Learn how to make bakery-style Lemon Blueberry Muffins from scratch. This quick and easy recipe makes 12 soft and moist high-top Lemon Muffins. No electric mixer needed.
Lovely Lemon Blueberry Muffins 🍋
Made with fresh lemon zest and juice, and filled with juicy blueberries, these easy Lemon Blueberry Muffins are sure to become a family fave. You can expect high-top, bakery-style muffins that are surprisingly soft and tender inside.
They’re quick to throw together – no electric mixer needed. Plus I’m sharing all my tips and tricks for creating sky-high muffins that are never dry or tough, but flavourful and moist.
Why you will love this recipe
- Makes big, bakery-style muffins
- Soft and fluffy inside
- Bursting with real lemon flavour
- Great for lunchboxes or for a portable snack
I made these lovely muffins for the second time today! Lovely balance of flavours and the perfect muffin top! Easy and clear instructions. Perfect for a special breakfast or morning tea.
– Rebecca
Recipe testing
Lemon and blueberry – it’s a match we know well. We’ve enjoyed it in my beautiful Lemon Blueberry Cake and my soft and moist Blueberry Loaf.
So I couldn’t wait to try this delightful combination in muffin form. I took everything we know and love about my White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins, and made a lovely lemon version.
Plenty of lemon zest and fresh lemon juice means these muffins just about pop with sunshine-y, citrus flavour. Adding plenty of juicy blueberries makes them extra sweet.
I tested the recipe with both fresh and frozen blueberries, and both work wonderfully well. These muffins boast a crispy, crunchy top and a tender, moist centre.
And if you are after a healthier muffin recipe, try my Blueberry Toddler Muffins.
Ingredients
You don’t need any special ingredients to make these Lemon Blueberry Muffins. Here’s what you will need:
- Plain flour: Or all purpose flour.
- Baking powder
- Caster sugar: Or granulated sugar.
- Lemons: Zest and juice.
- Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe. If you choose to use frozen blueberries, add them to the batter frozen – do not thaw.
- Vegetable oil: Or any flavourless oil.
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Milk
- Demerara sugar: Or coarse sugar.
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How to make high top muffins
Have you ever made muffins at home that were flat and soft? Missing the signature rise of a classic high top muffin? Me too!
But after numerous muffin bakes, I discovered two secrets that really work.
- Fill your muffin pan to the top: Unlike cupcakes which are typically only filled two-thirds full, you can fill your muffin pan with batter all the way. This means when your muffins rise, they will rise up to create a lovely, domed muffin top.
- Start with a hot oven: You need to bake your muffins at a high temperature for the first five minutes of baking. This will help the muffins to rise quickly and will also ensure your muffins rise up and not out. The temperature is then reduced for the remainder of the bake.
More tips for perfect muffins
- Measure your flour using a baking scale. Using cups can be surprisingly inaccurate, and if you overmeasure your flour, your muffins will be tough and dry.
- Don’t over-mix your muffin batter. Just gently fold the ingredients together by hand using a spatula until combined. Over-mixing will result in tough muffins.
- Don’t over-bake your muffins. You’ll know your muffins are ready when they’ve developed those crusty muffin tops. You can double check they’re done by inserting a skewer into the centre and seeing if it comes out clean (like you would with cake).
Frequently asked questions
Yes. I’ve tried this recipe with fresh and frozen blueberries and they both work well. If you choose to use frozen blueberries, add them to the batter frozen – do not thaw.
Yes. If you would prefer you can use 115 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter. I prefer oil in this recipe as it makes for a very soft and moist muffin, however butter adds lovely flavour. So it’s up to you!
Yes! Try these muffins with raspberries or blackberries – delish.
Yes absolutely. Muffins are best eaten on the day they are made. I recommend freezing any leftovers to maintain freshness. To enjoy, thaw at room temperature or microwave for 20-30 seconds.
More muffins to love
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Let’s Bake
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Soft and moist high top Lemon Muffins filled with juicy blueberries.
