The BEST Blueberry Muffins

Updated: Jul 16, 2025 by christina.marsigliese · 62 Comments

This recipe for the Best Blueberry Muffins makes the most soft, moist and fluffy bakery-style muffins with big tall muffin tops! These homemade blueberry muffins are easy to make and you will agree that they taste better than anything you will buy at a bakery. They are perfectly sweet with crunchy edges around the tops with bouncy fluffy insides loaded with juicy blueberries. You can make them with fresh or frozen berries to enjoy any time of the year. If you love muffins, be sure to try my popular Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Muffins and Lemon Raspberry Muffins, plus many more muffin recipes.

the best blueberry muffins piled up on cutting board

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Easy to make - this recipe is super simple to make with a bowl and a whisk! No mixer required.
SO soft and moist - these muffins are incredibly moist with a fluffy bouncy texture just the way muffins should be. They aren't just soft while warm - they are still moist even days later!
Loaded with blueberries - there are plenty of blueberries packed in, and it's just the right amount that you still get to enjoy the soft fluffy muffin texture around them.
Bakery style quality - these muffins bake up with a tall muffin top just like a bakery-style muffin. Be sure to read the tips below to learn how to achieve that peaked muffin top.

the best blueberry muffins in muffin pan fresh from the oven

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MUFFINS AND CUPCAKES?

The difference between muffins and cupcakes is the mixing method. Muffins fall in the category of "quick breads" which are simple batters that involve mixing wet ingredients separately to dry ingredients and then combining them together with minimal stirring to form the batter. They have a more open texture and spongy bouncy crumb texture.

Cupcakes generally follow the "creaming" method where you mix soft butter and sugar until pale and fluffy before mixing in eggs, dry ingredients and any other liquid ingredients. Cupcakes have a finer, tighter crumb structure with a delicate and tender texture.

INGREDIENTS FOR BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour works great for open-textured muffins. If you have bleached cake flour, then you can replace half of the unbleached all-purpose flour with cake flour and it will actually give you an even more exaggerated muffin top. That's because bleached flour absorbs moisture more readily and sets more quickly.
Spice - a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg makes these muffins so special and pairs so well with blueberry! It adds the most wonderful comforting flavor without being so strong that they feel festive.
Sunflower oil - this recipe uses all oil. Although I LOVE BUTTER, using oil will keep these muffins so soft and give the perception of moistness since it is liquid at room temperature. You can use any neutral tasting oil like canola oil or vegetable oil, but I prefer sunflower oil for its clean taste.
Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is the main flavor in these muffins so use your best one. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
Granulated sugar - simple granulated sugar keeps these muffins moist and helps develop the golden crunchy top.
Eggs - two whole eggs will set the batter into a nice soft spongy texture.
Sour cream - full fat sour cream ads rich dairy notes and so much flavor and body.
Milk - I always bake with full fat whole milk. You can also use 2% milk.
Blueberries - you can use fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe. If you use frozen berries, do not thaw them and fold them in very gently to prevent any juices from leaching out and spreading through the batter.

best blueberry muffin split in half showing fluffy crumb texture

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

STEP 1). Combine dry ingredients. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt into a large bowl. Add granulated sugar and whisk it to blend evenly.
STEP 2). Combine wet ingredients. Whisk together eggs, sugar, yogurt, milk, oil and vanilla in a medium bowl.
STEP 3). Combine wet and dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the liquid mixture.
STEP 4). Stir gently until just combined with some streaks of flour left. Add blueberries and fold them in gently. Do not over-mix. A few small lumps are just fine.
STEP 5). Rest the batter. Cover the bowl and set it aside to rest for 30 minutes.
STEP 6). Bake. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, filling them to the rim. Sprinkle the tops generally with coarse raw sugar. Bake for 8 minutes, then lower oven to 350°F and bake for another 12-15 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let muffins cool for 5 minutes before transferring individually to the rack to finish cooling.

