This is the best lemon-blueberry muffin recipe: sugar-crusted, lemony crumb, loaded with blueberries: what’s not to love? This is a long-time family favorite recipe and always a crowd-pleaser.

An overhead shot of just baked lemon-blueberry muffins.

Last Sunday morning while purchasing eggs at the San Clemente farmers’ market, I spotted a flat of blueberries and blackberries I couldn’t resist purchasing. This lemon-blueberry muffin recipe, the best I’ve ever tasted, was on the brain.

The recipe comes from my mother via my aunt via The New York Times. A few notes:

  1. Make the muffins in a 6-well jumbo muffin pan. (Though, update 2020: a 12-well muffin pan works great, too.)
  2. Ensure your butter is at room temperature. It will make the creaming process go swiftly and smoothly.
  3. Don’t skimp on the sugar dusting before baking. It creates an irresistible crusty topping. Turbinado and demerera sugar are great here, too.
  4. Fresh blueberries are best, but you truly can make this year-round with frozen blueberries — no need to thaw first.

I have safely filed this lemon-blueberry muffin recipe in my search-no-further-for-that-ultimate-recipe folder. I hope you approve. And if you love the lemon-blueberry combo, you must try this lemon-blueberry Dutch baby and these lemon-blueberry scones and this lemon-blueberry quick bread.

PS: Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

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All the muffin recipes right here → Muffins

Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients.

Ingredients to make lemon blueberry muffins on a countertop.

Zest a lemon over 1 stick (8 tablespoons butter).

A bowl with a stick of butter and lemon zest in it.

Cream it with a cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add an egg and some vanilla, and beat again.

An overhead shot of a handheld mixer creaming butter and sugar.

Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, and beat until creamy.

An overhead shot of a bowl of blueberry muffin batter and a handheld mixer.

Fold in the blueberries with a spatula.

A bowl of lemon-blueberry muffin batter all mixed together.

Transfer batter to a jumbo 6-cup or standard 12-cup muffin pan.

Blueberry muffin batter in a 12-cup muffin tin.

Bake until the tops are golden.

An overhead shot of a blueberry muffin in a muffin tin.

Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving …

An overhead shot of a dozen blueberry muffins on a cooling rack.

An overhead shot of a lemon blueberry muffin on a plate.

… with butter.

A halved blueberry muffin spread with butter.

Is there anything better??

A halved blueberry muffin with melted butter.

The original recipe calls for baking the muffins in a jumbo muffin tin, which I have to say is really fun. But, a 12-cup muffin tin may be more practical if you are entertaining for a larger crowd. Here are a few images of the jumbo muffins:

The best lemon-blueberry muffins on a cooling rack.

Up close shot of a jumbo lemon-blueberry muffin.

A halved lemon-blueberry muffin.

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An overhead shot of a dozen blueberry muffins on a cooling rack.

The Best Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

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Description

Adapted from The New York Times

This is a long-time favorite recipe. The original recipe calls for making the muffins in a 6-cup jumbo muffin tin, which is especially fun, but which maybe isn’t the most practical if you are feeding a small crowd. A 12-cup muffin tin works beautifully. 

Salt: If using table salt or Morton kosher salt, use 3/4 teaspoon. If you are sensitive to salt altogether, use 1/2 teaspoon salt. 

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (113 g ) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (214 g) sugar
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups (256 g) all-purpose or cake flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, see notes above
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries
  • ½ cup milk or buttermilk

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 375ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
  2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour; then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the milk. Fold in the blueberries. Note: Batter will be thick. This is OK. 
  4. Grease a jumbo muffin tin (or a 12-cup muffin tin… though the jumbo is really fun) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Distribute batter among muffin cups. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 30 minutes (or less, roughly 18-25 minutes, if using a 12-cup muffin tin). Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. Let muffins cool in pan for about 7 minutes before serving.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American