Savoury Cheese Muffins
These Cheese Muffins taste like cheesy garlic bread, in muffin form!! I’ll take these savoury muffins over sweet ones any day. Quick to make and sinfully more-ish with golden crusty tops and incredibly fluffy soft insides, keep a stash for snacking, pop them in lunch boxes or serve a basket of these with dinner!
- 3 tbsp / 50g unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves (, crushed using a garlic press or grated finely)
- 2 cups (200g) shredded cheddar cheese ((Note 1))
- 2 cups plain flour /all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda / bi-carb soda ((Note 2))
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg ((large, about 60g / 2 oz))
- 1 cup milk ((full or low fat))
- 1/4 cup sour cream ((or plain yoghurt))
- 1/3 cup vegetable or olive oil ((or any plain flavoured oils))
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (, optional (Note 3))
- 1 garlic clove (, crushed using garlic press or finely grated using microplane)
- Melt butter with garlic, brush 11 holes generously (reserve bit for tops). Whisk Dry and Wet ingredients in separate bowls. Pour Dry into Wet, mix just 8 times. Add cheese, mix as little as you can. Fill 11 holes of muffin tin. Bake 25 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan), brush tops with remaining butter.
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced)
- Garlic butter - Place butter and garlic in a microwave proof bowl and melt in 2 x 30 second bursts. Mix.
- Grease muffin tin - Brush a 11 holes of a standard muffin tin generously with the butter, being sure to slather with some garlic. Use most - just reserve a bit for brushing the tops later)
- Make batter - Whisk Dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk Wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour Wet into the Dry ingredients bowl. Mix 8 times - some flour will remain not mixed in, that's ok.
- Add cheese, then mix as few times as possible just to incorporate remaining bits of flour - no more than 7 big stirs (secret to soft muffs). The batter can be lumpy, that's fine.
- Fill muffin tin - Divide between 11 holes in muffin in (I use an ice cream scooper). Batter should be thick and fill muffin tin to top (if in ball shape due to scooper, leave as is). See video.
- Bake for 25 - 27 minutes or until the muffins are domed, golden and crusty. A toothpick inserted should come out clean.
- Butter brush and cool - Brush remaining butter on the surface (re-melt again if needed). Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove onto cooling rack. Cool for at least 5 minutes before getting stuck into them!
Cheese Muffins – a great savoury muffin recipe! So basically, these muffins are every cheese-lovin’-Carb-Monsters’ dream come true.
Inhale deeply, and you’ll get a waft of buttery garlicky goodness mingling with that unmistakable smell of melting cheese. Look closely, and you’ll feel the warmth radiating from these muffins, fresh out of the oven.
That top one’s got your name written all over it. Go on.
I saved it for you! OK, technology hasn’t advanced quite far enough yet that I can deliver you fresh-out-of-the-oven Cheese Muffins through a screen. But luckily, just 10 minutes of effort is all that stands between you and and a fresh batch of these!
Add-in options for these savoury muffins
These Cheese Muffins are absolutely terrific as is, and it’s how I make them most of the time. Having said that though, it’s a sensational base for all sorts of add ins.
Imagine the possibilities! I’ve used sun dried tomatoes, olives and feta in the photo below.
Try mushrooms, spinach, zucchini (grated and excess liquid squeezed out), BACON, ham, chorizo, even cooked chicken. You could really turn these savoury muffins into a mini meal!
I’ve added some more suggestions in the recipe notes – basically, just add 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of whatever add ins you want. Give me any combination of cheese, garlic, butter and bread, and it’s all over.
It’s almost worrying that I have not one, but FIVE versions of garlic bread in various forms on this blog:
- Quick Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Garlic Bread. (Skip the artisan bread. Gotta use cheap French stick!)
- Cheese and Garlic Crack bread (there are no words…)
- Cheese, Herb and Garlic Quick Bread (loaf form, no yeast)
- These Cheese Muffins.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to grab one of these Cheese Muffins while they’re still warm. One of the most torturous photo shoots I’ve done in a while! – Nagi x