Buttermilk, Herb, and Fontina Cheese Muffins

Serve these buttermilk, herb, and fontina cheese muffins for breakfast, for a snack, or with soup and salad for dinner. They are savory, filled with herbs, and loaded with cheesy goodness. 

These muffins are savory, cheesy, and especially fabulous as a substitute for bread with dinner. 

You can make the batter for these muffins in the morning and then bake them right before dinner so you can enjoy them warm from the oven. You can also mix the batter in the evening before bed (it only takes about 15 minutes), and then bake them in the morning for breakfast! 

Ingredients:

Flours: Both all-purpose flour and corn meal. 

Pantry Ingredients: Vegetable oil, baking powder, salt, and black pepper. No sugar. This is truly a savory muffin. 

Eggs: You will need two large room temperature eggs. 

Buttermilk: Use whole buttermilk. You can also use powdered buttermilk. Simply whisk the powdered milk with the dry ingredients and then mix water, measure for measure, into the wet ingredients. I keep a bag in the freezer for whenever a recipe calls for buttermilk and I don't have any on hand. 

Herbs: Chopped chives and parsley. 

Cheeses: I used Fontina cheese for most of the cheese. It's a great melty cheese with a buttery flavor. You could easily substitute Swiss or Gruyère for a similar flavor profile. 

Also included in this recipe is freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

For a stronger cheesy flavor, feel free to substitute sharp cheddar cheese for the Fontina. For a fun twist, you could also add some chopped bacon or ham to the dough. 

Other suggested add-ins could also include sun dried tomatoes or pancetta. You can also play around with the herbs. Get creative! 

I love these muffins served warm with butter. 

Storage:

These muffins will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for two to three days. You can re-warm them in the microwave for about 20 seconds before serving. 

You can also wrap each muffin individually and then pop them in the freezer in a freezer bag. This works great for us. Just let the muffin thaw on the counter and then re-heat briefly in the microwave. 

More Savory Muffins You Should Try:

Pizza Muffins

Cheddar, Bacon, and Potato Muffins

Tomato Muffins

Jalapeño Corn Bread Muffins

Ham and Cheese Rye Muffins

More Muffins from the Muffin Monday groups:

• Buttermilk Herb and Fontina Cheese Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Classic Gingerbread Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Honey Yogurt Muffins from Palatable Pastime

Buttermilk, Herb, and Fontina Cheese Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 8 HourTotal time: 8 H & 35 M

These Buttermilk Herb and Fontina Cheese Muffins are savory, cheesy, and fabulous as a bread with dinner.

Ingredients

• 250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
• 100 grams (2/3 cup) cornmeal
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 grams (1 teaspoon) kosher salt
• 2 grams (1 teaspoon) freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups whole buttermilk
• 85 grams (2/3 cup) grated fontina cheese, plus more for topping the muffins
• 48 grams (2/3 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
• 13 grams (1/3 cup) finely sliced chives
• 13 grams (1/3 cup) finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

Instructions

1. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the oil and the eggs. Whisk in the buttermilk. fold in the dry ingredients until just combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for eight hours or overnight.
3. When ready to bake, heat your oven to 400 degrees F and line 12 cavities of a muffin tin with paper liners.
4. Stir the cheeses and herbs into the batter and, using a #16 cookie scoop, portion the batter among the lined muffin tin cavities. If you don't have the scoop, the amount of batter per muffin is about 1/4 cup plus one tablespoon.
5. sprinkle the top of the batter with a few shreds of the fontina cheese and bake the muffins for about 20 minutes. Cool the muffins in the pan for about ten minutes, and then move the muffins to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recommended Products

#16 Cookie Scoop

Nutrition Facts

Calories

289

Fat (grams)

18 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

5 g

Carbs (grams)

24 g

Fiber (grams)

1 g

Net carbs

23 g

Sugar (grams)

2 g

Protein (grams)

8 g

Cholesterol (grams)

45 mg

Karen's Kitchen Stories

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Recipe adapted from Bake from Scratch Magazine, Nov/Dec, 2023. If you love baking, this magazine is such a delight.