If you're looking for quick and simple kids packed lunch ideas, look no further than these delicious garlicky cheese and pepper muffins.

Close up of some Cheese and red pepper muffins. In the background there's different ingredients used for this recipe.

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 these red pepper and cheese muffins.

Ingredients

spray oil
2 medium free range eggs
150 ml (½ cup + 2 tbsp) whole milk
1 tbsp garlic pureé
100 g (7 tbsp) slightly salted butter cold and grated
225 g (2 cups) grated/shredded mature cheese vegetarian if required
50 g (⅓ cup) pine nuts leave out if taking into a nut-free school
1 tsp oregano
3 red peppers de-seeded and chopped into small pieces
350 g (2⅓ cups) self-raising white flour (self rising flour)

Equipment

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.

A beaten egg in a bowl ready to make the cheese and red pepper muffins.

Add the milk, butter, garlic pureé and beat again.

Adding in butter and grated cheese to a bowl to make the cheese and red pepper muffins. At the side there's a number of bowls filled with ingredients for the recipe.

Mixing together some of the ingredients into a bowl for the cheese and red pepper muffins.

Next, add 150g (5.3 oz) of the cheese.

Adding some additional cheese to the cheese and red pepper muffins mixture.

Add the pine nuts and oregano and mix.

Adding nuts and spice mix into the bowl of cheese and red pepper muffin ingredients.

Mixing together some of the cheese and red pepper muffins ingredients. The bowl sits on a light blue background with additional ingredients scatted around the side.

Add the peppers and stir into the mix.

Adding chopped red peppers to the bowl of ingredients to make the cheese and red pepper muffins. At the side of the image there's additional bowls filled with different ingredients required for the recipe.

Some of the cheese and red pepper muffins ingredients mixed together in a bowl.

Fold in the flour - the mixture will become stodgy, don't worry!

Folding in the flour for the cheese and red pepper muffins.

Mixing in many of the cheese and red pepper muffins ingredients in a bowl.

Generously spray a 12-hole nonstick muffin tray with oil.

A sprayed non-stick muffin tray with cooking oil.

Use an ice cream scoop to drop one heaped serving into each hole of your muffin trays.

Adding the cheese and red pepper muffins mixture to the muffin tray.

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.

Topping the cheese and red pepper muffins in muffin cases with additional cheese.

Bake for 22-25 minutes until just beginning to brown on top.

The cheese and red pepper muffins having been baked in the oven.

Cool for a few minutes in the tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Close up of the inside of one of the cheese and red pepper muffins having been cooked in the oven. The background shows more cheese and red pepper muffins stacked on top of one and other.

Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container in the fridge

Delicious! What do you think?

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4.5 from 9 votes

Cheese and Pepper Muffins

If you're looking for quick and simple kids packed lunch ideas, look no further than these delicious garlicky cheese and pepper muffins.

Prep Time15

Cook Time22

Total Time37

Course: Lunches and quick-cook meals

Cuisine: British

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: 16

Author: Emily Leary

Ingredients

spray oil
2 medium free range eggs
150 ml (½ cup + 2 tbsp) whole milk
1 tbsp garlic pureé
100 g (7 tbsp) slightly salted butter cold and grated
225 g (2 cups) grated/shredded mature cheese vegetarian if required
50 g (⅓ cup) pine nuts leave out if taking into a nut-free school
1 tsp oregano
3 red peppers de-seeded and chopped into small pieces
350 g (2⅓ cups) self-raising white flour (self rising flour)

Equipment

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 (1½ cups) of the cheese, pine nuts and oregano.
Add the peppers and stir into the mix.
Fold in the flour - the mixture will become stodgy, don't worry!
Generously spray a 12-hole nonstick muffin tray with oil.
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.

Video

Notes

Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container in the fridge.

Nutrition

* Note: nutritional information is estimated, based on publicly available data. Nutrient values may vary from those published. Information on this website should not be taken as medical advice. Cuisines identify the primary region of inspiration for a dish.

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