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
Just made these and they are receiving rave reviews from my resident food critic (aka teenaged son)! I have made several of your recipes and they have all been excellent. Thank you for your photos, hints, videos, cookie challenges etc! I really enjoy your site.
I trust your recipes so much that I have made them to serve at several family functions, parties etc without ever doing a “trial run”. Some guests think that you are a long lost relative because when they ask where the recipe came from I answer “it’s another one from Sally!”
I made these recently and my husband had to have one while they were still warm. After the first bite, he just moaned; yup, they’re that good. I made a BIG version, baking them for an additional 28-29 minutes after the initial 5 minute blast. 6 yummy BIG muffins–absolutely delicious!
Thank you Sally,
This has been my go to blueberry muffin recipe since I saw it on you site and it is PERFECT!
Hi Sally! Just made these yesterday and they were so yummy!! Do you think it’d be hard to convert this to a coffee cake recipe? If not, do you have any tips on how to go about it? I’m totally digging the streusel btw 😀 Thank you!!!
I’d use a 9-inch square baking pan and you should be good to go! Unsure about the exact bake time.
Can you add lemon to make them like your Blueberry Lemon muffins?
I decided to try these for my husband’s staff meeting at work, and boy did they turn out well! I have gotten amazing compliments. I’ve only ever had great experiences with your recipes. These are definitely the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever made (and I’ve made a lot of recipes!), so they are my new go-to!! Only change I recommend is doubling the recipe because it’s not enough! haha
Wow!! These are actually the BEST muffins I have ever baked, and I’ve baked a lot of muffins! I didn’t bother to make the streusel because I’m lazy, and they are still perfect… I can see myself whipping up another batch in the next day or two because these will not last long.
Wow. These muffins were amazing – so light and moist. I followed the recipe exactly, except I made six jumbo muffins so I followed the baking times from your glazed apple crumb muffin recipe. Next time I will be even more heavy-handed with the streusel, if that’s possible. Thank you so much for this!
Another hit in my kitchen! These are so scrumptious! I had to immediately freeze them so I wouldn’t gobble them all up. Thanks, Sally!
Amazing. Beautiful. And so delicious. Thank you!
All I can say is WOW! These muffins are unbelievable. I love to bake for my family and try many different recipes. They don’t always hit out of the park but your blueberry muffins were a huge hit!! This will definitely be my go to blueberry muffin recipe! Thank you!
This recipe is definitely a keeper! My favorite muffin recipe so far.
Hi Sally, I absolutely love your muffins and have tried several of your recipes. Each and every one of them a success! I wanted to do a variation of your Sparkling Jumbo Blueberry Muffin so I tried your Buttery Blueberry Streusel Muffin recipe. The latter recipe is so moist and delicious. My only problem is that they come out very brown, almost looking like a bran muffin. Do you have any suggestions why this is happening? I bake at 425 for 5 minutes then turn down to 350 per your instructions and I’ve tried dark brown and light brown sugar, but they still come out darker than your photos and darker than the Jumbo muffins. Thanks so much and thank you for posting so many amazing recipes. I’ve bought your book too and am such a fan!
Karen, I’m at a loss why your muffins are darker. What rack is your muffin pan on? Perhaps it’s too close to heat? I’m glad they’re still moist and you enjoy them!
Hi Sally,
These are by far, hands down, the most awesome muffins I have ever made as of yet. These muffins, no matter the size (standard or made in a 6 cup jumbo muffin pan), are Fantastic! They have an excellent flavour and texture. They melt in your mouth. The Streusel makes them deliciously gooey on top – simply great!!!! I am an avid baker, more than just your usually home cook puttering in the kitchen, so I know what I am on about.
Thanks! Kathleen
Hi Sally,
Just wanted to drop a note and say that these are probably the best blueberry muffins I have ever baked. I am Celiac so my baking has to be gluten-free! I read the ingredients and the only thing that I couldn’t have was the flour — I substituted with gluten-free all purpose flour and it came out perfect! It even rose and gave me that nice muffin top which doesn’t normally happen.
A huge hit with my family and even with the family members who can eat normal muffins — none of them could tell it was gluten-free and even went back for seconds!
