These tall, bakery-style lemon blueberry muffins with a deliciously moist crumb are the perfect combination of sweet and tangy. Sour cream and zesty lemon pair beautifully with sweet blueberries and a crackly sugar topping. Enjoy them for breakfast or anytime you need a fruity sweet treat.
I like to top my muffins with extra sugar for a sparkly topping, but you can also top them with a buttery streusel before baking or drizzle them with a zingy lemon glaze once they’re baked and cooled. For more muffin recipes, try my zucchini muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, and strawberry muffins.
Ingredients
Flour — you just need all-purpose flour for these fluffy and tender muffins.
Leavening — baking soda and baking powder help the lemon blueberry muffins turn out airy and tall.
Sugar — granulated sugar adds the perfect sweetness.
Butter and oil — melted butter and vegetable oil add richness and moisture for a tender crumb. I like to use a combination of both– butter adds flavor, and liquid oil helps to keep them soft and moist after they cool.
Lemon — for the perfect zesty flavor, you need fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.
Eggs — eggs help to bind the muffin batter and make the muffins rise.
Vanilla — vanilla extract enhances the flavors in the muffins.
Sour cream — sour cream adds even more moisture and a very subtle tang. You can use plain Greek yogurt in a pinch instead.
Milk — I like using whole milk for a moist crumb.
Blueberries — fresh or frozen blueberries both work great in this recipe.
How To Make Lemon Blueberry Muffins
1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together (or use an electric mixer to mix) the white sugar, melted butter, vegetable oil, lemon zest, eggs, and vanilla until lightened in color. Then, whisk in the sour cream, milk, and lemon juice.
3. Place 1¼ cup of the fresh blueberries in a medium bowl and sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the flour mixture over the blueberries. Gently toss to coat the berries.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the remaining dry ingredients in the large bowl and gently fold with a spatula until just a few streaks of flour remain. Add the flour-coated blueberries and gently fold them in.
5. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or spray each cavity with baking spray. Add the batter to the muffin tin.
6. Press a few of the remaining blueberries into the top of each muffin. Sprinkle more granulated sugar over the top of each muffin for a little extra sweetness if you like. Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes, then decrease the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the lemon blueberry muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Why Do You Toss The Blueberries With Flour?
Blueberries that are not tossed with flour will sink to the bottom of the batter and will be concentrated at the bottom of each muffin instead of evenly distributed throughout. Tossing the berries with a little flour helps to suspend them in the batter.
Rub The Zest Into The Sugar For Extra Flavor
To maximize the lemon flavor of these muffins, massage the 2 tablespoons of zest into the granulated sugar before whisking it all into the batter in step 3. This step is optional, but it will encourage the lemon zest to release its oils, enhancing the lemony flavor.
Variations
- Add a glaze: I love to top these muffins with a drizzle of lemon glaze. Sift 1 cup of powdered sugar into a medium mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of melted and cooled butter, and a pinch of salt. Whisk well to combine. Once the muffins are completely cool, drizzle the glaze over the top.
- Add a crumb topping: Before baking, you can top these lemon blueberry muffins with a simple streusel topping (use 1 cup) or a lemony crumb topping instead of the sprinkle of granulated sugar. To make the crumb topping, stir together ⅓ cup (40g) all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest. Drizzle in 2 tablespoons of melted butter until the mixture is crumbly and feels like wet sand. Sprinkle the mixture over the batter in the muffin pan before baking.
- Add streusel and a glaze: You can also bake these with a crumb topping and then drizzle them with lemon glaze after baking!
- Add a sparkly sugar topping: In place of the granulated sugar in step 6, you can top the muffins with sparkling sugar or turbinado sugar for extra crunch.
Can I Use This Recipe To Make Jumbo Muffins?
This easy lemon blueberry muffin recipe will make 6 jumbo muffins by evenly dividing the batter among six jumbo muffin liners. You’ll need to increase the baking time at 425°F to 12 minutes and the time at 375°F to 15 to 20 minutes.
How To Store
Once completely cool, transfer the muffins to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To freeze, place the muffins in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Weigh the ingredients. For the best lemon blueberry muffins recipe, use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour and sugar to avoid accidentally using too much. Using too much flour is a common error that leads to dry baked goods. Using too much sugar can cause the muffin tops to spread too much. If you don’t have a scale, spoon the ingredients into the measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. Be sure to fluff the flour up first.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Using room-temperature eggs, sour cream, and milk will make it easier for them to incorporate into a cohesive muffin batter. Set these items out at least 30 minutes before mixing your batter.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Over-mixing will cause the gluten to over-develop, yielding tough lemon blueberry muffins. Stop when the flour is just incorporated. A few little lumps in the batter are okay.
- Bake at a high temperature to start for tall muffin tops. Starting the muffins off at a high temperature will cause them to puff up, which will give the muffins that beautiful, tall bakery-style look. Dropping the temperature during the bake ensures the muffins bake evenly without browning too much on the outside or drying out.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, like in my classic blueberry muffins recipe, you can use frozen blueberries for this recipe. Don’t thaw them out first; add them straight from the freezer. The muffins may need an additional 2 to 3 minutes in the oven to account for the frozen berries. If the berries are thawed first, the juices from the berries will turn the batter gray.
Yes! Raspberries, blackberries, and even diced strawberries all taste delicious paired with lemon.
I recommend trying my blueberry bread instead!
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this lemon blueberry muffins recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Lemon Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin tin
- Muffin tin liners
- Handheld electric mixer, optional
Ingredients
- 2⅓ cups all-purpose flour (280g)
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled (56g)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (60mL)
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup sour cream (180g)
- ¼ cup whole milk (60mL)
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1½ cups blueberries fresh or frozen, divided (210g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or spray each cavity with nonstick baking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, butter, oil, lemon zest, eggs, and vanilla for about 1 minute until lightened in color (you can use a handheld electric mixer for this). Whisk in the sour cream, milk, and lemon juice.
- Place 1¼ cup (175g) of the blueberries in a medium mixing bowl. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the flour mixture over the blueberries. Gently toss to combine.
- Pour the wet mixture into the remaining flour mixture and gently fold together with a spatula until and only a few dry streaks of flour remain. Gently but quickly fold the blueberry mixture into the batter.
- Divide the batter equally amongst the 12 muffin cups. (The cups will be completely full and slightly mounded.)
- Press a few of the remaining ¼ cup (35g) of blueberries into the top of each muffin. For a sweet finish, sprinkle more granulated sugar all over the tops of the muffins, if you like.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then decrease the oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake for another 10 to 12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then place them on a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Weigh the ingredients. For the best lemon blueberry muffins recipe, use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour and sugar to avoid accidentally using too much. Using too much flour is a common error that leads to dry baked goods. Using too much sugar can cause the muffin tops to spread too much. If you don’t have a scale, spoon the ingredients into the measuring cup and level off the top with a knife. Be sure to fluff the flour up first.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Using room-temperature eggs, sour cream, and milk will make it easier for them to incorporate into a cohesive muffin batter. Set these items out at least 30 minutes before mixing your batter.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Over-mixing will cause the gluten to over-develop, yielding tough lemon blueberry muffins. Stop when the flour is just incorporated. A few little lumps in the batter are okay.
- Bake at a high temperature to start for tall muffin tops. Starting the muffins off at a high temperature will cause them to puff up, which will give the muffins that beautiful, tall bakery-style look. Dropping the temperature during the bake ensures the muffins bake evenly without browning too much on the outside or drying out.
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