Ingredients
- 350 grams (2 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 3 level teaspoons baking powder
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Zest of two large lemons, finely grated
- 155 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) fresh blueberries (see notes)
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 240 ml (1 cup) full fat or whole milk
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) fresh lemon juice
- Demerara or raw sugar, to sprinkle, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F) standard / 180 C (350 F) fan-forced. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan well with butter or olive oil spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and lemon zest and whisk briefly. Add 125 grams (1 cup) blueberries (reserving the remaining 1/4 cup for later) and stir gently until they’re coated in the flour mixture.
- In a separate small bowl, add oil, vanilla, eggs, milk and lemon juice and whisk with a fork just to break up the egg yolks.
- Make a well in the middle of your dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients. Very gently fold the mixture until there are no pockets of flour. Be careful not to over-mix your batter or your muffins will be tough and dry.
- Spoon out the mixture into your prepared muffin pan. Each muffin hole should be almost full with muffin batter. Add extra blueberries on top of each muffin and sprinkle over demerara sugar, if using.
- Bake muffins for 5 minutes before turning down the heat to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced for a further 13-15 minutes. Muffins are ready when they’re golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Notes
Flour: I highly recommend weighing your flour using a baking scale for this recipe. It’s very easy to over-measure when using cups and too much flour will result in a dry muffin.
Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe. If you are using frozen ones, add them frozen – do not thaw them. You could also use raspberries or blackberries.
Storage: Muffins are best eaten on the day they are made. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Consider freezing leftovers to maintain maximum freshness.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1 muffin Calories: 271 Sugar: 15.1 g Sodium: 73.3 mg Fat: 11 g Carbohydrates: 39.7 g Protein: 4.8 g Cholesterol: 33.1 mg
Hi, I’m Jess, the creator of Sweetest Menu and the author of Something Sweet. A self-taught baker and published recipe writer who can’t stop making easy and delicious baking recipes.
Kristie says
Delicious. Love this recipe. My 9 year old son approves and I have frozen a batch to pop in his lunchbox and he proclaimed they were even better cold 😆
Jessica Holmes says
I love that Kristie! So pleased everyone enjoyed them!
Laura says
I love to make muffins with wholemeal flour. If I were to change the white flour to wholemeal, do you think I need to make any other adjustments to the recipe?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Laura, I would attempt half white, half wholemeal first and see how it is. Sometimes you might need to add a touch more liquid to ensure they’re not dry when using wholemeal flour. If you experiment, let me know how it goes!
Meg says
These are the best blueberry muffins ever. I’ve tried so many that are stodgy but these are perfect!! Whole family love them
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! That makes me so happy Meg!
Svitlana says
I’m not an experienced baker, but these muffins turned out perfect from the first time. Everyone in the family loved how are they so moist and fluffy. Second time, I used a mashed banana instead of lemon and they turned out sooo delicious, too. Thank you for the recipe!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh I’m so pleased to hear that Svitlana! Thank you so much for your lovely review.
Rebecca McLean says
I made these lovely muffins for the second time today! Lovely balance of flavours and the perfect muffin top! Easy and clear instructions. Perfect for a special breakfast or morning tea.
Jessica Holmes says
I love hearing that Rebecca! So pleased you enjoyed them – and that you achieved the perfect muffin top!
M says
Thanks for this recipe. I was wondering could I use freeze dried blueberries in this recipe instead of fresh/frozen? If so how much? 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, yes you could. You would need a few to make a difference, perhaps 3/4 cup to 1 cup.
Seeds says
This turned out brilliant! I used orange zest and orange juice as that’s what I had on hand. Also sprinkled some coconut flakes on top instead of Demerara sugar, the flavour and crumb was lovely. This is a keeper.
Thank you for the recipe!!
Jessica Holmes says
Brilliant! So happy to hear that.
Annmarie Clark says
I have a love hate relationship with muffins and over spill on my oven shelves….no problem with these they popped out perfectly domed and juicy with evenly distributed bloops! Took them to work for my co workers …it was like a plague of locust descended ….gone in 60 seconds not even a crumb left 😂.
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! How I love hearing this Annmarie!
Caity says
Delicious! love the use of the oil in the recipe they were so tender – lemon flavour came through well, and my blueberries spread evenly through the muffin (used the tip to coat in the flour first)
I used frozen blueberries and they came out perfect!
Jessica Holmes says
Yes! I love hearing that Caity! Thank you so much for your kind review.
Josh says
These muffins were great!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Josh!