Lemon blueberry muffins are soft, fluffy and moist muffins filled with bright and zesty lemon and juicy blueberries. These easy to make bakery style blueberry lemon muffins make the perfect breakfast treat.
Jump to:
Why Should You Make This Recipe
I absolutely adore making lemon and blueberry recipes. My Lemon Blueberry Cookies, Blueberry Coffee Cake, Blueberry Cupcakes, Blueberry Ricotta Cake and Lemon Blueberry Scones are just a few of my favorite lemon blueberry recipes on the blog. These lemon blueberry muffins are another lemon and blueberry recipe addition I know you will love.
- Layers of flavors and textures: From the moist and fluffy lemon and vanilla muffin, to the sweet, tart and lightly floral scent of the fresh blueberries these tender crumb bakery style blueberry muffins will delight your senses.
- Easy to make, bake and eat: These fluffy lemon and blueberry muffins look and taste like you just bought them from the best bakery in town. But all you need to make these lemon and blueberry yogurt muffins is two bowls, a whisk and 1 - 2 muffin pans.
Ingredients
These blueberry and lemon muffins require only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need.
- Dry Ingredients: Gather all purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: Gather granulated sugar, lemons, oil, eggs, yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla extract and fresh blueberries.
Substitutions
This lemon blueberry muffin recipe is as easy to make as it is delicious. Here are my recommended ingredient substitutions if you need them.
- All purpose flour: To make these lemon berry muffins gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Measure the flour based off weight (240 g) versus cup for cup.
- Baking Powder: This recipe has not been tested to include baking soda.
- Granulated Sugar: This lemon and blueberry muffin recipe calls for granulated sugar, but maple sugar would also work well to make these muffins refined sugar free.
- Lemon Zest and Juice: Lemon pairs so beautifully with blueberries. Lime or other lemons such as meyer lemons would be a wonderful substitute.
- Oil: Any neutral baking oil will work well. I like to use a light olive oil or avocado oil. Canola or vegetable oil can also work. The oil can be replaced by an equal amount of melted butter.
- Eggs: This recipe has not been tested without eggs.
- Lemon Zest and Juice: Replace the lemon with any citrus you like. Lime, keylime, meyer lemons, orange, they all work well in this recipe.
- Yogurt: A thick, full fat greek yogurt is the recommended. Feel free to replace the yogurt with an equal amount of sour cream or buttermilk.
- Vanilla Extract: This adds a lovely background flavor that pairs really well with lemon and blueberries.
- Blueberries: You can fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen berries, do not let them thaw. Also note that the baking time will be a bit longer if using frozen berries.
Variations
- Blueberry Lemon Muffins with Crumble: Make an easy crumb topping by combining ¼ cup (30 g) flour with 3 tablespoons (37 g) sugar and 1 ½ tablespoons melted butter until it forms a sand like consistency. Prepare the lemon and blueberry muffins according to the recipe directions, top the muffins with the crumb and bake.
- Lemon Glaze: Top the lemon blueberry muffins with a tart lemon glaze. Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g) with 2-3 tablespoons (30-45 ml) lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the muffins and enjoy.
- Vanilla Glaze: Top the bakery blueberry muffins with a vanilla glaze. Whisk 1 cup powdered sugar (120 g) with 1 teaspoons (5 ml) vanilla extract and 2-3 tablespoons milk. Drizzle over the barely warm muffins and enjoy.
How To Make
Learn how to make lemon blueberry muffins cake in a few easy steps.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until well combined.
- In another bowl whisk the sugar and lemon zest together until well combined with a wet sand consistency. Whisk in the oil, eggs, yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Do not overmix. If you are using fresh blueberries, fold them in at this time. If using frozen blueberries, fold them in after the rest period. Let the blueberry muffin batter rest at room temperature for 30 - 60 minutes. While the muffins rest, preheat the oven to 425 F (205 C). Line (2) 12 ct. muffin pans with cupcake liners. For bakery style blueberry muffins, alternate every other muffin cup in the pan.
