Every once in a while I like to post a recipe that’s based on a childhood favorite of mine. And when I say favorite, I mean, real deal butter and sugar baked up fresh just like something you’d find out of a bakery.
Many of you know that Ambitious Kitchen strives to inspire you in and out of the kitchen. That means I share mostly nutrient-dense recipes that you can feel good about cooking and baking.
However, it also means that I’m not afraid to challenge you to bake something to feel nostalgic (i.e. my famous cinnamon rolls), or a treat you want to impress someone with, kick back with a book and a cup of coffee on a Sunday morning or serve at a family brunch (hello, Easter!) and be proud to say you’ve made it from scratch.
That’s where the best blueberry muffins come in. I had to give them a re-share this spring because they’re just THAT good. So good, in fact, that my team and I did a blind taste test comparing them to a Starbucks blueberry muffin! The video is a must-watch, and it’s the first episode in Season 3 of Good Mood Comfort Food.
Everything you’ll need to make the best blueberry muffins
This is the real deal, traditional blueberry muffin recipe using good old butter, sugar and regular flour. If you’re looking for a healthier and/or gluten free alternative, check out these! Otherwise, let’s get to this amazing, nostalgic, best-ever blueberry muffin recipe. Here’s what you’ll need:
- All purpose flour: the base of these incredible blueberry muffins.
- Brown & white sugar: we’re using both brown sugar and white sugar in this recipe for a wonderful sweetness that isn’t overpowering.
- Butter: for the perfect amount of moisture in these blueberry muffins. And yes, you’re going to brown it.
- Eggs: to help bind these babies together.
- Milk: feel free to use any milk you want (dairy free if desired).
- Vanilla extract & almond extract: using both vanilla and almond extracts gives these blueberry muffins that bakery flavor you know and love.
- Baking powder & salt: so that these muffins bake up correctly.
- Blueberries: for bursts of juicy blueberry in every bite. Feel free to use fresh or frozen blueberries!
Can I make them gluten free?
I recommend using my gluten free blueberry muffin recipe here. Or you can try subbing a 1:1 gluten free all purpose flour. Please know I have not tested this substitute, but let me know in the comments if you try it!
How to make a crumb topping for blueberry muffins
Is there anything better than homemade blueberry muffins with a crumb topping? The delicious streusel texture and flavor are truly what make these muffins extra special. To make it:
- Mix the dry. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and brown sugar.
- Stir in the butter. Add in the melted butter and stir together with a fork until it begins to form into crumbles and resembles pea-sized clumps. You may need to use your hands/fingers to form into nice crumbles. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Top the muffins. Once you’re done mixing the rest of the blueberry muffin batter you’ll simply add the crumb topping to each muffin before baking.
Don’t forget this secret ingredient
Brown butter! Oh yeah, we’re adding brown butter to these amazing blueberry muffins. It can seem intimidating, but it’s easier than you think. Learn how to make brown butter here, and get even more recipes using rich brown butter here!
Tips for making homemade blueberry muffins
- Use room temp ingredients. Be sure your brown butter is cooled before using it and bring your eggs to room temperature so that they do not coagulate with the butter. Simply run your eggs under warm water for a few minutes to bring them to room temp.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Mix the dry ingredients into your wet ingredients until it’s just combined. If you overmix the batter your muffins may turn out dense and almost rubbery, which we don’t want.
- Use muffin liners & spray. I recommend spraying your muffin liners with a bit of cooking spray to prevent any sticking.
How do you keep blueberries from sinking in muffins?
This is an important (but super simple) part of making these bakery-style blueberry muffins. Once you add the blueberries you don’t want them to all pool at the bottom.
To keep them from sinking, you’ll simply toss them in about 2 tablespoons of flour before gently folding them into your blueberry muffin batter. Easy!
Can I use frozen blueberries?
