The Best Lemon-Blueberry Muffins
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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:
PrintThe 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 unsalted butter, room temperature
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup + 1 tablespoon 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 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.
664 Comments on “The Best Lemon-Blueberry Muffins”
We are from maine,and grow up having blueberry muffins,and they were good,but the lemon blueberry muffin recipe was out of this world,thank.
So happy to hear this, Candace! I love Maine 🙂
Wow so impressed how these turned out.
I ended up using a 1/4 cup whole wheat flour with 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, used only a scant cup of sugar, substituted the milk for oat milk, substituted the butter for earth balance and added a couple big squeezes of fresh lemon juice.
The family went mad for these muffins!
Thank you for this amazing recipe!
oops I meant 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1.5 cups of all purpose.
So happy to hear this! Great to know oat milk works well … I’ve been loving oat milk.
That sounds disgusting, ma’am.
I made these muffins yesterday! OMG- they really are the best blueberry muffins. Excellent. Thanks for another awesome recipe
Yay! So happy to hear this, Jennifer 😍😍😍
This recipe is delicious. I did change a few things. I used almond milk instead. Used half the sugar. Grinded organic oats for oat flour 1 cup and the rest regular flour. I also used lemon juice from the one lemon. Even though it was a bit crumbly, it was still absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
These are so so so good! Definitely the perfect go to blueberry muffin recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!
*works in mini muffin tin as well!
Yay! So happy to hear this, Kelly 🙂 🙂 🙂 And so happy to know mini, jumbo, and standard pans all work 🎉🎉🎉🎉
The flavour was good, but they just turned out like dense, unrisen lumps unfortunately.
Hmm, strange! I wonder if your baking powder isn’t fresh? I’ve made these so many times and that has never happened. Sorry these didn’t work out.
Hi Alexandra! I made these today and they were PERFECTION. Seriously the best muffins I’ve ever had!! I have one question for you: how do you recommend storing these? In the refrigerator or at room temp? Curious how long they stay fresh at room temp. Thanks!
So happy to hear this, Bristen!! I store them at room temperature for up to three days. Or I freeze them, and then rewarm by wrapping each in foil and placing them in a 350F for 25-35 minutes or so.
I have made this recipe and absolutely love. I want to make these again but during covid I am having a hard time getting butter and my supply is almost out! Do you think these could be made with Crisco? (I cringe even asking.)
Thank you!
Would you need to do anything different for frozen blueberries?
Nope! No need to thaw either.
Most delicious BB/lemon muffins ever- even after I made mistakes!! I added all the flour & blueberries together, made it hard to mix up, didn’t mix the flour, salt, baking powder together before dumping it all together- & voila! They still turned out ammazing, so moist, flavorful; my family was swooning.
We are sheltering in place during Covid-19 & I had a hankering to bake (can you tell I am not a baker;D ), thankfully have a lemon tree & frozen berries already.
Thank you so much!!
Yay! So nice to hear all of this 😍😍😍😍 And so nice to hear the mixing process is more forgiving than I realize … so often it is. Yay.
Wonderful recipe! Made these last night and half are gone already. I used slightly less sugar than called for and added some fresh lemon juice to the batter to give it a little more lemon flavor.
Wonderful to hear this, Sarah!
I don’t have a fresh lemon for zesting. Should I use lemon juice or lemon extract instead?I have both.
Is it fresh lemon juice? If so I’d go with that; if it’s not, I’d go with extract. Maybe: 1/2 teaspoon extract?
I made this with cake flour and it was super light and fluffy — perfect texture. I used standard grain table salt, and found the salt overwhelmed rather than augmented the lemon. Not sure if it would be the same if I used courser Kosher sea salt? I might cut it to 1 tsp. on the next try.
Hi Eric! So nice to hear this regarding the texture. I do use kosher salt, and I will definitely make a note if using table salt. It is a high amount of salt and if using table salt, I could see it being too much.
Hi, Eric. I had the same issue with table salt. Next time, I will eliminate the salt altogether. But a great recipe.
I’ll make a note in the recipe! Glad this was a success despite the salt.
