These quick and easy herb focaccia muffins are made with regular yeast, require no kneading and are ready to enjoy in just about one hour. They are a great addition to any meal or are lovely enjoyed with wine and cheese.
I love traditional focaccia, but when time is tight, I will often turn to these quick and easy herb focaccia muffins. The mini focaccia dough can be mixed up in a bowl, and no kneading is required. They are made with regular yeast, so you don’t need sourdough.
Ready to enjoy in just about an hour, these focaccia rolls are a great side for any meal or enjoy them together with wine and cheese.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Yeast – Note that this recipe calls for instant yeast. The beauty of instant yeast is that you can add it directly to the flour, and no proofing in water is required. I love SAF Yeast (Red), which is available in large packages from Amazon and some stores. Remove the yeast from the package to a large jar and place in the freezer. It will last forever, and you can use it directly from the freezer.
If you only have Active Dry yeast on hand, you can substitute it, but you’ll probably want to proof it in the lukewarm water before adding to the bowl.
Extra Virgin Olive oil – Olive oil is a key component of any focaccia, and it will introduce flavours to these muffins, too. Use your best olive oil for the nicest flavour.
Herbs – Fresh herbs are always nice, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can definitely substitute dried herbs as specified in the recipe card.
Optional garlic – If you’d like to add some garlic to the mix, opt for dried garlic powder or garlic salt. Fresh garlic spooned on top of the muffin may burn and introduce a bitter flavour.
How to make herb focaccia muffins
This is a visual summary of the steps to make this recipe. Always refer to the complete instructions in the Recipe Card below when making this recipe.
- The easy focaccia muffin dough can be mixed up in a bowl or a mixer. I’m using my stand mixer here with the paddle attachment. Start by adding all the dry ingredients to the bowl.
- Add the lukewarm water to the bowl.
- Mix together with the paddle attachment at medium speed for about a minute, or if mixing manually, use a wooden spoon to mix as vigorously as you can for a minute or so. The dough will be quite sticky.
- Add a teaspoon of olive oil to 9 muffin cups.
- Right before adding the dough, use a pastry brush to spread the olive oil up the sides a bit.
- Divide the dough between the 9 muffin cups. Leave to rise uncovered until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Mix together the topping and warm slightly in the microwave or a small saucepan.
- When risen, the focaccia muffins should fill the muffin cups well.
- Spoon the herb oil over the top of the muffins before baking.
Recipe tips!
- The sticky dough can be a bit tricky to spoon out into the muffin cups. I have had the best luck by oiling my fingertips and pulling off portions of about 2 Tablespoons of dough for each cup.
- Be sure to remove the muffins from the baking cups as soon as they come out of the oven. This will ensure the focaccia muffins release easily and keep their crispy crust. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely (or at least almost completely :)
Variations
Feeling garlic? Add a bit of garlic powder to your oil/herb mixture. I don’t recommend fresh minced garlic for the topping, as it may burn and introduce a bitter flavour. That said, you could add fresh garlic to the focaccia dough if you like.
Making ahead, storing and freezing
These focaccia muffins are best enjoyed on the day they are baked, but you can bake them ahead and reheat briefly in the microwave or on a baking sheet in a 350F oven for a few minutes.
Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
These focaccia muffins will also freeze well for up to 3 months.
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Get the Recipe: Easy Herb Focaccia Muffins
Ingredients
Rolls:
- 1 1/2 cups (185 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast, *see Note 1 below if using Active Dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for topping
- 3/4 cup (170 ml) lukewarm water, about 110°F
- 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
For the pan:
- 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Topping:
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- Coarse salt, for sprinkling before baking
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (non-convection/not fan-assisted). Set a 12-cup muffin tin on top of a large baking sheet and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a wooden spoon, stir together the flour, yeast, thyme, rosemary, sugar and salt. Add the water and olive oil. Beat 1 minute at medium speed. Scrape down the bowl. The dough will be quite sticky.
- Tip! The sticky dough can be tricky to spoon out. I've had the best luck with generously oiling my fingers and pulling off portions of about 2 Tablespoons for each muffin cup.
- Spoon 1 teaspoon of olive oil into each of 9 muffin cups. Use a brush to spread olive oil around and up the sides of the muffin cups, then divide the dough evenly among the greased muffin cups. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes in a 72F kitchen.
- Tip! We don't want to cover the pan while the dough rises, as the dough may stick to any covering and then deflate when removed.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium-low heat or in a glass measuring cup in the microwave, stir together the topping ingredients and warm briefly until fragrant and the oil is hot. Remove from heat and let cool.
