Savory Vegetable Muffins (2024)

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By Anjali Shah on May 11, 2024

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I have perfected this savory vegetable muffins recipe packed with 6 different veggies including carrots, zucchini, spinach, and sweet corn. These muffins are ideal for anyone looking to add extra veggies into their diet, and are especially great for kids or busy adults needing a quick, healthy snack or easy breakfast. These hearty muffins are super easy to make, and require just 15 minutes of prep time!

If you want a fun and tasty way to start off your day, try my savory vegetable muffin recipe! The muffins will keep you feeling full and energized, with no added sugar or overly processed ingredients. I really love how convenient they are for those busy weeks when I need something that requires minimal effort and time.

Table of Contents hide

👩🏽‍🍳 Why I Love This Recipe

🥘 Ingredients

🔪 How To Make Savory Vegetable Muffins

💭 Expert Tips

📖 Variations

🍽 Serving Suggestions

🫙 Storing And Reheating

❓Recipe FAQs

🥣 More Savory Breakfast Recipes!

📋 Recipe Card

🎥 Watch How to Make It

Made with creamy feta cheese, sweet corn, mild baby spinach, red bell pepper, and a handful of other ingredients, this recipe has amazing taste without overwhelming picky eaters. It’s a great way to get your kids to eat more veggies for sure!

My muffins with hidden veggies are perfect for toddlers – feel free to serve them on their own or pair them with my other healthy toddler lunch ideas; and can even be packed in school lunches for older kids! I’ll put them in my own lunch as well – they really do work for the whole family.

👩🏽‍🍳 Why I Love This Recipe

While it is no secret that I love sweet foods, traditional muffins are closer to a dessert than a hearty breakfast! Which is why I think of these vegetable muffins as the best of both worlds: they give all the comforting feels of freshly baked muffins, while also giving you a dose of healthy veggies!

They are full of flavor and have a soft, tender texture that my whole family loves. Plus, it is a great way to add more variety and healthy fiber to my kids’ diets!

Latest Recipe Video!

🥘 Ingredients

My healthy savory muffins call for wholesome ingredients that you can easily find at any local grocery store. See the recipe card at the end of this post for full nutritional information.

Whole Wheat Flour: I use whole wheat flour for a boost of healthy fiber and whole grains. I also love the subtle flavor this flour provides compared to regular flour.

Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Both of these leavening agents allow the muffins to rise as they bake. You’ll get a lovely fluffy texture!

Seasonings: I like to use a combination of salt, rosemary, oregano, and garlic powder to add the best savory flavor. The aroma fills the house as the muffins bake!

Cheese: While the veggies are the star ingredients, the parmesan and feta crumbles make the best addition! They add so much flavor and texture, along with extra protein. I recommend skipping the pre-shredded cheese and shredding your own parmesan and feta from a high-quality block of cheese – because I think it tastes better. If your kids don’t like feta or parmesan, you can easily substitute it for any other cheese – shredded cheddar cheese or jack cheese are both great options.

Eggs: The eggs add a boost of protein as well as serve as the binder for the muffins. This recipe calls for 2 whole eggs.

Lemon Juice: This will enhance the flavor of these muffins, while also helping to activate the leavening agents. When I don’t have any lemon juice on hand, I’ll use some apple cider vinegar instead.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The olive oil helps to keep these muffins perfectly moist! Sometimes I swap this for other high-heat oils like avocado oil or melted coconut oil, too.

Oat Milk: While any milk could be used here (e.g. whole milk, soy milk, etc.), I like the subtle sweetness that oat milk adds to the muffins while not overpowering the savory notes.

Vegetables: Diced red bell pepper, chopped baby spinach, grated carrots, diced red onion, grated zucchini, and corn kernels will make the best combination of veggies in this recipe.

Sun Dried Tomatoes: This adds the perfect touch of sweetness and chewy texture throughout muffins. If you do not have sun dried tomatoes on hand, I don’t recommend substituting them with regular diced tomatoes because they will make the batter too watery.

Fresh Basil: Basil perfectly complements the other ingredients, so you won’t want to skip this!

🔪 How To Make Savory Vegetable Muffins

Learn how to prepare these vegetable muffins, by following my simple step-by-step instructions below:

Preheat & Prepare: I start off by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit /180 degrees Celsuis. Then, I line a 12 hole muffin pan with muffin liners (or use a silicone muffin tray instead).

Mix Dry Ingredients: Next, I add all ingredients from whole wheat flour through to parmesan cheese in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.

Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate large bowl I’ll whisk together the eggs, lemon juice, oil and oat milk. Set aside.

Add Veggies & Feta: Stir the remaining ingredients through the dry ingredients.

Combine Wet And Dry: Gently fold the wet ingredients into the mixture until just combined.

Transfer To Tray & Bake: Transfer the muffin batter to the prepared muffin tray. I prefer to use an ice cream scoop or spoon for this step! Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Cool: Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before serving.

💭 Expert Tips

My #1 Secret Tip for this recipe is to make sure you do not over mix the muffin batter.

Over-mixing the batter will result in dense, tough muffins. If you want that traditional light and fluffy style of muffin, go slow during this step. You’ll want to gently fold in the ingredients just enough to combine everything together.

Once the wet and dry ingredients combine, the mixing step is complete! You can transfer the batter to the tray and bake. Get excited for perfectly soft muffins!

