These savoury vegetable muffins are packed full of goodness as well as flavour. They're vegan, filling, delicious and can be easily adapted to suit your taste or what veg you've got in your fridge.
Savoury vegetable muffins made here with carrots and courgettes and array of different spices are perfect make-ahead lunchbox option when sandwich simply won't do.
I've made this simple recipe time and time again since we started our plant based journey and we all love it.
I tend to use different veg depending on the seasons as well as the content of my fridge so feel free to follow suit, these veggie muffins are super easy to adapt!
This recipe is a vegan, tried and tested version of my popular Cheesy Carrot and Courgette Savoury Muffins.
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Healthy, savoury vegetable muffins packed full of veg.
- Easy make-ahead lunchbox recipe.
- Kids favourite.
- Easy to adapt with different vegetables.
- Freezer friendly so always at hand.
- Portable, great picnic food.
- Delicious alternative to sandwiches.
- Vegan and made with simple ingredients.
📝 Ingredients and substitutes
Here's what you will need to make my Vegan Savoury Vegetable Muffins:
Flour(s) - I like to use mixture of plain (all-purpose) flour and some sort of wholemeal flour (spelt is my favourite). This way I get extra fibre (wholegrain) but also lightness (plain flour).
Feel free to use only plain flour if you wish. If you decide to go fully wholemeal bear in mind your muffins might be a little bit denser (still delicious though).
Ground Flaxseed (Linseed) - In this recipe it is added purely for extra nutrition and not to act as an egg replacement. You can substitute it with some wheat bran or leave it out and add 1 tablespoon extra flour.
Soya milk - My milk of choice in vegan baking. Feel free to use your favourite plant based milk.
Apple Cider Vinegar - We use it here to make vegan buttermilk by mixing it with soya milk which will help our muffins rise. You could use white wine vinegar or lemon juice here instead.
Baking Powder + Baking Soda - Our raising agents.
Spices - I use mixture of ground coriander, ground cumin and smoked paprika but you could try adding different spices, some dried herbs, garlic or/and onion granules.
Nutritional Yeast (Nooch) - For that cheesy, nutty flavour. You can also leave it out.
Oil - Any neutral tasting oil is fine. I like to use either cold-pressed rapeseed oil (in the UK Aldi and Asda both sell it at a good price) or light olive oil (perfect for baking)
Vegetables - In this particular recipe I used carrots and courgettes but you can swap it for whatever veg you like, most veg will work fine here.
Root vegetables are particularly good here (parsnips, sweet potatoes, beetroot, celeriac etc). You can also use chopped up peppers or add some greens like spinach or kale. Check out Variations below for more ideas.
Salt and Pepper- As these are savoury muffins, some seasoning is highly recommended.
🔪 Instructions
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
Prepare vegan buttermilk by adding vinegar to the jug with soya milk and giving it a whisk. Set it aside. Vinegar will curdle soya milk slightly which is what you're after.
Next, prepare vegetables by grating them on a coarse side of the grater, popping them onto a sieve and squeezing as much water as you can with your hand.
Alternatively, you can pop grated veg onto a clean muslin cloth or the towel and giving them a really good squeeze.
Put all dry ingredients (flour(s), spices, baking soda and powder, salt, pepper, flaxseed and nutritional yeast (if using)) in large bowl and give them a light whisk to combine.
Add grated vegetables and mix them in.
To the jug with vegan buttermilk add the oil, give it a little mix and pour the mixture into a bowl with dry ingredients and veg.
Give it all a gentle mix only until incorporated. Try not to overmix the muffin batter.
Prepare muffin tin by oiling it well (I don't recommend using baking cases for these muffins) and divide the batter evenly between the holes. You will get between 10-12 muffins depending on the size of your tin.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until skewer inserted in the centre of the muffins comes out clean.
Take muffins out of the oven and let them stand in the tin for 10 minutes before gently removing them onto cooling rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
🥡 Storing
Store: They will keep in the airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days (1 day if it's hot and humid).
If you'd like to store them for longer I suggest popping them in the fridge (3-4 days) or freezing.
Freeze: These vegan savoury muffins freeze really well. Make sure they are completely cool before freezing.
I like to freeze them in a freezer-safe container, separated with baking paper to prevent them from sticking. This way you can remove as many muffins as you want whenever you want.
To defrost simply take them out onto the counter and they will thaw in couple of hours.
💭 Pro Tips
Don't overmix the batter. You want your vegetable muffins nice and light.
Squeeze out those veggies to remove some of the moisture. Depending on the veg you use you might not be able to squeeze some of them (peppers, sweetcorn, peas to name a few) but try the ones you can.
Experiment with spices and seasoning. Feel free to add some garlic powder, onion granules, dried oregano or even some turmeric. Chopped fresh herbs of your choice might make nice addition too.
Use good non-stick muffin tin. I recommend baking these without paper cases but in a well oiled, non stick muffin tin which will make their removal easy-peasy. I use this silicone muffin tin.