the best blueberry muffins piled up on baking pan

EXPERT BAKING TIPS FOR THE BEST BLUEBERRY MUFFIN RECIPE

Use fresh oil. Liquid oil is composed of unsaturated fatty acids which are prone to oxidation from light and heat. This makes it sensitive to rancidity which will ruin the taste of your muffins so be sure to store oil in a cool dark place.
Chose more oil over butter. Oil will make a softer texture since it is liquid at room temperature. If you would like to use some butter, do not use more than a 1:1 ratio of butter:oil (aka. do not replace more than 50% of the oil with butter).
Do not over-mix the batter. Once the flour is mostly combined (with a few light streaks), then the batter is ready for baking. Since muffin batter is more lean with less sugar than cake batter, it is more likely to develop gluten and result in a tougher texture.
Fold the berries in gently - mixing too vigorously will cause them to burst and can cause the batter to turn grey.
Rest the batter. Usually we bake batters immediately to retain the leavening power of the baking powder and baking soda, however with muffins they actually benefit from a short resting time for the purpose of texture. The flour will hydrate which will help it build strength to form tall muffin tops and withstand all of the gases produced by the leavening agents.
Bake in every other muffin cup. If you want extra tall muffins, and you're willing to wait (if you only have one muffin pan), then you can bake 6 muffins per pan. This allows the hot air to circulate more efficiently around the batter so that it sets quickly around the edges to make the batter rise up instead of out.
Sprinkle sugar on top before baking! That provides a lovely crunchy top.
Preheat the oven very hot. Baking in a very hot oven for the first few minutes will jump start the leavening agents to give a big lift initially to help create that muffin top. It also helps set the edges so that the batter doesn't spill out and spread too much which can make flat tops. Baking hot will set the edges to force the batter upwards for taller muffins.
Do not over-bake. Over-baking will most definitely lead to dry muffins. Make sure you check with a skewer for doneness or press the tops - they should spring back.

the best blueberry muffin with paper liner peeled off showing tall muffin top

RECIPE FAQ

Can I add any other inclusions to the best blueberry muffins recipe?

Yes! You can add up to ½ cup of chopped nuts or dried fruit. I'd recommend walnuts or pecans.

What type of oil is best for blueberry muffins?

For this recipe I like to use olive oil for its rich flavor (see below). However you can make this recipe with any neutral oil. I prefer sunflower oil because it has the cleanest flavor and is stable. Be sure to use fresh oil that is stored in a cool dark place. Rancid oil will completely ruin your muffins!

What is a substitute for sour cream?

You can also make this recipe using an equal amount of full fat plain yogurt. I have tested this and it worked well! Another suitable substitution is crème fraîche which is a type of fermented dairy product somewhere between yogurt and sour cream.

How do I get tall muffin tops?

The key steps to getting tall bakery-style muffin tops are to rest the batter, fill the muffin cups all the way to the top, and then bake initially at a very high temperature to activate the baking powder and cause a fast rise. If you like very tall tops that peak and crack, bake at 425 degrees F for the first 5 minutes, then reduce to 350 degrees F for the remaining cooking time. Resting the batter allows the flour to hydrate which means it will trap in the moisture rather than easily evaporate from the surface and create a stronger and more open structure for the gas bubbles to expand.

How to make wide muffin tops with crisp edges?

For wide muffin tops that brown around the edges, bake at 400 degrees F for the first 5 minutes and then reduce to 350 degrees F for the remaining cooking time.

How to make moist blueberry muffins?

These muffins have a soft moist texture. To ensure you get this texture, do not reduce the sugar. Sugar is important to hold moisture in. Also, be careful not to over-mix the batter. Over-mixing will initiate gluten formation which can lead to a tough crumb texture. Just mix until combined and a few small lumps are fine as they will mix through as you portion out the batter.

Can I use frozen blueberries to make blueberry muffins?

You can use either! Fresh blueberries are ideal because their cell walls are still intact and the juices are kept inside until they are penetrated by heat. They also won't bleed into your batter like frozen blueberries would. Frozen blueberries still work wonderfully though! Just make sure that you do not defrost them because all of the juice will leach out. In these photos, I used frozen blueberries. Using frozen blueberries also means that you may need to add a couple more minutes to the baking time since your batter will obviously be very cold!

Why did my blueberry muffin batter turn grey?

This can happen when using frozen berries as the blueberry juices leach out into the batter. The grey color is caused by a reaction of baking soda (alkaline) with the antioxidants that create the vibrant violet color of blueberries. Baking soda increases the pH of the batter to make it more basic and causes these natural color compounds to turn more blue instead of purple/red and make the batter look grey. To prevent this, just scatter frozen blueberries evenly over the surface of the batter and fold them in with just a few strokes.

Why did my muffins turn out dry?

Over-mixing, over-baking or over-measuring the flour are the key reasons why muffins can turn out dry. Be sure to measure your flour correctly. Adding too much flour is the most common mistake and leads to dry and crumbly cakes and muffins. The most accurate way to measure flour is using a scale. If you don't have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, spoon it into your measuring cup and use a knife to level it off.

Can I freeze bakery style blueberry muffins?

Yes! These muffins freeze very well. Just place them in a resealable freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

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