These Savory Bacon & Cheddar Cheese Muffins are so moist and flavorful. Serve them as a side dish or even for breakfast. They are always a crowd-pleaser!
These bacon cheddar mini muffins are addicting and so easy to make, just like my Easy Homemade Biscuits and Cornbread Recipe without Buttermilk.
Not a huge fan of cheddar cheese? Here are The 10 Best Substitutes for Cheddar Cheese.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Cheesy – These bacon cheddar muffins are loaded with 1.5 cups of cheese. The cheese gets nice and crispy on the tops and edges (the best part).
- Full of bacon – The batter is full of crispy bacon.
- Moist – The cheese, milk, sour cream, and butter prevent these muffins from drying out.
- Mini – While these bacon muffins could be made in a standard 12-cup muffin tin, I prefer to make these mini.
- Fun side dish – Savory muffins are a great side dish for barbecues, parties, or gathering that will definitely be a crowd pleaser.
- Easy – This recipe comes together in about 30 minutes using ingredients you likely already have in your fridge/pantry. Perfect for busy mornings or evenings!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Kosher Salt: All of my recipes are tested with Morton kosher salt unless noted otherwise. It is the best salt for everyday cooking because of its size and flavor. If using table salt, the amount should be reduced. I highly recommend picking up some kosher next time you are at the store!
- Cheese: I recommend a sharp cheese so the flavor comes through, like sharp yellow or white cheddar, gruyere, pepper jack, etc.
- Bacon: In a frying pan, over medium heat, fry about 1 12-ounce package of bacon. Once it cools, crumble it into small pieces. Use only 3/4 cup. Save the leftover bacon grease and bacon strips for soups, salads, or sandwiches!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located on the recipe card below.
How to Make Bacon & Cheese Muffins
Quick Overview
- Whisk the dry ingredients.
- Whisk the wet ingredients.
- Fill the muffin pan.
- Bake & cool.
Step by Step Instructions
Rest the batter for tall domed muffins.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic, onion powder, and salt.
Step 2: In a separate large bowl, whisk together the milk, sour cream, melted butter, and egg until well combined.
Step 3: Pour the dry ingredients into the milk and egg mixture. Fold until most of the flour has absorbed.
Step 4: Add the cheese and bacon. Fold until just combined. Optional: Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before baking.
Step 5: Grease a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray or line the pan with muffin liners. Fill each muffin cup to the top with about 2 Tablespoons of batter. There should be enough to fill all 24 muffin cups.
Step 6: Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5-10 minutes before removing.
Expert Tips & Variations
- Grate the cheese at home. Most store-bought shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking agents to prevent it from clumping. This affects its flavor and ability to melt. Buy blocks of cheese and grate it at home for the best results.
- Use a food scale. This is the best way to measure ingredients accurately when baking. The most common cause of dry baked goods is too much flour. If you do not have a scale, be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it with the back of a butter knife. Do not scoop and pack the flour into the measuring cups.
- Rest the batter. Resting the batter for about 30 minutes before baking creates tall domed muffins.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. They should stay fresh in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for 4-5 days.
Recipe FAQs
Muffins that are overbaked or have too much flour will come out dry and crumbly. Be sure to set a timer when baking them so they do not bake for too long. Measure the flour with a food scale. This will ensure that too much flour is not added to the batter. Between the cheese, sour cream, and butter, these muffins are not dry at all!
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Bacon & Cheddar Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (195 g) all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH granulated garlic & onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Morton kosher salt
- 3/4 cup (178 ml) whole milk
- 1/3 cup (80 g) sour cream
- 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons; 57 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 6 ounces (1 1/2 cups) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded*
- 3/4 cup fried & crumbled bacon*
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic, onion powder, and salt.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the milk, sour cream, melted butter, and egg until well combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the milk and egg mixture. Fold until most of the flour has absorbed.
- Add the cheese and bacon. Fold until just combined. Optional: Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before baking.
- Grease a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray or line the pan with muffin liners. Fill each muffin cup to the top with about 2 Tablespoons of batter. There should be enough to fill all 24 muffin cups.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5-10 minutes before removing.
Notes
- Kosher Salt: All of my recipes are tested with Morton kosher salt unless noted otherwise. It is the best salt for everyday cooking because of its size and flavor. If using table salt, the amount should be reduced. I highly recommend picking up some kosher next time you are at the store!
- Cheese: I recommend a sharp cheese so the flavor comes through, like sharp yellow or white cheddar, gruyere, pepper jack, etc.
- Bacon: In a frying pan, over medium heat, fry about 1 12-ounce package of bacon. Once it cools, crumble it into small pieces. Use only 3/4 cup. Save the leftover bacon grease and bacon strips for soups, salads, or sandwiches!
- Grate the cheese at home. Most store-bought shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking agents to prevent it from clumping. This affects its flavor and ability to melt. Buy blocks of cheese and grate it at home for the best results.
- Use a food scale. This is the best way to measure ingredients accurately when baking. The most common cause of dry baked goods is too much flour. If you do not have a scale, be sure to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it with the back of a butter knife. Do not scoop and pack the flour into the measuring cups.
- Rest the batter. Resting the batter for about 30 minutes before baking creates tall domed muffins.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. They should stay fresh in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for 4-5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I hope it doesn’t matter if I use normal cheese and salt 😅
Apart from that… I LOVE THIS, oh, and by the way, your ‘Bites with Bri’ title is absolutely genius 🤓
Hi there! I want to make these a day or two ahead of a bake sale. Can i freeze them or should i just leave them in the fridge in an airtight container?
Hi! You can, but they are really best warm or room temperature right after baking.
I love this recipe!!!🥯 Thank you so much! 😁
Absolutely marvellous! Used extra sharp 8 yr old cheddar and they were fantastic. Moist and fluffy and full of flavour. I didn’t have sour cream but used 7% plain Balkan Style yoghurt instead. Turned out a treat. Thanks for your great recipe.
Made this for a crowd for brunch. They turned out well and everyone liked them. I doubled the recipe but didn’t have enough mini muffin cups so baked half of them in muffin cups and the other half in madeleine molds – the madeleine ones took less time to bake and were crunchier than the muffin cups.
A 375-g (13 oz) package of bacon made just under 3/4 cup of crumbled bacon bits. The equivalent of 6 oz of cheese is 170 g – I used a 200-g pkg of extra old cheddar I had on hand. Best reheated in a microwave; reheating in an oven makes them too dry.
Sounds delicious!! I’m sure these are yummy served right out of the oven. But will they be ok served at room temperature?
I was looking for a quick breakfast that I can take on the go. I just made these and they are really yummy. Can you confirm how many makes a serving size?
Hi Bri,
I’ve made this recipe a few times now, you say it should make 24 mini muffins with two tablespoons of mixture each. I’ve only made the large muffins and used the two tablespoons in each, did you mean to say teaspoons for the mini’s, also do you have an exact time for making 12 large ones please?
My family really enjoy the flavour and moisture in this recipe thanks.
Anna.
Ive been using this recipe for a year for my toddlers daycare lunches! He absolutely loves them! I just substitute the egg for a replacer as there’s a kid with an egg allergy there. Thanks for a great recipe ☺️