Beer Muffin
intro
Fluffy, savory quick muffins with a subtle malty beer kick, melted cheddar, and crisp golden tops—no yeast, no fancy skills needed.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep oven and muffin tin
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F), adjust the rack to the middle position. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners, or lightly grease each cup with a thin swipe of butter to prevent sticking if not using liners.
Whisk dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 240g all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder for 30 seconds until fully evenly combined, with no visible clumps of baking powder.
Fold in beer and mix-ins
Pour the full 355ml of room-temperature lager beer into the dry ingredient mix, along with 85g (3/4 cup) of the shredded cheddar and all the chopped chives. Gently fold with a rubber spatula for 15-20 seconds only, until just combined; the batter will be thick and lumpy, do not overmix to avoid tough muffins.
Portion batter and top
Use a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly between the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each cup no more than 2/3 full to leave room for rising. Sprinkle the remaining 28g (1/4 cup) of shredded cheddar over each muffin top, then drizzle 28g (2 tablespoons) of the melted cooled butter evenly over the tops.
Bake until golden
Place the muffin tin on the middle oven rack and bake for 22-25 minutes, until the tops are deep golden brown, a toothpick inserted into a center muffin comes out with 1-2 moist crumbs attached, and internal temperature reaches 93°C (200°F). Do not open the oven door for the first 15 minutes of baking to prevent muffins from sinking.
Cool and serve warm
Remove the muffin tin from the oven, immediately brush the top of each hot muffin with the remaining 29g (2 tablespoons) of melted butter. Let muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool 5 more minutes before serving warm.
Tips
2.Resist the urge to overmix the batter—lumps are expected, and overstirring develops gluten in the flour, leading to dense, tough muffins instead of light, fluffy ones.
3.Let cold beer rest at room temperature for 15 minutes before using; ice-cold beer slows baking powder activation, leading to unevenly risen, dense muffins.
OMG these are SO good! I threw these together last minute for our neighborhood block party potluck and people were asking for the recipe before I even set the platter down. Used extra sharp white cheddar and a local hazy IPA, and the crust had that perfect crispy, cheesy edge. Total game changer for quick savory bakes, no fancy equipment needed at all!
Made these to go with our Sunday chili night and the whole family devoured them. My kids loved it so much they asked for muffins in their school lunches all week. Super easy to whip up, even with my 7 year old 'helping' me measure ingredients and spill flour all over the counter. Only tweak: I added a sprinkle of smoked paprika on top for a little extra kick, 10/10.
These are going into my regular weekly meal prep rotation! I baked a batch on Sunday, stored them in an airtight container in the fridge, and they heated up perfectly in the toaster oven all week for quick breakfasts on my way to work. Paired with a little scrambled egg and avocado? Chef’s kiss. Didn’t even miss my usual sweet cinnamon muffins!
Was skeptical that a 35-minute, easy-rated muffin could actually have good depth of flavor, but color me impressed. I used a nutty brown ale and extra sharp orange cheddar, and even folded a handful of crumbled cooked bacon bits into the batter. Rich, savory, not dry at all — way better than the boring dinner rolls I usually make for steak night. Knocked a star off because I wish the recipe noted how much you can switch up the beer style to change the flavor, but that’s a tiny gripe and I’ll definitely be making these again.
Made these for our beach picnic last weekend and they held up so much better than I expected! No sogginess, even when they sat in the cooler for a couple hours. My picky toddler ate two whole muffins without complaining, which is basically a miracle in my book. Will 100% be making these all summer long for park days and cookouts.
Ran out of bread right before my friend came over for tomato soup night, so I pulled up this recipe on a whim. I had all the ingredients in my pantry/fridge somehow (who knew a random can of lager and block of sharp cheddar would save the day?) and they came together so fast. My friend thought I bought them from a fancy bakery downtown, no cap.
I’ve tried a lot of savory muffin recipes over the years and most turn out dry or bland, but these are perfect. The cheddar gets all melty and gooey in the middle, the beer gives it that nice subtle tang, and they don’t require any weird specialty ingredients. Served them with scrambled eggs and sausage for brunch last weekend and even my mother-in-law asked for the recipe, which is the highest possible praise in my book.