If you’re looking for quick and simple kids packed lunch ideas, look no further than these delicious garlicky red pepper and cheese muffins. They’re easy to prepare, quick to bake and can be stored in the fridge and popped in packed lunches every day.
Of course, parents don’t tend to have very much time to spend cooking, so I always try to sneak little shortcuts into our lunch recipes.
For this recipe, I recommend using an ice cream scoop to get perfectly evenly sized muffins in a fraction of the time it would take to spoon the batter in. Nifty!
The pine nuts add a great texture, but you can leave out the pine nuts if your child/school is nut-free.
Here’s how to make them!
Red pepper and cheese muffins
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Flavourful, moreish savoury muffins, packed with red pepper and cheese, with a kick of garlic. One of my favourite packed lunch ideas for kids.
Author: Emily Leary
Recipe type: Lunches and quick-cook meals
Serves: 16
Ingredients
- Spray oil
- 2 medium free range eggs
- 150ml whole milk
- 1 tbsp garlic pureé
- 100g slightly salted butter, melted
- 225g mature cheese, grated
- 50g pine nuts
- 1 tsp oregano
- 3 red peppers, de-seeded
- 350g self-raising flour
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C/390F (180C/355F fan)
- Lightly grease some silicone muffin trays with spray oil and stand them on oven-safe trays
- Beat the eggs in a large bowl
- Add the milk, butter, garlic pureé and beat again
- Next, stir 150g of the cheese, pine nuts and oregano
- Chop the peppers in approximately 1cm (1/3 inch) pieces and stir into the mix
- Fold in the flour - the mixture will become stodgy, don't worry!
- Use an ice cream scoop to drop one heaped serving into each hole of your muffin trays
- Put a pinch of the remaining cheese on top of each muffin - depending on how many trays you have, you may need to cook in batches
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until just beginning to brown on top
- Cool for a few minutes in the tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely
- Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container in the fridge
Delicious!
These were GREAT. I worried that the mix was a bit stodgy but the recipe expressly said not to and I trusted it. They’ve come out amazing! Can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know :)
These look great! Do you know if this recipe works with melted butter?
There’s melted butter in the ingredients list?
The girls love the muffins I make them! Great receipe – I will be sure to try. x
I am going to have to try these, my 4 year old starts reception in September and looking for recipes that don’t include sugar as his behaviour isn’t great and want to see if cutting out sugar helps
I think I might have to try and make these, even though I’m really not a natural cook at all, but they do look delicious!
Stevie x
I love savoury muffins and think my girls would love these too, great tip about the ice cream scoup :)
Great recipe and a perfectly yummy lunch box idea.
This is an awesome idea for a lunchbox or a summer picnic! Great idea to use the scoop to get the right size!
These are a great lunchbox idea
These look delicious!
These look amazing, Emily. I’d definitely love this for my lunch at work. Thanks for sharing. :) x
I will try these out in the holidays, we will be doing lots of picnic lunches so these are ideal!
What a gloriously cheerful lunchbox recipe Emily! I’m a huge fan of scones, especially the savoury kind full of tasty treats like these ones.
Delicious looking recipe – though I have an aversion to red pepper! Might sub tomatoes or make it as is for the kids. Yummy.