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
Delicious!!! Will definitely make these again!
My go to muffin recipe. Absolutely delicious. Sometimes I swap out the bluberries for cherries and almond essence. A great base recipe.
They taste amazing, but I noticed as I unwrapped one that the blueberries sank to the bottom causing the muffin to almost fall apart, what did I do wrong did I mix it too much?
Hi Emerson, so glad you tried these blueberry muffins and enjoyed them! Did you use frozen blueberries? They tend to sink. You can toss them (or fresh blueberries) in 1 Tablespoon of flour before stirring into the batter. That helps keep them lifted in the muffins.
Having searched many online recipes for blueberry muffins, this particular recipe appealed to me the most and I gave it a go yesterday. So very glad I did! They turned out beautifully! The only change I made was the topping since I fancied a streusel crumb variety.
The ‘downside’ – they’re disappearing fast in my house! lol! Thanks for a great, easy recipe. =)
Very tasty, light, and fluffy. Not so much a muffin as it is much lighter like a cake. The sugar topping in my opinion is a delicious addition.
Oh my gosh, I can finally stop the search for the perfect blueberry muffins!!! These. are. IT. Soooo good! I made these according to the recipe and instructions minus using frozen blueberries instead of fresh. They turned out so well. I am going to make them again in the morning for my 3-yr anniversary with mashed bananas as suggested for a substitute since I’m out of plain Greek yogurt now. Can’t wait to see if it turns out just as good. Thank you so much!
Can I reduce the sugar content without affecting the quality of the muffins?
Hi Lucy, you can try to reduce the sugar, but the texture and taste of the muffin will change. Sugar does more than simply sweeten; it adds moisture, aids in browning, and helps create a tender muffin.
The first time I made these muffins, I just chose this recipe at random. I was freaking out this morning when I realized I forgot to print it to save. I always save the best recipes. I’m so glad I found it! These are the absolute best muffins. I am wondering how they’d turn out if I doubled the recipe? I’d like to make them for my son’s hockey team.
Hi Sherry! We always recommend making multiple batches instead of doubling for absolutely best results. So glad you love these!
Can you make the batter the night before and just fold in the blueberries before baking?
Hi Jason, 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!
I forgot to add the jumbo were done in 20 min. following the 5 min higher temp. bake.
I made the jumbo size this afternoon. OMG! These are the best BB muffins we’ve ever tasted. The only ingredient change I made was to add 1 tsp lemon zest–it’s worth adding. The first 6 (pan size) I filled 3/4 full & they were huge. Since losing topping in the transfer to the wire rack, I filled the last 3 a tad over 1/2 full. Nice size with topping intact. The house smells wonderful & my mouth is still watering. This is a keeper. Thanks for sharing Sally!!
Best muffin ever! I’m deleting and tossing all other muffin recipes, this is the one. It’s perfect. My husband and son both loved them as well. I followed recipe to a T & I wouldn’t tweak anything, that’s unusual for me. Will be making these often.
Absolutely amazing recipe! These were probably some of the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had. The batter was rich in flavor and really complimented the pop of the berries well. The crunchy topping was the perfect finishing touch! I followed the recipe exactly, while using a whole fat greek yogurt for the batter and pecans for the topping. I used a jumbo silicone muffin pan, and did find that they needed significantly more time to bake than what was suggested in the notes of the recipe. After doing the initial 5 minute step, and then baking them at 350*F for 22 minutes, they need about another 15 minutes to fully bake. Since I only had six jumbo muffins to bake, I was left with about half my topping unused, so I’ll be making less of that next time. Beyond those very minor things, this recipe was absolutely perfect!
I make these regularly and always with fresh blueberries. Now, spur of the moment decide to make them first thing in the morning but not enough fresh berries. Is it possible to mix fresh AND frozen berries in the batter?
Hi Cathy, yes, that will work just fine. Do not thaw the frozen blueberries. Enjoy!
Hi – can I make this recipe without a hand or stand mixer?
Hi Erin, you can mix these by hand if needed (it will just take a bit of arm muscle, especially to cream the butter and sugars!). Be sure not to over mix, which can lead to dense muffins. Hope you enjoy these!
I’ve been making these muffins for a year and a half now, I get rave reviews from all of my friends, and I serve them at my DAR meetings. Today I made them with frozen blueberries that I had harvested from my bushes back in July. One thing I found when using the frozen blueberries as recommended in the directions I did not saw them and it took about 7 to 8 minutes longer to bake the muffins. I think after about 20 minutes, I might tent them with aluminum foil to keep them from getting to Brown on the top.
Made with my 2 yr old nephew they are beautiful
Great muffin recipe! The only change I made was to the topping. My son does not like nuts so I substituted granola. Came out great!
Are there any adjustments that need to be made for high altitude? We live at about 7100 feet
Hi Sherri, We wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Another great recipe! Changed it a little as I didn’t have enough yoghurt and added some maple syrup to reduce the sugar content. Added frozen raspberries to the mix and turned out very moist and light! One other adjustment- I didn’t have any brown sugar either so I used white sugar and left out the streusel topping… I feel this recipe is forgiving because I didn’t measure things perfectly and the mixture was a bit runny, but it turned out a treat! Thank you, I love this website!
These are the best muffins I’ve ever had and I can’t believe I made them. Used frozen blueberries that I picked and they turned out great!
Loved this recipe. Delicious like everything else here. Do you have any advice on adding a scoop of unflavored protein powder to it? Thank you
Hi Raquel, we haven’t tested anything, but you’d like want to start by removing some of the flour before adding in your powder. We’re glad you loved the muffins!
Very good muffins!
Hands down the best banana blueberry muffins. I added a crumb topping. They baked up beautifully like a bakery, so moist, so delicious. I didn’t have cinnamon so I used Allspice this time, they were equally as delish. This recipe is a keeper!
These blueberry muffins are so so so good! My family is gluten free, so instead of 2 cups flour I used 1/2 cup almond flour plus 1 1/2 cups bob’s red mill gluten free flour. I also replaced the milk with an extra egg. They turned our AMAZING. Everyone loved them! Thank you for your amazing recipes!
These are beautiful and delicious. My husband said these are better than anything from a bakery. We froze about half, took them out the night before and they were delish!
I made these for my staff and they devoured them! My husband and I also enjoyed them. They are so soft and delicious and the topping adds a great touch. Definitely will make again!
Best blueberry muffins ❤️. I added some cut up strawberries and they came out great.
Question: Can I use the streusel for topping on the blueberry bread? If so, how?
You can use this streusel on top of the blueberry muffin bread, simply sprinkling on top of the loaf before baking. Or see recipe Notes there for a crumble topping, too. Enjoy!
This was the best new recipe I have tried in a long time. Exactly at advertised, soft & tender. I overfilled the cups, don’t do that but still delicious. I love Sally’s recipes!