These courgette muffins with herby pesto are quick and easy to make – you can use grated courgette if you don’t have a spiraliser*. I know it’s not courgette season yet but they’re one of my favourite vegetables to buy all year round and they go well with pesto.
Believe it or not I was badgered into buying a spiraliser by Ted who had seen one demonstrated in Lakeland then as soon as we’d brought it home he was determined to record an “unboxing video” for YouTube. This was around one year ago so he was only seven at the time but with some minimal assistance he did a good job and amusingly it’s had 1500 views on YouTube in the past year. I should get Ted to record all my gadget videos!
Mine is actually identical to the Hemsley & Hemsley spiraliser which comes up as one of top spiraliser search results on Amazon – truth be told theirs is a more stylish all white colour rather than Lakeland’s cream and green one. You just have to put up with it saying Hemsley & Hemsley on it.
You don’t need a spiraliser to make these muffins, you could just grate the courgettes instead. But since spiralisers are all the rage at the moment I wanted to try baking with spiralised courgette to see how it went. With a few tweaks this recipe is based on my earlier pizza muffins (linked and pictured further down) and you’ll find here my Vitamix pesto recipe or you can use some from a jar as you please. I almost always make my own pesto and frequently from rocket – it’s a great way to use up rocket leaves on the turn rather than throwing them away.
Muffins are incredibly easy to make with kids and this recipe would also be suitable for packed lunches and picnics. Enjoy!
Have you tried using a spiraliser yet? How did you find it?
*Affiliate links used.
- 275g self raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 100g melted butter
- 275ml buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp finely chopped basil
- 1 medium courgette, spiralised
- 75g pesto
- Half ball of low fat mozzarella cheese
- Grind of black pepper
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 6. In a large mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt.
- Chop the mozzarella cheese into 10mm pieces. Set one third of the mozzarella pieces and a handful of the spiralised courgette aside (the short off cuts are best).
- Add the spiralised courgette, chopped basil and two thirds of the mozzarella to the dry ingredients. Stir gently with a metal spoon until all chopped ingredients are incorporated and individually coated with the flour mix.
- In a medium size bowl, melt the butter in the microwave and let it cool slightly. Beat in the buttermilk and egg until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir with a metal spoon until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin cases and bake for 14 minutes.
- After this cooking time, remove the muffins from the oven and quickly top each one with a few of the remaining mozzarella pieces and spiralised courgette bits. Return to the oven for a further 4-6 minutes.
- Cool the muffins in the tin for a few minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.
If you like baking these savoury muffins see also my ever popular pizza muffins!
Bake of the Week Round Up April 26th 2016
Thank you to everyone who submitted to last week’s #BAKEoftheWEEK. Here is a run down of this week’s entries and the new linky is open until next Monday night at the foot of this post. Helen will be rounding this week’s entries up at Casa Costello next Tuesday.
Strawberry Mousse Cakes by Something Sweet
Fascinator Cake by Lins Food
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes by Don’t Sweat the Recipe
Fruit crumble custard cupcakes by Dancing Dandelions
Apple Pie with Praline Pieces by Something Sweet
Spirulina lime chia seed cake by Allotment 2 Kitchen
Traditional Rice Pudding by Hijacked by Twins
Camomile Cake by Veggie Desserts
Coffee & Walnut Cake by Baked to Imperfection
Anzac Biscuits by Foodie Quine
Wild Garlic Cheese Scones by Tin & Thyme
Baked Meatballs carnival style by Hijacked by Twins
Mens Blue Birthday Cake by Casa Costello
Chocolate Mint After Eight Ice Cream Sandwich Cakes by Gluten Free Alchemist
Macarons with Chocolate Rose Ganache by Baking Queen 74
No Knead Bread by Only Crumbs Remain
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Jenny Paulin says
April 26, 2016 at 1:44 pmyour muffins look very pretty aswell as sounding very tasty and healthy.
thank you for hosting
nessjibberjabberuk says
April 26, 2016 at 9:58 pmI love a savoury muffin. My daughter has pesto pasta for lunch once a week at school so I’m always looking for ways to use up leftover pesto.
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
April 29, 2016 at 3:47 pmThe courgette muffins look delicious. I have the same spiralizer and the first time I used it and putting it together I sliced my finger open, it is super sharp so be warned! Thank you for hosting and sharing x
Winnie says
April 30, 2016 at 9:37 pmYour muffins look soooooooooo tasty!! I LOVE pesto, and eat it with a tsp. So I’d love to try your recipe!
thank you for hosting this party 🙂
Helen at Casa Costello says
May 2, 2016 at 7:28 pmI must admit to developing a bit of an addiction to pesto – I’m putting it in and on everything at the moment. Savoury muffins are superb for lazy after school snacks – the perfectionist in me is delighted when I remember to take them out of the freezer before the school run. Thanks again for all of your hard work with #BakeoftheWeek