Spinach and Feta Muffins
These Spinach and Feta Muffins are easy to make and come together in well under an hour. Plus they’re packed with spinach, making them a great option if you have picky eaters at home.
So read on to learn all the tips and tricks for savory baking with spinach and other greens. Or grab your spinach and feta, hit that Jump to Recipe button, and let’s make spinach feta muffins!
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Ingredients
- spinach – I use pre-washed baby spinach for convenience in this recipe, my favorite spinach salad, and arugula spinach pesto.
- feta – my go to feta are Valbreso French or Mt Vikos Greek feta because they are tangy and creamy. If you can’t find that, it’s always best to use feta in block form that isn’t pre-crumbled. There’s always feta in my house to mix into Greek meatballs or sprinkle atop a kale salad, shakshuka, or couscous salad.
- Other ingredients, like eggs, butter, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and milk, are what you would expect in any muffin or quick bread recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations and substitutions
- If your garden overflows with kale like mine, make kale muffins! Or chard muffins. Or use beet greens.
- Sub in cheddar, gruyere, or even a crumbly blue cheese for the feta in these muffins.
- Play around with the secondary flavors. Use orange zest in place of lemon or skip it altogether. Add some garlic powder or dried herbs too.
Baking ratios
In Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, Michael Ruhlman notes that quick breads and muffins have the same standard ratios. That is, by weight, two parts (or 8 ounces) flour to two parts liquid to one part egg and one part butter. You can see examples of this in my kale and cheese quickbread.
But the ratios don’t stop there. You can check out other baking ratios in these lemon lavender shortbread cookies and orange poppy seed waffles.
Recipe tips and tricks
Step 1: blanch or steam the spinach just until it’s wilted, then drain and put the spinach in an ice water bath. Ice water baths preserve color and quickly cool down whatever you’re cooking, from greens to blanched hazelnuts.
Squeeze out the water as much as you can. This controls the moisture content in the batter and makes it easy to incorporate the spinach. Just imagine trying to make the feta and spinach muffin batter with those two cups of raw spinach!
Step 2: Now make the muffin batter using the “muffin method”. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium to large bowl. Whisk together the egg, milk, and butter and add them to the dry ingredients (Panel #1, below). Do not over-mix. The goal is to mix the dry and wet ingredients only just until you can’t see any more traces of flour.
Step 3: Add the spinach and feta and stir gently until just combined (Panel #2).
Step 4: Use a large cookie scoop or spoon to fill the muffins about two-thirds of the way full with the spinach feta muffin batter. Then sprinkle Parmesan on top.
Step 5: Bake the feta and spinach muffins until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If the Parmesan topping has not browned, you can stick the pan under the broiler for a minute or two.
Cool the feta and spinach muffins in the muffin tin for about 5 to 10 minutes. Then turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool slightly. These savory muffins are best served warm!
Recipe FAQs
No, I won’t say you have to do anything, but you’ll get more consistent results by weighing your ingredients, especially for baking.
Because of the cheese, these feta muffins should be refrigerated once cool. To serve, pop them in the microwave for a few seconds or the oven to re-warm.
Yes! Muffins freeze very well. Just let your feta and spinach muffins cool completely, place them in a freezer bag, and squeeze out all of the air. To serve, pop them into an oven wrapped in foil.
Yes, you can usually use the same recipe to make quick breads in loaf pans, muffins, or mini muffins like these banana bread mini muffins. Bake your feta and spinach mini muffins at the same temperature a few minutes less.
Related muffin recipes
Check out some other Ugly Duckling Bakery muffin recipes like:
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-heart 💜💜💜💜💜 rating in the recipe card below. Let me know how much you loved it, or any problems you had, in the comments section further down.
Recipe
Spinach and Feta Muffins
Equipment
- Standard muffin tin
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed spinach
- 1¾ cups (226 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 cup (226 grams) whole milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, melted plus more for greasing the muffin tin if desired
- 1 cup (5.3 ounces or 150 grams) crumbled feta cheese
- 2 tablespoons (0.5 ounce or 14 grams) grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Butter a twelve-cup muffin tin or line it with muffin liners.
- Blanch or steam the spinach for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Then drain it, stop the cooking by immersing it in a bowl of ice and water, and then squeeze out as much water as you possibly can.2 cups packed spinach
- Combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, salt, and cayenne pepper) in a medium to large bowl.1¾ cups (226 grams) all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, ½ teaspoon salt, pinch cayenne pepper
- Add the eggs to the measuring cup with the milk and whisk.1 cup (226 grams) whole milk, 2 eggs
- Add the butter and the egg and milk mixture to the dry ingredients.
- Stir just enough to wet the dry ingredients, and then add the spinach and crumbled feta and stir until combined.2 cups packed spinach, 1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces or 113 grams) unsalted butter, melted, 1 cup (5.3 ounces or 150 grams) crumbled feta cheese
- Use a large cookie scoop or large spoon to fill the muffin cups.
- Sprinkle the Parmesan on top of the muffin batter.2 tablespoons (0.5 ounce or 14 grams) grated Parmesan
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out with just a few crumbs.
- Switch your oven to broil and broil the muffins for 1 to 2 minutes until the Parmesan starts to brown.
- Cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. These feta and spinach muffins are definitely best when still a little warm!
- Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for up to three months.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe for spinach and feta muffins was originally created August 19, 2021 for the reddit 52 week baking challenge (Week 34: Brunch).
Bored with the recipes you’ve been cooking and baking lately? Get inspiration here:
I saw the ingredients for this recipe and immediately thought of how my older daughter would love these muffins. I printed a copy of the recipe for her and gave it to her on Sunday, March 24. On Tuesday, March 25, she appeared at my house with hot muffins for us to sample. It is an incredible recipe. We ate the muffins with mozzarella sticks for supper. Thank you so much for the great addition to our recipes.
I love it, Roberta! I can absolutely imagine your daughter on your doorstep with these spinach muffins. So glad you loved them too!