Let muffins rest after baking. Leave them in the tin for 10 minutes to settle before removing them onto cooling rack. This should make removing them easier. Don't go over that time though as they will start going soggy.
📖 Variations
Remember that you can always use main recipe as a template and vary your vegetables or even add some other extras. Here are some examples:
- Use grated parsnip, celeriac, beetroot, sweet potato, butternut squash or a mixture.
- Finely chopped spinach or kale will make great addition two.
- Add handful of frozen peas and sweetcorn to the mix (kids love this one).
- Chopped pepper and some sun dried tomatoes (if using those in oil, make sure you pat them dry with some paper towels first).
- Add handful of your favourite vegan cheese.
- Pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds make nice addition and provide a bit of crunch.
- Try adding fresh herbs or thinly sliced green onions.
- Sautéed shallots, leeks and mushrooms.
🍴 Serving Suggestions
These savoury vegetable muffins are perfect as they are and make great addition to any lunchbox (kids or adults), picnic spread, breakfast on the go or simply enjoyed as a snack.
We like to have it with some hummus or my broad bean dip and in the summer, my fresh tomato salsa.
They are great to have with soups. Try them with my easy beetroot soup, carrot and swede soup or perhaps delicious and filling vegan split pea soup.
They're equally delicious as accompaniment to a nice salad like this Olivier salad or buckwheat and beetroot salad with chickpeas.
❓ FAQs
It will depend on the veg you want to use. I would definitely squeeze grated carrots and courgettes like I did here, courgette being the one that is non negotiable as it contains a lot of water.
No, you don't need to defrost them.
Personally, I don't use them here as they tend to stick a bit. If you'd like to use them though you might want to oil them very gently on the inside first. It will also help to cool muffins completely before attempting to remove them out of paper cases.
Have you tried my Vegan Savoury Vegetable Muffins?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
📋 Recipe
Savoury Vegetable Muffins (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 125 g plain (all-purpose) flour see notes
- 125 g wholemeal flour see notes
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (linseed) or wheat bran see notes
- 175 ml soya milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 55 ml cold pressed rapeseed oil or olive oil or any neutral oil
- 230 g courgette (zucchini) coarsely grated (skin on)
- 150 g carrots peeled and coarsely grated
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast optional
- salt and pepper to taste I add ½ teaspoon salt and pinch of freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
- Prepare vegan buttermilk by adding vinegar to the jug with soya milk and giving it a whisk. Set it aside. Vinegar will curdle soya milk slightly which is what you're after.175 ml soya milk, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Next, prepare vegetables by grating them on a coarse side of the grater, popping them onto a sieve and squeezing as much water as you can with your hand.Alternatively, you can pop grated veg onto a clean muslin cloth or the towel and giving them a really good squeeze.230 g courgette (zucchini), 150 g carrots
- Put all dry ingredients (flour(s), spices, baking soda and powder, salt, pepper, flaxseed and nutritional yeast (if using)) in large bowl and give them a light whisk to combine.125 g plain (all-purpose) flour, 125 g wholemeal flour, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed (linseed) or wheat bran, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon ground coriander, ¾ teaspoon ground cumin, ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika, 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast, salt and pepper to taste
- Add grated vegetables and mix them in.
- To the jug with vegan buttermilk add the oil, give it a little mix and pour the mixture into a bowl with dry ingredients and veg.55 ml cold pressed rapeseed oil or olive oil
- Give it all a gentle mix only until incorporated. Try not to overmix the muffin batter.
- Prepare muffin tin by oiling it well (I don't recommend using baking cases for these muffins) and divide the batter evenly between the holes. You will get between 10-12 muffins depending on the size of your tin.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until skewer inserted in the centre of the muffins comes out clean.
- Take muffins out of the oven and let them stand in the tin for 10 minutes before gently removing them onto cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per muffin (based on 12 muffins) and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- Feel free to use only one type of flour if you prefer. Bear in mind that if you use wholemeal flour only, muffins might be a bit denser in texture (still delicious though).
- You don't need to use flaxseed or bran. If you decide to leave it out, add 1 tablespoon extra flour.
- Store cooled muffins in airtight container for up to 2 days or 1 day if it's hot and humid. If you'd like to store them for longer I suggest popping them in the fridge (3-4 days) or freezing.
- Freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
- For variations on savoury vegetable muffins see - Variations.
Squeeze out those veggies to remove some of the moisture. Depending on the veg you use you might not be able to squeeze some of them (peppers, sweetcorn, peas to name a few) but try the ones you can.
Experiment with spices and seasoning. Feel free to add some garlic powder, onion granules, dried oregano or even some turmeric. Chopped fresh herbs of your choice might make nice addition too.
Use good non-stick muffin tin. I recommend baking these without paper cases but in a well oiled, non stick muffin tin which will make their removal easy-peasy. I use this silicone muffin tin.
Let muffins rest after baking. Leave them in the tin for 10 minutes to settle before removing them onto cooling rack. This should make removing them easier. Don't go over that time though as they will start going soggy.
Please leave a comment & rating if you've made my recipe! Feel free to ask questions too, I reply to all!