3. Use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the lemon and blueberry muffin batter into each of the muffin liners, alternating every other cup. Bake the muffins at 425 F (205 C) for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 (177 C) and bake an additional 12 - 14 minutes. Do not open the oven door to reduce the temperature. The muffins will bake for about 17 - 19 minutes total. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes about with a few moist crumbs or when a finger pressed gently into the center of the muffins quickly bounces back. Cool the fluffy blueberry lemon yogurt muffins in the muffin pan for 5 - 10 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins to cool to room temperature and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: Place the moist and fluffy lemon blueberry muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Then transfer the muffins to the fridge for up to 3 more days.
- Freeze: Make sure the muffins are completely cooled to room temperature. Individually wrap each muffin in plastic wrap. Place each wrapped muffin in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the lemon blueberry yogurt muffins is to let them sit out at room temperature for at least two hours. Enjoy at room temperature or microwave the muffin for 20 - 30 seconds for that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M’s Expert Tips
- Prepare the blueberries. Rinse, dry and toss the blueberries in flour before starting the recipe. If you are using frozen blueberries, pull them out right before starting the recipe. Ideally, they would sit out for about 5 minutes before being mixed into the flour and then into the muffin batter. If you are using frozen blueberries, know that the baking time will be a bit longer.
- Zest the lemons directly into the sugar. Zesting the lemon directly into the sugar catches all the citrus oils. This is where so much of the lemon fragrance and taste is.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in moist and perfectly mixed blueberry lemon muffin.
- Don’t overmix the muffin batter. Make sure to mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
- Rest the batter for 30 - 60 minutes. This is a little trick to get those beautiful bakery style domes on muffins. Allowing some time for resting allows the batter to hydrate, thicken and rise, making these the best lemon blueberry muffins.
- Alternate muffin wells in the muffin pan. This allows each muffin to get the maximum of amount of even heat circulating around it. The tops will still pop up, but they won’t be as high if you decide to fill all the muffin liners at once.
FAQs
You absolutely can! Use my Mini Blueberry Muffins recipe. Add lemon zest and use ¼ cup (60 ml) milk and ¼ cup (60 ml) lemon juice in place of the ½ cup (120 ml) milk as written in the mini muffin recipe.
Toss the clean and dried fresh blueberries with flour to fully coat all the berries in the flour. Do this will help the berries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin.
Yes, frozen blueberries can be used to make these lemon blueberry muffins. Make sure to slightly thaw the blueberries for about 15 - 20 minutes at room temperature, pat any excess liquid off the blueberries and toss them in flour to fully coat them before mixing them into the muffin batter. Keep in mind that the blueberries may streak the batter.
Other Muffin Recipes to Try
If you try this Lemon Blueberry Muffins recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! -M
Lemon Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Equipment
- 1 citrus zester and juicer (or reamer)
- 1 - 2 12 count muffin pan(s)
- 12 cupcake liners
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon zest about 3 large lemons
- ½ cup (120 ml) neutral baking oil (olive oil, avocado, canola, vegetable, etc)
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 g) greek yogurt, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh blueberries coated in 2 tablespoons flour
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together until well combined.2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour, 2½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In another bowl whisk the sugar and lemon zest together until well combined with a wet sand consistency. Whisk in the oil, eggs, yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Do not overmix. If you are using fresh blueberries, fold them in at this time. If using frozen blueberries, fold them in after the rest period.1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons lemon zest , ½ cup (120 ml) neutral baking oil , 2 large eggs, room temperature, ½ cup (120 g) greek yogurt, room temperature, ¼ cup (60 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract , 2 cups fresh blueberries
- Let the blueberry muffin batter rest at room temperature for 30 - 60 minutes. While the muffins rest, preheat the oven to 425 F (205 C). Line (2) 12 ct. muffin pans with cupcake liners. For bakery style blueberry muffins, alternate every other muffin cup in the pan.
- Use a 3 tablespoon sized cookie scoop to scoop the lemon and blueberry muffin batter into each of the muffin liners, alternating every other cup. Bake the muffins at 425 F (205 C) for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 (177 C) and bake an additional 12 - 14 minutes. Do not open the oven door to reduce the temperature. The muffins will bake for about 17 - 19 minutes total. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes about with a few moist crumbs or when a finger pressed gently into the center of the muffins quickly bounces back.
- Cool the fluffy blueberry lemon yogurt muffins in the muffin pan for 5 - 10 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins to cool to room temperature and enjoy.
Leave a Reply