These sourdough blueberry muffins have an incredible texture and flavor thanks to sourdough discard! My recipe takes just 30 minutes from start to finish and makes a dozen beautiful muffins.
Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins
Before I talk about these sourdough blueberry muffins, I think I should admit that I might have a bit of a blueberry muffin obsession. If you’ve been following along, you know that I recently shared a recipe for blueberry muffin cookies that is simply incredible (if I do say so myself). I also have classic blueberry muffins, plus blueberry cream cheese muffins. How many blueberry muffins recipes is too many?
Correct answer: the limit does not exist.
Now back to today’s recipe, which I absolutely love. Not only are these muffins full of blueberries, but they have a truly amazing texture; they are so, so, SO soft and tender. The sourdough discard is a key player in creating this lovely texture, and of course, it also adds a beautiful depth of flavor too.
What to love about this recipe:
- Comes together fast.
- No mixer needed (seriously, please don’t use one!).
- Beautiful tall muffin tops, thanks to my special muffin trick (also used in my banana muffins).
- Amazing flavor and texture from sourdough discard.
What You Need
Most of these ingredients are pretty standard, except for the sourdough discard–obviously! Here are the most important ones:
- Sourdough discard. You should have some of this lying around if you’re feeding an active sourdough starter! If you don’t, check out the FAQ section below.
- Melted butter. Not only does melted butter make this recipe super easy to mix together by hand, but it also yields a buttery flavor too.
- Blueberries. Fresh or frozen blueberries will work here, but just know that frozen berries will dye your batter purple. If I’m using frozen berries, I prefer to thaw and drain them before adding them to the batter.
- Sour cream. Similar to buttermilk, sour cream adds moisture, tenderness, and flavor.
- Room temperature egg. It’s important that your egg is at room temperature so it incorporates easily; otherwise, you might end up over-mixing your batter. If you forget to set yours out ahead of time, read my post on how to quickly bring eggs to room temperature.
SAM’S TIP: For a pretty, bakery style look I recommend sprinkling some extra granulated sugar on top of your sourdough blueberry muffins just before baking. Or, if you’d really like to take your muffins to the next level, skip the sugar and add some streusel!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until the batter is 50% combined.
- Add the blueberries and keep folding until just combined. Do not over-mix!
- Portion the batter into a lined 12-count muffin tin. I like to use an ice cream scoop for this!
- Sprinkle granulated sugar over the tops (if using) and bake for 8 minutes at 425F.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 350F (don’t open the door!) and bake for an additional 12 minutes or until cooked through.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
SAM’S TIP: Using two oven temperatures ensures our muffins will have a beautiful rise. We’ll start off high, then reduce the temperature (without opening the door!) to finish baking. You’ll see this technique used in most of my muffin recipes, including my bakery style chocolate chip muffins.
Frequently Asked Questions
These sourdough blueberry muffins were carefully designed to be moist and tender, so they should not be dry at all. If yours are, it’s possible that you over-measured your flour (it’s easy to do!), over-mixed your batter, or simply baked them too long.
Over-mixing will doom any quick bread, muffin, or pancake; it makes them dense and dry. To avoid this, make sure you stir everything together by hand (do not use a mixer!) and stop once everything is just combined.
Sourdough discard is actually a byproduct of feeding/maintaining a sourdough starter. Before you feed your starter, you always discard half of what is in the jar. Instead of wasting that discard (it still has lots of nutritional benefits), I like to use it in other recipes, like these muffins or my sourdough crackers or sourdough pancakes.
If you are interested in baking with sourdough, check out my post on how to make a sourdough starter!
Yes! Just make sure to wrap them really well in plastic wrap beforehand and store in an airtight container. They’ll keep this way for a few months.
To thaw, you can let your muffins sit at room temperature, or you can microwave them for a few seconds.
The muffin liners I’m using here today are my parchment paper muffin liners! They are so easy to make and instantly elevate the look of your muffins.
