Ham & Zucchini Muffins

Our zucchini muffins with ham and cheese are a delicious savoury snack or lunch box treat... plus they're 100% kid-approved and super easy to make!

5 from 11 votes

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Course: lunch box snacks

Cuisine: Muffins

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25

Servings: serves

Calories: 203kcal

Author: Lucy - Bake Play Smile

Equipment

Thermomix (optional)
Oven

Ingredients

2 cups (300g) self raising flour see notes
1 cup (80g) grated cheese
2 medium (400g) zucchinis grated and excess liquid drained
125 g chopped ham or bacon
¾ cup (185g) buttermilk see notes
2 eggs
¼ cup (65g) vegetable oil
sea salt and pepper to season

Instructions

Conventional Method

Grease and line a standard 12 hole muffin tray with paper muffin cases. Preheat oven to 180 degrees (160 degrees if using fan forced).
Whisk together the buttermilk, oil and eggs in a bowl and set aside.
Sift the self raising flour into a large bowl. Add the grated cheese, ham, grated zucchini, sea salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
Pour the buttermilk mixture over the top of the flour mix and gently fold through.
Divide the mixture equally between the muffin cases (filling to ⅔ full).
Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through (when tested with a skewer there should be just a few moist crumbs).
Leave the muffins in the pan to cool for 5 minutes, before placing onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Thermomix Method

Grease and line a standard 12 hole muffin tray with paper muffin cases. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (160 degrees celsius if using fan forced).
Grate the cheese on Speed 6 for 10 seconds. Set aside.
Grate the zucchini on Speed 6 for 5 seconds (or until finely grated) - remove and squeeze out all of the excess liquid. Place back into the Thermomix.
Add all remaining ingredients (including the cheese) and mix for 20 seconds, Speed 3, Reverse. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for a further 20 seconds on Speed 3, Reverse.
Divide the mixture equally between the muffin cases (filling to ⅔ full).
Bake in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until cooked through (when tested with a skewer there should be just a few moist crumbs).
Leave the muffins in the pan to cool for 5 minutes, before placing onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS

Self-raising flour – or make your own using 2 teaspoons baking powder sifted through every 1 cup of plain flour

Cheese – grated tasty or cheddar cheese is fine

Zucchini – I recommend using 2 medium-sized zucchinis which are approximately 200g each

Ham – any sliced or shaved ham from the deli can be used. Alternatively you can use cooked bacon pieces

Buttermilk – I highly recommend using buttermilk for savoury muffins as they keep them deliciously moist and fluffy. If you don’t have any buttermilk, you can make your own by mixing 1 tbs white vinegar or lemon juice through room temperature full fat milk. The milk will almost immediately start to curdle when stirred which is when it’s ready to use. Alternatively you can use plain full fat milk in place of buttermilk.

Squeeze ALL of the liquid from the grated zucchini – this is my absolute number 1 tip and if you don’t follow it, your muffins will be too liquidy, moist and squishy! We want light and fluffy… not wet! To drain the liquid, place the grated zucchini into a fine strainer and press down firmly with paper towel. Continue to do so until virtually all of the liquid has been soaked up.

Use room temperature ingredients – for the best muffins, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before using.

Don’t over-mix the ingredients – over-mixed muffins will be dense and tough. Once you’ve added the dry ingredients, it’s important just to very gently fold the mixture through.

Add rice to the bottom of the muffin tin holes – this stops the paper cases from getting greasy.

Storing & freezing - zucchini muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Alternatively, they can be frozen for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature before consuming.

Nutrition