These cheese and courgette muffins make such a delicious savoury snack. They are great as an accompaniment to soup or a light lunch, and are perfect for lunchboxes and picnics. And they are also gluten free and made with healthy wholegrain oats.
Ingredients
Oats are a great way to make these muffins gluten free and full of healthy fibre. Oats are packed with a special kind of fibre called beta glucans which is good for your heart and helps to even out your blood sugar. According to the NHS most adults in the UK get far less fibre than they need. Using wholegrain oats in baking is a great way to increase your fibre levels. For gluten free savoury muffins, make sure you buy certified gluten free oats. (The oats are no different to normal, but they will have been grown and processed in a gluten free environment to make sure there is no cross contamination.) Compared to wheat flour, oats are also higher in protein, which means these delicious cheese and courgette muffins will keep you fuller for longer.
Courgettes. You won't really notice the flavour of the courgette in these cheesy muffins, and even the fussiest of eaters is unlikely to detect it. However, they do play a vital role. Courgettes add moistness and make for a lovely muffin texture. Using courgette also means that you'll need to add very little oil to the mixture. Bear in mind though, the amount of courgette in this recipe won't count as a whole portion of your five a day. Although it all helps:)
Eggs, milk and olive oil. Protein and healthy fats make these muffins healthy and satisfying. If you prefer, you can switch the olive oil to another healthy fat such as coconut oil. Any kind of milk will work in this recipe.
Mature cheddar cheese. You'll need a strong flavoured cheese for these savoury muffins, as it's an important part of the flavour. I used a mature cheddar - a mild cheddar or cheese such as red Leicester just won't cut it here.
Seasoning and flavours. I made this batch of muffins with just salt, pepper and a little mustard, which allowed the cheesy flavour to really dominate. But a small handful of herbs would also work really well in this recipe. Either some thyme or rosemary would complement the flavour of cheese and courgette beautifully.
Baking powder will add a bit of rise to your muffins. Please note that baking powder is not the same as bicarbonate of soda. If you've only got bicarb on hand, then you'll just need half a teaspoon for this quantity of mixture. You'll also need to add a squeeze of lemon juice to the recipe to activate the rising action of the bicarb.
Recipe tips for cheese and courgette muffins
If you've got a food processor, or a blender, you'll have these muffins mixed in no time.
- Process the oats until they have a consistency like coarse flour.
- Then add rough chunks of unpeeled courgette and process until the courgette is very finely chopped. The mixture will clump together slightly due to the moisture in the courgettes.
- Then blitz with the remaining ingredients, and very gently pulse or hand mix in the grated cheese. Don't over process the cheese, as if you chop it too finely, you'll lose some of the flavour. The mixture will be a soft spoonable texture.
- Save a couple of handfuls of grated cheese to sprinkle of top of the muffins, as this will give a lovely cheesy crust. When they are baked, remove from the tin so that you don't end up with soggy bottoms, and cool on a wire rack.
If you are planning to make these cheese and courgette muffins by hand, you'll need to start with oat flour rather than whole oats, and grate the courgettes before adding them to the mixture.
The quantity in this recipe makes 6 big muffins. If you want them for smaller children, or to serve as nibbles with drinks, try making mini savoury muffins. You should get around 18 mini muffins from the mixture. Reduce the baking time as well - the muffins should be cooked in around 12-13 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Yes absolutely. They are exactly the same vegetable.
No, the amount of liquid in the recipe has been adjusted to allow for the fact that courgettes contain naturally contain water. So it's super simple, and you just need to add the courgettes to the recipe.
I always use muffin cases, as it's so much easier to get the cooked muffins out of the tray. But if your muffin tin has a great non stick coating you might get away with just oiling the tin. If you are planning to freeze the muffins, you might want to remove the paper cases, as I find that they tend to tear once they have been frozen, and are hard to remove.
These muffins will store well for 2 or 3 days in an airtight container. If you want to store them for any longer, then it's best to freeze them.
Serving
Cheese and courgette muffins go very well with soup or a salad, turning it into a filling meal. Try them with this lovely carrot and apple soup, or a summery courgette soup. Or, of course, you could enjoy them as a healthy anytime snack. They travel really well and don't need refrigerating, so they are ideal for lunchboxes. It's great to get kids to enjoy foods that aren't sweet, and these are so moreish.
Other savoury bakes you might enjoy
Other healthy courgette recipes
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a rating and/or comment at the bottom of the page. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated.
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Cheese and courgette muffins
Ingredients
- 200 g oats
- 150 g courgette (1 medium) washed and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoon milk any kind of milk is suitable
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried mustard powder
- salt and pepper
- 100 g grated mature cheese or other strong flavoured cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, and line a muffin tin with 6 paper cases.
- Add the oats to a food processor and blitz until they look like coarse flour. Add the chunks of courgette and blitz until finely chopped.
- Add the eggs, olive oil, milk, seasoning, mustard and baking powder and blitz until well mixed.
- Put aside 2 tablespoon of the cheese and stir the remainder into the mixture by hand. Spoon into paper cases and sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Please note nutritional information is for guidance only.
Elene
Made these with reduced fat cheese - really delicious.
Wendy
Good idea, so glad you enjoyed them.