Based on my beloved Cheese Muffins, these savoury Zucchini Muffins are the cheesy kind rather than the sweet zucchini bread kind. Quick to make, stays fresh 4 days, these are great to tuck into lunch boxes or take into work to share for morning tea!
Cheesy Zucchini Muffins
I don’t mean to undermine the (many!) sweet muffins I’ve shared over the years, but I’m a savoury gal so I’d take these these Zucchini Muffins over sweet ones any day of the week. I love how crusty and golden they are on the inside, and cushiony soft inside with a hint of garlicky flavour. And though they’ve got a good mound of grated zucchini inside, to be honest, you can’t actually taste zucchini at all, just cheesy goodness.
But the zucchini fills it out, adds nice little green specks, keeps the muffin moist and stay fresh for days and days. Plus, you get to feel a little virtuous, snacking on a muffin with hidden greens!
(PS If you’re worried about your eaters being turned off by suspicious green bits, just peel the zucchini. They’ll never even know!)
Ingredients in Cheesy Zucchini Muffins
Here’s what you need to make these soft, cheesy savoury muffins.
A zucchini (courgette) – A medium size one around 180g/6oz in weight, though you don’t need to be meticulous about the size. This recipe will work fine if yours is a little smaller or larger. Just don’t use a gigantic baseball bat size one!
And as above, if you have picky eaters who will be suspicious at the sight of green specks in the muffin, you can always just peel it! 🙂
Cheese – Shredded cheddar, tasty cheese, or any other cheese you like that melts well, except mozzarella as it doesn’t have enough flavour by itself. Store-bought pre-shredded is fine here – I don’t always say that! My go-to is the Devondale 3 Cheese Blend (mozzarella, parmesan and Colby), carried at Woolworths and Coles here in Australia.
Flour – Just plain / all-purpose flour. I rarely use self-raising flour which has baking powder built in because things just don’t rise as well, and the crumb is not as soft.
Olive oil – This is the fat in these muffins, instead of butter. Oil, rather than butter, makes muffins stay fresher and with for longer for a number of reasons, but the most obvious one being that oil stays fluid at room temperature whereas butter solidifies.
One egg – Just one egg rather than two which you’d usually expect to see for a batter to make a dozen muffins. Egg holds the crumb together, but eggs also dries out baked goods. So when I can get away with using just one egg, I’ll take it! The muffin stays fresher than when using two, something I specifically tested when I made the original Cheese Muffins on which this batter is based.
Yogurt (or sour cream) – A bakers’ trick, for soft fluffy muffins! It adds moisture into the batter but because it’s thicker than liquids like milk, you don’t need to add as much flour to keep the batter thick to make the muffin dome nicely. Full-fat makes nicer muffins, but low-fat will work too.
Milk – I also use milk because using just yogurt would make the batter too thick! Also, milk is cheaper than yogurt, so I’d rather use more of that where I can. 🙂
Baking powder and baking soda (bi-carbonate soda) – Both of these are leaveners that make muffins rise. They behave differently in different batters and for this muffin, I use a combination of both for the best rise, dome shape and soft fluffy crumb. But if you don’t have one of them, you can substitute with more of the other, I’ve popped the directions in the recipe card.
Garlic – Just one, for a little bit of tasty garlicky goodness!
Salt – To add a little seasoning into the muffin. Bit bland without!
How to make Cheesy Zucchini Muffins
One thing about these muffins – they have a tendency to get stuck in the muffin tin, even with a generous oil spray, because of the cheese. Admittedly though, the non stick coating on my muffin tin has seen better days! So I dust the muffin tin lightly with flour. If you can’t be bothered to do this, you can just line with paper muffin cases, though you’ll forgo the golden base and sides.
1. Preparation
Before you start the batter, get the muffin tin prepared and grate the zucchini. No need to salt and sweat, we’re just going to squeeze out excess water using our hands.
Grate the zucchini using a standard box grater.
Squeeze – Then grab handfuls and squeeze out excess water. No need to go crazy here with superhuman strength or use a tea towel to wring out every droplet. The muffins are actually designed to use water released from the muffins as they bake.
