This easy recipe yields a dozen of the softest, fluffiest, most deliciously buttery blueberry muffins. Topped with a crunchy cinnamon brown sugar streusel, these rival any bakery muffin, but come together quickly in your own kitchen. They’re prepared with simple ingredients, so you can be biting into a fresh, warm blueberry muffin in under an hour.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos and helpful success tips.
Muffins are a perennial favorite because they’re quick and easy to make and the flavors are endless (just like scones). Everyone appreciates a fresh batch of muffins and, best of all, muffins double as breakfast and snack. (Or in the case of double chocolate muffins… dessert!)
But when it comes to muffin varieties, blueberry muffins hold the crown. Nothing compares to the classic blueberry muffin, and today I’m showing you exactly how to prepare my very best version.
This is my family’s favorite blueberry muffins recipe, and going by the hundreds of 5-star reviews it’s received, it’s a family favorite for many other home bakers, too!
One reader, Jes, commented: “Best blueberry muffins I have ever had—no bakery or store or restaurant that I’ve ever visited has ever produced a blueberry muffin that could compare to this. ★★★★★“
Another reader, Sara, commented: “Best blueberry muffins I have ever had in my 80 years! ★★★★★”
And another reader, Kathy, commented: “This truly is my favorite blueberry muffin recipe. You just can’t go wrong with it. Everyone loves the streusel topping. ★★★★★“
Why Are These Our Favorite Blueberry Muffins?
They’re a texture lover’s dream with a buttery soft crumb, juicy blueberries, and a sweet crunch on top. They’re not as large and dense as my jumbo blueberry muffins and have a little more flavor from the brown sugar and butter.
These muffins stand out from the rest because they’re:
- Buttery and moist
- Soft and cakey, not dense
- Easy to prepare
- Made with EXTRA blueberries (and you can use fresh or frozen)
- Topped with an easy 3-ingredient sweet streusel
Since I first developed this blueberry muffin recipe, I’ve baked dozens of variations—swapping blueberries for apples, peaches, and other fruits. In fact, this blueberry muffin recipe quickly turned into my go-to base muffin recipe, a batter you can turn into infinite muffin flavors. I also have the recipe in my newest cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
How to Make the Best Blueberry Muffins
There are no secret ingredients or complicated steps in this blueberry muffin recipe. You only need a few bowls and a mixer… and a muffin pan, of course!
- Whisk the dry ingredients: Flour, leaveners, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients: Butter, sugars, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla.
- Combine wet & dry, then add milk: You can use any type of milk, dairy or nondairy, or even buttermilk (see Notes).
- Spoon into muffin pan: Fill those liners all the way to the top!
- Add streusel topping: Just brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped walnuts. See below for suggested alternatives.
- Bake!
That’s it! The sour cream is the magical ingredient because it adds so much moisture and produces the softest blueberry muffins ever. If you don’t have sour cream, you can use yogurt like we do in lemon blueberry muffins. Or you can use buttermilk to replace both the milk and the sour cream.
How to Create the Perfect Tall Muffin Tops
For tall bakery-style domed muffin tops, there are 3 directions to follow closely:
- Make sure your muffin batter is THICK. (This one is!)
- Fill your muffin tins/liners all the way to the top.
- Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at a high temperature, and then lower the temperature while keeping the oven door closed. This initial high oven temperature quickly lifts up the muffin top. Once the temperature is reduced, the centers of the muffins bake. I recommend this in nearly all of my muffin recipes. (These crumb cake muffins are an exception to the rule!)
Have I mentioned what a treat these are with a swipe of homemade honey butter, too? Cinnamon butter is also an amazing pairing with these muffins!
It depends on the recipe. My team and I wouldn’t consider these healthy blueberry muffins because they’re made with butter, flour, and sugar. However, they’re homemade and you know exactly what’s in them, vs. something store-bought. If you are looking for a healthier alternative, you’ll appreciate these blueberry banana muffins, bran muffins, or applesauce muffins.
Absolutely. You can simply omit the nuts, or swap the streusel here for the crumb topping from this recipe for peach streusel muffins. Or skip the streusel topping entirely, and just top the muffins with some coarse sparkling sugar for a sweet crunch that’s also pretty!
Yes! If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them before adding to the batter.
You can toss the blueberries with a Tablespoon of flour before you add them to the batter, but it’s not really necessary here because the muffin batter is so thick.
