Savory olive thyme muffins in miniature form.
I’m stopping in today to share these mini olive thyme muffins with you because I just couldn’t let the week go by without passing the recipe for these along.
You may be saying to yourself “I can’t even think of baking another thing right now” but not to worry these little muffins are no effort at all and well worth turning on the oven for.
There’s no long list of ingredients or complicated preparation involved, just chop, whisk and pour and into the oven they go. The little olive and fresh thyme studded muffin tops pop and puff up in the heat of the oven and take on a light golden hue.
Olive oil keeps these mini muffins superbly moist and imparts a peppery and herbaceous undertone. Bits of finely chopped black olives and fresh thyme leaves add an extra layer of salty, herbal olive flavor. I’m partial to them with an added crumbling of sheep’s milk feta and would suggest you add some to the batter if you are so inclined but that’s entirely optional.
Light and moist with a tender crumb they make an excellent accompaniment to a glass of bubbly as an appetizer, fit right in on a buffet table, and are made for picnics or serving alongside a bowl of soup or salad. The hardest part is waiting for them to cool before popping one into your mouth.
Wishing you all a Joyous 2014!
Gluten-Free Olive Thyme Mini Muffins (Paleo)
Gluten-free mini muffins studded with bits of chopped black olives, fresh thyme and salty feta cheese.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup/32g arrowroot
- ¼ cup/ 30g coconut flour
- ¼ tsp grain-free baking powder
- 60g (about 16 olives) black pitted kalamata olives
- 1 small garlic clove, finely minced
- 4 to 5 small branches of fresh thyme, stems removed
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- 4 Tablespoons/60ml extra virgin olive oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 oz sheep’s milk feta, crumbled (optional, omit for Paleo)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degree F. Line a mini muffin tin with paper liners or grease lightly with oil. (I used mini muffin liners that hold 1oz)
- In a small bowl combine the arrowroot with the coconut flour and baking powder and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Finely chop the olives along with the garlic, fresh thyme leaves and salt running your knife multiple times through and smashing the mixture lightly with the side of the blade. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together the olive oil and eggs until well combined.
- Add the olive mixture and whisk again. Add the flour mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined and you have a loose batter. Add in crumbled feta if using and stir again.
- Pour batter into the lined or greased muffin cups and bake for about 14-16 minutes until the tops are just lightly golden. (If you are making bigger muffins the baking time will be longer. Start checking at 14 minutes and remove them from the oven when the tops are cracked and golden.)
- Remove from oven and set to cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Vegetarian, Nut-Free, Paleo, Dairy-Free (omit feta cheese for paleo and dairy-free)
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 138Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 56mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g
Nutritional information for recipes contained on this website, such as calories, fat, carbs, etc. are only estimates and are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Sylvie Shirazi is the recipe developer and food photographer behind Gourmande in the Kitchen. For the last 10 years she's been making eating more healthfully easy and accessible with gluten-free, grain-free, paleo and vegan recipes that are free from processed ingredients.
Katie says
I know it negates the whole gluten-free thing, but are you able to substitute regular flour in place of arrowroot & coconut flour? They're so expensive & I don't have them on hand already. Would love to try with items already on hand! These look amazing!
Sylvie says
I haven't tried it with regular flour so unfortunately I couldn't say how much you'd need here instead of the almond and coconut flour.
Tanya says
These look delish! Do you think they would re-heat well or would be nice at room temperature the next day? or are these an eat-em-fresh kinda muffin?
Sylvie says
They are great the next day too, just make sure to store them in an air tight container. If you use the feta I'd store them in the fridge and then bring them to room temperature before eating, or you can re-heat them a bit as well.
Ki says
Also I used 1/2 a cup of coconut flour and no arrowroot flour. any suggestions on how to fix any o these problems!? I so badly wanted these to work out!
Sylvie says
Hi Ki, The arrowroot flour really helps give these muffins the right consistency so I recommend you give it a try with the arrowroot if possible. As for the sticking you can bake these in mini muffin pan with paper liners inside to avoid any sticking issues. Hope that helps!
Ki says
I just tried these in a muffin top pan sorted with Pam and they stuck right to the bottom! Any suggestions to fix this? They smell heavenly but are all crumbly. 🙁
Gigi says
Ki, try silicone. I used a silicone mini muffin pan, greased with a bit of avocado oil. No sticking and they popped right out!
Gigi says
Are they supposed to come out moist on the inside? I think they're fully cooked but still seem raw inside. I used a very mini muffin pan, and cooked longer than specified. Except I didn't have arrowroot so I used almond flour instead.
Sylvie says
Hi Gigi, The arrowroot is there to absorb some of the excess moisture from the muffin batter since almond flour can sometimes be dense and oily when used alone so that's why yours came out a little wetter than they should.
Gigi says
I didn't use almond flour alone, I used it with almond flour.
Gigi says
Sorry for the typo. Meant to say I used almond and coconut flour together.
Millie says
Love the combo and looks so cute! I bet they'd be perfect for a picnic!
Lesley says
These look wonderful! Do you think liquid egg substitute would work instead of the whole eggs?
Sylvie says
As long as it's a whole egg substitute and not just egg whites, yes that would work as well.
Laura says
I, um, have perhaps made two batches in three days! They are so moreish, and my guests loved them. I've got a basil and chilli version in the oven right now and i'm intending to use them for breakfast these next few days... Now to practice self restraint.
Sylvie says
Basil and chili sounds wonderful, I'm glad to hear you are enjoying them!
Rachel says
Made these today in a pie plate as I don't have a muffin tin . Turned out great, so great that the entire dish is gone!
Shaina says
I love this savory muffin! I think they'd be god with a schmear of goat cheese, too.