Love bakery-style muffins? These Blueberry Muffins are bursting with juicy blueberries, with a big golden dome and a sweet sugar crust. Whether you’re baking with fresh or frozen blueberries, this recipe guarantees bakery-worthy muffins, made right in your own kitchen.

If you’re a baker, even occasionally, you need a good muffin recipe. Muffins are truly the perfect any time treat, whether it’s for breakfast, dessert, or a snack in between. While there are hundreds of muffin flavors out there, I feel pretty strongly that blueberry muffins are the best muffins of all.

Nothing beats a homemade blueberry muffin, especially when it’s as good as what you’d find in a bakery. These muffins are soft, fluffy, and jam-packed with blueberries in every bite. The domed tops are covered in a sugary crust for just a little crunch and that classic bakery-feel.

Whether you’re serving them warm for breakfast or saving them for an afternoon treat, these blueberry muffins are perfect for guests, for neighbors, or of course, just for yourself!

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Vegetable Oil: Any neutral oil will work in these muffins, like grapeseed or avocado oil. The oil can also be replaced with melted butter for a more buttery flavor, but the additional fat from the vegetable oil keeps the muffins moist for days.
• Sugar
• Eggs: For an egg-free version, these muffins work well with flax eggs (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water, mixed and allowed to rest for a few minutes, per egg).
• Buttermilk: Real buttermilk yields the best texture and flavor. The best buttermilk substitute is kefir (1:1 swap) but in a real pinch, adding 1/2 tablespoon to 1/2 cup whole milk, stirring, and letting it rest for a few minutes will work.
• Vanilla Extract
• All-Purpose Flour: To keep these muffins gluten-free, substitute with a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Blueberries: Either fresh or frozen blueberries work in this recipe. Add the blueberries straight from frozen – no need to thaw first.
• Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon

How to Make Blueberry Muffins

1. Mix the Muffin Batter: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined and no dry streaks of flour remain.

2. Add the Blueberries: Fold in the blueberries, being careful not to overmix. If using frozen blueberries, don’t thaw them first.

3. Make the Sugar Topping: In a small bowl, stir the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
4. Divide the Batter: Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each cup almost to the top for tall muffins. Top the muffins with the cinnamon sugar mixture.

5. Bake the Muffins: Start the muffins at 425°F, then lower to 375°F, baking until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the tops spring back when pressed lightly with a finger. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Baking with Frozen Blueberries

If you’ve ever baked with frozen blueberries, you may have noticed that your muffins sometimes have streaks of blue running through them. Unlike fresh blueberries, frozen blueberries release more liquid as they thaw and bake. This can impact the end result of the muffins, and we can understand why with my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!

Kitchen Chemistry

The extra moisture released by frozen blueberries helps create a softer crumb in muffins because it adds additional steam to the batter as it bakes. When water in the batter heats in the oven, it turns into steam, which pushes upwards and creates air pockets in the crumb. This results in a lighter, softer texture. 

The extra liquid from the frozen blueberries can also impact the color of the muffins. Overmixing can break the berries and cause them to release even more juice. As a result, you may end up with a batter that looks tie-dye, rather than the classic golden muffin with bursts of blueberries.

Some people love this extra color, and if so: mix away! But if you’re looking to minimize color bleed, toss your frozen blueberries in a tablespoon or two of flour, shaking off any excess flour, before folding them into the batter. Coating the blueberries in flour helps to absorb some of the juices and keeps the berries suspended in the batter, preventing them from sinking to the bottom.

Tips and Tricks for the Best Blueberry Muffins

1. Don’t Overmix! Just mix until no big streaks of dry flour remain and fold in the blueberries carefully. Overmixing leads to tough muffins.
2. Cookie Scoop: Use an ice cream or cookie scoop to divide the batter evenly for uniform muffin sizes.
3. Frozen Blueberries: If you’re using blueberries from frozen, toss them with a tablespoon or two of flour before folding them into the batter.
4. Storage: These blueberry muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. The muffins can be reheated in a 300°F oven for a few minutes before serving.
5. Double the Recipe: Need more muffins? This recipe doubles easily – just make sure to divide the batter evenly across muffin tins for consistent results.

More Blueberry Recipes:

• Vanilla Cake with Blueberry Cardamom Curd
• Blueberry Pie Quick Bread
• Blueberry Babka with Almond Streusel
• Blueberry Honey Bread
• Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
• Blueberry Swirl Pound Cake
• Almond Crumble Blueberry Pie

This recipe was originally published in July 2016 and updated with new photographs and post text in April 2023.