Other Tips To Keep In Mind:

Preparing Veggies: The carrots and zucchini can be shredded with a box grater – just be careful with your fingers as you get close to the ends of the vegetables. To save time you can also buy pre-shredded carrots.
Introducing Veggies: For kids veggie muffins, I recommend starting with just 2 or 3 vegetables and see if they like them, especially for fussy eaters! You can add in more vegetables next time, as they become familiar with the tastes and textures.
Serve Accordingly: Veggie muffins for toddlers or babies can be cut into small pieces or slices, depending on your little one’s age. I suggest pairing them with ketchup, plain yogurt, or cheese to entice your kids!
Avoid Too Much Moisture: After washing the veggies, place them on a paper towel and make sure they are thoroughly dried to avoid excess water. Additionally, keep in mind that every veggie has a different moisture content. For better results, I like to use salt on the vegetables to draw out extra moisture, and squeeze them with a cheese cloth or paper towel prior to baking. I have made these muffins without doing this, and sometimes they turn out a little too wet. (Bonus tip: You can save the excess juice and add it to homemade vegetable broth or smoothies!)

📖 Variations

Mini Muffins: Sometimes I’ll add the batter to a mini muffin tray for a bite-sized version of these healthy vegetable muffins. This is perfect for finger foods at a baby shower or party. Mini muffins are also great for baby-led weaning, once your little one is ready!

More Protein: If you are looking for high protein savory muffin recipes, you can easily add in more protein. I love using hemp seeds or tempeh crumbles (and if you’re not vegetarian, bacon bits or ham pieces would work too).

Vegan Muffins: For dairy-free and egg-free muffins, replace the egg with an additional 4 tbsp olive oil. To make these easy veggie muffins fully vegan, use vegan cheese alternatives. Opt for a plant-based feta cheese, vegan parmesan, or nutritional yeast.

Gluten-Free Muffins: Use gluten-free flour instead of whole wheat flour to make these savory vegetable muffins gluten free. I recommend an all-purpose gluten free flour, oat flour, or a blend of almond flour and coconut flour.

Swap Veggies Or Spices: Alternative seasonings for these muffins include black pepper, onion powder, thyme, sage, and paprika. You can also try different vegetables like spring onions, diced broccoli or cauliflower, shredded sweet potatoes, mushrooms, peas, or diced green bell peppers – just make sure to cut them up really small!

🍽 Serving Suggestions

These savory veggie muffins can totally be served on their own, but if you prefer to add more to your plate, these are some of my favorite ways to serve these muffins:

For A Larger Breakfast: Make the ultimate brunch buffet with a plate full of your favorite breakfast foods. Pair the muffins with a vegan frittata, oat milk pancakes, breakfast sausage, toast, and more. The options are endless for a healthy meal everyone will love.

With Sides: Sometimes I’ll serve my vegetable breakfast muffins alongside a bunch of sides like vegan roasted potatoes, breakfast fruit salad, or some slices of avocado for a light yet satisfying meal.

With Your Morning Drink: Instead of drinking caffeine on an empty stomach, enjoy your beverage with these healthy veggie muffins! They go great with the earthy notes of a lavender latte, while also complementing something sweeter like a biscoff latte.

🫙 Storing And Reheating

Refrigeration: Once cooled, I place leftover savory vegetable muffins in an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Freezer: When I need longer lasting storage, I place the muffins into a freezer-safe plastic bag or air-tight container. Store frozen for up to 1 month. Allow the muffins to fully defrost before enjoying.

Reheating: While these veggie carrot muffins could be enjoyed chilled or room temperature, I think they are best when warm! Reheat the muffins in the microwave for 15-30 seconds, or place in the toaster oven for a few minutes. Carefully monitor to ensure the muffins do not burn.

❓Recipe FAQs

WHY DO MY MUFFINS HAVE A SOGGY TEXTURE?

Instead of letting the muffins cool in the muffin tin, transfer them to a wire rack. This will help them cool evenly and prevent soggy texture from the moisture settling into the baked muffins. Another reason could be that the veggies had too much water. Two solutions to this are: salt and squeeze out the water prior to baking or roast the veggies and let them cool before adding them to the batter.

WHAT ARE THE BEST VEGETABLES TO ADD TO THESE MUFFINS?

Any veggies that don’t have a super high water content are great to add to this veggie muffin recipe. While I provided my mix of veggies that I love in these muffins, you can get creative and add your favorite vegetables or anything you have in the fridge. My version calls for onions, bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, spinach, corn, and sun-dried tomatoes — but feel free to swap out one, or all of these for different veggies.

HOW CAN I MAKE SURE THAT THE HIDDEN VEGETABLES ARE NOT DETECTABLE IN THE MUFFINS?

Cutting up the veggies super small already helps to hide the veggies in these muffins, but if you want to make them completely un-detectable, I recommend cooking the veggies first, making sure as much of their water content as possible is removed, and then blending the veggies in a food processor before adding them to the batter. Keep in mind, this may change the consistency of the muffin.

CAN BABIES EAT THESE MUFFINS?

Yes! These muffins are great for baby led weaning, or for babies who have already started solid foods, but there are a few things to keep in mind:
1) Only introduce these muffins to babies who have experimented with finger foods – you could also make these into mini vegetable muffins for toddlers.
2) Make sure your baby doesn’t have any allergies to wheat, dairy or eggs before giving them these muffins (you’ll want to have them try each of these ingredients individually first)
3) You may want to reduce the amount of cheese to cut down the amount of sodium for your baby (read more about sodium for babies here).

🥣 More Savory Breakfast Recipes!

Healthy Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash
Green Waffles
Keto Breakfast Casserole
Avocado Toast With Tomato And Egg
Silken Tofu Scramble
Low-Calorie Egg White Omelette
Spinach Pancakes
Fried Potatoes And Onions

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5 from 5 votes