These Savoury Cheese Muffins will disappear in seconds! Quick and easy, sinfully moorish, these 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!
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 Savoury 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
These Savoury 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!
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 FOUR versions of garlic bread in various forms on this blog:
1. Garlic Bread. (Skip the artisan bread. Gotta use cheap French stick!)
2. Cheese and Garlic Crack bread (there are no words…)
3. Cheese, Herb and Garlic Quick Bread (loaf form, no yeast)
4. These Savoury 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
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! Recipe video below.
- 3 tbsp / 50g salted butter (unsalted + salt)
- 2 garlic cloves , crushed
- 2 cups / 200g grated cheddar cheese (Note 1)
- 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
- 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
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Preheat oven to 180C/350F (standard) or 160C/320F (fan).
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Place butter and garlic in a microwave proof bowl and melt in 30 second bursts. Mix.
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Brush a 12 hole standard muffin tin generously with butter, being sure to slather with some garlic. Reserve some butter to brush tops.
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Whisk Dry ingredients in a bowl.
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Whisk Wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
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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).
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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.
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Bake for 22 - 25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and crusty and spring back when touched in the centre.
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Remove onto cooling rack, brush with remaining butter (microwave again if needed) and cool slightly before getting stuck into them!
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 (imperial 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.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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!!
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Waited about 5 minutes before removing from pan, as I do with all muffins, and they would not come out. Had to cut around the edges with a sharp knife and scoop out with a large spoon…not pretty looking, but good. Should they be turned out of the pan immediately after removing from oven?
Hi Carol! The muffin tin is so well buttered they should turn out easily, how strange! I’m sorry to hear that Carol!
Hi Nagi! Just wondering about your advice not to use olive oil. Would light olive oil be ok? I can’t use peanut oil if I want to send these in a lunchbox and I’m a bit sus about other veg oils. Thanks!
Light olive oil is fine! I only say that because extra virgin can be very strong in flavour and overwhelm this 🙂 N x
I cannot eat garlic, do you think I could use garlic-infused oil somehow??
Hi Nagi,
From Northern California, where mother nature can’d decide if it’s winter or spring, I wanted to make these muffins as part of a warming dinner. But I’ve been gleaning and purging my kitchenware for an upcoming relocation across the country back home to Florida. Gone was the 12 portion baking tin. Make-do is a big fave for me, so I just picked up an inexpensive pair of 6 portion trays at a local dollar store. NOT a good choice. I studied your recipe carefully, measured everything just right and added diced scallions, bacon bits, sweet basil, and rosemary. Had exactly the 11 portion dough so into the oven they went. 25 minutes later, gorgeous results: fluffy, puffy domes, golden brown and fragrant. Perfect! Not quite. As soon as I tried to remove them from the tins, they stuck, glued snugly to the bottoms and sides!! I’d inadvertently used corrugated-side aluminum tins and forgot to use baking paper liners. Annoyed doesn’t describe my mood just at that moment. But, using a spoon, fork and a few minutes to cool I still had my muffins. Your presentation is lovely, but I can live with less-than-perfect just once, so I served them anyway. Soooo good, I’m happy not to have wasted the ingredients and time. Next time, I’ll use the right equipment! But now I have a definite keeper for future efforts and adventures in baking. I hope Dozer is mending well. Very impressed with his post-op harness, but I hope he doesn’t have it for long. I’m grateful for the wonderful recipes. I’m retired from medicine, but an absolute novice cook! This was a learning curve for sure! 🙂
I made these with Mozzarella and dry thyme/basil because I didn’t have anything else at home, and they still came out AMAZING. Your recipes are really top notch!!
Hi Nagi, tried this today with bacon & spring onion – made 11 only 4 left! (and yeah… I was home alone :P).
Hope Dozer is not feeling too poorly… xx
Nagi, I’m a big fan of yours. Been trying a few recipes of yours & it’s come out so perfectly even for a novice like me – chicken chopsuey, Salisbury steak, loaded hamburger. I have a clarification though in measurements – I see 2 cups of all purpose flour as 250 gms in cheese muffins while 2 cups in carrot cake is mentioned as 300 gms. Do let me know if I’m missing something.
Hi, again, Nagi: Yes, his right hip (the worst at the time of surgery) is doing very well. But, he knew he would need future surgery as his (now “bad” hip) is in pretty much the same shape and is actually giving him a LOT of trouble now. So, with that in mind away we go………again. I am really looking to find a pup and think that I have. The lady I have been conversing with has raised Goldens since 1980 and dearly loves the breed. I cannot wait to go see her and her many animals (horses, cattle, the dogs and pups and many more on her big farm) and am so delighted that she is only about 35-40 miles away from me. Can I let you know if I am lucky enough to be able to get one? Hope Dozer is being a good boy and leaving those stitches alone. Did you have to take him back to the vet for another “nip and tuck”? What a little monkey. Lol.
Hi nagi. This.is so delicious. In the note you.wrote we can add up.to 1 1/2 cups of add ons…would it dries up the muffins? Thank you.
Not at all! Just use things that don’t dissolve 🙂 Olives etc! N x
These looked so great I made them right away. Since it’s asparagus season here in Ontario Canada I added a cup of finely chopped asparagus. So I ended up with 12 muffins. So so so good!!! Thank you for an excellent and super tasty recipe!
That’s great Marci! So pleased you enjoyed this, thanks for letting me know! N x