These savory cheese muffins are super easy to make and pack delicious savory flavors thanks to grated cheddar cheese and chopped fresh parsley. We like to serve these muffins as a side dish during the holidays or as a savory snack throughout the week.

Savory cheese muffins in muffin liners, ready to eat.

We’re big fans of muffins over here on The Cheese Knees (have you made our blueberry cream cheese muffins yet?!), but this is officially our VERY FIRST savory muffin recipe, and we could not be more excited to share this one.

These savory cheese muffins are reminiscent of a savory biscuit or scone, but made fun and easy into muffins. We love pairing these cheese muffins with a soup or stew at dinner, but for the savory breakfast lovers out there — this recipe is for you, too!

What You Need for Savory Muffins

You need a muffin tin and muffin liners for these muffins. We highly recommend using muffin liners, they make it easier to share and store for later. The key ingredient on the ingredient list is the buttermilk, they offer moisture and a delicious tang to the savory biscuits.

Ingredients for savory cheese muffins ready to be mixed together.

Substitutions + Variations

Feel free to make any of the following flavor tweaks to these savory cheese muffins! We absolutely love the parsley + cheddar flavor combo, but any of the following would be absolutely delicious as well:

Swiss + Spinach: Swap out the cheddar and parsley for 1 cup grated swiss and 1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach.

Bacon + Gruyere: Skip the cheddar and use 1 cup grated gruyere, and replace the parsley for 1/2 cup diced cooked bacon.

Ham + Cheddar + Parsley: Keep the grated cheddar AND parsley, and add 1/2 cup of diced cooked ham.

Savory cheese muffins wet ingredients being mixed with dry ingredients.

Here are all the tools you need to make this homemade paneer.

Cuisinart

Muffin Tin

PaperChef

Nonstick Muffin Liners

KitchenAid

Whisk

a set of clear glass bowls on a white background.

Duralex

Mixing Bowls

savory cheese muffin batter, ready to be poured into muffin liners and baked

savory cheese muffin batter in muffin liners in a muffin tin, ready to be placed into the oven and baked

To Store Savory Cheese Muffins

Store these savory cheese muffins in an air-tight container for up to 5 days in the fridge. Just be sure to let your muffins cool completely before placing them into an air-tight container and storing in the fridge for later.

To Freeze: Let the savory cheese muffins cool completely before placing the muffins into a freezer-safe bag or container. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Savory cheese muffins stacked and ready to be eaten.

What to Serve with Savory Cheese Muffins

We love serving these savory cheese muffins with seafood or a veggie-packed salad! In addition to recipes here on The Cheese Knees, our sister site, Fit Foodie Finds, has some fantastic recipes we’d recommend pairing these with:

Breakfast

Salmon & Eggs Scramble
The Perfect Scrambled Eggs
Super Easy Microwave Bacon (or make it in the Air Fryer!)
Avocado Baked Eggs

Lunch & Dinner

Beet Goat Cheese Salad
Greek Orzo Salad
Oven Baked Salmon in Foil
Garlic Butter Shrimp
Honey Sriracha Salmon

4.34 from 3 votes

Savory Cheese Muffins

These savory cheese muffins are a delicious spin-off of the classic sweet muffin. The combination of cheese, fresh parsley, and chili powder creates a unique and flavorful muffin that is perfect for any occasion!

Prep:15

Cook:25

Total:40

Fat 6

Carbs 13

Protein 4

Yield:

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
1 large egg
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1.5 cups full-fat buttermilk

Instructions

First, preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a muffin tin with muffin liners. Then, spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, and sugar. Add the grated cheese and chopped parsley to the flour mixture and mix until combined.
Add the egg, vegetable oil, and buttermilk and mix using a wooden spoon just until no dry flour is visible. Don’t overmix.
Divide the batter evenly between 16 muffin cups, about 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 400ºF or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Tips & Notes

If you don’t have muffin liners you can go ahead and bake without them, just generously spray your muffin tin with cooking spray. Once the muffins are baked, run a knife around the edges to loosen them while they are still warm.

Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk you can easily make it at home by combining 1.5 cups of milk (room temperature) with 1.5 tsp of vinegar and keep aside for 8-10 mins.