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Home Muffin Recipes Savoury Cheese Muffins

Savoury Cheese Muffins

By:Nagi 239 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

These Cheese Muffins will disappear in seconds! Quick and easy, sinfully moorish, these savoury muffins are buttery and garlicky with golden crusty tops and fluffy moist insides.

Keep a stash for snacking, pop them in lunch boxes or serve a basket of these with dinner!

Overhead photo of golden Savoury Cheese Muffins in a gold muffin tin.

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!

Close up photo of a stack of Savoury Cheese Muffins

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!

Half a Savoury Cheese Muffin smeared with butter, slowly melting.

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.

Savoury Cheese Muffins with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Feta and Olives on white paper, with olives on the side, ready to be eaten.

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:

  1. Quick Cheesy Garlic Bread
  2. Garlic Bread. (Skip the artisan bread. Gotta use cheap French stick!)
  3. Cheese and Garlic Crack bread (there are no words…)
  4. Cheese, Herb and Garlic Quick Bread (loaf form, no yeast)
  5. 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

MORE SAVOURY MUFFIN RECIPES

Overhead photo of Savoury Cheese Muffins cooling on a baking rack, fresh out of the oven.

Close up photo of a Savoury Cheese Muffin with a golden dome.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

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Close up photo of a stack of Savoury Cheese Muffins

Savoury Cheese Muffins

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Appetizer, Breakfast, Sides
Western
4.97 from 61 votes
Servings11 muffins
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. They taste like cheesy garlic bread - in muffin form! If you want lovely high domes as pictured, this makes 11 muffins. It's irritating, I know, but such is life. See notes for Add In options! 

Ingredients

Butter and Cheese:

  • 3 tbsp / 50g salted butter (unsalted + salt)
  • 2 garlic cloves , crushed
  • 2 cups / 200g grated cheddar cheese (Note 1)

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cups / 300g 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

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 egg (large, about 60g / 2 oz) , lightly whisked
  • 1 cup milk (full or low fat)
  • 1/4 cup / 60 g sour cream (or plain yoghurt)
  • 1/3 cup / 85 ml vegetable oil (or any plain oils, not olive oil)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley (Note 3)
  • 1 garlic clove , crushed

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan).
  • Place butter and garlic in a microwave proof bowl and melt in 30 second bursts. Mix.
  • Brush a 12 hole standard muffin tin generously with butter, being sure to slather with some garlic. Reserve some butter to brush tops.
  • Whisk Dry ingredients in a bowl.
  • Whisk Wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
  • Pour Wet into the Dry ingredients bowl. Mix 8 times. Add cheese, mix as few times as possible just to incorporate remaining bits of flour - no more than 7 big stirs (secret to soft muffs).
  • 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 22 - 25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and crusty and spring back when touched in the centre.
  • Remove onto cooling rack, brush with remaining butter (microwave again if needed) and cool slightly before getting stuck into them!

Recipe Notes:

1. I typically use grated Cheddar or Tasty Cheese (common in Australia). Any flavoured cheese will be terrific here, as long as it melts. Avoid Mozzarella - it doesn't have enough flavour. 
2. Baking soda gives these muffins a kick start with the rise so you get a lovely dome BUT if you don't have it, then you can use an extra 2 1/2 tsp of baking powder instead. OR use self raising flour instead of plain flour and no baking powder and no baking soda. 
3. Can sub with 1 tbsp dried parsley or 1 1/2 tsp of stronger dried herbs (thyme, oregano, mixed herbs, basil), or just skip. Still lovely flavour without!
4. These stay fresh for 2 to 3 days in an airtight container. Best served warm. These can also be frozen for 2 - 3 months.
5. As always for baking recipes, I have made these using Australian cups (metric measurements used by the most of the world, including Europe, NZ) as well as US cups. I actually made these while I was in LA at a friend's house and they came out just as they do when I made them at home!
6. Add In options: Up to 1 1/2 cups of stir ins of choice, add with cheese. Sun dried tomatoes, chopped or large chunks of feta, chopped olives, ham, cooked bacon, grated zucchini (salt, leave for 20 minutes then squeeze out excess water), grated carrot, chopped spinach, bell peppers/capscium (cooked). Cooked mushroom slices, cooked chorizo, even chopped chicken. Let your imagination run wild! Makes 12 high dome muffins, or 13 - 14 sensible muffins.
7. Nutrition per muffin, going all out as per the recipe. Skip the butter and it reduces to 248 calories each.
Cheese Muffins nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 275kcal (14%)
Keywords: Cheese muffins, Savoury Muffins
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

LIFE OF DOZER

He’s home! The first thing I thought when I saw his shaved leg was “Yessss!!!! 25% less fur droppage all over the house!” 😂

In all seriousness though, he is doing just fine. Zonked out for most of the day.

I am loving that harness he got sent home with. And so is Dozer – just that little bit of help to get him on his feet and hobble outside to the toilet. That’s the most action he’s going to get for a while!!

Dozer the golden retriever post ACL surgery

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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239 Comments

  1. Fathima says

    5 stars
    We’ve tried these and they came out better than what we hoped for. So tasty and so easy. The kids really enjoyed them.

    I was wondering whether the same recipe could used to make waffles?

    Reply

  2. Gloria | Oh Glorious One says

    5 stars
    J Daddy asked me to make these for him to take to work for lunches. I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and whipped up a batch and got 12 big muffins using a cupcake tray. OMG. These are soooo good – light and fluffy and so tasty!

    Side note: having cooked so many of your recipes over the years, I am super confident at whipping up deliciousness on demand. Case in point tonight!!!

    Reply

  3. Dianne says

    5 stars
    These are delicious! I wanted a recipe where I could use up some leftover Christmas ham and stumbled across your recipe. They’ve not long come out of the oven and I’ve already eaten two! Yum, thank you!

    Reply

  5. Bree says

    Hi Nagi! I was thinking of making these to take to a picnic, they will be baked that day, but not served warm. Should I still make them or are they best saved for another time?
    I made your vegetable lasagne and mexican beef casserole with rice last night! They were fantastic. Thank you 😊

    Reply

  7. Cecilia says

    5 stars
    Love your recipe… have modified it a little with fresh green chillies from the garden, panfried bacon and onion. The muffins rise beautifully every time. TQ

    Reply

  8. Aatika Patel says

    5 stars
    I finally got the chance to make these! They were a huge hit, my 18 month old really loved them and so did my husband. Thank you Nagi!

    Reply

  12. Diane Stehlik says

    I am enjoying trying several of yourrecipes. I love the cheese muffins, do you think I could sub quinoa flour? Do you have experience with alternatives?.

    Reply

  13. Laura says

    These- like all of your recipes- were sensational, it might be the nicest thing I have ever made.
    I didn’t have any yoghurt so used kefir and they turned out perfectly! I have no idea how I am not going to eat them all before someone else comes home.

    Reply

  14. Michelle says

    5 stars
    WOW! These were insanely good. I added bacon and a few olives and swapped parsley for dill.
    Best muffins I’ve ever eaten and everyone went crazy for them. Will be a staple recipe from now on. Thanks so much!

    Reply

  18. Esther says

    5 stars
    These delicious muffins were eaten by my family in one sitting! This is the savoury muffin recipe I will keep. Will experiment with added fillings.

    My kids and I love your Dozer postings! He is adorable 💛.

    Reply
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