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
Followed the recipe exactly and used fresh blueberries that were lightly tossed in flour beforehand. So delicious and not too heavy!
These were amazing! Is there a way to make this recipe in a 9 inch square pan perhaps? I have muffin tins, but I need a cake for this weekend. Thanks!
Hi Marina, I turned this into Blueberry Muffin Bread! An 8 inch square pan should work instead of a loaf pan but I’m unsure of the exact bake time.
Hey I was wondering do I have to use pecans or oats as a topping because I’m making these for a family dinner and I don’t think every one enjoys oats and pecans does anyone have any good ideas
Hi Alana, You can certainly skip the topping and just leave the tops plain, or just sprinkle some course sugar on top like I do for my Sparkling Jumbo Blueberry Muffins.
For tonight’s batch I made a true streusel topping:
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 stick melted butter (i melted the butter In the same bowl as the brown sugar)
1 tsp cinammon
A pinch of salt (helps bring the flavours out and cuts the sweetness a bit – don’t) use if you used melted salted butter
2/3 plus 1 tablespoon of flour.
Combine all ingredients with a fork until it resembles pebbles and sand. Place 1 tablespoon on each muffin.
So yummy. I baked 12 last night, the were gone by afternoon, so now I’m baking another dozen :). Great recipe!
Perfect blueberry muffin recipe! They look bakery quality and taste delicious. Thank you!
Almost perfect recipe! Loved how moist these turned out. The only problem I had was the muffin was a bit too wet from the amount of blueberries. Would cut back to 180 grams 🙂
Loved this recipe! Delicious muffins!
Made these last week. My daughter was craving blueberry muffins. And we had a surplus of blueberries. Did have a bit of an issue with overflow – I think I should have made the 14 muffins instead of 12. Other than that – beautiful delicious muffins!
These were incredible! I switched out oatmeal for the nuts in the streusel topping due to allergies and it was crazy good. Just a word to the wise, use smallish blueberries. Mine were jumbo and it made the insides too wet. Excellent flavor though!
If you mix your blueberries in a little flour before mixing into batter they will not sink to the Bottom of your muffin. Look great- cooling now can’t wait to try it. I added a little lemon zest to give it a twist. Thanks!!
First time I made these they were amazing. Just made again and all my fruit is at the bottom and a bit gooey. I thought I’d done everything the same but I’m thinking i just stirred in my baking powder as opposed to whisking it – would that have made the difference?
My son is still scoffing them down tho!!
Hi Lynne, I’m so glad that you enjoyed these blueberry muffins. They’re a favorite for sure. It sounds like the muffins weren’t finished baking. Did you use too many blueberries as well? Because there may not have been enough batter to keep them all lifted.
I have made three batches thus far! Best blueberry muffins by far! Last time I used vanilla bean Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Holy mother of god!!!
I agree! These are the BEST blueberry muffins I’ve ever made or had! I’ve made the recipe at least a dozen times! Easy and delicious!
I have tried many Blueberry Muffin recipes, and by far these are the Best!!! Very moist and tasty! I also like how simple and easy they are to make! They don’t last very long!!
I use this recipe to make doughnuts. add some glaze SO good!!!!
I followed the recipe, making these with frozen blueberries (tossed in just enough flour to coat them before folding in). When filling to the top of the tin and baking as directed at higher heat for 5 minutes, they still did not rise well and spread across the top of the pan significantly. I’m thinking it must be due to the frozen berries cooling down the dough and would love to gain input on that. This is a recipe I will be sure to repeat (like ALL of Sally’s recipes I’ve tried), and will likely continue to use frozen berries as we are fortunate enough to live in Maine with an abundance of wild blueberries to pick and freeze.
We usually make your jumbo blueberry muffins with the sugar on top but wanted to try something different over the weekend. These were great! Hard to pick a favorite but I think we’ll make these from now on. The easy streusel was delicious too. Thanks sally!
Made these for the first time today for Mother’s Day Breakfast. So, so, so good – moist, fluffy, yummy!!! I love your recipes and the great tips and tricks you always share!
Light, fluffy, moist. Delicious.
Best ever blueberry muffin recipe. This recipe is really great. Loved this recipe. Also sharing here another lemon blueberry muffin recipe. Check out the recipe here:
I’ve made these twice and the bread once in less than a week, lol. All 3 came out great but I found the muffins to be a tad bit more moist. I added a full tsp of almond extract to all 3 batters. You know how that extract can be very strong? I’m really surprised it wasn’t too much. On this last batch I made the streusel for the bread and added a little bit of almond flakes. My last batch is fresh out of the oven and cooling. Can’t wait till I can eat one. Also can’t wait to try both recipes using different fruits or chocolate chips. Thanks Sally. You did it again…
Is Vanilla Greek yogurt same as plain Greek yogurt? Out of sour cream & want to make soon.
Made these muffins for the first time and followed recipe exactly … Best muffins ever.. so delicious !!!
Just made these. I filled to the top and I think I think I must have put too much topping on as they sealed around the top edges and couldn’t get them out. I used paper cups. Also too many blueberries. Can hardly taste the cake but it is delicious. Will not use as much topping next time and maybe not fill so high. Great recipe and so easy to do. Any suggestions appreciated.
Could I use buttermilk instead of sour cream? Just because I’ve got some to use up! Thank you x
Hi Claudia, If using buttermilk you should substitute both the sour cream and the milk with buttermilk. So use a total of 3/4 of buttermilk in place of the 1/2 cup sour cream and the 1/4 cup milk.
These muffins are delicious. I think the trick to these perfect muffins is the room temperature ingredients. Don’t skip the streusel topping!
Best muffins I’ve ever tasted!! Followed recipe exactly. Batter was thick and creamy. Baking time and temp adjusted down for a convection microwave. We live full time in an RV and don’t have a traditional oven. These came out perfect. Can’t wait to try with other fruit. How would you use apples?
I’m so happy you enjoyed them! You can either replace the blueberries with apple, or see my master muffin recipe for ideas on how to incorporate apples and other fruits!
Can skip the streusel and put white crystal sugar instead ? Like your jumbo muffins .
Definitely!
I just made these tonight, I didn’t have blueberries so I used frozen raspberries. They were the best muffins I’ve ever had and my family totally agreed. Thanks so much!
I searched for a blueberry muffin recipe that specifically included sour cream. These did not disappoint! I made 2 batches, because I figured they wouldn’t last long, so I had to use 3 sizes of muffin tins-some with liners and the minis with greased pans. ALL came out perfectly! The first 5 minutes at a higher temp really does make them rise. I didn’t use all of the streusel, and honestly, these would be delicious without it. All around winner!
I don’t know why I didn’t think that first 5 minutes was going to make them rise (HELLO, this is one of Sally’s recipes, ♀️ lol) but it sure did!! I put the streusel only one 4. Instead of the nuts suggested I put in some almond flakes. Also added a bit more cinnamon and to the batter I added 1tsp of almond extract. I haven’t tried the ones with the streusel but the ones without are SO good. Thanks for yet another great recipe Sally…
I’m a baking novice but I made these muffins the other day…my first time making muffins and they are the BEST I’ve ever had!!! I put a lemon glaze on top instead of the sugar topping just because of what I had on hand. The texture is amazing and they came out picture perfect. Thank you so much!
I made these last night as a newby. They turned out perfect and were DELICIOUS. For me it made 9 generous sized muffins, but living alone that’s fine and I can always double if needed. So moist and fluffy.