Cheese And Carrot Muffins {Great Lunchbox Filler}

Savoury muffins are one of the most successful ways I know of to get some veggies into the kids and these Cheese And Carrot Muffins are packed full of fresh carrot, giving you a head start on the days vegetable quota!

Cheese and Carrot Muffins

As Moms we know our kids like muffins, right?

It's usually a pretty safe bet that the kids are gonna wolf them down. So I see no good reason to only make them sweet, and for a good number of years now I've been making savoury muffins and packing them full of veggies and watching smugly as the kids eat them. Without question. Everytime.

What is it about the shape of a muffin that has the kids devouring them no matter what's in the them? The shape? The familiarity? The fact they associate them with treats? I've no idea but it works, and who am I not to take advantage of a way to get vegetables into the little ones!

These aren't the sort of muffins you're going to add a cream cheese frosting to, the taste is savoury and cheesy with some vegetable goodness added. If you're after something sweeter and more dessert like, they these carrot cake muffins.

The prep time for these is minimal and you can have a batch prepared quickly, in a muffin pan and ready to pop into lunch boxes in no time, healthy snacks, ready to go.

I don't use a muffin cup to bake these in, I simply use the muffin tray as it is and make sure I grease the tin well before putting the batter in it, this helps not only with getting the muffins out of the tin easily but also make washing up far quicker.

No one want's to be scrapping bits of muffin off the tray for hours after you've cooked them. And many of us know how easily a baking tray marks!

What's Good About These Muffins?

Apart from the fact they're muffin shaped? Quite a lot actually! They're packed with a full cup of fresh carrot, made without any sugars and with wholemeal flour.

They're a healthy snack to have on hand. And other than that? The carrot gives you the sweetness, the cheese, well, anything cheesy goes down well in this house and they're small enough for little hands. What more do you need :)

Total time to cook and prep? 25 minutes max. Yipee!

More Savoury Muffins

• Veggie muffins for picky eaters
• Easy breakfast muffins
• Spinach and cheese muffins the kids WILL eat!
• Mini cheesy muffins
• Bacon bites
• Simple egg muffins

Make Ahead And Storing

These muffins are simple to make a couple of days ahead of when you want them for and they store well in an airtight container for up to three days in your cupboard, after cooking.

You can heat these up if you prefer them warmed through, the best way to do this is in the oven for a few minutes, there's no need to put them in a muffin tin, they hold their shape well for reheating.

Using the oven to reheat them means you get the crispy cheese topping and the outside also crisps up, where as although you can reheat these in the microwave, they don't crisp up again, but if you're not worried about this you can microwave heat them for 60 seconds.

Tips For Freezing Muffins

You can freeze these muffins and they thaw and reheat really well.

To make sure your muffins are in tip top condition after you've thawed them, make sure the muffins are 100% cold before freezing them, and to avoid 'freezer burn', freeze them in sandwich bags and get as much air out of the bag as possible before they go into the freezer.

Variations

While I've used cheese and shredded carrots to give these little muffins a healthy flavor hit, the basic muffin recipe is one that you can make many adjustments to.

Here's some other ideas you might like to think about adding to the mixture:

• Broccoli - Chop up a cup of broccoli and simmer for 2-3 minutes before adding to the muffin mix. I still add cheese with the broccoli, cheese and broccoli are a good match that most kids love!
• Red pepper - Grate a cup of red pepper and replace the shredded carrot with sweet red pepper
• Beetroot - Use one cup of fresh beetroot and dye your hands purple as you grate it :)
• Kale - Very very finely sliced kale doesn't need cooking before adding to the muffin mix, use the same quantity of cheese to add flavor
• Herbs - Make the regular cheese and carrot muffins but add a tablespoon of finely chopped herbs, basil or parsley work well
• Crushed walnuts - If your kids like nuts try adding a quarter of a cup of crushed walnuts for some added protein and texture

How To Make Cheese and Carrot Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Flour All purpose, wholemeal
• 1 Cup Grated carrot Fresh
• 1 Egg
• ½ Cup Feta cheese Or cheddar
• ½ Milk Dairy, soy, oat
• ¼ Cup Butter Melted
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• 1 tsp Baking powder

Instructions

• Heat your oven to 200c or 390f and grease a muffin tin with butter really well so your muffins pop out with any problems!
• In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients: Flour baking powder and salt and combine
• In a smaller mixing bowl whisk the egg and melted butter together and then add it to the flour bowl, combining gently to make sure it's all mixed in but try not to over mix it,
• Add the milk and stir until you have a workable mixture
• Stir through the shredded carrot and cheese until all the carrot and cheese is coated in the muffin mixture
• Using a couple of dessert spoons, spoon the mixture into the muffin tin. Add a little shredded cheddar to the top of each muffin
• Bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes until the muffins have risen and are golden on top and the cheese has melted
• Remove from the oven, let them sit on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes and then serve!

Cheese and Carrot Muffin Recipe