These delicious from-scratch feta and spinach muffins take the classic spinach and feta combination and wrap them into a fantastic savoury muffin.
Savoury muffins are the perfect snack, great for tossing in the lunch tin/box (cooler)? for a mid-afternoon snack. And they are perfect for weekend brunches - whether for Mother's Day, Father's Day, or even Easter.
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Ingredients
Here are some notes on the ingredients used in this recipe. Please see the recipe card for quantities.
- Standard grade/all-purpose/plain flour is what you need for a light, airy muffin. Nothing fancy in the flour I'm using!
- Cornstarch or cornflour as we call it in the commonwealth adds lightness to the muffin. Also known as Maizena in South Africa.
- Baking powder is what gives these muffins lift.
- Dill or mixed herbs to add a bit of depth of flavour to the muffin. My personal favourite go-to herbs are dried dill, parsley, oregano, and sweet basil.
- Feta - I used a plain cow's milk feta for these muffins.
- Cheese - I used an Edam for these muffins, but a gouda or mild cheddar would work just as well.
- Spinach - Fresh baby spinach is my favourite spinach and go-to for baked goods. But frozen chopped spinach will also work perfectly.
- Plain or Greek yoghurt gives this muffin a tang, the acidity works really well with the spinach and cheese. I haven't tried other substitutions for this recipe in particular. If you do - let me know how it goes in the comments below!
- Milk to add moisture to the muffins. Nothing worse than a dry savoury muffin.
- Eggs to bind it all together.
- Butter to give a rich flavour to the muffins.
- Salt - there is no salt in this recipe because the feta and cheese add enough salt to these muffins, in my opinion.
Plain/all-purpose/standard grade flour can be substituted on a 1 to 1 basis for recipes that have ½ to 1 teaspoon of baking powder per 125 grams/1 cup of flour. If the recipe requires more than 1 teaspoon per cup, simply add the extra baking powder to the recipe to make up the difference. Self-raising/rising flours may already contain salt so this may need to be omitted from the recipe as well.
Test the freshness of your baking powder or baking soda (bicarbonate of soda or bread soda) by placing a small amount in some boiling water. If it bubbles and fizzes, it's good to use!
Room Temperature Ingredients
Use room temperature ingredients! Using room temperature ingredients ensures that ingredients in the batter or dough will incorporate easier. Take note that room temperature refers to around 20°C/68F.
- To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, place them into warm water for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- To bring butter to room temperature quickly, cut the butter into cubes and zap in the microwave at 20% power in 10-second intervals. Or place the cubes in a bowl over warm water (such as with a double boiler) over low heat for 1 minute!
- Milk, buttermilk, and cream can be brought to room temperature by zapping in the microwave at 20% power in 10-second intervals. Or on a low heat for a minute or two swirling every 10-15 seconds.
Weighing Ingredients
Weighing ingredients is more accurate than measuring cups overall, and this is my recommendation for my recipes as they are all developed and tested using grams only. However, I have activated the US customary conversions on the recipe card, these are based on generally accepted conversions. Cups are equal to 236mL/ 8 fluid ounces, tablespoons are 15mL and teaspoons are 5mL.
Measuring cups and spoons are an essential addition to every kitchen! Especially if you don't use a kitchen scale. For accurate measuring invest in a set to make sure you are adding the correct amount of ingredients. When in doubt - always use a level spoon or cup measure.
How to Make Feta and Spinach Muffins
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 220°C/40F or 200°C fan and line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Step 2 - Grate the cheese, and crumble the feta. Melt the butter. Set aside.
Step 3 - Cook the spinach until just welted. This can be done on the stovetop, or place the spinach in a colander and pour about 750mL of boiling water over the spinach. Once the spinach has cooled, squeeze most of the liquid out, and dice the spinach.
Step 4 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, herbs, cornstarch and baking powder.
Step 5 - Add in the feta, spinach and half the cheese. Toss with the flour to coat and break up any large pieces or clumps of spinach.
Step 6 - Whisk together the eggs, milk, yoghurt and melted butter.
Step 7 - Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Step 8 - Divide the muffin batter between the cupcake liners and top with the remaining cheese.
Step 9 - Bake the feta and spinach muffins at 220°C/340F or 200°C fans for 5 minutes. Turn down the oven to 200°C/390F or 180°C fans and bake for a further 12 to 15 minutes or until just baked.
Step 10 - Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning them onto a wire cooling rack.
Pro Tips for this Recipe
Once you have melted the butter, allow it to cool down before adding the other wet ingredients. You don't want to cook the eggs in hot butter.
Sometimes savoury muffins sometimes have the tendency to stick to the cupcake liners once baked (at least with the liners I'm using there in New Zealand). So I like to give the inside of the liner a quick spray with non-stick spray.
Baking Tall Moist Savoury Muffins
The secret to moist, tender muffins is mixing until the ingredients are just combined and making sure to take the muffins out of the oven as soon as they are baked.
Do not overmix the muffin batter, using a spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined and no more!
Do not overbake the muffins. Once you have turned down the oven for the second portion of the bake, check the muffins after 12 minutes, and if still a bit underbaked in the centre pop them in for another 3-5 minutes and keep an eye on them. No one wants a dry overbaked muffin.
A hot oven allows the muffins to rise quickly which gives the muffins those characteristically tall domes!
Ovens
Fan-forced or fan-assisted oven temperature must be decreased by 20°C/25F. Use an oven thermometer to determine the accuracy of your oven dial.
Bakeware
Metal bakeware is superior when baking biscuits, cookies, brownies, muffins and quick bread, scones, cakes. These heat up and cool down faster than glassware. Glassware is heavier, heats up and cools down slower than metal and is more suited for bread puddings, pies, crisps, crumbles and cobblers.
Storage and Freezing
You can store these muffins at room temperature in an air-tight container for about 3 days. Pop them in the fridge to keep them for a week.
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📋 Recipe
Feta and Spinach Muffins
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin tin
Ingredients
- 150 grams feta
- 120 grams mild Edam (mild cheddar or gouda)
- 75 grams melted butter
- 120 grams baby spinach
- 300 grams flour
- 50 grams cornstarch
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
- 2 eggs (medium-large)
- 140 grams Greek yoghurt
- 250 grams milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220°C/40F or 200°C fan and line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Grate the cheese, and crumble the feta. Melt the butter. Set aside.150 grams feta, 120 grams mild Edam, 75 grams melted butter
- Cook the spinach until just welted. This can be done on the stovetop, or place the spinach in a colander and pour about 750mL of boiling water over the spinach. Once the spinach has cooled, squeeze most of the liquid out, and dice the spinach.120 grams baby spinach
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, herbs, cornstarch and baking powder.300 grams flour, 50 grams cornstarch, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 3 teaspoons dried mixed herbs
- Add in the feta, spinach and half the cheese (the other half will be sprinkled on the top of the muffins). Toss with the flour to coat and break up any large pieces or clumps of spinach.150 grams feta, 120 grams mild Edam
- Whisk together the eggs, milk, yoghurt and melted butter.2 eggs, 140 grams Greek yoghurt, 250 grams milk
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Divide the muffin batter between the cupcake liners and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake the feta and spinach muffins at 220°C/340F or 200°C fans for 5 minutes. Turn down the oven to 200°C/390F or 180°C fans and bake for a further 12 to 15 minutes or until just baked.
- Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning them onto a wire cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate. If scaling the recipe remember to scale your cook and bakeware accordingly.
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