These ham, cheese and zucchini muffins are the lunchbox filler that never once comes home uneaten.
They're a regular in my kids lunchbox rotation, and just as handy dunked into a bowl of roast pumpkin soup for dinner.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Ham, Cheese & Zucchini Muffins
🕒 Ready In: 25 minutes
👨👩👧 Serves: 12
🔥 Calories: 203kcal per serve
🧀 Main Ingredients: self-raising flour, zucchini, ham, cheese
🌿 Dietary: vegetarian option, freezer-friendly (contains dairy, egg & gluten)
⭐ Why You'll Love It: One bowl, 25 minutes, and they freeze like a dream for hectic mornings.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
Have made these 4 times in the last month and they're amazing.
- Tamara
Tamara's actually one of my regulars for this recipe - she swaps the ham for prosciutto and adds a bit of goat's cheese, and says it's magical.
If you're after more muffin ideas, my Savoury Muffins (Cheesy Ham & Corn) and Bacon & Cheese Muffins are also lunchbox favourites, and if it's zucchini you're trying to use up, my Zucchini Slice is another one worth bookmarking.
Jump to:
Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- One Bowl - no creaming butter or hauling out the electric mixer, just dump everything in and stir. Minimal dishes, maximum relief.
- 25 Minutes - from "what's for lunchboxes tomorrow" panic to a cooling rack full of muffins in under half an hour.
- Freezer-Friendly - a double batch in the freezer means lunchboxes sort themselves for weeks at a time.
- Sneaky Veggies - a whole zucchini disappears into these and my kids have never once clocked it.
Basic Zucchini Muffin Ingredients
Zucchini muffins make the perfect lunchbox alternative to a sandwich, a yummy side to a bowl of soup, or an easy savoury afternoon snack.
These are made from basic, budget-friendly ingredients - most of it's already sitting in your fridge and pantry. Here's the ones worth a mention:
- Zucchini - grate 2 medium zucchinis (about 400g) and squeeze out as much liquid as you possibly can. This is the one step you can't skip - skip it and you'll end up with wet, dense muffins instead of light and fluffy ones. More on this below. If you've got extra zucchini to use up, I've got a whole page of zucchini recipes for that.
- Buttermilk - keeps savoury muffins moist and fluffy in a way plain milk just doesn't. No buttermilk? Stir 1 tbs of white vinegar or lemon juice through room temperature full cream milk and let it sit for a few minutes until it curdles slightly - that's your DIY buttermilk sorted.
- Ham - any sliced or shaved deli ham works, or swap in cooked bacon pieces. Leave it out entirely for a vegetarian version. See more swaps in my Variations below.
Variations
- Cheese swaps - tasty and cheddar both work well, but crumbled feta or grated mozzarella are worth a try too if that's what you've got.
- Ham alternatives - swap the deli ham for cooked bacon pieces, shredded roast chicken, or leave it out completely for a vegetarian version. My Ham and Cheese Scrolls are another good one if you're after more ham and cheese lunchbox ideas.
- Fancy it up - like Tamara in the comments, swap the ham for prosciutto and add a bit of crumbled goat's cheese. It's a genuinely great combo.
- Gluten free - swap in a gluten free self-raising flour blend. Add a small pinch of xanthan gum if your blend doesn't already include it, for a better texture.
- More veggies - grated carrot or finely chopped capsicum can be folded through with the zucchini (just make sure it's well drained too). For more veggie-packed options, try my Halloumi and Zucchini Fritters.
Step By Step Instructions
Just 4 easy steps and you've got a batch of muffins in the oven.
Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredient quantities and full detailed method (plus the Thermomix version).
- Step 1: Whisk the wet ingredients. Whisk the buttermilk, oil and eggs together in a bowl and set aside.
- Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients. Sift the flour into a large bowl, then add the cheese, ham, grated zucchini, salt and pepper. Mix to combine.
- Step 3: Fold together. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the dry ingredients and gently fold through - just until combined, no more.
- Step 4: Fill and bake. Divide the mixture between muffin cases (⅔ full) and bake for about 15 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
Tips For Making Zucchini Muffins
- Squeeze ALL the liquid out of the zucchini - this is my number 1 tip, hands down. Skip it and your muffins will be wet and squishy instead of light and fluffy. Grate it, tip it into a fine strainer, and press down hard with paper towel until virtually no liquid is left.
- Don't over-mix - once the dry ingredients hit the wet, fold gently until just combined. Over-mixed batter makes dense, tough muffins.
- Use room temperature ingredients - cold eggs and buttermilk straight from the fridge won't combine as well.
- Add a few grains of rice to the bottom of the muffin tray holes - sounds odd, but it stops the paper cases from going greasy and see-through.
- Store them right - keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Pop a piece of paper towel in the bottom to soak up extra moisture and stop them going soggy.
- They freeze brilliantly - pop them in a ziplock bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature, or pop one straight into the lunchbox frozen in the morning - it'll have thawed out by lunchtime.
Ham, Cheese & Zucchini Muffins FAQs
It's almost always one of two things: not squeezing enough liquid out of the grated zucchini, or over-mixing the batter once the dry ingredients go in. Squeeze the zucchini hard in a fine strainer with paper towel until it's virtually dry, and only fold the mixture until just combined.
Yes! Swap the self-raising flour for a gluten free self-raising flour blend. If your blend doesn't already contain it, add a small pinch of xanthan gum for a better texture.
Definitely - they freeze really well. Cool completely, then freeze in a ziplock bag or airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, or pop one frozen straight into a lunchbox in the morning.
You can, but thaw it fully first and squeeze out every bit of liquid you can - frozen zucchini holds even more water than fresh, so this step matters more than ever if you want fluffy muffins instead of soggy ones.
All ovens run a little differently, so treat 15 minutes as a guide, not a rule. Test with a skewer - it should come out with just a few moist crumbs, not wet batter. If they're not there yet, give them another few minutes and check again, and consider shifting your tray to a different shelf next time.
More Savoury Muffins, Scrolls and Slice Recipes
If you need more savoury recipes in your life, check out these ones - they're some of my absolute favourites.
Ham & Zucchini Muffins
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.
Jess says
Oh my goodness, these are absolutely delicious. Made the homemade buttermilk as per your instructions and made sure to squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the zucchini and they turned out perfectly. I made them for my 21 month old but will have to stop myself from eating them all! Thanks for the great recipe, can’t wait to try some of your others next 🙂
Lucy says
Fantastic! Thank you so much!
Sandee O'Neill says
Is the temp really 180 degrees? I made these and they've been in the oven for almost 30 mins and aren't close to done.
Lucy says
Hi Sandee, 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced) - increase if not using fan-forced. Also, all ovens are different so you may need to increase the temp or change the shelf that your tray is on. 🙂
Ange says
Hi
Lovely taste but i had to cook for double the time and they have turned out too dense? Any ideas what went wrong?
Lucy says
Hi Ange, the two main reasons for denseness in these muffins is over-mixing (the mixture only needs to be folded together until just combined), and excess liquid from the zucchini. Try squeezing the liquid out with paper towel until there's none left before adding to the mixture. xx
Tamara says
Have made these 4 times in the last month and they’re amazing. I added goat cheese and used prosciutto and it’s magical. Thanks for sharing!!!
Lucy says
Thank you SO much!!
Em says
Can i freeze these? They look so yummy and they would be great if i could take them out of the freezer the night before i need them.
Lucy Mathieson says
Definitely!!
Renda Schreve says
Is oven 180’CELSIUS?
Lucy says
Yes it is 🙂