Savory Sun-Dried Tomato And Feta Muffins Recipe

When you picture muffins, perhaps you see a plateful of sweet and juicy blueberry muffins or a batch of decadent chocolate chip muffins hot out of the oven. We know these are delicious, but muffins don't have to be sweet. There are countless ways to make savory muffins as well. Think of the kind of ingredients you would put in a frittata, a quiche, or even on a pizza. Savory muffins are quick to make and can add more vegetables to your meals. While some recipes may contain a small amount of sugar, completely savory muffin recipes are easy to find.

Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a recipe for savory muffins featuring moist, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, tangy and salty feta cheese, rich black olives, and fresh basil leaves. These Mediterranean flavors are commonly seen in savory recipes, and they're delicious in muffins too. The recipe calls for olive oil, which might be a strange choice for sweet muffins, but it not only keeps the muffins moist but gives them a savory, Mediterranean taste. These muffins will fill your kitchen with a warm, inviting aroma as they bake. They're a good breakfast idea if you prefer to save the sweets for dessert, and you can also try them as a tasty appetizer, snack, or as a component of a buffet.

For this recipe, you will need sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil. Remember to drain them well before adding them to the batter. You can substitute dry sun-dried tomatoes if you need to, but the muffins will come out a little less moist. You'll also need feta cheese, black olives, and fresh basil leaves for the main flavors.

The recipe calls for whole milk and 2% Greek yogurt for the dairy products, and eggs and olive oil are the additional wet ingredients. Grab some 00 flour, salt, and pepper. Finally, baking soda and lemon juice are the leavening ingredients that will help the muffins rise.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin papers and spray them with a baking spray containing flour.

Stir together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.

Add the sun-dried tomatoes, feta, and olives to the flour mixture and stir well to coat them evenly.

Add the eggs, milk, yogurt, lemon juice, and oil to a second bowl and whisk well.

Tear the basil leaves into pieces by hand and drop them into the egg mixture. Stir to mix.

Add the flour mixture to the bowl of wet ingredients and stir until the batter just comes together. Do not overmix. The batter will be dense, and it's normal if it's lumpy.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. The cups should each be ¾ full.

Bake the muffins for 15–20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs clinging to it. Avoid opening the oven during the first 15 minutes of baking time.

Let the pan sit for 5 minutes and then remove the muffins. Let them cool for at least 15 more minutes on a wire rack before serving warm or at room temperature.

While we use the term "muffin papers" here, these pan liners are also known as cupcake papers, and these tips also apply to cupcakes. Paper liners prevent sticking, making cleaning it a lot easier. But, that doesn't mean the muffins won't stick to the paper itself. Muffin papers aren't always necessary because some recipes are more prone to sticking than others. Since this recipe is the kind that tends to stick, we've used muffin papers. Not only that, but we recommend spraying the papers with a baking spray too. Baking spray, unlike cooking spray, contains flour, which provides an additional barrier between the batter and the paper and reduces sticking even more.

Beyond sticking, there are two main reasons why papers are a good idea. The first is that they prevent the sides of muffins from hardening or burning. The second is that they help all the parts of the muffin to rise evenly and form a round, even dome on top. This is because the paper between the dough and the hot pan walls keeps the dough a little cooler than it would be if it touched the walls directly. The muffin sides would thus cook and set more quickly without paper while the tops would continue to rise, forming a more severe peak on top.

Baking soda and baking powder are both seen in muffin recipes. Both are leavening agents that help baked goods rise, but they are a little different. Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and an acid. When a recipe uses baking soda, there will also need to be an acidic ingredient. This recipe uses lemon juice, but you can also see buttermilk, vinegar, plain yogurt, or sour cream as the acidic ingredient.

Once the baking powder or the baking soda/acid mix comes in contact with liquid, it starts to react and form carbon dioxide gas, which helps the dough to rise. Most baking powders sold commercially for home cooks are double acting — they react a first time to liquid, and a second time when exposed to heat, which means the rising will get another boost when the pan is placed in the hot oven. Just be aware that baking powder containing aluminum can make your baked goods taste bitter. Recipes with baking powder can also taste overly bitter if additional acidic ingredients are included. This recipe also calls for feta and yogurt, which is why we recommend baking soda. Baking soda only reacts once to liquid, so don't delay between mixing the batter and getting the pan into the oven, or the activation could fizzle out. If all you have is baking powder, remember this ratio for substituting baking powder for baking soda.