The Best Savoury Ricotta Muffins (GF & High-Protein!)
If you’re looking for an easy on-the-go breakfast or snack idea, then this savoury ricotta muffins recipe is just what you need!
I love discovering new recipes! Especially if they’re linked to getting me fitter and stronger.
That’s exactly what these baked ricotta muffin power bombs do, but I’ll explore that further down below.
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Let’s take a look at what is in this easy recipe.
Ingredients
Protein
Creamy ricotta cheese is a great choice for these savoury muffins, it’s high in protein and makes a great base for the flavourful ingredients we are going to be adding to them.
Eggs are also high in protein and they act as a great binder to hold everything together. Our high protein egg recipes compilation showcases egg protein at its best – including this recipe!
Flavours
Of course, it’s all well and good to know you’re about to eat a load of hard-earned protein in your post-workout snack, but if you’re not looking forward to it then you’ll hardly be pushing yourself.
That’s where the Mediterranean combo comes in – olives or capers (or both!), sundried tomatoes into the center of each muffin.
Damn, it’s good! In fact, it’s so good you’ll likely find yourself working out more often just to eat these ricotta muffins. I know I have for the last couple of days.
Optional Extras
If you like a bit of spice in your day, why not drizzle on some hot sauce before serving? Or a great addition would be some spring onions, they’d give a lovely flavour to the tomatoes.
How many calories are in homemade ricotta muffins?
These are a great little snack as they are low in calories but high in protein – perfecto!
For one serving you get 101 calories, alongside 6.7 grams of protein.
Here’s an overview on the rest of the nutritional information:
Health benefits
This simple recipe is my new favorite. Ricotta muffins are now my post-gym go-to snack.
After a good workout, it’s imperative to replenish our body’s natural stores, and protein is critical for muscle growth; that’s where these really come into play.
For those of you in the know, whey protein is one of the most popular and most effective forms of protein supplement out there.
It’s very common to buy it in powder form, and is a real boost for the muscles after working out. There are of course other ways to get whey protein into your system, and baked ricotta is certainly one of them (another is whey protein powder, as these protein powder ideas show!).
Whey is the liquid left over after making cheese or heating milk, and the latter is the basis of ricotta cheese.
Importantly for vegetarians, rennet is not used in the formation of ricotta and is therefore considered a vegetarian cheese. It is also very high in protein and very low in fat.
In fact, thanks to the addition of eggs in these baked ricotta muffins, a small serving of four little muffins contains over 20g of protein!
If you munch all eight down yourself (I often do after a big workout) you’re looking at 44g of protein. That’s A LOT OF PROTEIN!
If you’re hungry for more check out this high-protein meal plan, it’s a great way to find even more meal inspo! (You can try the first week for free!)
Subscribe to get our FREE 7-Day Vegetarian High Protein Meal Plan for Weight Loss
How to make ricotta muffins
Ricotta breakfast recipes are super easy to make – take a look!
- Prep time – Once that oven is heating, grab a medium bowl and slice up the sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Add in the ricotta, eggs, capers, and season with salt and pepper (If you want to throw in the spring onions or hot sauce now is the time!). Beat it all with a fork.
- Baking time – Pop the ricotta mixture into paper-lined muffin cups or a lined muffin tin, and bang it in the oven until they’re nice and brown!
- It’s that simple – enjoy!
Savory Muffin FAQ
I’ve answered some of the most popular questions about this recipe.
Can I make these ahead of time?
If you had more time last weekend than this weekend, you most definitely could have made some muffins ahead of time.
These are great batch-cook and meal-prep snacks as you can take the main ingredients and increase the quantity so you have loads ready for future gym workouts (or just plain snack attacks!).
How to store and reheat?
Ricotta muffins will store well in an airtight container for a few days, but they also freeze really well too.
You can eat them at room temperature, or if you want to warm them slightly a short burst in a microwave would do it.
What to serve with ricotta muffins?
They are perfect on their own, or you can dip them in your favorite sauce – what do you fancy?
What is ricotta cheese used for?
Ricotta is a smooth soft cheese that can be easily blended and take on other flavors so it is particularly popular in Italian dishes. It’s similar to mascarpone cheese.
Is ricotta the healthiest cheese?
Ricotta is one of the healthier choices as it is lower in salt and fat than other cheeses.
Variations and alternatives
There are a few ways you could go if you want to mix up the original recipe next time.
- If you don’t have any spring onions, try green onion instead. In fact, you could add different vegetables depending on what you like – pepper, sweetcorn, you get the idea.
- You could add a bay leaf into each muffin before baking, or try fresh basil.
- As a vegetarian in Europe I know you can’t add parmesan cheese so try adding some nutritional yeast. It’s vegan friendly and gives an extra cheesy hit. In the US, most parmesan cheeses are vegetarian, just check to make sure no rennet is included.
More Recipes
Love this recipe, then I know you’ll love these too!
Equipment
- Muffin cups (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 2 sun-dried tomatoes in oil (or 4 cherry tomatoes)
- 2 tsp capers
- 2 tbsp olives
- Salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
- 1 tsp hot sauce (eg. sriracha)
- 2 spring onions (or shallots)
- 6 bay leaves
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/ 375°F
- Slice the sundried or cherry tomatoes into small pieces and place in mixing bowl.2 sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- Do the same with the olives.2 tbsp olives
- Add the ricotta, eggs, capers, spring onion and salt and pepper.1 cup ricotta cheese, 2 eggs, 2 tsp capers, 2 spring onions, Salt and pepper to taste
- As optional – throw in the hot sauce now.1 tsp hot sauce
- Beat it well with a fork.
- To prep the muffin tray simply place 6 muffin papers in the appropriate slots. If you don’t have any papers and are cooking directly in a muffin tray, then you should butter the slots to allow easy removal of the baked ricotta.
- Optional: Add a bay leaf into each slot (make sure not to eat it later on, it’s just for flavour!).6 bay leaves
- Pour an equal measure of the mix into each of the 6 muffin papers.
- Place tray in the middle of the oven and cook for 18-20 minutes, until the top of each ricotta bomb has begun to brown. That’s it!
- Serve with your favourite sauce or just enjoy alone 🙂
NOTES
Nutrition
I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I did! It’s a great recipe for on-the-go snacks so share it with all your gym buddies.
For more recipes take a look at the links above that I’ve picked out just for you.
Love! I used cherry tomatoes, scallions, basil and my secret ingredient, chili crunch!
Amazing!
Wonderful to hear! Glad they turned out tasty 🙂
I made it but with broccolini instead of capers and no olives (as I don’t like those). It came out super yummy. Then I made it with sausage and peppers and that came out super yummy too. My sister was visiting and she wanted the recipe also. Thank you!
Really glad you enjoyed it, thanks Beany!
I would like to sign up to get your recipes, did try a few weeks ago. Thanks for the great recipes best I have seen. Would like not to eat meat, believe your recipes will make the transition easier.
Thank you
Linda
Hiya Linda, could you try here again please? That should do it 🙂 https://hurrythefoodup.com/hurrythefoodup-newsletter-sign-up/
And thank you! I hope we can support you in your not-eating-meat journey – and you’re right, there truly is inspirational veggie food around! 🙂
Could you make this with lemon and poppy seeds like a traditional muffin? I think that would be delish!
Yes, why not indeed?! Would go really well with the ricotta, I’m sure 🙂
Super recipe! I’ve been making egg cups for years – great grab and go breakfast option – but I never thought about adding ricotta. I used kalmata olives, sun-dried tomato, fresh basil , and feta. Delicious and easy! Thanks for sharing 🙂