What exactly are the re-heat instructions for a couple hundred of these? I see wrap in foil, so put on a cookie sheet covered with foil. Will that work?
Yes I think that would work! Good luck and congrats to your niece!
Hi, I made those yesterday and it was delicious! However I felt that there was too much of cornmeal batter until you get to the sausage. You think it would work if I diced the sausage and mix in the batter for more evenly distribution? Or it would sink to the bottom? Thank you
Great – yes I think you can try that! 👍
Hi, i‘d like to try it. Is the sugar necessary, or can I just leave it?
I want to make these for a wedding. Would it be ok if I freeze them and take them out of freezer morning of the wedding and serve them that evening without heating them up
For a wedding ??!!
Are these ok served cold? I would store overnight in the fridge, but there’s no easy way for my kids to heat them at school. I could do a thermos, but I’m looking for some more ideas that are really just grab and go in the morning. Thank you!
Just to be sure I looked this up and it says to keep hot dogs hot to avoid illness. So I’d use a thermos,
Thanks for the question!
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/6862410d-e659-41ee-82c7-6eae60708c11/Hot_Dogs_and_Food_Safety.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
Omg. H2S, HOW did you psychically read my pregnancy craving? I was searching endlessly for an easy, not so messy baked corn dog recipe last week and resolved I’ll just buy those frozen ones. But NOW. NOW I have a use for the two double packs of little smokies I impulsively bought at Costco. NOW I’m going to be a queen to my children who regularly beg for these unhealthy but unquestionably tasty things. What I mean to say is…THANK YOU!!!
Oh yay! I think you’ll like these! Enjoy 🤗
The pic of these gives me the giggles!
I should not have made these! I’ve really been trying to lose some weight, but I just had to try them after I made them. Thank goodness my kids are eating them up so I won’t be able to eat any more! I used little smokies in them and they came out so good.
Oh yay that’s so great – thanks for sharing!
I made these for my two toddlers after finding the recipe on Pinterest. They were super easy and my boys really liked them. I substituted whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour. I got two mini muffin pans worth. Looking forward to freezing the leftovers. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh yay- Jess! I’m so glad- and these are so yum. Thanks for sharing!
These were such a hit!!
I did the 50% applesauce- 50%butter ratio and used turkey no nitrate hotdogs. I was nervous they’d lack in flavor using the turkey dogs but they didn’t!
Thanks so much for the recipe, this is a print and add to my “go-to” recipes. Also, will be perfect to bake and freeze for the kiddos lunches!!
Oh I’m so glad – thanks for sharing Steph!!
This is excellent and simple! Thank you. I was able to get 40 muffins with 15 hot dogs. It took about an hour and a half (because I only have one small muffin pan) but what a win.
I made these corndog muffins according to the directions and had a perfect outcome: tasty, easy to prepare, and no problem getting them out of the pan—I used a nonstick pan and sprayed it with crisco nonstick butter spray. The recipe easily yields 48 mini muffins!
Oh yay!! So awesome Pam!
Can I use bits of cabanossi instead
Theee best recipe! This is always a hit for football gatherings. I live the cornbread recipe alone….it’s delicious! Thank you…
Oh I am so happy you love this too! Thanks for sharing <3
I’ve never packed these for lunches before. I will not be packing in a thermos, so how do you prepare/pack these for your child’s lunchbox?
These were awesome! My daughter loved them and hubby really liked the cornbread. I didn’t have buttermilk so I substituted 3/4C sour cream and 1/4C milk. These are perfect for on the go. Thank you!