These vegan savoury muffins are moist, packed with vegetables, and come together in one bowl! You can easily customise these muffins to suit your own tastes.
Why you'll love these savoury muffins
DIFFICULTY: Easy to make using common vegan pantry ingredients.
TASTE/TEXTURE: Moist and packed with 4 different vegetables. The muffins have a pleasant savoury cheesy flavor (and don't use vegan cheese). They're fluffier than scones but denser than sweet muffins.
OCCASION: Perfect for kids' lunchboxes or as a quick snack just like my vegan pizza rolls. Serve them with avocado for breakfast or lunch, or with soup for dinner!
Ingredients you'll need
Notes about the ingredients
Nutritional yeast adds a savoury cheesy flavour. Nutritional yeast is a popular vegan pantry staple as it's fortified with B12 and is delicious in recipes like these!
Zucchini, carrot, spinach and capsicum as our main vegetables. The zucchini and carrot and interchangeable whereas the spinach and capsicum can be substituted with other vegetables or omitted.
Dairy-free milk. I personally like using unsweetened soy milk in these muffins for extra protein. However, any dairy-free milk, or even water) will work.
Italian herbs and ground garlic/onion for flavour. You're welcome to use more or fewer herbs, to taste.
Baking powder and soda. We're using double baking agents to make sure the muffins are fluffy and not too moist.
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Tips for making the muffin batter
First, you don't need to strain the carrot or zucchini! The hidden liquid in these vegetables is compensated by the smaller amount of milk in the whole recipe.
The muffin batter is easy to make as it comes together in one bowl. My biggest tip is to make sure you don't overmix the batter as it can lead to tough and dense muffins.
This recipe produces a very THICK batter. Don't worry, the carrot and zucchini 'leak' juice when baking which makes the muffins very moist.
Tips for baking the muffins
These vegan savoury muffins are easy to bake! However, here are my top tips for baking tall and fluffy muffins that aren't too moist:
- Grease your muffin liners, if you're using them. These muffins have a lot of vegetables that can stick to the liners.
- For the tallest muffin tops, space your muffins apart so they sit diagonally on the muffin tin (pictured below). This encourages more hot oven air to circulate the muffins so they bake taller! If you only have one muffin tin, you'll bake 6 muffins at a time, in 2 lots.
- When checking for doneness, make sure your toothpick is clean. When these muffins are underbaked, they can be a little sticky.
Customising the muffins
The carrot and zucchini are interchangeable in this recipe. So, if you don't like zucchini, you can replace it with carrot and vice versa.
The capsicum and spinach can be omitted or replaced with similar vegetables in the same amount (use grams, not the cups measurement). I've successfully replaced the capsicum and spinach with canned corn, frozen peas, sun-dried tomatoes, sun-dried capsicum and olives. Fresh tomatoes also work but make the muffins more moist and dense.
These muffins will still work if you increase the overall amount of vegetables. However, the more vegetables you add, the heavier and denser the muffins will be.
Yes, you can add ¼ cup of shredded vegan cheese at the same time as adding the vegetables.
Yes, these vegan savoury muffins will work with 1:1 gluten-free flour blends. You can also substitute half of the flour with chickpea flour.
More vegan muffins and quick breads
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Vegan Savoury Muffins
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour, spooned and leveled (note 1 for tips and alternatives)
- ¼ cup (12g) nutritional yeast, or to taste (note 2 if omitting)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon dried mixed Italian herbs, (note 3 for substitutes)
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder, or onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (315g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (125g) light olive oil, or oil of choice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, lemon juice or white vinegar (optional)
- ~1 cup (150g) grated zucchini, (1 small to medium zucchini) (note 4 for substitutes)
- ~1 cup (100g) grated carrot, (1 medium carrot)
- 1 cup (120g) red capsicum (bell pepper), finely chopped, optional
- ½ cup (15g) baby spinach leaves, finely chopped, optional
To decorate (optional)
- 3 tablespoons (25g) raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 12-cup muffin tray with muffin cases.
Make the muffin batter:
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until the mixture is well combined.
- Add all the wet ingredients and vegetables to the bowl and mix until just combined. Make sure there are no lumps of dry ingredients. The batter should be very thick.
- Use an ice cream scoop or a large spoon to divide the batter into your muffin pan. The batter should form a small mound in each cup and each cup should be almost full (see the step-by-step images above).
- If desired, sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top of each muffin.
Baking and storing the muffins:
- Bake the muffins for 30-35 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in a muffin and it comes out completely clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack. Allow the muffins to cool completely.
- The muffins are best enjoyed at room temperature or slightly warmed up. They're delicious by themselves or with some vegan butter or avocado.
- Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Allow them to come to room temperature before enjoying.
Notes
- To spoon and level your flour, fluff up the flour in the bag, use a spoon to add flour to a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. If you use a measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container, it will pack in too much flour and result in dry and dense muffins. Alternatively, use the grams measurements.
Instead of all-purpose flour, you can use whole wheat flour or spelt flour. To make gluten-free muffins, I recommend using 190g chickpea flour and 190g gluten-free all-purpose flour. You can use just gluten-free all-purpose flour but the muffins rise a little less. - Alternatively, you can replace the nutritional yeast and with 1 tablespoon (8g) of flour. Your muffins won't be golden and you may want to increase the amount of herbs to taste.
- Alternatively, you can use one or more of the following dried herbs: oregano, basil, dill, thyme or chives. For muffins with some spice, add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, to taste.
