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Tender and sweet blueberry muffins get an added punch of flavor from fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. This easy lemon blueberry muffin recipe makes 12 muffins in under 35 minutes for a delicious breakfast or afternoon snack.
It’s hard to beat a great muffin. I don’t care if it’s sweet pistachio muffins or a batch of mini banana muffins. I love them all.
One of my favorite muffin recipes of all time is for my lemon raspberry muffins. I make them all of the time and they are a hit every time. So it was about time to give that recipe a blueberry makeover.
These are some of the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had. They’re fluffy and tender on the inside, filled with juicy blueberries, and accented with bright notes of lemon juice and lemon zest.
Buttermilk keeps the muffins perfectly moist while baking the muffins at a higher temperature before lowering the oven to 350°F gives them a beautiful domed top.
Whether you enjoy them for breakfast or snack on them alongside an iced shaken espresso in the afternoon, these lemon blueberry muffins are begging for you to make them right now.
Jamie’s testing notes
- Mix the lemon zest with the sugar to boost the lemon flavor. My favorite trick for getting even more flavor and aroma out of citrus zest is to rub the zest and sugar together with my fingertips before adding the other ingredients. The oils from the zest infuse into the sugar, making sure every single bite of the final recipe is bursting with flavor.
- Don’t skip the buttermilk. These lemon blueberry muffins have a more tender crumb, lighter texture, and stay more moist when you use buttermilk instead of regular milk. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make a buttermilk substitute with milk and vinegar or lemon juice, yogurt, sour cream, or even cream of tartar.
- Bake at two different temperatures for a better domed top. Starting the muffins at 425°F for 10 minutes, then finishing them at 350°F for 7-9 minutes helps set the tops into a beautiful dome without over-baking the muffins. They’ll be more like the ones you get from the bakery but made right at home.
Ingredients and substitutions
⬇️ For the full recipe, including ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card below!
- Lemon zest and juice: Fresh, please! You just won’t get the same flavor from bottled lemon juice.
- Sugar: I like to use a mix of granulated sugar and light brown sugar here. If you are out of brown sugar, make a brown sugar substitute to use instead. And if your sugar hardened in the pantry, learn how to soften brown sugar instead of throwing it away.
- All-purpose flour: Make sure you know how to measure flour correctly so your muffins come out perfect every time.
- Baking soda: This reacts with the acid in the lemon juice and buttermilk. This particular recipe does not use baking powder.
- Fine sea salt
- Large egg
- Buttermilk: This adds a tangy flavor and keeps the muffins moist and tender. If you need your muffins to be dairy free, you can make a buttermilk substitute using non-dairy milk.
- Vegetable oil: Any neutral oil, such as avocado or grapeseed oil, will work, too. Avoid anything with a stronger flavor, such as olive oil, which will throw off the taste of the muffins.
- Blueberries: Fresh or frozen. If you’re using frozen berries, do not thaw them before adding them to the muffin batter.
- Coarse sugar: For giving the muffins a crunchy sugar topping. If you prefer, though, you could finish them with the crumb topping from my blueberry crumb muffins or the lemon glaze from my lemon poppy seed muffins.
How to make this lemon blueberry muffin recipe
Because this recipe is made with oil instead of the creaming method, you can make the whole thing with a whisk and a spatula, no mixer needed.
Zest the lemon and then add both sugars. Use your fingertips to work the zest into the sugar. You want the sugars to be moist and super fragrant before adding in the rest of the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Make a well in the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients and stir until just combined before folding in the blueberries.
Divide the batter between 12 standard-size lined muffin cups. I like to do this with a large cookie scoop. It makes it easier to fill the muffin wells evenly.
Bake the muffins at 425°F for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, set the temperature to 350°F and continue baking for another 7-9 minutes. The muffins are done with the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I like to let the lemon blueberry muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Storage tips
Store these lemon blueberry muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze them for up to a month.
You can thaw frozen muffins at room temperature for an hour or two or you can microwave them for 30-60 seconds to both thaw and warm them through before enjoying.
Frequently asked questions
If you have a jumbo muffin tin, this recipe will make 6 jumbo muffins. Start them at 425°F for 10 minutes, then finish at 350°F for about 15-20 minutes.
You’ll get about 24 mini muffins from this recipe. Bake them at 350°F for the entire bake time—about 12-16 minutes.
Because the baking soda in the batter starts reacting with the acid from the lemon juice and buttermilk immediately, you need to bake the muffins soon after mixing the batter. It’ll be fine if you only have a smaller muffin pan and need to bake them in 2 batches, but it won’t keep for much longer than that without affecting the rise and texture of the muffins.
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 ounces fresh blueberries see notes if using frozen
- Coarse sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, add the lemon zest, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Mix the ingredients together with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant.2 teaspoons lemon zest, ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup light brown sugar
- To the sugar mixture, add the flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, lemon juice, buttermilk and oil. Create a small well in the dry ingredients, pouring the wet ingredients into the well and stirring just to combine. Gently fold in the blueberries.2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 large egg, ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, ¾ cup buttermilk, 6 tablespoons vegetable oil, 6 ounces fresh blueberries
- Divide batter evenly into the prepared muffin wells. The wells will be very full. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.Coarse sugar for topping
- Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes. Leaving the oven door closed, set the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for another 7-9 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Ingredients
- If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them before adding them to the batter.
- You may substitute the vegetable oil for any neutral-flavored oil, such as avocado oil.
- For a dairy-free version, make a buttermilk substitute using dairy-free milk.
- For a vegan version, substitute the buttermilk as noted above and swap the egg for a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoons water; allow to thicken for 5 minutes).
- My favorite coarse sugar for topping muffins and quick breads is Sugar in the Raw Turbinado Cane Sugar.
Storage
- Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
- Frozen muffins can be microwaved for 30-60 seconds to thaw and warm them through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
