Gluten-Free Garlic Onion Muffins Recipe

Most summer suppers pair well with garlic bread. Yet sometimes the craving for garlic bread strikes when the gluten-free bread box is empty. If that happens, consider making a batch of these savory muffins.

Like their sweet cousins, these muffins welcome variations. In fact, the recipe began its life as garlic-dill muffins. Since dill didn't always go with the main course, I found myself omitting it more and more. Once I added onions and parmesan to the recipe, I never made the dill variation again. If your meal welcomes herbs, add about one tablespoon of dried, chopped herbs to the batter.

Adding caramelized onions to the batter also makes a tasty variation. Since you don't want to rush onions into caramelizing, you can cook the onions one day, cool them and then store in the refrigerator. When you're ready to make muffins, simply stir the caramelized onions into the batter and you'll have caramelized onion muffins in under 30 minutes!

Unlike other savory quick breads, like biscuits, which are best enjoyed as soon as they come out of the oven, these muffins taste fine several hours after baking. If you have the time, bake a batch in the morning before the heat of the day really kicks in.

Variations:

For Garlic Bread Muffins: Omit the onion. Increase garlic to five cloves and parmesan cheese to 1/2 cup.

For Herb Muffins: Stir 1 tablespoon of dried herbs into the batter. For milder herbs, like basil, consider increasing the amount to 1 1/2 tablespoons. For stronger herbs, like rosemary, reduce amount to 2 teaspoons.

For Caramelized Onion Muffins: Add 1/2 cup cooled caramelized onions to the batter.

For Dairy-Free Muffins: Replace the milk with dairy-free milk and omit cheese. Dairy-free muffins bake off lighter than muffins with dairy.