Everything Savory Muffins

I’ve always loved muffins - They were the perfect breakfast to grab during busy mornings at the rink when I was a kid (OMG, the pina colada muffins from Costco that they carried at the canteen!), and they have been great as make-ahead breakfasts in general.

You know, a pretty great way to make sure I’ll eat, even when my ADHD is getting the better of me!

Anyway, I recently noticed that I don’t really have much in the way of savoury muffin recipes!

I’m hoping to eventually do a muffin cookbook, so... I need to get on developing some savory muffin recipes for it.

These savory breakfast muffins are a fantastic start in that direction, if I do say so myself!

Check it out: onion cheese muffins - they’re stuffed with cream cheese! - topped with everything seasoning!

Sure, they may not be the MOST healthy savoury muffins, but they’s a great breakfast, so I’m calling it a win.

Actually, not only are they a great breakfast - and a fun addition to brunch tables - they’re also great as a quick snack, or as a side to a bowl of soup.

Very versatile, in that sense!

Anyway, let’s get to it...

Ingredients

This recipe uses really simple ingredients that should be easy to find in any grocery store. I do have a few notes for you, though:

Flour

I developed this recipe using all purpose flour - “plain flour” or “regular flour” - and that’s what I default to, for these muffins.

That said, you can partially substitute some whole wheat flour if you like.

I wouldn’t recommend swapping out more than ¾ - 1 cup of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat, or it’ll affect the texture of the muffins.

Onion

Grated - or pureed - onion is the secret ingredient here. You can use white onions, yellow onions, or red onions - go with whatever you like best.

The onion is used to not only bring flavour to these muffins, but also moisture - so green onions / spring onion doesn’t work as a substitute.

That said: if you’d like to add some spring onion to your muffins, thinly slice some up and add them to the dry ingredients. It would be a great addition!

Cream Cheese

I use just plain cream cheese with this, but there’s definitely room to play with it.

You can use fat free, plant based cream cheese, or even flavoured - just pick a savoury flavour that would work well with everything seasoning.

If you’d spread it on an everything bagel, you’re good to go!

Just know that some flavoured cream cheese tends to be softer than brick cream cheese - you may want to freeze your cheese balls before using them!.

Alternatively, you can flavour your own, by mixing a bit of Onion Powder, onion powder, and/or fresh or dried herbs into plain cream cheese.

Vegetable Oil

Though I used to use melted butter in my muffin recipes, I have come around to using a little oil instead. I just find it gives the final muffins a better texture.

I default to vegetable oil for all my muffin recipes now, but olive oil would also work in this recipe.

Milk

You can use whatever kind of milk you like in this, from whole milk to any number of unsweetened dairy-free milk varieties.

Buttermilk is great, we just generally don’t have any on hand.

That said, you can mix 2 teaspoon of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar into any kind of milk, to get the same sort of buttermilk tang.

Topping

I do a quick, homemade mix of spices to make the topping. Just can’t bring myself to pay the huge upcharge for ready-mixed everything seasoning!

I use:

Poppy Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Garlic Flakes
Onion Flakes
Coarse Sea Salt

So, two things to note here:

1. If you want to use a premix instead, you’ll want to use about ⅓ cup.

2. You can customize this mix. If you want more of one ingredient, less of another, omit one, or add something (like caraway seeds)... go for it. Just aim to keep the overall volume of non-salt ingredients the same.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Large Eggs
Baking Powder
Granulated Sugar
Salt

... I just really don’t have anything else to add, as far as these last few ingredients go!

How to Make Cream Cheese Stuffed Savory Muffins

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post. Here is the visual walk through, with additional info.

Prepare the Cream Cheese Centers

First thing: Divide the cream cheese into 12 equal pieces. Using clean hands, roll each piece into a ball.

Cover with plastic wrap, return to the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

Spoon some muffin batter into muffin cups, filling each about ⅓ full.

Place one ball of cream cheese in the center of each muffin cup, leaving room around each one.

Divide the remaining batter between the muffin cups, allowing the batter to fully encase the filling, set aside.

Generously sprinkle this everything seasoning mix over top of the muffins.

(Note: Only insert it about ⅓ of the way down. If you hit cream cheese, it’ll be wet no matter how done it is!)

Cool leftover muffins to room temperature - removing the muffins from the pan after 5 minutes or so and arranging them on a wire rack helps them cool, without drying them out.

Leftovers

Once fully cooled, muffins can be transferred to an airtight container for storage in the fridge - We’ll usually use a freezer bag.

Muffins will be good for about 5 days or so, best when served reheated at least to room temperature.

Reheating for a couple minutes in an air fryer can give it that fresh baked taste and texture again.

We’ll usually microwave them for 30 seconds or so to get the chill off, then finish heating in the air fryer.

More Muffin Recipes!

Are you a fellow fan of muffins? I have some more marvelous recipes for tender homemade muffins!

All-Bran Muffins
Banana Nutella Muffins
Banana Nut Muffins
Blueberry Apple Muffins
Breakfast Corn Muffins
Cardamom Pear Streusel Muffins
Carrot Cake Muffins
Cranberry Orange Pistachio Muffins
Gluten-Free Banana Muffins
Gluten Free Blackberry Muffins
Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
Eggless Banana Muffins
Eggnog Muffins
Gingerbread Muffins
Healthier Apple Oatmeal Muffins
Maple Pumpkin Muffins
Nutmeg Coffee Cake Muffins
Orange Almond and Date Muffins
Peach Cobbler Muffins
Pina Colada Muffins
Red Velvet Muffins
Sweet Potato Muffins

Also, be sure to check out our Breakfast and Brunch Recipes section for all kinds of great recipes!

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