Yes! In my latest video I ended up using frozen wild blueberries (which were delicious). If you use frozen berries, the batter may seize up a bit and seem cold, but don’t worry — they will still bake up beautifully. I recommend tossing them in flour before adding them to the batter.
Freezer-friendly blueberry muffins
These easy blueberry muffins are freezer-friendly! Simply wrap muffins individually in freezer-safe bags or store them in a large freezer bag. When you’re ready to enjoy them, reheat for 30-45 seconds in the microwave or simply thaw them at room temperature.
Our fav tools for baking muffins
Don’t forget to check out all of our favorite kitchen essentials.
More muffin recipes to try
- Honey Cinnamon Walnut Banana Muffins
- Outrageously Good Orange Muffins
- Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Glaze
- Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Muffins (dairy free + gluten free)
- Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Get all of our amazing muffin recipes here!
If you make these bakery style blueberry muffins be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them! You can also tag me using the hashtag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram. I appreciate it – xo!
Good Mood Comfort Food
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Best Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- For the topping:
- ½ cup (60g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ cup (71g) packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (42g) butter, melted
- For the wet ingredients:
- ½ cup (113g) butter
- 1 cup (200g) sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup (120g) milk (any milk should work here)
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- Dry ingredients:
- 2 cups (240g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- For the mix in:
- 2 cups (300g) fresh or frozen blueberries*
- 2 tablespoons (15g) all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with liners and spray them with cooking spray.
- Brown your butter: add ½ cup butter to a large saucepan and place over medium heat. The butter will begin to crackle, and then eventually foam. Make sure you whisk constantly during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown and turn a nice golden amber color on the bottom of the saucepan. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a medium bowl to prevent burning, making sure you scrape all the brown butter bits from the bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes or until cool enough to touch.
- While the brown butter cools, make the topping: in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon and brown sugar. Add in the melted butter and stir together with a fork until it begins to form into crumbles and resembles pea-sized clumps. You may need to use your hands/fingers to form into nice crumbles. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, beat together the brown butter and sugar. Slowly add in eggs, one at a time. (It’s very important your eggs are at room temperature here, so be sure to run them under warm water for 1-2 minutes until no longer cold.) Next add in your milk, vanilla, and almond extract, mixing until the wet ingredients are smooth and well combined. Slowly add in dry ingredients, mixing with a wooden spoon until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Add blueberries and 2 tablespoons of flour to a medium bowl and stir to coat the blueberries with flour. This is so the blueberries do not fall to the bottom of the muffins when baking. Gently fold blueberries into the muffin batter.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle the topping on top. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until the tester comes out of the middle clean. Allow muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing. Makes 12 muffins.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on May 6th, 2021, republished on May 8th, 2023, republished on March 21st, 2024, and republished on March 16th, 2025.
I made no modifications and they turned out perfectly!!! Highly recommend!
So happy to hear that!
These muffins are absolutely delicious, I used 3 cups blueberries and 3tbs flour to dust them because my daughter wanted to add more blueberries than what was called for. I also used lemon extract instead because I didn’t have almond extract and I had to bake them for 15 mins longer maybe because of the extra blueberries. These are a must try and 100% recommended.
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
I’ve tried many different blueberry muffin recipes and tasted them in many places because I really love them. But this recipe is on another level of perfection. Even while making them, the smell was heavenly, and when they came out of the oven, my whole house smelled like a bakery. And the taste—OMG! The fluffiness and crunchy topping made it one of the best bites I’ve had in a long time!! 100% recommended!!!
I may have already left a comment on these but came to say once again that these muffins are perfection and deliciously amazing. They are gone in a day or so. My entire family loves them. I’m not sure how many times I’ve made them but I need another muffin recipe exactly like this to make next because when there is only one left you immediately start to panic. I also will add that, unfortunately, these are so good that when you make a batch you decide to not give them out or share them with neighbors and friends because you want to keep them for yourself.
