Double Cheese & Summer Veg Muffins
These protein-packed muffins make a filling snack or lunch box addition. The vegetable additions can be mixed and matched to use what you have. Chopped capsicum, cherry tomatoes, red onion or spring onion would be other great options. The cottage cheese along with adding protein, also gives the muffins a moist texture so they store well for a few days.
Ingredients
- 250 g (1 cup) cottage cheese
- ½ cup (50g) finely grated parmesan cheese, divided
- 3 free-range eggs
- ¼ cup (60ml) milk
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (150g) plain flour (can use gluten-free flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika, plus extra for sprinkling
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 ½ cups (about 200g) summer vegetables - I used sweetcorn kernels, chopped zucchini and sliced sundried tomatoes
- handful fresh basil, chopped (can use other herbs such as parsley, chives and mint)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C (fan 170C). Line a medium-sized muffin tray with 10 paper muffin cups.
- Scoop the cottage cheese into a bowl and add half of the grated parmesan - set aside the remaining for the topping. Add the eggs, milk, and salt, and whisk to combine.
- In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, paprika and cayenne. Add the vegetables and herbs and toss to coat with the flour. Pour over the wet mixture and fold together until just combined.
- Evenly spoon the batter into the muffin cups - this is a runny batter. Scatter over the remaining grated parmesan and a pinch of paprika onto each muffin.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.
- The muffins can be served warm with butter, or at room temperature. Making a great addition to back-to-school lunchboxes. Store in a container in the fridge and consume within 3 days.
Notes
Tip: If you run out of muffin cases (as I did while making these muffins) you can use baking paper for make-shift cases. Cut baking paper into 12-15cm squares, and lightly grease each muffin hole (for the paper to adhere to). Select a small glass with a similar-sized base to the muffin holes. Invert the glass and hold a paper square over the base, folding it down around the sides to mould around the glass creating a paper case. Repeat the with remaining paper squares. Place the cups into the muffin holes and fill them with batter. The image below shows the make-shift muffin cases in the top left-hand corner.