Flour coat muffin tin – As noted above, these muffins have a tendency to stick so I use flour as a precaution for easy release! Spray the holes of a standard muffin tin lightly with oil. Spoon a little flour into each hole then shake and rotate to coat the sides and base with flour.
Remove excess – Bang over sink to remove excess well (if it’s coated thickly, you’ll end up with visible flour on the muffins).
Alternatively, just line with paper muffin cases!
2. make and bake
These muffins are made the standard way: whisk wet and dry in separate bowls, then mix them together, stirring the zucchini and cheese in at the end. Use all the batter to fill the muffin tin holes – so they dome nice and tall!
Whisk dry – Put the dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
Whisk wet – Put the wet ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.
Combine – Pour the wet into the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until you can only see a bit of flour (about 8 big stirs). I am limiting your stirs because excess stirring = tough muffins = 😭!
Zucchini and cheese – Add the zucchini and cheese, then stir just until they are mixed through, then stop stirring. Try to limit to 10 stirs. The mixture will be quite thick. The muffins get extra moisture from water released by the zucchini as they bake.
Fill – Divide the batter between the muffin tin holes. A cookie scoop is efficient here!
Bake for 25 minutes at 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced) until the tops are golden. They will dome impressively!
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing onto a cooling rack.
Stuck? If the muffins seem stuck, run a knife around the rim of the muffin tin holes (muffin top overflow tends to adhere) and if they still won’t come out, bang the pan on the counter to loosen (it really works and it’s so satisfying!). I have been known to bang quite furiously in order to loosen stubborn muffins.
These muffins will keep for a good 4 to 5 days in an airtight container in the pantry. Though if it’s warm in your house, keep them in the fridge or they’ll grow fur! (I mean mould. I didn’t want to say mould, but then I thought I’d better clarify. 😂)
Enjoy them as a snack (it’s such a great one for taking places because the muffins are lovely and soft even if it’s a cold winter day), tuck them into lunch boxes, serve them alongside a a warm bowl of soup like this Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, cosy Country Harvest Root Vegetable Soup or a delicious Leek and Potato Soup.
Or take them to work for morning tea to share with you co-workers. Well, your 11 favourite co-workers. Must have one for yourself of course! – Nagi x
PS I forgot to mention the giant slab-form of this muffin I have previously shared. Large format that you cut up into squares rather than individual muffins! Here’s the recipe. 🙂
Cheesy Zucchini Muffins FAQ
4 days in the pantry in an airtight container, though if it’s warm it is better to keep them in the fridge.
We made these with White Wings gluten free flour and they came out just like you see in the pictures – on the outside and inside! I literally could not tell the difference.
Note: Gluten-free flour blends vary a lot between brands, so I can only vouch for White Wings, a brand that is sold in main-stream grocery stores here in Australia. However, the fact that it worked so well gives me confidence other good gluten-free flour blends should work too, though softness and rise may vary slightly.
Yes, you could shred or finely slice things carrots, baby spinach. Use 1 1/2 cups, tightly packed.
Watch how to make it
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Cheesy Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients
- Olive oil spray , for greasing the muffin tins well
Add Ins:
- 1 zucchini , larg-ish, about 180g / 6 oz each, shredded using a box grater, excess liquid squeezed out using hands (Note 1)
- 2 cups cheddar cheese , shredded (or tasty, Colby or other melting cheese except mozzarella – Note 2)
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups plain flour / all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda / bi-carb soda (sub 1 1/2 tsp baking powder)
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
Wet ingredients (no need to bring to room temp):
- 1 large egg (~50 – 55g/2 oz each)
- 3/4 cup milk (full or low fat)
- 1/4 cup plain yoghurt or sour cream, full fat best but low-fat works as well
- 1/4 cup olive oil (or any plain flavoured oil)
- 1 garlic clove , grated or crushed using a garlic press
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE
- Whisk wet and dry in separate bowls, combine, stir in cheese and grated zucchini (excess water squeezed out). Bake 25 min in well greased or lined muffin tin (cheese gets stuck!) at 200°C/390°F (180°C fan).
FULL RECIPE
- Preheat oven to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan-forced).
