Sausage Muffins with cheese are perfect for breakfast on-the-go, holiday brunches, or a satisfying savory snack. These fluffy sausage cheddar muffins are take on a southern favorite, sausage balls, but as a complete breakfast in one package!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
- 2 cups all purpose flour, regular or gluten-free (Cup4Cup gluten-free flour recommended)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or sugar
- 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- (optional) additional cheese, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Begin by cooking the sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Grease the muffin tins liberally with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar (if not using maple syrup). Stir in the cooked sausage and cheddar cheese.
- In a small bowl whisk together the milk, egg, and maple syrup (if using). Pour into flour mixture then add the melted butter. Stir to combine until flour is incorporated.
- Spoon into muffin tins, filling to the top of each tin. Sprinkle additional cheese on top, if desired.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes clean and tops are golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
STORING AND FREEZING
After they have cooled completely refrigerate in an airtight container up to 2 days. If storing longer than 2 days, I recommend freezing so they don’t dry out.
To freeze, wrap the muffins individually in plastic wrap and transfer to an airtight container or ziplock freezer bag. Freeze up to three months.
Thaw at room temperature for one hour and then wrap in a paper towel to warm in the microwave for 20 seconds.
ADDITIONS AND MODIFICATIONS
- Instead of pork sausage, use turkey breakfast sausage to reduce calories.
- Add fresh or frozen blueberries, chopped apples, raisins, or dried cranberries to make a sweet and savory treat.
- Increase the sweetness by adding up to 1/4 cup sugar or maple syrup
- For a garlic cheddar flavor add 1 tsp garlic powder
- Saute onions, bell pepper, or any other preferred veggies with the sausage and stir into the muffin batter.
- For spicy sausage muffins add 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or use spicy breakfast sausage.
Nutrition
Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 520mg | Potassium: 274mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 216mg | Iron: 2mg
