Make a batch of quick and easy beetroot bacon muffins. A savoury combination of earthy beetroot, salty bacon and aromatic thyme. These colourful and delicious muffins make a perfect snack, lunch, breakfast or brunch.
Beetroot combined with bacon promises a unique flavour. Lovely. The combination is so simple, but sometimes you just need a reminder or a push. Thanks to one of my favourite television show “Sweet & Easy”, I can now share this wonderful savoury muffin recipe with you.
You are going to love these muffins. They taste and look great. Besides that, they are a healthier version compared to some other sweet muffins. Wink. They are soft and fluffy, packed with only goodies.
Perfect as a snack to go, breakfast or brunch. You can enjoy them warm, straight out of the oven, or cold, to take away. They make a wonderful savoury snack, a side to a salad or soup and a great alternative to a sandwich and a sweet muffin, as well. Of course, you can make smaller or mini muffins and serve them as canapes.
Beetroot
Beetroot is simply a great vegetable and I like to use it in different recipes. For instance, these beetroot beluga lentils patties, vegetarian beetroot falafel or this bright pink beetroot raspberry detox soup, are perfect for summer days. For these muffins, you can choose between store-bought cooked and fresh beetroot. I strongly suggest wearing gloves while handling it.
So versatile, healthy and delicious. As I already said, beetroot has a mild earthy flavour, which pairs wonderfully with meat, cheese and eggs. However, it makes a lovely combo with fruits, too. How can you not like beetroot? Just look at this colour. I love it!. In fact, beetroot is an ideal natural food colour.
Bacon and thyme
Bacon adds a real flavour explosion. In order to achieve that, I suggest cooking the bacon before adding it to the muffin batter. Not only the amazing bacon but thyme as well adds a lovely fresh note. Thyme is an aromatic herb, that vaguely recalls rosemary. It can be slightly pungent penetrating with a lightly lemony aroma.
Ingredients for ca. 6 large beetroot bacon muffins (8-9 cm Ø):
- 200 g beetroot (raw or cooked)
- 120 g bacon cubes
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 180 g plain yogurt
- fresh thyme
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil
- 100 g wheat flour
- 35 g spelt flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 40 g rolled oats
- sea salt and pepper
To begin, preheat the oven to 180° C. Grate the beetroot into a bowl and set it aside. If using raw beetroot, peel it first. Then, in a small pan, cook the bacon cubes until almost crispy. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the bacon to cool off.
Next, in a bowl combine the dry ingredients: rolled oats, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.
Line the muffin forms with paper cups or baking paper.
In a larger bowl, beat the egg and stir in the yogurt and olive oil. Then, fold in all of the dry ingredients. Once well combined, add the bacon cubes, grated beetroot and thyme.
Fill each muffin form up to 2/3 with the beetroot batter and put it to bake for 25 minutes. Once baked, remove the muffins out of the muffin form keeping them in the paper cups. Allow them to cool off or enjoy them warm.
Finally, serve the beetroot bacon muffins for breakfast, lunch or snack. Sprinkle with more fresh thyme if you like. They taste delicious with some yogurt-thyme dip.
Enjoy.
