Bacon Spinach Muffins

5 from 2 votes

Delicious, fluffy and flavour packed savoury muffins with cheese, tomatoes, spinach and bacon are so easy to make and can be stored ahead in the freezer to grab-and-go any time! Made from scratch in just 20 minutes, these muffins are perfect for an afternoon snack, or a tasty sandwich alternative in kids’ lunchboxes.

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: lunch, lunchbox, Side Dish

Cuisine: Australian

Servings:

Calories: 187kcal

Author: Andrea Geddes

Ingredients

3 rashers bacon (about 250 grams) rindless, finely chopped. Or sub the bacon for chorizo, leftover chicken or shredded ham.
2 cups self raising flour
⅓ cup butter 80 grams, chilled and cubed
2 eggs
1 ½ cups tasty cheese shredded. Low fat cheese can be used, if preferred.
2 cups baby spinach fresh leaves, chopped
⅓ cup sun dried tomatoes chopped. Or use chopped cherry tomatoes instead- or a mix of both, plus extra for topping
salt and pepper
2 cups buttermilk or see the notes above for homemade buttermilk.

OPTIONAL ADD-INS Choose up to 1 cup total of extras

roasted pumpkin or sweet potato
grated carrot
grated zucchini
feta use ⅓ cup
olives
corn frozen or canned
chives use ¼ cup

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C (356F). Lightly grease or line enough muffin trays for 14 muffins.
Fry the bacon in a frying pan over high heat, until the bacon has browned and become crispy. Set aside.
While the bacon is cooking, use your fingers to rub the chilled butter into the flour in a large mixing bowl, until the butter disappears and the mixture resembles fine crumbs. This step can also be done in a food processor with a plastic blade, if preferred.
Add all of the remaining ingredients, including the bacon, into the mixing bowl with the flour. Stir until just combined and wet, without over-mixing.
Divide the mixture evenly between around 14 muffin holes (the amount will vary depending on the size of your muffin tray). Fill each hole no more than ¾ full, for nice round tops and to prevent over-flowing. Top each muffin with a slice of extra cherry tomato.
Bake for around 15-20 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on the top and completely cooked through. You can test the muffins by adding a wooden skewer into the middle. If it comes out clean with a few crumbs, they are ready.
Allow the muffins to sit in the tray for a few minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy warm, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy!

Notes

Grease your muffin tray properly and use a good quality, non-stick muffin tray. If using a traditional muffin tray, you can also use baking paper or muffin cases to prevent sticking and to protect the muffins in the freezer.
The muffins will rise a lot in the oven. Don’t fill them any further than ¾ full, to give the muffins nice round tops and prevent overflowing.
Don’t over-stir the mixture! The most important rule of muffin baking is to not over-stir the mixture. Instead, gently fold until all of the ingredients are just combined. The final mix should be thick and floury.
Cool them down. Once you remove the muffins from the oven, let them site in the pan for a few minutes before transferring to the wire cooling rack. This step is important, especially for muffins that aren’t in a muffin case, as it will stop them from falling apart. But, don’t leave them more than a few minutes, or they will go soggy in the tray!
While these muffins are fabulous just the way they are, they can also be customised to suit your favourite add-ins (up to 1 cup of extras), like roasted pumpkin or sweet potato, grated carrot or zucchini (salt and leave for 10 minutes, before squeezing out excess water), or some corn, chopped chives or chunks of feta cheese. Cooked mushrooms and capsicum (bell peppers) are great too. Let your imagination run wild!