Savory Sourdough Cheese Muffins [easy + delicious]

You're going to love these savory sourdough cheese muffins! Filled with the goodness of tangy sourdough starter and your favorite cheese, these sourdough cheese muffins are delicately studded with herbs and baked in garlic butter to give them the ultimate flavor boost. 

​These sourdough discard muffins are sure to become a favorite recipe in your house. Especially because you can add in some little extras like bacon to make them extra special. 

This sourdough muffin recipe is just one of the many in this collection of sourdough discard muffin recipes. You might also like to check out these sourdough chocolate chip muffins, sourdough apple cinnamon muffins, sourdough banana muffins or even these sourdough English Muffins.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Use Up Leftover Cheese - these sourdough cheese muffins are a great way to use up all those bits of cheese that accumulate in the refrigerator. You could even freeze them and save them to make a batch. I love experimenting with different cheeses (and I've popped some tips for using different cheeses further down). Another recipe to use up leftover cheese and sourdough starter are these sourdough cheese waffles or this sourdough grilled cheese.

Deliciously Savory - many sourdough discard recipes are sweet, so it's nice to make a savory recipe for a change, and even better when it's a savory muffin! These muffins make a delicious breakfast, lunch, dinner or quick snack - they're so versatile.

Should I Use Sourdough Discard or Active Sourdough Starter In This Recipe?

One of the reasons I love this recipe so much is that you can use sourdough starter discard or active sourdough starter, it really doesn't make too much difference.

If you are in the beginning stages of making your own sourdough starter, using the unfed sourdough discard in these muffins is a great way to reduce waste. If you have a mature sourdough starter, this is the perfect way to add sourdough starter to your breakfast, lunch or dinner and something a little different from the usual loaf of sourdough bread. 

One thing to note is that you do want to avoid using older discard in these muffins as it can create an unpleasant flavor and overpower the golden cheesiness. 

How To Make Sourdough Cheese Muffins

This recipe uses really simple ingredients. One thing to note, the eggs I've used in this recipe are duck eggs (you might notice their shells look whiter than chicken eggs in the photo below). They make no difference to the recipe though and I often use them interchangeably in baking. I'm lucky enough to have a neighbor with ducks.

Preheat oven to 180C/350F.

Add melted butter and diced garlic together and use a pastry brush to grease the muffin holes with the garlic butter. Set aside.

Mix the sourdough starter, eggs, milk and oil in a bowl. Whisk together until well combined.

In a separate bowl mix together shredded cheese, all purpose flour, salt, baking powder, salt and chopped herbs. Make sure that the cheese is completely coated in flour.

Now pour the liquid ingredient mixture into the dry ingredients. Gently fold together until just mixed - don't over mix or the muffins will be tough.

Spoon mixture into greased muffin holes. Add additional cheese on top if you like (I have sprinkled some parmesan cheese).

Bake at 180C/350F for approximately 30 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

Allow the muffins to cool on a rack for around 15 minutes before enjoying them. They are delicious warm or cold.

Best Cheese For Sourdough Muffins

You can literally use any type of hard cheese you like. I have chosen shredded cheddar. But you can add 250g of whatever cheese you have on hand.

Parmesan, crumbly feta or even cobly is nice too. These muffins are a great way to use up little bits of cheese without any waste.

You can also add a soft cheese like homemade ricotta cheese, just don't add too much or it will make the muffin batter to thin.

What Else Can I Add To Sourdough Cheese Muffins?

I love these muffins just as they are, but like most sourdough recipes, there are always a few ways you can vary the base recipe to suit what you might have on hand. Here are a few of the ways I like to change this recipe to suit my whole family:

Bacon & Cheese Muffins - Add 200g of cooked, diced bacon to the dry ingredients before mixing. Make sure the bacon has cooled before you add it.

Cream Cheese Filling - Create a cream cheese filling for these sourdough cheese muffins by filling half the muffin hole with batter and adding a tablespoon of cream cheese and then placing more muffin batter on top. You could even use herbed cream cheese. YUM!

Whipped Herb & Garlic Butter - I love serving these sourdough cheese muffins warm with a little dish of whipped herb and garlic butter - so good!

Make Them A Meal - I love using these muffins for a simple summer supper. I add some green salad, butter, pickled red cabbage and anything else I have in the fridge (sometimes jalapeños, sauerkraut, olives etc).

How To Store + Freeze Sourdough Cheese Muffins

These sourdough cheesy muffins will keep for around 3 days in an airtight container. I like to warm them a little in the microwave before enjoying them, especially if they've been stored for a few days. 

Sourdough cheese muffins also freeze very well. I recommend lining a plastic container with parchment paper and placing the cooled muffins on top, ensuring they are not touching each other. Place the lid on and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Allow them to defrost at room temperature. You can microwave them for a few seconds if you want them to be warm, but not too long or they will be rubbery.

Share the sourdough love!