These soft, fluffy, and moist blueberry muffins are packed full of sweet, plump blueberries and topped with slightly sugared tops. My best blueberry muffin recipe is packed to the brim with tips for getting the fluffiest muffins with tall, bakery-style tops, and includes a step-by-step video tutorial as well!
The Only Blueberry Muffin Recipe You Need
I’m pretty proud of my muffin recipes around here, and today’s blueberry muffins are no exception.
With their soft, tender, and melt-in-your-mouth moist crumb with hints of vanilla, plump juicy berries, and slightly sugared tops, my recipe ticks all of the boxes when it comes to perfect, bakery style muffins.
They’re simple to make, no mixer required or fussy ingredients required, and they can be ready in under 35 minutes.
I think you’re going to love this one, so let’s get right to it.
Ingredients
Nothing shocking on the ingredient list, I’m sure, but let’s go over a few of the key ingredients and why I use them (and why I call for them in my blueberry muffin recipe).
- Blueberries. Either fresh or frozen blueberries work great here. If you’re using frozen do not thaw the berries first and be note that frozen berries often leave purple streaks throughout the batter (especially if you’re using frozen “wild” blueberries). There’s nothing wrong with this and it won’t affect the flavor, just be aware that your blueberry muffins might look a bit tie-dyed.
- Sour cream. This is my secret weapon and quickly became the obvious choice for adding moisture and a light texture to my blueberry muffin recipe (it’s also a key ingredient in my lemon poppy seed muffins)! This ingredient adds to the fluffiness and flavor to the muffins and helps give them their moist, tender crumb. I recommend only full-fat sour cream (though full-fat plain Greek yogurt could be substituted in a pinch!).
- Corn starch. Another favorite secret ingredient of mine (you may remember it from my chocolate chip cookie recipe!). This helps add structure and fluffiness to the muffins, without drying them out (which would happen if we simply added more flour). It’s another contributing factor to the tender crumb that makes these blueberry muffins the best.
- Butter & oil. I discovered years ago when developing my vanilla cake recipe that the trick to getting the best texture was not using solely butter or oil, but using a blend of the two. Melted butter lends flavor to the blueberry muffins (and since it’s melted, there’s no need to cream it so the batter comes together easily by hand) and a neutral cooking oil (vegetable or canola) adds moisture. Made this way, your muffins will have a flavorful and moist crumb.
How to Make Moist Blueberry Muffins
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and sugar (which is not technically considered a dry ingredient even though it’s, well, dry. It has to do with the fact that sugar becomes liquid in the oven, but that’s a post for another day).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (minus the sugar) until thoroughly combined.
- Carefully and gently begin to fold the wet ingredients and dry ingredients together.
- When the batter is about 75% combined, fold in the blueberries just until the batter is completely combined. I like to add the blueberries here rather than after the batter is completely combined because it allows you to incorporate the berries without over-mixing the batter, which would leave you with dense, dry, or even crumbly blueberry muffins.
Baking the Muffins
- Divide the muffin batter evenly into a paper-lined muffin tin (or use my parchment paper liners). There will be a lot of batter, with each liner being filled to the brim, this is expected!
- Sprinkle the top of the blueberry muffins with coarse or granulated sugar, if desired (or go fancy and top with my streusel!), and bake until they’re beginning to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are several reasons why muffins turn out dry. Most commonly this is caused by the batter either being over-mixed or over-baked in the oven. Make sure your oven is not running hotter than it leads on, or it will dry out the blueberry muffins in a hurry.. If the flour is accidentally over-measured, this could also do it. Make sure you are following my guidelines on how to measure flour properly.
This is actually one of my key tricks to tall, fluffy muffin tops!
Starting your muffin batter off on a higher temperature allows the blueberry muffins to rise nice and tall, then dropping the temperature allows the interiors of your muffins to finish cooking without drying out, keeping the centers nice, soft, and fluffy.
Yes. I originally mirrored my blueberry muffin recipe almost exactly after my chocolate chip muffins. Over the years, I decided the blueberries deserved a more distinct muffin base and so it has been changed. If you are looking for the original recipe, it’s not lost! Simply head over to my basic muffin recipe and add 1 ½ cups blueberries. It’s the same thing, and still a delicious recipe, though I prefer the new one here.
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Make sure to check out the how-to VIDEO in the recipe card!
The Best Blueberry Muffin Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup (220 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (60 ml) unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil or vegetable oil or canola oil (may substitute vegetable oil)
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 g) sour cream
- 1 ¾ cup (245 g) blueberries (fresh or frozen will work, if using frozen you do not need to thaw first, and note that they may leave purple streaks through your muffins).
- Coarse sugar for sprinkling optional (may just use regular granulated sugar or omit entirely).