- The grated carrot and zucchini are interchangeable. The capsicum and spinach can simply be omitted or replaced with other similar vegetables. If replacing, I suggest using the grams measurement. These muffins contain *a lot* of vegetables but you can still increase the quantity of vegetables if you want. However, the more vegetables that you add, the denser and moister the muffins will be.
Nutrition
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Eva says
I recently stumble upon this delicious looking muffins but I want to make them with oatmeal flour, would the ratio change or be the same? If it change, how much grams do I used? Thank you so much in advance. Can’t wait to make them!
Anthea says
Hi Eva! I haven't tested these work oatmeal flour, but I suspect the muffins will work but will be much denser. Sometimes people combine oatmeal flour with a starch (like corn or potato) to make the baked good a little lighter. Hope that helps!
Chantel says
I literally just made these and they’re absolutely delicious! I’ve tried and failed so many recipes in the past and I can finally save one that works!!
I subbed out the plain flour for 2 1/2 cups spelt flour and 1/2 cup of chickpea flour, I also added in some corn and chili flakes and opted for fresh parsley over dried herbs!
**chefs kiss
Anthea says
Hi Chantel, I'm so happy that you had success with these muffins - I know how frustrating it can be to have failed bakes! Glad that it worked with your combination of flours and ingredients. It sounds delicious and I want to try this next time. Thanks so much for your lovely feedback!
Maddy says
Great muffins! I added 1/2 cup of bran and increased the milk by 1/4 cup. Terrific!
Anthea says
Ooh great to know! I'll need to try that combination next time. Thanks so much for your comment!
Shai says
Looks great and I'm excited to make these. Question... what would you suggest if I want to increase the protein in these? And to what quantity?
We eat beans, nuts, seeds of all kinds. Thanks!
Anthea says
Hi! Try the chickpea flour version (mentioned in Note 1 of the recipe card) and make it with half all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour. I haven't tested the recipe with any other ingredients other than what's mentioned in the post so I'm not 100% sure how it'll turn out, but you could try adding around 1/2 cups of nuts or seeds to the batter, and more on top. Hope that helps!
Cheri says
I used a jumbo muffin pan for these. Did not really rise but for a wee bit. Very moist and taste great.
Do you know of any way I can reduce the amount of oil? I’m vegan so eggs are out. Thank you.
Anthea says
Hi Cheri, glad that you enjoyed these muffins! With the oil, you may be able to use the same amount in vegan yogurt though it will affect the texture. A nut butter should also work, if you don't mind having it in a savory recipe. Hope that helps!
Jo says
Sadly these didn't work.
Followed the recipe to a T, using the gram measurements, but after an hour in the oven they are still not close to cooked
Anthea says
Hi Jo, I'm sorry these didn't work out for you. 1 hour in the oven definitely sounds unusual. Can I ask what was your batter like? If it was thin, it could be an ingredient issue. If it was thick like pictured, is there a chance that your baking powder is no longer active or there's an issue with your oven? Normally, if you bake anything small in the oven for 1 hour at the right temperature, it will dry out and harden rather than stay wet.
Deb Reid says
These were delicious and I am making them again!!
YUM
Anthea says
Hi Deb, I'm thrilled that you loved this recipe! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
Vaibhavi Patel says
Can I use almond flour? And if so how much do I use?
Anthea says
I don't recommend using only almond flour as the muffins will crumble. They may work with half almond flour and half gluten-free all-purpose flour, but I haven't tested it.
CY says
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I was searching for a healthy, dairy-free savoury muffin with lots of veges for my kid to take to school and this recipe ticked all the boxes. This was simple to make, deliciously flavourful and super healthy! I made mine with wholemeal spelt flour and it turned out perfect - moist but fluffy and satisfying. I will be adding this recipe to my rotation.
Anthea says
Aw, I'm so happy that this recipe is a keeper for you, and that your kid can take it to school. And great to know that you enjoyed it with wholemeal spelt flour too. Thanks so much for your lovely feedback 🙂
Lotte Spaul says
Great recipe, thank you for sharing 🙂 I think next time I make them I'll add some chilli flakes.
Anthea says
Hi Lotte, I'm so glad that you enjoyed these! And additional chilli flakes would definitely be delicious. Thanks for the review 🙂
Laura says
Great recipe. I used the veggies I had on hand: 1 small zucchini (100g), half a large bell pepper (100g), and three medium-sized broccoli florets (52g). 30 minutes was the perfect baking time. I like how versatile the recipe is and will definitely make them again.
Anthea says
Hi Laura, that sounds delicious and I'm so glad that it worked with broccoli too! I've got to try it with broccoli next time. And thanks for letting me know about the baking time too. I appreciate your feedback!
Saffron says
These are so good. Thanks so much for a great recipe. Worked so well with spelt flour. Will try adding sun-dried tomatoes and olives next time but delicious as they are.
Anthea says
Hi Saffron, I'm so happy that you enjoyed these and that you want to make them again! Thanks so much for your feedback :).
Marie says
I made these for my toddlers packed lunch. They are great! He doesn’t really notice the vegetables which is a win 😂 my husband love them too.
Anthea says
Hi Marie, aw I'm stoked that your toddler and husband enjoyed these!! I hear you on getting toddlers/kids to eat those vegetables haha. Thanks so much for your feedback 🙂
Heather says
Very good. I cooked them in the air fryer and they’re great .
Anthea says
Hi Heather, that's great to hear! Thanks for your feedback 🙂