- When the focaccia muffins have doubled in size, gently spoon the herb mixture over the top, dividing between the muffins. Sprinkle with some coarse salt. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and immediately remove from the muffin cups to a cooling rack. (A fork is perfect for popping them out of the muffin cups.) Allow to cool completely (or almost completely).
- These focaccia muffins are best enjoyed on the day they are baked. They can be baked earlier in the day and rewarmed to serve. Rewarm in the microwave or on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven for a few minutes. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
More focaccia recipes to love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Hi, curious if you have tried to bake with flour other than AP?
Hi Lindsay and no I haven’t. What did you have in mind?
These are amazing. They’re light as a feather with a loose, open crumb. The olive oil in the pan creates a delicious crispy crust. My muffins popped right out of the pan. The only change I’ll make next time is to divide the dough into 8 for a slightly bigger muffin.
I didn’t notice that the muffins should be left uncovered while they rise and covered mine with oiled plastic wrap. I’m curious why they should be uncovered, since it’s customary to cover dough while it rises. Is it because the dough is tacky?
Yes, it’s due to the sticky moist dough really. I don’t think it hurts to cover, but just that it isn’t necessary.
So glad you enjoyed them, Sadie! Thanks :)
Just delicious and surprisingly simple to make! Only question I have is related to the best muffin pan to use. I followed the advice to coat the pan with olive oil just before adding the dough, but still some muffins stuck to the bottom. Could be my pan needs replacing. Would you suggest a silicone muffin pan for this recipe? Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Kristin and so glad you enjoyed these. As for sticking, one thing to try before you get rid of your muffin tin is to just use more olive oil. Instead of just brushing, pour a puddle in the bottom of the cup and just before adding the batter to the muffin tin, use a brush to generously coat the sides. Brushing the sides of the tin too early can result in the oil just running down to the bottom, so if you do it right as you add the dough, there will be a sure layer between the dough and the tin.
I was wondering if I could add some cherry tomatoes cut small into the dough or just on top of each muffin?
I think you could! I would de-seed and just finely chop the rest of pulp. Another thought … sun dried tomatoes would also work and would give you more tomato bang for your buck, too!
These little muffins are fantastic and VERY easy to make. You don’t have to wait overnight with regular focaccia bread recipes. I was blown away at how good they were and I NEVER comment or review a recipe
So glad to hear, Scott :) Thanks so much!
For a quick bread needed this was surprisingly good! After the 30 minute rise I did take the end of a wooden spoon to give it the traditional focaccia dimpled look prior to spreading the herb infused oil. Definitely will be making this recipe again!
So glad you enjoyed these, Yvonne! Thanks :)
First time… my dough was not batter like at all. It was sticky however turned out fine. Any ideas why it was not batter like?
Hi Judy, it could simply be how you measure the flour. If you scooped, you might have ended up using more flour. If so, try spooning and levelling (or weighing, for best accuracy).
There are delicious! Very close to our families old recipe.
Mine stuck to pan but next time use my stoneware pan.
Definitely a keeper!
So glad you enjoyed them, Chris :) Thanks!
I am really happy with this focaccia bread. My previous recipe requires 18 hours of rise and is delicious, but this was ready in 30 minutes and I can’t taste the difference. So good!!!!!
So glad you enjoyed it and yes, it’s great for such a quick and easy recipe! Thanks :)
Easy and taste great but they stuck in what seemed to be a well oiled pan.
Can you make these low carb, like with almond flour?
I have no idea Maria. I’m all about the carbs, so I have no experience in the low carb world :)
I’m a Caterer. I love this new take on focaccia bread. Can this recipe be tripled?
Hi Cherie, I have never tried it myself, but generally you can double or triple without much issue except when it comes to dealing with all the dough. Unless you can bake them all off at once, you run the risk of the later batches over-rising. I generally prefer to make 2 or 3 separate batches myself.
Does the sheet pan under muffin pan stay in place while cooking in oven? some extra protection from underneath??? Thank you!
Hi Sandra, yes, the sheet pan is just to protect your oven in case the oil bubbles over a bit. Enjoy :)
Can you omit the white sugar completely or use coconut sugar as that’s all i have right now? I can’t wait to try it
Hi Monique, the small bit of sugar is mainly there to feed the yeast, so yes, coconut sugar should work fine (or honey).
Can I use regular yeast instead of rapid rise?
Hi Carolyn, you can, but you’d have to play it by ear a bit in terms of the rising time, as it will be slower out of the gate.