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 (215C) and line a 12 count muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, salt.1 ¾ cup (220 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl whisk together butter and canola oil. Add egg and vanilla. Stir in sour cream until thoroughly combined.¼ cup (60 ml) unsalted butter, ¼ cup (60 ml) avocado oil or vegetable oil or canola oil, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup (240 g) sour cream
- Add wet ingredients to dry and gently fold together with a spatula until mostly combined. Once the batter is about 75% combined, add the blueberries and fold them in as well until batter is completely combined (don’t over-mix!).1 ¾ cup (245 g) blueberries
- Evenly divide muffin batter into prepared tin (liners will be most of the way full) and sprinkle tops with sugar, if using.Coarse sugar for sprinkling
- Transfer to 425F (215C) preheated oven and bake for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 350F (175C) without opening the oven door and then continue to bake another 10-12 minutes or until the tops are beginning to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool 10 minutes in muffin tin then gently remove from pan (I like to use a butter knife to gently pry the muffin out of the tin, remember the pan may still be hot and muffins are fragile when they are warm!) and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack (otherwise muffin bottoms may become soggy).
- Enjoy!
Notes
Storing
Store blueberry muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Muffins may also be frozen for several months. Refrigerating will dry out the muffins and I do not recommend it.Making as jumbo muffins:
Divide batter evenly into a 6-count jumbo muffin tin. Bake on 425F (220C) for 8 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350F (175C) (do not open oven door) and bake another 13-15 minutes or until tops are beginning to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.Making as mini muffins:
Divide into mini muffin tin. Bake on 375F (190C) (you will not change the temperature) until light golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, approximately 11-13 minutes. You will get at least 24 muffins.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Linda Erickson
I was surprised how thick the batter was so added 1 TBSP milk. I also only had light sour cream but they turned out great and were very delicious. I love how you put the measurements along side the instructions! Makes it much easier to not miss an ingredient.
Bobbie
I don’t know what I did wrong but they didn’t come out right. I had to bake them longer and the batter turned purple
Sam
Hi Bobbie! Is it possible they were over-mixed? What do you mean by they didn’t come out right?
Bobbie
I might of put to much batter in paper cup. They baked over the top. I didn’t over mix but the batter turned purple. But they did taste good they weren’t dry or over baked
Joe L
Very easy to follow, the sour cream and cornstarch seemed interesting but these came out amazing and delicious. I did add about 3 tbls milk as I thought the batter was a little dry but not sure it was needed. This is the only blueberry muffin recipe I need. 9 medium size muffins.
Connie Napier
Absolutely the best I’ve ever had!
Katie
I made these late last night and they were amazing! I made your streusel which was much easier than the ice cold butter way.
I made them into jumbo muffins but ended up having enough for 7, but that could have been the crazy big blueberries that I had.
A few things that I “changed”, I used the Country Crock Plant Butter and Lactaid sour cream as we have some lactose intolerant people in my house.
I wasn’t sure how much batter I should have put in with the streusel topping, so I may have over filled them. I’m going to be experimenting again later today.
Pdw
Disappointed. The batter was more like cookie dough. Tasted lime Bisquick.
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear this happened! It sounds like there may have been too much flour in your batter. I do have a post on how to measure your flour properly so you can avoid this in the future. 🙁
Brenda B
I too had the same problem. Now I always use the weight measurement on my bag of flour for a cup instead of the weight given in the recipe. The weight on the flour bag always differs from the weight given in the recipe. Works well for me.
Debbie
I saw this recipe and had to try it. It was unique and had mostly good reviews. They are good, but tangy from the sour cream, not as sweet as most recipes I’ve tried. Not sure I’d make them again. I want a more cakey, risen muffin. Thank you for sharing though!
Isabel
I really like this recipe. But I have found that it is WAY better to use fresh blueberries. When i used frozen, it turned the batter blue, and it made it so much less desirable to eat. But i do love this recipe. Also i would say to be carful that you don’t put too many blueberries in one muffin. It made mine supper gooey around the edges and bottom.
I also had to cook mine a few minuets longer then the recipe said to. But i know that is just because of my kitchen.
Patricia Marquis
excellent muffins, easy to make!!
Trish Garvin
My batter seemed much too dry when everything was mixed and folded in. I added a couple of tablespoons of milk which helped. Tastes good, texture is good.
Anon
Recipe is super easy to follow and fast. I was also able to make it without dirtying a lot of dishes so its super easy to clean up after making. I was a little cautious filling my muffin tins because I didn’t want them to overflow so I ended up with 4 extra muffins. But wow, they’re super moist and soft on the inside, and packed with blueberries. Very delicious and will definitely turn to this again when I have lots of blueberries on hand.
Liz
Amazing! I just ate two! Note I made mine with a combo of blueberries and strawberries because it’s what I had on hand. Delicious!!!
Tonya
Best muffin recipe I’ve tried. A recipe to hand down to my daughters
Lizzy
Could I substitute the sour cream with plain yogurt?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We think that will work 😊
Lizzy
Just wanted to let you know that I did substitute yogurt for sour cream and they came out equally delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know ❤️
Tiffany
I made these tonight and swapped out the sour cream for Greek yogurt. 100% recommendation. 😍
Diane Castillo
Love your recipe for these blueberry muffins, they are delicious!!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thank you, Diane! We’re so happy you like them 🩷
Ashley B.
I have been looking for a really good blueberry muffin recipe and was so glad when I found this one! I top them with a crumb topping and they are perfect! They are so moist and have just the right crumb! Have not been disappointed in a single recipe I have tried from Sam! Whenever I’m looking for a new recipe, I check to see if she has made it first now!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you’ve been enjoying everything, Ashley! Thanks for the sweet comments 😊
Doris
The best blueberry muffin I have every made. thank you!