How to Freeze Blueberry Muffins
You can freeze the muffins for up to 3 months. Cool completely and then place the muffins in a freezer-friendly container or bag. When ready to eat, thaw in the refrigerator (overnight) or at room temperature on the counter. To warm up, microwave the thawed muffins for about 20 seconds or bake at 300°F (149°C) for 6–10 minutes.
Blueberry Muffin Variations
- Blueberry Muffin Cookies
- Blueberry Muffin Bread
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Sparkling Jumbo Blueberry Muffins
- Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
- Blueberry Almond Power Muffins
- Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins
Favorite Breakfast Recipes
- Breakfast Casserole (so easy!)
- Homemade Bagels & Homemade English Muffins
- Perfect Homemade Quiche
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Scones Recipe
My Best Blueberry Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These blueberry muffins are buttery, soft, and moist. For that bakery-style goodness, add an easy cinnamon brown sugar topping. This thick muffin batter combined with my initial high oven temperature trick guarantees tall muffin tops. Prepared with basic ingredients and a couple mixing bowls, you’ll appreciate this easy breakfast recipe.
Ingredients
Topping
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (67g) chopped walnuts (or pecans)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Muffins
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream or plain/vanilla yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (210g) fresh or frozen blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or use muffin liners. Set aside.
- For the topping: Mix all of the topping ingredients together. Set aside.
- For the muffins: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredients and beat until combined. Batter is thick and creamy. Fold in the blueberries.
- Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top. Spoon brown sugar topping on each, gently pressing it down into the surface so it sticks. Bake for 5 minutes at 425 then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 18–20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 23–25 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked & cooled muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature before enjoying.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Muffin Liners | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Sour Cream: Sour cream adds so much moisture. Plain yogurt is a great substitute—I recommend plain Greek yogurt, any fat content. Unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana may also be used.
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy. I recommend avoiding nonfat milk, however.
- Can I Use Buttermilk? Yes, you can use buttermilk in this recipe. Use it to replace BOTH the sour cream and milk. Use 3/4 cup (180ml).
- Blueberries: If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw.
- Can I Make the Streusel Without Nuts? Yes! You can simply omit the nuts, or swap the streusel here for the crumb topping from this recipe for peach streusel muffins. Or skip the streusel topping entirely, and just top the muffins with some coarse sparkling sugar for a sweet crunch that’s also pretty!
- Why the initial high oven temperature? As instructed, bake the muffins for 5 minutes at an initial high temperature, then lower it. This initial high oven temperature quickly lifts up and sets the tall muffin top. Once the temperature is lowered, the centers of the muffins bake. I do this in all my muffin recipes including zucchini muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, and banana muffins, too.
- Jumbo & Mini Muffins: For a jumbo muffin pan: 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22–25 minutes for a total of 27–30 minutes. Makes about 6. For mini muffins: 350°F (whole time) for 12–14 minutes. Makes about 36–40.
- Quick Bread: Here is my blueberry muffin bread, which is essentially the same recipe in a loaf pan.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated ingredients should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These are excellent! For many years I tried to find a good blueberry muffin recipe and this it! I used oil instead of butter and they were still flavourful and had a superb muffin-top!
Made these for company from Croatia a few days ago. I’ve used several of your baking recipes in the past and they never disappoint! So nice to have a blog site I can trust for baking since I rarely cook or eat sweets of any kind myself.
can i halve this recipe?
Should be fine, Olivia!
These were amazing. Followed the recipe with frozen blueberries and only baked at 350 for 25 minutes. Then I baked again, accidentally forgot the 1/4 cup of milk. And they were still awesome(taller in fact). Great recipe. Sugar on top is perfection
LOVE these blueberry muffins! Moist, and yummy, they are easy to make, and even easier to eat! DO NOT LOSE THIS RECIPE!!!
Beautiful muffins swapped out butter with olive oil
Any way to use dried blueberries in this recipe, either as is or rehydrated?
Hi Julie, you can use dried blueberries. We recommend 1 cup of dried blueberries.
I just made a batch of these and they were delicious. I had to substitute tolactose free milk and margarine but they still turned out great. My wife suggested I use some ancient recipe but I said no I want to try Sally’s lol. In the end, she decided they were the best! Happy wife happy life!
Can you share how i can substitute the all purpose flour with almond flour, if possible and how i should adjust other ingredients.
