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.
Destiny
These were great!
Audrey
These muffins taste delicious! A question though- each time I make them they seem to run flat and not stay puffy in the middle of the muffin tin, so I end up with a huge muffin top that is overflowing. I am new to the sourdough world. What am I doing wrong with my consistency or baking?
Sam
Hi Audrey! Is it possible that the muffin tin is being slightly overfilled?
Audrey
Possibly! I’ll try again with making more muffins. Thanks!
Stephanie
My family loves these!!!! But as I was just making the last batch, I wondered…what about a long ferment? Could I just pop the batter into the fridge overnight?
Sam
Hi Stephanie! I am so glad everyone has enjoyed them so much! I haven’t personally tried a long ferment on these, but I think it could work. If you do try it I would love to know how they turn out! I wanted to try it before I published this recipe I just didn’t get to it. 🙂
Cassy
I would think it would work! Other recipes I’ve seen just withhold the baking powder/soda until right before baking.
Bobbie
Best blueberry muffins I have ever made. Love them!
April Blevins
I’ve made these 3 times in the last week and half. they are not overly sweet which I really enjoy. my teens also love them. thanks for sharing.
Tanya
These are amazing!! I used vanilla Greek yogurt because that’s what I had on hand, but this recipe is spot on! Not too sweet, so soft! My kids loved them! I’ll never try another muffin recipe again.. this is it! Thank you!
Candice
Another AMAZING recipe. I used frozen blueberries and stirred in frozen. Took 5 extra minutes to bake but they look and taste wonderful!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Candice! 🙂
Taylor
I am not a blueberry muffin gal but these are delicious!!! Doubled the recipe and added lemon zest and juice for a nice pop of freshness! These will be a regular addition in our household!
Ron LaFountain
Very easy and delicious.
Nikki
These were so fun to make, my family was amazed at how delicious these were! I will have to make a double batch next time.
Now looking for your recipe for pumpkin muffins with sourdough discard 😁
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Nikki! I don’t have a sourdough pumpkin muffin but I can add one to my list. 🙂
Varvara Keun
Really good muffins. Not too sweet. We have some food intolerances so we used egg substitute, sweet potatoe puree instead of yogurt, coconut milk, avocado oil and coconut sugar. They came out perfect.
Sam
Thank you for the feedback, Varvara! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Angelia
Excellent recipe! We used Amish Sourdough Starter Disgard, and fresh blueberries in one batch and fresh, diced strawberries in another batch. The recipe was super easy, and the directions were spot on. The Muffins were beautiful and delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
Gracie Freed
The best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had
Barry
Delicious! One can coat the blueberries with flour so (frozen) blueberries don’t run. Very light and airy, and full of blueberry flavor. I used 1/2 cup of sugar and they are plenty sweet.
Jenna
These are incredible! Thanks girl
Sam
You’re welcome, Jenna! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
Alleyne Sobol
This is now my favorite blueberry muffin recipe. I love them and everyone else who tries them says they are the best they have ever tasted. I’m hooked! Easy to make and delicious.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy this one is a winner for you, Alleyne! Thanks for the review 🩷
Leslie
These are the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever tasted and everyone who tries one has the same reaction. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to a standard recipe after finding this one. It’s pure gold!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so happy you love them so much, Leslie! Thanks for coming back to leave a review ❤️