The Best Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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.
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:
- Make the muffins in a 6-well jumbo muffin pan. (Though, update 2020: a 12-well muffin pan works great, too.)
- Ensure your butter is at room temperature. It will make the creaming process go swiftly and smoothly.
- Don’t skimp on the sugar dusting before baking. It creates an irresistible crusty topping. Turbinado and demerera sugar are great here, too.
- 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
More Delicious Muffin Recipes
- Apple Orchard Muffins
- The Best Bran Muffins Ever
- Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins
- Coffeecake Muffins with Streusel
- Millet Muffins
All the muffin recipes right here → Muffins
Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients.
Zest a lemon over 1 stick (8 tablespoons butter).
Cream it with a cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add an egg and some vanilla, and beat again.
Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, and beat until creamy.
Fold in the blueberries with a spatula.
Transfer batter to a jumbo 6-cup or standard 12-cup muffin pan.
Bake until the tops are golden.
Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving …
… with butter.
Is there anything better??
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
- Total Time: 52 minutes
- Yield: 6 or 12 muffins
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
- Heat the oven to 375ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
785 Comments on “The Best Lemon-Blueberry Muffins”
I made these muffins and they taste amazing!
It was simple to make and everyone loved them!
I saw in the comments that some people added lemon juice to the milk and it made the batter taste more like lemon. I did that and it turned out great!
Great to hear, Michelle! Thanks so much for writing and sharing 🙂
These muffins were absolutely delicious and so easy to make! My boyfriend and I loved them!
Great to hear, Carlie! Thanks so much for writing and sharing this 🙂
Not sure why so much salt was required and I saw no explanation above as you stated. I put 1/2 top but haven’t tasted yet. Also the flour for the blueberries was that in addition to the 2 cups? Love lemon in blueberry breads.
There is a note above the ingredient list in the recipe box that says:
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.
No, the 1/4 cup flour was not in addition to the 2 cups.
Where do we use the buttermilk in the recipe?
See step 3 🙂 Alternating with the flour.
Could I substitute almond milk at a 1:1 ratio in this recipe? Thanks!!
I have not done this but others have with success. Go for it 🙂
I made these today, and hunny!!!
These are absolutely amazing 🔥❤️!!
They’re deliciously perfect!
Easy to make. Using higher quality ingredients will most certainly enhance the experience,
Great to hear, Andrea! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
Fabulous and easy.
Great to hear, Mary!
I haven’t made these yet, I have made the NYT muffins though. When you cream the ingredients are you doing it by hand, or an electric beater?
Electric beater! But if you don’t have one, you can beat by hand if your butter is very soft.
I just made the buttermilk cake yesterday and loved it! Mine didn’t get quite cooked enough in the middle so thank you for posting the muffin recipe too. My husband said the kitchen smelled so good!
Great to hear, Kaki! It’s forgiving, so next time you could just bake it a few minutes longer. Or you could make muffins 🙂 I love these 💕
Moist and Superb flavor!
Incredibly easy and as an earlier post stated using high quality ingredients will yield a beautiful and tasty muffin. I had a few Meyer lemons on hand and really love the mild sweet flavor of the juice and zest in the batter.
Great to hear, Yolanda! Thanks for writing 🙂
Why is the batter like cement
i found the same thing.. just putting them in oven hope they turn out
What is the nutritional info? Thanks!
Hey! The recipe calls for buttermilk but doesn’t mention when the buttermilk should be incorporated into the batter. I almost forgot to put it in because I was following the recipe steps and it isn’t mentioned!
Hi! It’s in step 3, you alternate adding it with the dry ingredients.
Yum! We love a good muffin! It’s soft inside, rich in blueberries, and crunchy on the outside. I love the smooth hit of zest! Definitely will be making these again! Thanks, Ali!
Great to hear, Mary! Thanks so much for writing and sharing this 🙂
You forgot to add the milk addition to the written directions!
Hi! See step 3… it’s added alternating with the dry ingredients.
The adds crash my computer. I can’t make it or even print it. Seems delicious, otherwise.
Can I use frozen blueberries instead of fresh?
Yes!
This recipe is AMAZING. The texture and the flavor turned out genuinely perfect. I baked mine in a normal muffin tin for 23 minutes <3
Great to hear, Savannah! Thanks for writing 🙂
These are amazing!! I’m new to baking and these were the best muffins I’ve made so far. My friends and I couldn’t stop eating them! I did a little extra lemon zest and added white chocolate chips inside + drizzle on top and they were so so delicious, I will be making them again soon!
How would I make this recipe work best in high altitude? Thank you!
Hi! You may need to reduce the leavening. What’s your elevation?
5280
Hi! So sorry for the delay here. You may want to reduce the baking powder to 1 teaspoon. Check out this chart on King Arthur Flour: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
I have made many different lemon blueberry muffin recipes and, while most of them claim to be the best, most are honestly disappointing. Some are too moist, some are too dry, and some don’t have enough lemon flavor. My daughters often request these muffins, and they both really love lemons, so if the muffins don’t have a strong enough lemon flavor they don’t want them. I decided to try this recipe because it had such a high rating with many reviews. I’m so glad I did! These turned out PERFECTLY. Great texture on the inside (not watery/runny from the blueberries), perfect amount of crisp on the outside, and the lemon and blueberry flavors are beautifully balanced- one does not overtake the other. I pulled them out of the oven about an hour ago and have already had three! I can’t wait for my daughters to try them. I think they will approve! I’ll be printing this to save in my recipe book and we will definitely be making these regularly. Thank you so much not only for a wonderful recipe, but also for all of the helpful info in the steps. I’ve been baking for years, but it’s nice to have step by step pictures and info when trying a new recipe.
So nice to read all of this, Leah! Thanks so much for writing and sharing. These are a family favorite as well. Lemon + blueberry has to be my favorite flavor pairing.
These were surprisingly delicious for a recipe so simple. The texture was perfect, soft and almost cake-like inside with a bit of a crunchy outside. I didn’t have lemons to zest so I used lemon oil (culinary), about 3/4 tsp and the lemon flavor was excellent. If you love lemon like I do, buy some lemon oil. It lasts forever in the fridge. Same with buttermilk powder to have on hand. Great, easy recipe that I’ll make over and over.
Great to hear, Doni! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of these notes 🙂
Hi. Thinking about these for my daughter’s baby shower next weekend- do you have any tips for freezing these?
TY!
I would just freeze them once they’ve cooled completely. You could freeze them on a sheet pan first so that they’re solid; then transfer them to a ziplock bag or airtight vessel.