Broccoli and Cheese Muffins are the perfect savoury muffin for lunchboxes. Quick and easy to make, they are the most awesome non sandwich lunchbox item. Great as an on the go snack, they freeze well, defrost well and are deliciously cheesy. Get a big batch done in under 30 minutes! They are also great with soup for dinner, and even as a breakfast for super busy mornings. Make them mini for the lunchbox or normal size for grab and go snacks!
Why you're going to love this recipe
My kids love these- here is why you will too!
- great for eating on the go- perfect for kids who love to run and play and recess and lunch
- quick and easy to make
- a veggie hit- which means one less veggie battle at dinner time
- classic flavour combo of broccoli and cheese
- freezer friendly
- perfect for lunchboxes, recess, snack time, after school snacks, even as a breakfast or as a option for dipping in soup
- can be made large or small, so they will fit in an y lunchbox
What goes into the recipe
- broccoli is the star of the show for these muffins and they taste amazing because of the freshness of the broccoli in combination with the cheese and thyme. We are mostly using florets in this recipe, so freeze the stalk for future stock or for other dishes that cook longer.
- grated cheddar- you want something with some flavour- hence why I choose cheddar. You can also try tasty cheese or even a blue cheese!
- flours- there are two flours in this recipe: self raising flour and wholemeal self raising. Why? Wholemeal is better for you. White flour helps with lift and lightness. They are both self raising, but if you don't have self raising flour you can use 2 tsps of baking powder per cup of flour.
- thyme- I have tried a lot of different herbs in these and thyme is the best one!
How to make this recipe
- First, chop the broccoli into florets. (Image 1)
- Cook them using your preferred method: microwave takes about 4 minutes! (Image 2)
- Rinse under cold water and chop them into tiny pieces. (Image 3)
- Combine all the ingredients in a karge bowl. (Image 4)
- Mix all the ingredients together (Images 5 and 6)
- Put into muffin trays (either mini or normal size). Bake at 180º (355F) degrees for 18 minutes (mini) or 22 minutes (normal). (images 7 and 8)
Expert Tips and FAQs
I place my broccoli in cold water and microwave in a microwave safe container for 4 minutes (1100W). Other options are boiling or steaming.
Yes! They are perfect for freezing and defrosting. They work well in the lunchbox, I pop them in frozen and they are ready by lunch (even with an icepack!).
Yep! They work well with cheddar, tasty cheese, even parmesan. I have tried them with blue cheese for a more adult flavour and they worked well with that too!
Add 2 tsps of baking powder per cup of flour.
More muffin ideas
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Broccoli and Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup self raising flour (if you don't have self raising flour use 2 tsps baking powder with plain flour)
- 1 cup wholemeal wholewheat self raising flour (if you don't have self raising flour use 2 tsps baking powder with plain flour)
- 1.25 cups broccoli
- 1 cup grated cheddar
- 1.5 tsps dried thyme
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsps olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees. (355F)
- Chop the broccoli into florets and cook (I use the microwave- 4 minutes at 1100 W). You can also, steam or boil the broccoli.
- Chop finely.
- Mix all the ingredients together.
- Don't overmix.
- Put the muffins into mini muffin trays and bake for 18 minutes. Larger muffins will take 22 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Recipe video
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2015, updated with new photos in 2018 and given new photos, a video and faqs on November 3, 2021.
Mieke says
Is the kcal per muffin?
Kylie says
It's for 2 mini muffins.
Alison says
These did not work at all, very disappointing
Kylie says
That's really odd, can you give me more information so I can troubleshoot?
Christina Zahra says
Any chance you have quantities in grams? Hard to be sure whether to go with a compact cup of shredded cheese or just loosely filled. Thanks
Emily says
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
I had some leftover broccoli and this was exactly what I was looking for. I used garlic & onion powder instead of thyme as I’m not keen on it and it went down a treat with miss 3 and miss 5.
Kylie says
So good to hear! They are a favourite here!
Rubina De Abreu says
Hi,
Do you have the toddler recipes available to download on to iBooks?
Kylie says
No, I don't have a toddler book available for download at this stage. It is something I will be working on this year.
judes23 says
These look great! How do you prepare your mini-muffin pans so that they don't stick?
Kylie says
I use silicone ones! Or you can spray with oil.
Christina says
If i dnt have self raising flour. What are thr proportion with baking powder/soda/all purpose flour? Thanks!
Kylie says
So, it's one cup of plain flour to 2 tsps of baking powder.
The Darling Diaries says
Just fabulous, do you mind If I share a picture and a link to this page on my blog - as part of my one-year old's meal plan?
Kylie says
Of course! Go ahead!
Liesl says
I don't have any wholemeal flour on hand. Can I just use 2 cups of plain srf?
Kylie says
yes! No problems! I sometimes do that too!
Sarah says
Sorry but what does srf mean?
Kylie says
Self raising flour! 😉
jackie says
One question what is wholemeal?
Kylie says
Wholemeal flour? Wholewheat flour?
Christina @There's Just One Mommy says
Sounds yummy and a great way to sneak in those veggies!
Kirri says
I love a recipe that requires few ingredients and dishes. This was perfect!