THANK YOU!! Another recipe to pass on through the family! 🙂
i just finsh making the muffins and they are absolutly amazing in flavour and color and fluffiness.
i give 5 stars to this muffins.
I made these today along with your apple & cinnamon muffins. I have used many of your recipes and they have been faultless. The muffins were moist and fluffy and bursting with flavor! An absolute treat. Thank you for sharing you are an absolute Legend and inspiration to myself and many other bakers!
Sally, these are thee best muffins I have ever tasted! Moist, flavorful, and just perfect! Every Sunday I make a special family breakfast and today I made these! My hubby is a big fan of walnuts, so they were a lovely addition! Thank you for sharing your yummy recipes! I enjoy making (and eating!) the breads, muffins and dinner recipes!!!
Hey Sally! This recipe was amazing! My parents absolutely loved it and I adored it! Thank you so much 🙂
Just made these muffins tonight! Now let me start off by saying that I am a very picky person when it comes to bake recipes….meaning, I have very high standards. There are so many out there claiming their blueberry muffin recipe is “the best” or “the most popular”. I’ve tried a lot of muffin recipes in my day, especially blueberry, even tried several times tweaking them to give them my own pizazz. And until tonight I have been highly disappointed. I also want to point out I NEVER comment on any food/recipe sites. But I felt I had to compliment (in the highest compliment I can give) Sally for this heavenly recipe! This is by far the BEST muffin I have ever ate in my entire life! I told my husband it was so delicious, it would seriously put other baked good places(Tim Hortons, Dunkin Donuts, …you know, the franchise places) out of business if these were to be sold to the public 😉 This recipe puts the term “muffin” in a whole other category..it should be put on a pedastal. I will never be able to look at another muffin, especially a blueberry muffin, in the same way ever again. your recipe(out of hundreds) was the only one that mentioned baking at a higher temp for a few minutes then continuing to bake at a lower temp….& let me tell you, I could see something in that oven tonight that I had never seen before…such a huge, high domed muffin in a very short amount of time! Love, love, love this recipe Sally! I am super excited to see how much my children enjoy this muffin tomorrow morning at breakfast. I think they have been getting a little bored with the same old breakfast foods day in & day out…I know without a doubt their tastebuds will be dancing for joy tomorrow morning! And now that I sound like a complete nerd…Thank you so much for sharing this recipe & all the other recipes. I’ve been using a lot of your recipes since Thanksgiving & I cannot tell you how many compliments I get & even more importantly, your recipes have really changed & opened new doors for my extremely picky 4 yr old daughter! Thanks again!
Loved these!! I didn’t change a thing and they came out perfect.
I have tried at least 30 different blueberry muffin recipes searching for the best and this is it!! Thank you, you are fabulous!! A friend told me about your site and I am so glad I found you 🙂
Hi Sally, just made these muffins on a cold, very wet Sydney winters day. My husband had 2 straight away straight from the oven…he said they were amazing! The struseel in the middle is yummy!
WOW!!! Made these for our anniversary breakfast. My husband is Canadian and a fool for blueberries.Just took them out of the oven and they came out just perfect. I also mixed a bit of nutmeg under the dough..That´s the German in me I guess.Thanks Sally!! I love your recipes…they`ve never failed me so far.
Thanks so much for sharing all your treasures !!
Made these this afternoon with my mom. They looked perfect going in & coming out of the oven! Could hardly wait ten minutes to try one after they came out. Anyway, they were super moist and beautiful; new go-to blueberry muffin recipe!! (and I didn’t even think I like blueberry muffins that much :0)
Just made these muffins last night – I used vanilla yogurt, so I cut back the vanilla extract to one teaspoon. These were amazing! I think the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever made!
Can you substitute the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour?
The muffins will be quite heavy and dense, but you may try. I usually do half and half OR use white whole wheat flour for a more mild wheat taste/texture.
These are the BEST blueberry muffins I have EVER made. My whole family went crazy over them!! Delicious!!
I made these for my daughters and they all loved them! I have some strawberries I need to use up. Could I make these with strawberries?
Definitely!
Sally! Just made these tonight. AMAZING. Didn’t quite have enough blueberries since I doubled the recipe but still, just fabulous. They will be gone in a heartbeat and definitely will be made again. Thank you!!