- Prepare muffin tin – Spray a 12 hole standard muffin tin generously with oil. If your non-stick coating isn't in great shape (like mine), either use liners instead or lightly dust with flour – I prefer this, for golden muffin sides and base. (Note 3 for how to flour dust pans). Cheese is a strong glue!!
- Grate the zucchini with a standard box grater. Grab handfuls and squeeze out excess water (no need to go to extremes with a tea towel).
- Dry ingredients – Whisk Dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Wet ingredients – Whisk Wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Combine wet and dry – Pour Wet into the Dry ingredients bowl. Mix 8 times or until flour is almost mixed in but you can still see some.
- Add zucchini and 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 will be quite thick – don't worry, the zucchini releases moisture as it bakes.
- Bake 25 min – Divide between 12 holes in muffin in (I use an ice cream scooper). Bake for 25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and crusty, and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack. Serve warm for optimum experience!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More savoury muffins
Give me cheesy savoury muffins over sweet ones any day!
Life of Jaffle
The next generation oven timer, reporting for duty!
He looks a little impatient here though. Why is baking so SLOW???
My heart skipped a beat when I saw his reflection in the oven door in the recipe video though, I thought for a moment it was Dozer. 💔
I was so excited to try these. They look good but they taste like there is either too much baking powder or soda. I followed the recipe exactly. A bit disappointing as I have have been so happy with other recipes. Any idea what I may have done wrong?
So delicious Nagi! Thank you. I have made your zucchini slice and it was awesome but wondering if adding bacon and onions to these muffins would change the other ratios of ingredients and time to cook….but would be AMAZING! Thank you 🪷🩷
Thank you so much for doing a gf test run! I do want to give one tip for gf baking (parent of child with celiac disease and pro baker in a past life)… let the batter set for 15 minutes before baking. This will let the flour hydrate and will prevent dry, crumbly muffins and will add some time to your shelf life.
He is the reincarnation of Dozer. I am so glad you found him. I miss Dozer too, but Jaffle is filling some very big boots. BTW, l love the recipes too!!
I cooked this recipe. Very happy with the end result . I might try adding parsley . . Thanks Nagi love your recipes. ❤️ &!Jaffle 🐾🤎
Cooo, I look forward to owning an oven big enough for my muffin tin!
The squeezed out courgette juice can be a rather refreshing drink, don’t ditch it 🙂
this genuinely couldn’t have come at a better time; my household was recently cursed with a giant homegrown 3kg zucchini from a friend, and a block of cheese expiring next week. what in the world can one do with that? leave it to Nagi the GOAT to figure it out!!
will be trying this recipe ASAP, big thanks from an 18yr old recipetin (and of course, the top g’s jaffle&dozer) fan in sweden!!
and eeeeeeyup, turned out absolutely amazing (naughty dog stole one off the counter and even came back begging for more so i’m assuming that she approves too!)
this is the type of stuff I’d have to pay 7€ for at a nice bakery… i don’t even like zucchini or cheese and i’m going to need one gazillion more. family’s going to gobble this up in no time, might have to make another batch right away (⌒-⌒; )
Can I make these muffins without cheese? Unfortunately my husband has an intolerance to all cheese.
Yes it could Jacqueline but I would add something else to take its place because the cheese adds salt. Could you add bacon instead? Chop and sauté, then mix in. You might only get 10 muffins or so, because the cheese adds considerable volume 🙂 – N x
Hi, would wholemeal flour work with this recipe and would I get the same result?
Thanks.
Eva
Hi Eva! Yes, wholemeal will yield a similar result though the crumb will be a slightly different colour 🙂 – N x
Came here wondering that same. Would love to know, for meal prep our little toddler!
I love all the recipes, but Jaffle and the OG Dozer pics pull me in. I totally understand how torn Nagi must be sometimes. Grieving for your beloved friend/family member and then making space to love a new one- so difficult but definitely achievable!🐾❤️
I’m finally starting to feel the balance Doreen. I won’t lie, I still have moments when I get really sad missing Dozer, but Jaffle! He’s so cheeky and a bundle of joy, honestly. And he keeps me busy!! 😅
I love printing out your recipes and putting in my “dying to try” file. Annoying that they print out with an ad over the bottom so you can’t read the last couple of sentences.
