Most sourdough courgette muffins (or sourdough zucchini muffins, if you're reading from across the Atlantic) online are secretly cake: cinnamon, sugar, and a vegetable smuggled in where nobody will notice it. These are not those.
These are firmly savoury: mature cheddar, spring onion and enough coarsely cracked black pepper to actually taste, finished with a crackly, lacy cheese top. They were built to be eaten warm next to a bowl of soup, and they'll use up 100g of sourdough discard while they're at it.
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Recipe Highlights
TASTE: Cheesy and tangy, with a black pepper kick that means it.
THE BEST BIT: The crackly cheddar top. People will pick at it.
GOOD TO KNOW: Freezer-friendly, lunchbox-proof, and made with unfed discard straight from the fridge.
SEB'S RATING: Loves it with a bowl of soup, stew or chilli.
Why Sourdough Discard Works So Well in a Savoury Muffin
Sourdough discard doesn't need to be active to work in muffins. The baking powder and bicarbonate of soda do all the lifting here; the discard is purely for flavour and texture. It adds a gentle tang and extra moisture, a bit like buttermilk does in a scone.
That tang is exactly why discard belongs in a savoury bake. Next to mature cheddar and black pepper, it reads as depth, which is why these taste like more than the sum of a fairly short ingredient list. Plus, the acidity in discard acts as a mild preservative, keeping these sourdough muffins fresh for longer.
Looking for a sweet muffin recipe? Try our Sourdough Chocolate Zucchini Muffins and Sourdough Zucchini Muffins With Lemon & Poppy Seeds.
Ingredient Notes
- Courgette (Zucchini): Coarsely grated, and pressed rather than wrung out. This batter was tested around courgette that still holds some of its moisture, so a full squeeze in a tea towel will leave the muffins drier than intended. More on this in the tips below.
- Mature cheddar: Buy a block and grate it yourself. Pre-grated bagged cheese is coated to stop it clumping, which also stops it melting and crisping properly on top.
- Spring onions: Chives are the default in savoury muffins, and they're fine, but spring onions bring more presence and a slight bite that stands up to the cheddar.
- Sourdough discard: 100% hydration (equal parts flour and water), unfed and straight from the fridge is what we use.
- Black pepper: Coarsely cracked, not the fine pre-ground stuff. It's a headline flavour here, not background seasoning.
Find the full ingredient quantities and instructions in the recipe card below.
Recipe Tips
💧 Press the courgette, don't wring it. Courgette, cheese and discard all bring water to this batter, so I accounted for it where it's predictable: the milk got cut back during testing. Spread the grated courgette over kitchen paper (or a clean kitchen towel) and press firmly to remove the unpredictable surface water, then stop. Wring it bone dry and you undo the maths.
🧀 Hold back a handful of cheddar for the tops. Scattered over just before baking, it melts into a crackly, lacy edge. Cheese folded through the batter can't do that job.
⚠️ Stop mixing when the flour disappears. A few streaks are fine. Overmixing develops the gluten and turns the muffins tough rather than tender.
🔥 Skewer the centre, not the edge. This batter is denser and wetter than a standard muffin mix, so the edges will look done before the middle is. A clean skewer from the centre is the only signal worth trusting.
Serving Suggestions
These are soup muffins first and foremost: split one next to a bowl of tomato soup and you'll see why they exist. They also hold up in a lunchbox, split and buttered while still warm, or on a ploughman's-style spread with cheese, pickles and ham doing the rest of the work.
We also love them with our Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne!
Recipe FAQs
Press it, but don't wring it. Spread the grated courgette over kitchen paper and press firmly to remove the surface water, then stop. This recipe was tested with courgette that keeps some of its moisture (the milk was reduced to compensate), so squeezing it completely dry will give you drier muffins.
Almost always underbaking, made worse by moisture. Courgette, cheese and discard all add water to the batter, which makes it denser and slower to cook through than a standard muffin mix. The edges look done first, so always test the centre with a skewer, and if it comes out wet, give them another few minutes.
Yes, swap it in at the same weight (100g). The muffins won't rise any better, since the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda do the lifting, but active starter works just as well as unfed discard here. The flavour will be slightly milder, as active starter is less tangy.
Yes, within reason. Any hard cheese that melts and crisps well works: Gruyère, a smoked cheddar, or half parmesan for a saltier finish. Chives or finely chopped red onion can stand in for spring onion, though the flavour will be gentler. Skip soft cheeses like mozzarella on top, as they turn chewy rather than crackly.
Storing Sourdough Courgette Muffins
Keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 5. For longer storage, freeze the baked and cooled muffins for up to 2 months.
To reheat, skip the microwave and warm them through in a low oven for a few minutes. It brings the cheese top back to crisp instead of leaving it sad and bendy.
More Sourdough Courgette Recipes
If your courgette glut is outpacing your discard jar, I have you covered in both directions. There's a sweeter option in my Sourdough Courgette Loaf Cake as well as my Sourdough Zucchini Muffins With Lemon & Poppy Seeds. My Sourdough Courgette Fritters use the same discard-and-courgette pairing in crispy, pan-fried form. For an oven option, try Sourdough Zucchini Scarpaccia. More below:
For the full seasonal line-up, the Summer Sourdough Category has everything in one place.
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Cheesy Sourdough Courgette Muffins (Sourdough Zucchini Muffins)
Equipment
- 12-hole muffin pan, greased or lined
Ingredients
- 300 g (2½ cups) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 2½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
- 100 g (~½ cup) sourdough discard 100% hydration
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 100 g (scant ½ cup) milk
- 90 g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
- 160 g (1½ cups) mature cheddar coarsely grated, divided
- 6 spring onions (green onions/ scallions) thinly sliced
- 150 g (5.5 oz) courgette (zucchini) coarsely grated/ shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Grease the muffin pan well, or line with paper cases.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
- In a jug or separate bowl, whisk the sourdough discard, eggs, milk and melted butter until smooth.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry and fold together with a spatula until just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine. Don't overmix, or the muffins turn tough rather than tender.
- Spread the grated courgette over a few sheets of kitchen paper and press firmly (not a full wring) to remove the worst of the surface water. Fold it through the batter along with most of the cheddar (save a handful for the top) and most of the spring onion.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups, filling each almost to the top.
- Scatter the reserved cheddar over each muffin, with a final crack of black pepper. This is what gives you the crackly, lacy cheese edge as it bakes.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes, until well risen, deep golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Check the centre specifically, not just the edges, as this batter is denser than a standard muffin mix. The cheese on top should look bubbled and crisp.
- Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Best eaten warm, ideally with the crackly bits still crisp.
Notes
Nutrition
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