The Best Homemade Blueberry Muffins

We have a winner after trying, testing, and alternating several recipes. It’s by far my favorite easy blueberry muffin recipe ever. 

What makes this recipe so good is the moistness and tenderness. The perfect amount of juicy fresh blueberries and the buttery streusel topping is the “icing on the cake.” The crumb topping is so good!

They’re also easy to make using only two mixing bowls and a spatula; no electric mixer is required.

These fluffy blueberry muffins are perfect for brunch. The streusel topping and juicy fresh blueberries add the perfect sweetness. If you love muffins, try more of my easy muffin recipes! I also love making monkey bread muffins and orange cranberry muffins.

If you like loaves, my banana bread loaf and coconut loaf are both fantastic and perfect for brunch. 

Shopping List and Ingredient Notes 

These ingredients combined yield the best muffins. This is a blueberry muffin recipe without milk or yogurt. We use oil, buttermilk, and melted butter to keep them incredibly moist. The full recipe is in the recipe card below.

All-Purpose Flour—We use King Arthur flour for this recipe. It stabilizes the muffins. You can also use whole wheat flour or a combination of both.

Granulated sugar sweetens the muffins. You can swap for other sugars, such as brown sugar or coconut sugar, if necessary. However, the texture of the muffins will change.

Baking Powder and salt help the muffins rise, and the salt brings out the flavor. 

Melted butter (let it cool): Butter adds flavor and moisture. Use whole, organic butter when possible.

Eggs – Creates a very moist muffin. Use large, organic eggs.

Buttermilk – The acid helps to tenderize the muffins.

Canola Oil (or Vegetable Oil) – Creates a very moist muffin. You can also try coconut oil, which will change the texture of the muffins.

Vanilla Extract – Adds extra flavor.

Lemon Zest – Tartness and freshness.

Fresh Blueberries – Using fresh, juicy blueberries creates a juicy pop throughout the muffins. Frozen blueberries will work if you do not have fresh blueberries.

Recipe Variations

If you want to make gluten-free blueberry muffins, you can substitute the flour for gluten-free flour. We recommend a measure to measure flour, such as King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour or Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour.

If you only have frozen blueberries on hand, let them thaw in the refrigerator and drain the excess water. Pat them dry, and then add them to the muffins.

Add a little cardamom spice to the muffins for a fall flavor. We add this to our apple cider donuts, and it’s truly the best!

Use wild blueberries instead of fresh ones. Wild blueberries are much smaller and vary in color from different shades of blue to almost black. Their flavor can vary from sweet to tart.

Add 1/4 tsp almond or 1/4 tsp lemon extract to the batter for a different flavor.

Lemon and blueberries go very well together. To make lemon blueberry muffins, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the batter and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. This will give the muffins a delicious lemon flavor. 

You can also add some lemon zest to the streusel topping too. 

Streusel Topping

It’s all about the muffin tops! This extra step is worth noting and makes a world of difference. Adding a streusel topping to the muffin batter before cooking makes gorgeous muffins!

This recipe uses brown sugar, granulated or turbinado sugar, melted butter, and a little flour. The ingredients are crumbled in a mixing bowl and sprinkled over the muffin batter.

This makes for the most unique, crumbly muffin tops.

How to Properly Mix Muffin Batter

This is actually a crucial part of making muffins, so I wanted to write more about it. There is a technique for mixing blueberry muffin batter. The more you mix the batter, the more gluten develops, causing the muffins to have a tough texture, which you don’t want. Follow these steps to mix the muffins properly. 

• Using a spatula, add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently fold them together just until the dry is moistened. 

• Lumps are perfectly fine and needed. The batter should not be smooth and thoroughly mixed. It should be thicker with lumps.

• Add in the blueberries and lightly mix until they are coated with batter.

• Muffins should have a soft and tender texture, so there is no overmixing.