These savoury, super fluffy cauliflower muffins are made using cauliflower rice, a moderate amount of cheese, nutritious kefir and fresh chives. They make a delicious snack, lunchbox idea or savoury veggie breakfast.
I usually tend to make traditional ‘sweet’ muffins but today I am sharing a recipe for simple savoury cauliflower muffins. They are just as quick and easy to make as the ‘sweet’ muffins but have the added bonus of being sugar free!
Ingredients
These nutritious muffins contain cauliflower rice. It’s still cauliflower only blitzed into a coarse crumbly mixture. This is easier and much quicker to do than manually chopping the cauliflower. Making cauliflower rice also ensures your crumbs will be more or less the same.
For this recipe I used only the florets. This is because they contain less moisture and are easier to turn into crumbs than the stalks. This is not to say that cauliflower rice can’t be made successfully using the entire vegetable. It absolutely can! For example, I blitzed both the florets and the stalk in cauliflower stuffed peppers with feta as well as cauliflower rice crusted chicken. So it all depends on the recipe.
Other ingredients I used in this cauliflower muffin recipe include kefir (which helps make these muffins super fluffy), cheese and onion granules for added savouriness, 1 egg plus chives for more flavour.
Equipment you'll need
- Kitchen scale/measuring cup and spoons
- 2 large bowls, whisk and large spoon
- Chopping board and knife
- Blender and grater
- 6-hole muffin pan and paper cases (if using)
How to make cauliflower muffins: step-by-step
1.Make the cauliflower rice by briefly blitzing until crumbly (but not mushy) and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6 and lightly grease or line with paper cases a 6-hole muffin pan.
2. In one bowl combine the flour, baking powder, onion granules and salt and stir thoroughly using a whisk.
3. In another bowl whisk together the egg, oil and kefir until smooth.
4. Add the cauliflower rice, most of the cheese, chives and stir.
5. Pour in the flour mixture and stir just to combine.
6. Spoon the batter into your muffin pan and sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Bake in the centre of the oven for 27 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and set aside for 15 minutes then transfer the muffins onto a cooling rack.
Top tips and FAQs
- You will only need to use cauliflower florets in this recipe - add the cauliflower stalk to soups, especially ones you’ll puree. You could also finely chop it and add to salads. Try also roasting it along with other vegetables and tossing together with pasta for a simple healthy vegetarian meal.
- Batter: To ensure your muffins are light and fluffy rather than dense remember not to overmix the batter. Stir just to combine. The batter will be very lumpy and thick.
- Best served on the day they are made.
- Serving suggestions: Great with morning eggs, as a snack, with a knob of butter, with soups and stews.
- Storing: Once completely cooled store in a plastic container for up to 3 days. Best served warm.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Substitutions
- Kefir: I used kefir in this savoury muffin recipe but you could swap it for buttermilk if you prefer or can’t get kefir. I tend to use kefir as it’s healthier.
- Chives: You could also use different herbs or not use any at all. Good alternatives to chives include fresh tarragon (2 teaspoons should be enough), dried oregano, thyme or rosemary (not more than 1 teaspoon each).
- Cheese: I used full fat mature cheddar but you could use mild cheddar or lower fat cheddar cheese.
You might also like
- Sweet Potato Egg Muffins with Cauliflower
- Fluffy Cornmeal Muffins with Sweet Corn
- Healthy Potato Asparagus Frittata Muffins
- Easy Cauliflower Cheese Scones
- Cauliflower Rice Cheese Pasties
Check out also this collection of 18 vegetable breakfast recipes for more veggie breakfast inspiration.
Keep in touch!
If you make these savoury cauliflower muffins I'd love to know how they turned out for you. Let me know in the comments below, thanks:)
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Cauliflower Muffins with Cheese, Kefir & Chives
Ingredients
- 100 g cauliflower florets roughly chopped
- 200 ml kefir
- 60 g mature cheddar cheese coarsely grated
- 3 tbsp chives finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 45 ml vegetable oil I used cold pressed rapeseed
- 150 g flour
- 1⅕ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp onion granules
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6. Grease a 6-hole muffin pan or line with paper cases.
- Make the cauliflower rice by blitzing the cauliflower for a few seconds until it starts forming a crumbly mixture (do not overblend). Set aside.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, onion granules and salt, stir thoroughly using a whisk and set aside.
- In a large bowl combine the egg, oil and kefir and whisk until smooth. Add the cauliflower rice, most of the cheese (leave some to sprinkle on top) and chives and stir to combine. Pour in the flour mixture all at once and stir just to combine. Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake in the centre of the oven for 27 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins from the pan (I used a spatula to do this) and set aside to cool completely (or until only slightly warm) before serving.
Notes
- Kefir: I used kefir in this savoury muffin recipe but you could swap it for buttermilk if you prefer or can’t get kefir. I tend to use kefir as it’s healthier.
- Chives: You could also use different herbs or not use any at all. Good alternatives to chives include fresh tarragon (2 teaspoons should be enough), dried oregano, thyme or rosemary (not more than 1 teaspoon each).
- Cheese: I used full fat mature cheddar but you could use mild cheddar or lower fat cheddar cheese.
- Batter: To ensure your muffins are light and fluffy rather than dense remember not to overmix the batter. Stir just to combine. The batter will be very lumpy and thick.
- Serving suggestions: Great with morning eggs, as a snack, with a knob of butter, with soups and stews.
- Storing: Once completely cooled store in a plastic container for up to 3 days. Best served warm.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
Hi, I am Monika, welcome to Everyday Healthy Recipes! This blog is all about creatively simple recipes with a healthy twist, old classics with a modern take, and an occasional Polish dish thrown into the mix - all easy to make, healthy and delicious, perfect for everyday cooking. 
Cauliflower muffins sound a very interesting recipe. will love to try out these soon.. can we use raw onions or fried in place of onion powder??
I used onion powder to enhance the flavour but as these muffins already come with chives in them you can either omit the onion powder or add more chives if you like. I wouldn't use raw onions, though caramelized onions might be nice.
I have to try these! They sound so good, and good for you, too! 5-star recipe!
Thank you Angie!
I love the muffin tray! May I please ask where you acquired it?
Thanks! TKMAXX in the UK about 2 years ago.
I love savoury muffins and I'd happily scoff down a couple of these!
OMG this is stunning, I saw it on cookblogshare and immediately hopped on to your blog. Just wow. I would love to enjoy this anytime of the day. Bookmarking this.
Thank you, glad you like this recipe!
Monika this is a fantastic way to get my boys to eat cauliflower! I never thought of putting cauli-rice in muffins! Oh and your muffin pan is gorgeous! Thanks for linking up and sharing with us at Fiesta Friday! Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Thank you! Happy FF!
These muffins surely look good, and they sound absolutely delicious! I'll surely be trying these out soon. Do you think I could use dried onion powder in them instead of onion granules?
Thanks! I suspect dried onion powder is the same thing as onion granules, it's just called different to confuse people:)
These look so lovely and delicious, Monika. Thanks for the tip about the stalks. I hope you are enjoying Fiesta Friday party! Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you Jhuls, happy FF!
Looks great Monika😋
Thanks DeeDee!
They look really scrummy. I would happily eat one of those for breakfast. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
Thank you Jacqui:)
ohhh these look delicious Monika! I have a bit of cauliflower waiting to be used up so I may give thee a try!
Thanks Priya, this is the perfect recipe for using up leftover cauliflower.