To die for buttermilk blueberry muffins are always a favorite! These lemon blueberry buttermilk muffins are super moist and perfect for breakfast or a snack! And if you like these best ever buttermilk blueberry muffins, you’ll love my 3 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins, my White Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins, and my Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins with Orange Zest!
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To Die For Buttermilk Blueberry Muffins Recipe
For me, blueberry muffins are such a classic snack -- I remember having them a lot growing up, from a coffee shop that was near where we lived. They were always huge, and so good for a snack on the way to school. These fluffy, moist lemon blueberry buttermilk muffins are perfect for a quick breakfast in the mornings, but also great as an afternoon snack or even a less sweet dessert. Or, for dinner -- I don't judge! My point is, make this lemon buttermilk blueberry muffins recipe and you will not have trouble finding an occasion to enjoy them!
What is the secret to moist muffins?
These muffins truly are the BEST -- they're light and fluffy, but with a moist, buttery texture from the softened butter and buttermilk in the batter. They get a lot of height from both baking powder and baking soda in the batter, and from two different baking temperatures. But the best part of all is that this recipe for blueberry buttermilk muffins is so simple! It comes together so quickly and doesn't require any major equipment. So what are we waiting for? Let's get started!
Are muffins better with oil or butter?
I love the buttery flavor of these muffins! I find that although vegetable oil does contribute to a moist texture, the buttermilk in these muffins helps to achieve that texture without sacrificing any of the buttery goodness!
Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins Ingredients
These blueberry muffins are made with buttermilk to add flavor, lemon zest to complement the blueberries and brighten up the flavors, and they are topped with turbinado sugar. Here's everything you'll need to make them:
- all-purpose flour - you'll whisk your flour together with your other dry ingredients to start your muffin batter.
- baking powder and baking soda - gives the buttermilk blueberry muffins a lift and lighter texture. The baking soda also interacts with the buttermilk and lemon zest to add even more lift and help the tops brown. I originally made this recipe without baking soda and loved it, but I found that baking soda was just what these muffins needed for a bit more height! So the video below doesn't include baking soda, but the recipe card reflects the change.
- salt - helps to balance out the sweetness in the batter.
- unsalted butter - should be room temperature
- granulated sugar - brings out the sweetness of the blueberries!
- lemon zest - this is what gives these muffins their amazing lemony flavor! It's not overpowering, but it makes them so bright and delicious!
- eggs - they should be room temperature as well -- if you're in a rush, let them sit in some warm water for about 15 minutes.
- vanilla extract - it should be the good stuff -- pure vanilla extract. I like to make my own!
- buttermilk - this helps to ensure a moist texture while adding flavor! If you don't have buttermilk, you can just you regular whole milk or make your own.
- blueberries - feel free to use either fresh or frozen blueberries for this blueberry buttermilk muffins recipe!
- turbinado sugar - goes on top of our prepared muffin batter to give the blueberry lemon muffins a nice sweet crunch on top! I use this method in my banana carrot muffins and it adds a great texture!
Equipment
You can bake this recipe for lemon blueberry muffins in a 12-cup muffin pan lined with squares of parchment paper, or with cupcake liners. You'll also need a hand mixer to cream the butter and sugar, and a cookie scoop to fill your muffin cups!
Step by Step
- These lemon blueberry buttermilk muffins comes together so easily! I've seen muffin recipes that call for melted butter or vegetable oil, but for this recipe we'll cream softened butter into the batter to give the muffins a soft, tender crumb and a nice shape. You'll be so happy with the results!
- Once you've creamed your butter and sugar together, you'll mix in your eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Then you want to measure out and combine your dry ingredients, including your blueberries. Pro tip: coating the blueberries in the flour mixture keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins!
- Finally, you'll just mix in one-third of your dry ingredients, then half the buttermilk, and continue alternating unto the batter is just combined.
- If you need to, splash in a little more buttermilk to help the batter come together.
You'll end up with a nice thick batter that you can spoon into the muffin cups. Be careful not to over-mix it, and handle it gently to keep the blueberries intact. Then just pop them in the oven for about a half hour, and enjoy your blueberry buttermilk muffins!
Tips and F.A.Q.
The acid in buttermilk breaks down gluten, which gives us the most moist and tender buttermilk blueberry muffins! It also interacts with the baking soda in this recipe to give our muffins a higher lift.
