Gorgeously cheesy, full of herby summer flavor, and packed with vegetables, my Parmesan Asparagus Savory Muffins are the perfect savory treat for a picnic, a BBQ, or to pack into your kids’ school lunchboxes. They’re super-easy to make and store incredibly well in the fridge or freezer.
Savory Muffins are The Bomb
As much as I enjoy sweet baked goods, when I get cravings they’re normally for something savory. And I love a good cheese muffin! Perfectly portioned, easily transportable for picnics or lunches away from home, and best of all, they taste fantastic. I often make a whole batch to freeze — they defrost beautifully in the microwave, and I can have a hot Parmesan muffin ready to eat in only one minute.
Cheesy Goodness (and Hidden Veg)
The cheesiness is the main draw, of course, being so gorgeously rich and savory. But you know what the real surprise is? There’s quite a lot of vegetables in these as well! You and I don’t need encouragement to eat our greens, but parents with picky kids will know what I’m talking about. Even the most vegetable-averse child has been known not only to scarf these babies down, but boast to their schoolmates about having them in their lunchbox!
With the last of the asparagus going out as the first of the zucchini come in, these vegetables go together beautifully with the classic summer herbs of the Mediterranean: drought-resistant rosemary, and big blowsy Italian basil.
Changing with The Seasons
This particular muffin recipe was designed to pair the bold summer herb flavors of basil and rosemary with late spring asparagus.
But it actually started out life a long time ago as a Cheddar and cauliflower muffin with red pepper flakes, when I wanted something to serve at a Christmas party. I’ve also made very similar muffins with mushrooms, tarragon, and Comté cheese; with pumpkin, sage, and goats cheese; and with broccoli, rosemary, and Stilton.
It’s gone through many different iterations, changing with the seasons, and I honestly can’t say that any one is better than any of the others. It really just depends on my mood, the weather, and what looks good at the market!
Besides the versatility of the recipe, the reason it’s such a keeper is that you can make them in advance, and they are suitable for so many things — finger food for a party, a child’s lunchbox, a summer barbecue or picnic, a quick and easy snack to pull out of the freezer… You name it, I’ve probably baked a cheese muffin for it!
How to Make Parmesan Asparagus Muffins
Cheese muffins are as easy as it gets! Chop a few things up, mix everything together, and bake!
The most complicated part — and please don’t worry, it’s still very simple! — is cutting the zucchini into thin strips. A few years ago, the world went briefly mad for spiralizing vegetables. Zucchini were a particular craze, with many people serving “zoodles” as a low-carb alternative to spaghetti. If you bought into that trend, you probably already have a spiralizer, which is the perfect tool for the job.
If not, you may have a julienne cutter, either a handheld one, or attached to a mandoline. That works great as well.
But even if you don’t have either of those kitchen devices, all is not lost! You can easily slice zucchini matchsticks by hand with a good sharp kitchen knife. It’ll take a bit longer and you might have to scrunch them up in your hand a bit to get them to sit in the paper muffin cases, but the muffins will still turn out just fine.
And if the instructions about the chives and asparagus tips seem like a faff to you, don’t bother with it. I suggested it just for presentation — but the muffins will taste just the same if you just stir everything together. I do recommend keeping the zucchini separate though; otherwise you can end up with no zucchini in one muffin, and too much in another.
Ingredients Notes and Substitutions
Cheese muffins are an incredibly flexible recipe! Feel free to switch out the vegetables for something different. Just remember that the muffins only get 10 minutes in the oven, so some vegetables will need pre-cooking before adding them to the mix. And any vegetables that have a lot of liquid won’t be ideal — your muffins will just be soggy. I’ve used pumpkin, cauliflower, broccoli, and mushrooms before, which were all delicious.
Most herbs will work very well here too, even those that usually don’t stand up to heat so well. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (ha ha!) plus tarragon, oregano, or chervil would all be great. I haven’t tried cilantro yet, but I can imagine it going well with some Tex-Mex flavors in a cheese muffin.
You can also switch out Parmesan for a different cheese. Almost anything will work, as long as it’s not too soft. A very ripe Brie probably wouldn’t be ideal, for instance; nor cream cheese. But I have previously used Stilton, crumbled goat’s cheese, feta, Cheddar, Comté, and emmental; all of which worked perfectly.
Be sure to keep the amount of flour, eggs, baking powder and cheese roughly the same, but other than that, get creative! Here are some of my tried-and-tested combinations, and I‘m sure you’ll come up with some of your own as well!
- Cooked pumpkin with sage and goat’s cheese.
- Mushrooms fried off with a little garlic, plus tarragon, and Comté cheese.
- Roasted broccoli with rosemary, and Stilton.
- Sun-dried tomatoes with oregano and feta.
Storage Notes
These keep beautifully well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. They can be split open and toasted (take the paper case off first!) or eaten cold.
They’ll be fine outside the fridge for several hours, making them ideal for lunchboxes, picnics, or summer BBQ parties.
The cheese muffins also freeze really well. Keep them in their paper cases and freeze whole. To defrost, give them about 1 minute in the microwave at full power. They should come out perfectly warmed through, as if freshly baked.
And More…
I especially love taking Parmesan muffins to potluck summer parties, and I’ve never found a single one remaining at the end! They make a change from all the salads that people usually bring, and their sturdy, robust, cheesy flavor stands up to grilled meat from the barbecue as well.
They’re also great as finger food for any party – children or adults! Sturdy enough to stand up to little fingers, and filling enough to soak up any alcohol, muffins are a great addition to any celebration. Regular readers will know I am a big fan!
Looking for More Savory Muffin Recipes?
Try out one of these!
3-ingredient Spinach Egg Muffins
Breakfast Frittata Muffins
Cranberry Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
Conclusion
Next time you’re looking for a versatile, savory snack give these Parmesan Asparagus Savory Muffins a try. You won’t be disappointed. Let me know in the comments how you got on, and what variations you’ve tried out. Can’t wait to be inspired by hearing about your creative switchups!
Savory Parmesan Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and diced
- 1 sprig of rosemary minced
- 12 spears green asparagus woody ends removed, cut into thin slices, 2-inch tips reserved
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 cup parmesan finely grated
- 5 eggs beaten
- 1 small bunch basil roughly chopped
- 1 small zucchini spiralized or julienned
- 1 small bunch of chives finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.
- Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and rosemary and sauté for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the thinly sliced asparagus (but not the tips) and fry for another 3 minutes, before turning off the heat and leaving to cool to room temperature.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, and turmeric together, and add the parmesan.
- In a separate bowl, mix the eggs with the basil, and the onion-asparagus mix when cooled.
- Take generous pinches of the julienned zucchini and put into the bottom of the muffin cases. If your zucchini is larger (like mine was) you won’t need it all.
- Combine the flour mix with the egg mix, adding about ½ tsp each of kosher salt and black pepper. Spoon the mix into the muffin cases, coming almost to the top. Sprinkle with chives, and poke a reserved asparagus tip into each one.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, until risen, and golden brown. Remove from the muffin tin as soon as they’re cool enough to handle, and cool on a wire rack.
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