Unfortunately, these didn’t turn out for me. However, I was experimenting with replacing some of the liquid and flour with sourdough discard, so that might be my issue. They just are wicked crumbly and falling apart. They do taste lovely, though maybe a tad sweet for my taste. Thanks for the recipe, even if I messed it up!
I have all I need for this recipe, except for jumbo muffin tins. Would these be ok to try in a regular sized muffin pan? I’m afraid with the way folks are buying/hoarding during this pandemic I won’t be able to find a jumbo tin. Thanks!
Yes, absolutely!
Delicious! Perfect amount of sweetness. Love the lemon element. I used white whole wheat flour and unsweetened butter, regular salt and they are fucking delicious!
So great to hear this, Lisa!!
If I could rate this recipe 10 stars I would, these are the best blueberry muffins I have ever eaten! Due to dairy allergies in our house, I used earth balance instead of butter and almond milk in place of dairy milk and they came out light with a nice rise and a perfect balance of flavors. I’ll be making these often.
Wonderful to hear this, Jen! Thanks for sharing your non-dairy substitutes — that’s so helpful for others!
Best blueberry recipe!
Wonderful to hear this, Jennifer!
I’ve made many blueberry muffins over the years, this is the best one ever! Delicious!! My granddaughter loves them. Thanks for the recipe.
Wonderful to hear this, Trudy!
Absolutely incredible! This is my first time rating a recipe, but I just had to because these were so delicious and easy to make!
Wonderful to hear this, Kelly!
Made them lo-cal & lowfat by substituting applesauce for butter & Splenda for sugar. Also used mostly whole wheat flour. Have made these muffins several times with the changes & turn out delicious.
Wonderful to hear this, Leo!
Can you make the batter the night before? (Would be nice/handy when hosting overnight guests)
Absolutely!
So good thanks for sharing! Can’t wait to share this with some friends staying with us tomorrow night. Great breakfast (or snack or really anytime;))
Wonderful to hear this, Liz!
OMG Yummylicious…. the best blueberry muffins ever! I’m from Australia and had to use frozen berries. Even though they were flour dusted and turned the inside purplish black, they are DELICIOUS. I had some melted butter left over from greasing the muffin tins and poured it over the top (about 1 teaspoon) of each muffin prior to baking. I’ve made muffins with vegetable oil recipes before. They make the muffins a tad lighter but there’s nothing like butter for flavour. I also added 3/4 teaspoon soda bicarbonate to make them lighter. 10 stars out of 5. Thank you, Alexandra.
Oh yay! Wonderful to hear this Sian! Thanks for all of your notes, too … it’s so helpful for others to read this. 😍😍😍
I made these, and they were really great, except for the fact that the tops were flat and slightly sunken. I saw on another comment that you thought maybe old baking powder might be the culprit…How old is too old, when it comes to baking powder? Also, could an over filled muffin tin do this?
Yes, re over-filled muffin tin! Did you peek at them at all during the baking? If they were rising but then sunk, the culprit is likely overfilling.
Here’s how to tell if baking powder is still good:
Spoon 1/2 teaspoon in a bowl and pour 1/4 cup boiling water over it. It it bubbles up vigorously, it’s still good.
Turned out perfectly! It’s a real muffin, not a cupcake which most recipes turn out to be.
For me personally, I would cut the sugar to 3/4 and double the lemon zest.
Wonderful to hear this, Mary!
These muffins are superb! Among the many things I like about them, they hold together very well and are not too crumbly when you try to eat it. Very moist. I used the 12 tin, and cooked for about 22 minutes at the same 375 oven temp. They were perfect and I can’t wait to make them again!
Wonderful to hear this, Jody!
These muffins are better than any muffin I have ever made or bought! I should have used the 12 smaller ones so I could share these with more people. I will not look up another blueberry muffin recipe ever again! Thank you!!!
Wonderful to hear this, Tracy!
These really are the best lemon blueberry muffins I’ve ever had! Perfect!
Wonderful to hear this, Rubia 💕💕💕💕
OUTSTANDING!!!! What is your thought on adding some semi-sweet chocolate chips to the muffin batter?
So nice to hear this Lois! I think chocolate chips would be amazing! Are you thinking a different recipe, as in chocolate chips alone, or chocolate chips with the blueberries?