Definitely with milk! Or even better, us buttermilk, like with these lemon blueberry buttermilk muffins!
If you don’t have buttermilk, feel free to use whole milk, replacing two teaspoons of the milk with vinegar. This will create the acidic effect of buttermilk to help your buttermilk blueberry muffins come out fluffy and moist.
Using softened butter, like in this recipe, is a good first step! You also want to make sure that you don't overmix your batter. Once you add in your dry ingredients, you want to gently fold the batter until it's just combined.
How do I get that domed top on my muffins? Well, to achieve that nice high top on our muffins, we’re going to start out at a higher oven temperature so that the batter will release a burst of steam to lift the tops of our muffins higher. Also, resting your muffins before baking helps create a thicker batter, which also promotes a higher rise.
The key to keeping your blueberries from sinking to the bottom of your muffins (and avoiding the resulting sogginess) is to coat your blueberries in flour! In this recipe, we're tossing our blueberries in the dry ingredients before we combine them with the wet ingredients. The flour mixture keeps the exterior of the blueberries dry and helps suspend them in the batter as the muffins bake.
These muffins store and freeze very well! Just keep your muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or wrap them individually in plastic and freeze them in a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
If you try this recipe, I would love it if you could leave a star review rating and comment below! It’s so wonderful hearing your feedback! And don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging @chenee_today on Instagram!
More Berry Recipes You'll Love
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
- Skillet Blueberry Cobbler with Smoked Sugar
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Bars
- Lemon and Blackberry Cake
- Raspberry and White Chocolate Blondies
Equipment you may need
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 2 ¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour - (320g)
- ¾ teaspoon (5 g) salt
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) baking soda
- 1¼ cup (250 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (114 g) unsalted butter - softened
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon (4 g) lemon zest
- ⅔ cup (160 g) full-fat buttermilk* - room temperature (plus 1 tablespoon more if needed)
- 1½ cups (222 g) blueberries - fresh or frozen (see note), washed and dried
- ¼ cup (50 g) turbinado sugar - for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray on top (between the cups) and line with cupcake liners or squares of parchment paper.cooking spray
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir blueberries into flour mixture to coat.2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1½ cups blueberries
- Using a stand mixer or handheld mixer, cream butter with sugar for 2 minutes.1¼ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter
- Mix in eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest until fully combined.2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- Alternate adding in dry ingredients with the buttermilk, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula until just barely combined. If necessary, add an additional tablespoon of buttermilk to help the batter come together.⅔ cup full-fat buttermilk*
- Add batter evenly to 12 muffin liners and sprinkle liberally with turbinado sugar.¼ cup turbinado sugar
- Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, then reduce heat to 375°F (without opening oven door).
- Bake another 15 minutes or until a toothpick entered into a muffin comes out clean. Let cool in muffin pan for 10 minutes, then serve warm or cool completely on wire racks.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Last Updated on July 5, 2022 by Chenée Lewis
Tara
Such fantastic muffins! The flavors sound absolutely amazing, especially with the combination of blueberry and lemon.
Nikki
These muffins look scrumptious! I love that you add the lemon zest right into the batter. You get a little zing in every bite.
Savita
These muffins turned out so good, the lemon blueberry flavor tastes amazing. Perfect for breakfast!!!
Chenée Lewis
So great to hear it! Thanks!
Christina
I've got my 3rd batch of these in the oven as we speak. The 1st time I used the recipe they were so moist and flavourful. My kids asked me to make them again in mini form. Disliked the ones from the silicone pan (nothing to do with the recipe). Trying again with an aluminium mini pan. I also added in some raspberries. Highly recommended this recipe.
Chenée Lewis
So glad you like the recipe! I love the idea of adding raspberries!
Carolyn
I am baking these now and am so disappointed; I did use frozen berries - the batter is completely bright purple, and they are flat on top and dripping all over the oven. I am an experienced baker and followed the recipe exactly - what went wrong?
Chenée Lewis
Oh no! It sounds like maybe the frozen berries had more water content than normal? Whenever I've made these with frozen berries they stay mostly intact and don't affect the rise of the muffins. Either way, so sorry that happened -- if you try again, it might help to thaw them first and drain any excess liquid. Hope you get a chance to make them again!