Cheese and Bacon Muffins

This easy muffin recipe makes savoury muffins flavoured with sharp cheddar cheese, dried herbs, mustard powder, and crispy bacon. It comes together in one bowl and takes less than 40 minutes to prep and bake. 

If you love making delicious breakfast treats on the weekend, you must try out my other breakfast recipes. This Cheese and Ham Bake is the ultimate family breakfast, while these sour cream Blueberry Chocolate Chip Muffins are perfect when you are looking for something sweet. 

Ingredients

To make these delicious bacon and cheese muffins, you will need the basic ingredients listed below. Always use fresh, room-temperature ingredients when baking. 

Cake flour - Use cake flour or all-purpose flour for this recipe. 

Dried mustard powder - This adds a great flavour to the muffin batter. If you don't have any, Dijon mustard can be added to the wet ingredients instead. 

Dried thyme-This recipe can use fresh or dried thyme. If you are using fresh thyme, just be sure to pick the leaves off the stems and discard them.

Cheddar cheese - Choose a mature cheddar cheese for the best flavour. 

Parmesan cheese - This is added to the muffin batter to pack even more flavour into these morning muffins. I recommend adding parmesan, but you can use only cheddar if you prefer. 

Extra-large eggs - If you don't have extra-large eggs, calculate the number of eggs you need by cracking and weighing them. My eggs weigh 56 grams each out of their shell.

Bacon- For this recipe, use streaky bacon, as the extra fat will add great flavour to these muffins. You can also get creative and use pancetta, salami, or prosciutto. 

Parsley - For a little freshness, the muffins are topped with parsley and garlic dressing. Follow the recipe, or thinly slice green onions or chives and top the muffins with this instead.  

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

To make these delicious bacon and cheddar cheese muffins, follow the simple steps below. 

STEP 1: Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 200°C and brush a 12-hole muffin tin with melted butter.

STEP 2: Prepare the bacon. Fry the bacon in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, and once hot, add a teaspoon of butter. Fry the bacon until cooked and slightly crispy. Set aside to cool slightly, and then roughly chop the strips of bacon.

STEP 3: Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, mustard powder, dried thyme, and both cheeses. Whisk to combine. Reserve a little of each cheese to top the muffins with before baking.

STEP 4: Mix wet ingredients. In a jug, whisk together the milk, oil, water, and eggs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk and egg mixture into the well.

STEP 5: Combine wet and dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until just combined. Add the bacon bits to the mixture and stir to combine; do not overmix.

STEP 6: Spoon. Spoon the muffin mixture into the prepared muffin tin using an ice cream scoop, top with the reserved grated cheese.

STEP 7: Bake. Bake in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool slightly on a wire rack.

STEP 8: Make sauce. Add all of the parsley oil ingredients to a small bowl and stir to combine. Use a pastry brush to brush the oil over the muffins before serving. Enjoy!

Hint: For soft, delicious muffins, do not overmix the batter; a total of 15 turns using the wooden spoon is needed to make this batter. 

Variations

This is a great savoury muffin recipe for getting creative with. The base is really tasty, so you can add a variety of fillings to make this recipe your own. Think sundried tomatoes, olives, a swirl of pesto, or even a third kind of cheese? The options are endless; use what you have in your fridge or pantry. 

If you're in the mood for a sweet muffin, try these Blueberry Chocolate Chip Muffins or these Pistachio Muffins. 

Equipment

No fancy equipment is needed to make these homemade bacon cheddar muffins; just a large mixing bowl, a 12-hole muffin pan, and a wooden spoon are required. 

I haven't used muffin liners for this recipe, but I love making my own using parchment paper for a real bakery look. You can also choose to use store-bought liners or cupcake liners if you'd prefer. 

Storage

Muffins are best eaten the day they are made. But if you do have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about two days. Reheat them in the oven for a few minutes for extra freshness.

To freeze these muffins, place them in a freezer-safe container or a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost them and then reheat them in the oven before eating. You will probably love this recipe so much you'll make a double batch the next time and keep them in the freezer ready to whip out as an easy breakfast on a busy morning. 

If you are after a cheesy weekend bake that can be ready in an hour, then these bacon and cheese savory muffins are your best bet. Eat them as is, or slice them in half and spread a thick layer of butter and marmite on them.

If you give this easy recipe for bacon cheese muffins a try and love it as much as I do, please leave a comment and star review below - I love hearing from all of you!

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Happy Baking

With Love,

Kitty