My soft and fluffy blueberry muffins are packed full of sweet, plump blueberries and have slightly sugared tops. Today’s post is packed full of tips for getting the fluffiest muffins with bakery-style tops, and includes a step-by-step video!
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, they check all of my boxes when it comes to perfect, bakery style muffins. They’re simple to make, no mixer required and ready in under 35 minutes.
I think you’re going to love them, so let’s get right to it.
What You Need for Blueberry Muffins:
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 what they do for the muffins).
- Blueberries. Either fresh or frozen blueberries work great here. If you’re using frozen do not thaw them first, and be aware that they often leave purple streaks throughout the batter (especially wild blueberries). There’s nothing wrong with this and it won’t affect the flavor, just be aware.
- Sour cream. This is my secret weapon, I love whenever I can sneak it into my blueberry muffins (it’s also a key ingredient in my lemon poppy seed muffins)! This not only lends fluffiness and flavor to the muffins, it helps give them their moist, tender crumb. I recommend only full-fat sour cream.
- Corn starch. Another favorite secret ingredient of mine. This helps add structure and fluffiness to the muffins, without drying them out like adding more flour would do. 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 cake recipes that the trick to getting the best texture was not using solely butter or oil, but using a blend of both. 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 oil adds moisture. Made this way, your muffins will have a flavorful and moist crumb.
How to Make 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% mixed 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 will leave you with dense, dry, crumbly blueberry muffins).
Baking the Muffins
- Divide the muffin batter evenly into a paper-lined muffin tin. There will be a lot of batter, with each liner being filled to the brim, this is expected!
- Sprinkle the top of the muffins with coarse or granulated sugar, if desired, and bake until blueberry muffins are beginning to turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes.
To make miniature muffins: 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.
To make 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.
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.
Starting your muffin batter off on a higher temperature allows the muffin batter to begin to rise and 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 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.
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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 all-purpose flour (220g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted (60ml)
- ¼ cup canola oil (60ml)(may substitute vegetable oil)
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream (240g)
- 1 ¾ cup blueberries (245g) (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.
- In a separate bowl whisk together butter and canola oil. Add egg and vanilla. Stir in sour cream until thoroughly combined.
- 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!).
- Evenly divide muffin batter into prepared tin. Liners will be most of the way full!
- 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!
Kristen
Can I use dried blueberries do you think? Any changes to the recipe you’d recommend?
Sam
Hi Kristen! I haven’t tried it but it could work. You won’t have that plump juicy berry to bite into though. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
Pam
How would I turn these into lemon blueberry muffins? Just add lemon zest? Thanks and btw all your recipes that I have made have turned out perfect! (Especially the chocolate bundt cake!)
Sam
Hi Pam! You could just add some lemon zest to them. 🙂
Yamit
Hey
Can these be made with fresh blueberries and how would you suggest to do that?
As always, 🙏
Sam
Absolutely, you would just make as instructed 🙂
Karen
Can I substitute or omit the corn starch in this recipe?
Sam
Hi Karen! You can replace it with a little extra flour. 🙂
Karen
Thank you. Will that make a big difference in the finished product, by replacing flour for corn starch?
Sam
The corn starch helps make them tender and fluffy so you may lose a little bit of that, but they’ll still be delicious. 🙂
Faith
These muffins were great! I did use wild frozen blueberries, and I was expecting lots of purple streaks but was definitely not expecting the entire muffin to turn lilac! I’m not sure what I did, but they are gorgeous. I also forgot to let them rest, but I think they still turned out alright. I love the crust the sanding sugar forms on top. I do have a couple questions, though: do they freeze well? And how would you thaw them? My mom has been on a diet and it lasts another week, she asked me to save her a few for when it ends. Will I have to make another batch later, or can I save these?
And another question: I am pretty sure my oven is running low, everything I’ve made recently has needed several extra minutes. These muffins took closer to 40 minutes than 20 to bake. Do you have a recommendation for an oven thermometer?
Sam
Hi Faith! I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins! I’ve never had the whole muffin turn purple but I’m glad they were beautiful! Yes these freeze well, I have thawed overnight on the counter in an airtight container and I have just heated them in the microwave from frozen, both work well. I recommend enjoying the muffins within 3 days of preparing, if not frozen. I definitely would recommend this oven thermometer that I use!