Hope all is well in Nagi’s little corner of the world xxx
Oh no!! Thank you for flagging that Wendy, I will get someone to look into it 🙁 – N x
Thank you so much Nagi for including notes for a gluten free variation. I cook for a coeliac family member and this information is very helpful!
You’re so welcome Kim! I’m enjoying it, learning a lot about what works better than others. Gosh, these muffins are honestly no different made with GF flour. I think because of all the zucchini and cheese blended into the batter. I was amazed!
Just wondering if these can be made with cottage cheese for a higher protein intake. Thanks
Hi Suzanne! I haven’t tried and it would change the batter so I wouldn’t want to take a guess, sorry! 🙂 – N x
Any chance u can offer airfryer versions for this & some other recipes. I live alone so wouldnt cook a whole batch. Otherwise Id eat the lot in one sitting!
Hi Susannah! These muffins freeze really well, if that helps 🙂 I haven’t tried the air fryer, sorry! – N x
Oh dear I think my heart skipped a beat too. But hasn’t Jaffle taken on his Dozer duties so well? ❤️
These look delicious. I’m buying zucchini tomorrow!
I honestly had a moment, at first I was confused thinking I was seeing the spirit of Dozer then I wondered if we accidentally used an old video clip in the video, then I finally realised it was actually Jaffle…..
Can i make this vegan?
Thank you ☺️
I’m afraid that’s a bit of a stretch for me Ayu! I haven’t tried and it would take quite a bit of work. Sorry! – N x
Thank you anyway Nagi. It’s not for me, just thinking for my son in law
This gets me excited! 😝. Growing up in NZ, all the cafes and bakeries sell savoury muffins/scones. I still find it hard to believe it’s not really a thing here in Aus. I’d much prefer a savoury muffin to start my day than a sweet one so this is right in my wheelhouse. Thanks Nagi!
It’s starting to be a thing over here!! I’ve noticed some local cafes offering savoury muffins 🙂 – N x
what do you suggest for cooking time if I made large cafe style muffins ?
Hmm!! I am guessing 30 minutes, but I would lower the temp to 180C (160C fan) else they will brown too much 🙂 – N x
Now it’s muffin that can eat with mayonnaise yummy I’ll try it thank you Nagi!
Yes, Jaffle’s reflection on the oven door thats really like Dozer, the gesture as he used to be, maybe it was “Dozer’s way” to a little visited his dear mum, check on his junior on duty and check all is going alright in the kitchen, big hugs for you Nagi🤗💓
Aww I love this Nind!!! Did you make the mayo??? YUM!!!
C’mon – how can anyone dislike zucchini . . . they may not have the most taste of all the vegetables but they absolutely fit in with everything – including these terrific muffins – for me . . . love all the ingredients, very much including the yoghurt ( guess what I am spooning into my mouth whilst typing 🙂 !) and the finished look. Jaffle . . . so like his brother . . . hugs sent up the Coast and up to the Wonderland in the sky . . . wonder what’s on the evening menu tonight there . . .
KIDDOS!!! You know some kids won’t eat anything green!!!
Mine by the look of it did not know or did not dare say ‘no’ . . . or perhaps they simply liked anything tasty put in front of them 🙂 ! True weekend story – school holidays > we were off to Fiji – half the plane seemed to be from our school – four couples and about ten of the kids decided to have dinner together – two tables set out > kids (thrilled!) and us. Five minutes later a young hesitant Fijian waiter appeared at my side ‘Marama, is that (pointing to my Kersti) your daughter?’ ‘Yes, oops, what has she done now (at 5!)?’ ‘Marama, she asked for snails as first course and frog legs for mains . . . marama, does she know what these are?’ ‘Yup, she likes them – give the little show-off what she wants!’ (with dirty look at my grinning brat!) True result > the whole table changed their orders from burgers and fries to try !!!!! And mostly ate them . . . even tho’ the snails kind’of landed everywhere . . . true story about KIDDOS!