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Sourdough blueberry muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (187 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup (105 g) sourdough discard
- ¾ cup (180 g) sour cream or plain full-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 large egg room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) fresh blueberries
- Granulated sugar for topping optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F (220C) and line a 12-count muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.1 ½ cups (187 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon table salt
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together melted butter, sourdough discard, sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract until ingredients are evenly mixed.½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (105 g) sourdough discard, ¾ cup (180 g) sour cream, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add wet ingredients to dry and use a spatula to gently fold together. Once batter is about 50% combined, add blueberries and continue to mix, gently, until blueberries are well-distributed and batter is just combined. Do not over-mix or muffins will be dense and dry.1 ½ cups (210 g) fresh blueberries
- Evenly divide batter into prepared muffin tin. If desired, sprinkle with granulated sugar.Granulated sugar for topping
- Transfer to center rack of 425F (220C) oven and bake for 8 minutes, then, without opening the oven door, decrease oven temperature to 350F (175C) and bake for 12 minutes longer/until muffins are baked through. The tops will be beginning to turn a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin tin before carefully removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
Blueberries
Frozen blueberries will work but may streak your batter blue/purple. I typically thaw and drain the berries before using.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Muffins may also be tightly wrapped (after cooling) and frozen for up to 3 months.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.
Jennifer Tipton
Outstanding! I used chopped strawberries instead of the blueberries because they are abundant this time of year, but I will definitely make this recipe again. It’s so moist and delicious! Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jennifer! I’m happy to hear they turned out well with strawberries. 🙂
Lizette
Daughter said “Mom these muffins are insane!” So delicious and the texture was beautiful. BEST blueberry muffins I’ve ever made. Thank you!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Lizette! 🙂
Hannah
Very yummy! Made 18 muffins for me
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Hannah! 🙂
Elisabeth
These were amazing! Or should I say, ‘this’ – instead of muffins I lined a 9×9 glass baking dish with parchment paper, baked for 12 mins. at 425, then about 25-30 at 350 … still SO good! I also used half butter, half olive oil since that’s what I had at hand, and cut sugar to 125g and still plenty sweet enough!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Elisabeth! Thank you for the feedback. 🙂
Jennifer Mo
Lovely blueberry muffins with a lighter-than-air consistency. I found this recipe looking for a way to use up sourdough discard, and I think this is going to be my go-to blueberry muffin, full stop. I reduced the sugar to 150 g but did top with sugar, and they were just the right sweetness.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Jennifer! 🙂
Malinda
These were amazing. I’m glad I listened to the other reviews and used less sugar, (I used 150g). I used Greek yogurt instead of sourcream. They were absolutely delicious! This will be my go to blueberry muffin recipe!!
Keisha
Can you use fat free sour cream??
Sam
Hi Keisha! I’ve only tested this recipe with full-fat sour cream but if I only had low-fat on hand I would still try it. If you do, would you let me know how it turns out for you?
Christabelle Bardeloza
This recipe is excellent! I have made these muffins several times already and they come out perfect every time. I love using the plain greek yogurt for just a little extra protein. I also love having another recipe to use the sourdough discard.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone everyone enjoyed them so much, Christabelle! 🙂
Miriam Rose Blanar
I can’t wait to try these!
I have some leftover apple slices from your dutch apple pie. Do you think I could do those instead of blueberries?
Sam
I hope you love them, Miriam! Apple pieces could work here. 🙂
Raine
I can’t wait to try this! I’m wondering if salted butter will change this? If I’m using salt and unsalted butter, isn’t it the same as using salted butter?
Sam
Hi Raine! You will want to reduce the salt by 1/4 teaspoon if you use salted butter. I actually have an article on using salted or unsalted butter you can reference in the future. 🙂
Amanda Wright
We love these I’ve made them so many times!!!!! but can I make them sugar free?? I have a friend who is diabetic and she wants to try them so bad
Sam
Hi Amanda! Unfortunately I can’t say for sure how to make these sugar free as I haven’t tried it. 🙁
Bailey
SO good!! Measured everything exact and they came out wonderful. Only change would be to reduce the sugar to about 150g instead. I wish I had read the reviews beforehand!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Bailey, thank you so much for trying my recipe!
Kim
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s definitely a keeper! I read the reviews and decreased the sugar to 3/4. So scrumptious!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Kim! 🙂
Kelly
DELICIOUS! I made them twice in one week, shared them with friends who also loved them. I used 1/2 cup of sugar and they were still yummy and I didn’t have sour cream so used plain Greek yogurt instead.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoys them so much, Kelly! 🙂
Erin
These are the best!! I sub 100g of olive oil for the butter and reduce the sugar to 160g. Perfect every time!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoy them so much, Erin! 🙂
Sheri
OMG these were delicious. In the top 5 muffins I’ve ever made. I subbed in Bob’s Red Mill 1-1gluten free baking flour as we eat gluten free, used lemon extract instead of vanilla, and reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup. Mine were ready in less than the 20 minute suggested baking time. Taste and texture were so good! I will definitely make again.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Sheri! Thank you for the feedback using the gluten free flour. 🙂