Bruce
If you use 1 1/2 cups well drained crushed pineapple in place of the blueberries, you can get decent pineapple muffins. The batter is very liquid, so they don’t turn out nearly as good as the blueberry muffins, but they aren’t bad. Maybe Sam will take the hint and develop a pineapple muffin that is up to her standards, using this as a starting point.
Sam
I will definitely put it on my list. 🙂
Jennifer Chesser
Can this recipe be used for blueberry bread?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Jennifer! The baking time will be different of course, but it should work well. Enjoy! 🙂
Bruce
I just made my second batch of these totally addictive muffins. This time I tried them without the resting time, and I have to say that I don’t see any appreciable difference in their height. So, I’ll be skipping that step the MANY times I’ll make these in the future. It’s wonderful that we live in a time when fresh blueberries are available all year!
Sam, have you been introduced to Buttery Sweet Dough Bakery Emulsion, from the Lorann Oils company in Michigan? It is a wonderful flavoring that has a mild citrus taste. I used it in these muffins last week. Since lemon and blueberry are a great flavor combination, it adds another dimension to these great muffins. You might want to try it sometime. I want to stress, though, that this additional flavor is in no way needed. These muffins are amazing with vanilla extract.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins so much! I actually do have that emulsion. I like using it but I try not to use it because not many people have it. 🙂
Bruce
I might keep leaving comments on these! I wish there were a way to keep the berries away from the tops, because wherever the top doesn’t have a berry showing, it develops a very slight crust, which makes the tops a little like cookies, making two treats in one! I could sit and eat the whole batch while they’re still warm.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Bruce
These are in the oven now. Unfortunately, it only made 11 1/2 muffins, so I’ll have to eat that 1/2 muffin as soon as it has cooled enough! I used to go to America’s Test Kitchen for muffin recipes, but yours are so easy and tasty that I have switched. I make muffins every Sunday night, and freeze them for my breakfasts for the week. They are just as good on Friday as they are on Monday. I think I’ll make your strawberry muffins next week, because they sound so good. I am staying with ATK’s “better bran muffins”, just because they are so good, but all the other kinds come from your recipes.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins so much, Bruce! 🙂
Bhumika
Hi can I make a cake 8 or 9 inch with this recipe
Sam
Hmmm I haven’t tried it. It may work. If you do try it I would love to know how it turns out. 🙂
Mary
Just made Blueberry Muffins and they are a hit!!!!!
Thank you Sam for amazing recipes with videos and easy to follow instructions 😋
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Mary! 🙂
Mimi
Can I use low-fat buttermilk for the blueberry muffins?
Sam
That should work fine. You may lose a little bit of moisture.
Mimi
Thanks for your reply Sam! Made both the Blueberry muffins & Banana muffins & they were both Amazing! I absolutely love all your recipes!!
Thanks again! 😊
Sam
You’re so welcome! Thank you so much for trying my recipes! <3
Courtney
These were awesome! Nice and fluffy, moist, but not goopy on the inside like some blueberry muffins. I used frozen wild blueberries. 🙂 I also didn’t read the recipe correctly (I was making the chocolate chip ones at the same time) and only made 10 in jumbo liners instead of 12 normal sized muffins. They still worked really well though! Definitely my new go-to blueberry muffins ^.^
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Courtney! 🙂
Kailey
BEST blueberry muffins we’ve ever had! Frozen wild blueberries were perfect in this recipe because they are small (we don’t like large blueberries in muffins). Don’t be surprised if the batter is very stiff after mixing in frozen blueberries and letting it sit for 15 minutes! I thought I had made a mistake, but then realized the blueberries had chilled the batter tremendously.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Kailey! 🙂
Kris Marie
You absolutely nailed it! Love small, little frozen blueberries instead of the large fresh ones and yes the batter did stiffen but they are baking now, cannot wait to try them! Great reviews and comments!
Sam
Thank you so much, Kris! I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Ellie Fork
Hi Sam,
I was wondering if I could make the batter the night before and bake the muffins the next morning?
Sam
Hi Ellie! I haven’t tried it but I think if you cover the batter it will work just fine. 🙂
Bruce
I’m guessing they won’t rise nearly as high, since so much of the baking powder will be activated, but they’ll probably be OK otherwise.