I discovered that you can make perfect blueberry muffins for Hallowe’en by using thawed blueberries. The muffins come out looking mouldy green!!
I forgot to put on the walnut sugar topping but they were still yummy, so have to make another batch today with the topping I’d made! 🙂
Hi.
Can you substitute the blueberries for other fruit or chocolate?
Hi Abi, here are all of our muffin recipes, many with other fruits and add-ins — we hope you find one to try!
Okay…yeah….the best blueberry muffin I’ve ever made and probably ever ate! I used buttermilk as I had some I needed to use. Also used frozen blueberries straight from freezer and there was no bleeding in the batter. Beautiful and delicious! Thank you!
As another person commented, the frozen blueberries bleed into the batter a lot. Mine looked like zombie muffins wondering if there’s a better way to incorporate without that becoming a blue/green batter ? Also, my muffins did not rise up. They hardly had any lift and I did fill to the top. Is it bcuz I let the batter sit for 10 minutes ? Other than that, im hoping your peach muffin strudel is better than this one. Didnt look like a strudel.
Hi, these are fantastic. I used frozen blueberries. Is there a way to prevent the blueberries from bleeding into the batter? Thanks.
Hi Elizabeth! Frozen blueberries will always bleed their color a bit.
Hii what i did to help with blueberry bleeding i washed my frozen blueberries, dry patted them with a paper towel before coating lightly with some flour, it definitely helps
Can I substitute almonds for the walnuts?
Hi May, almonds may be a little too hard for the topping of these muffins, but let us know if you give it a try!
Made these this afternoon – amazing, light delicate crumb! Flavorful and reminiscent of your favorite local coffee shop’s muffins. I encourage eating while still slightly warm (to die for). Thanks for another great recipe Sally!
I See what she meant by having ingredients at room temperature. Rushing things as usual, my butter was semi cold and didn’t cream well. Popped it in microwave for 15 seconds and all was good. Hubby added the topping (lots of it) because he is the one eating them. I don’t usually eat sweets but I had to try them and they are yummy. Will make them again. My new forever recipe.
Love this recipe. Super moist and delicious. I make the mixture and leave it in the fridge. Muffins on demand.
Send your recipes to my e-mail
Hi Brenda, You can sign up here: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/instant-updates/
Haven’t tried them yet, but I have a batch in my oven and it smells amazing in my home right now!! I have tried several other recipes but Sally. from cake to pie to cookies and none have disappointed. Highly recommend giving one a try
In the last 4 days, I’ve used this recipe 3 times! I’ve made the jumbo sized muffins and I only modified the recipe slightly. I have found that they bake best going from 425° for 5 minutes to 325° to 35 minutes. I skipped baking at 350° completely after the first batch. I used frozen blueberries and also add 5-6 on the muffin top before baking them. This is a great recipe! It is now my go-to for blueberry muffins!
Followed the recipe exactly as written, but unfortunately the streusel on top caused some of the muffins to sink in the middle. Not sure what to do about that other than using a lot less streusel than the recipe calls for.
Hi Brent, when muffins sink, it usually means that they are slightly underbaked. An extra minute or two in the oven should help for next time!
Made these today and they were perfect, thank you!! Substituted low glycemic coconut sugar for both sugars in the recipe.
Can I make the batter the night before, and store it in the fridge? Will the baking instructions be any different if I pull straight from the refrigerator?8
Hi Ai-vy, we don’t recommend it. The leaveners are activated once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, and it’s best to bake the batter shortly thereafter. You could bake the muffins completely through and then rewarm in the microwave for a warm muffin in the morning. Hope this helps!
Sally omg! These are the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had!!!
Easily the best muffin I’ve ever eaten. Only recipe I’ve ever used that actually gave me the beautiful bakery-style muffin tops. I made a double batch, but only got 18 muffins out of it. Next time will add a touch of lemon zest as well!
How many calories in this entire recipe?
Hi Maryanna, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Sally,
Love your recipes! You give me confidence in my baking skills with your directions.
What do you think about using Stevia as a sugar substitute?
Thank you,
Kitty
Hi Kitty! We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes. Thank you!
after baking your blueberry muffin recipe, I have made them at least 9 or 10 times. They are delicious!!!! my husband simply cannot live without them !!! I even know the recipe by heart now and will be using this recipe only. Thank you, Jennifer xoxox