Best blueberry muffins i have ever tasted and made!!! So quick and easy 100% recommend thank you for the great recipe
So glad you loved them!!
I’ve made lots of blueberry muffins over the years and these actually ARE the best! I don’t need to try any other recipe! The only change I made was to sub additional vanilla for the almond extract.
Amazing! Glad you love these!
I made these with high hopes and was disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly as is and the crumb topping was very good but the muffin itself was very bland. They did dome up and they were very pretty, but didn’t have much flavor. The recipe was easy to follow and had great tips, especially coating the frozen blueberries with flour (worked great!). I look forward to making more things from this blog, but these will not be returning to my kitchen.
So strange! I’m not sure what could’ve caused them to be bland with a full cup of sugar, brown butter, and both vanilla and almond extracts.
These turned out absolutely amazing! Thanks for sharing ! I will definitely be making again
So happy to hear that!
AMAZINGGGG. My first time making these. I used a GF 1:1 flour and coconut sugar and they turned out amazing, perfect level of moist muffin and crunchy topping. And they popped up so cute into the most perfect muffin shape! I was afraid my frozen organic wild blueberries were too small making 2 cups of them A LOT, but actually I loved how many blueberries were in them. Im not a big blueberry muffin fan so the fact that I loved these is huge. The almond extract addition is on point! Saving this recipe for future use!
So glad you loved these!!
Loved it
I’m so glad!
I never typically leave reviews on recipes but these were too good not to. Absolutely delicious. Moist, perfectly sweet, yummy & crunchy topping. My husband can’t stop talking about them. Will definitely make again soon!
The best! So happy you both loved them!
I got to the end before realizing I didn’t have any blue berries 🥲 I substituted with a cup of blackberries and a cup of chocolate chips…
The muffin itself tasted lovely but will have to give it a proper try again with blueberries. Don’t be like me lol and make sure you have all the ingredients needed!
These are so fantastic!! Moist with a little crunch on top, and full of blueberries!! Quick question though – has anyone tried subbing some of the almond extract for blueberry extract to get a bit more of a blueberry punch? I love the flavor from the almond extract but it was pretty powerful in my batch, so I’m wondering if maybe reducing it a bit and adding blueberry would work. Regardless these are definitely our new go-to!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with us!!
So glad you loved these! Feel free to reduce the almond extract if you’d like 🙂 I’ve never baked with blueberry extract, but let me know if you give that a try!
So wonderfully full of blueberries! I halved the sugar and used monkfruit instead, Used reg brown sugar for the streusel. Ended up using about half the streusel b/c I didn’t realize how much they would spread on top, leaving open spaces where there could have been streusel… so squeeze it all on there for all the crunchy texture you can get! Also, I subbed Pamela’s GF all purpose flour and they came out great. Will def make again and half cup sugar was plenty for my family. First time making brown butter too. Sooo good. Thanks a bunch!!
I’m glad those swaps worked out well! Perfect snack 🙂
These muffins are the best!!! My daughter could not stop raving about them!
So glad you both loved them!
I’m not a very experienced cook, but I am generally pretty good at following clear directions. I was a bit surprised, therefore, when the directions did not quite match up with the ingredients. And making the batter you are instructed to combine the brown sugar and the white sugar in with the brown butter. However, in the ingredients list, there is no brown sugar listed for the batter, simply one cup of sugar. The muffins came out fine, but I had to look at other recipes to determine how much sugar would be best if I were to add a little bit of brown sugar into the mix
Sorry for the confusion here! In Step 5 you beat together the brown butter and regular sugar (not brown sugar), then add the rest of your dry ingredients. The brown sugar just goes in the streusel topping in Step 3.
Happy to report this was easily made gluten free with King Arthur’s GF blend and even vegan with two flax eggs. 10/10 recommend this recipe. As a former Starbucks barista, can attest this recipe is a huge improvement. The only other change I made was the addition of a coupon of teaspoons apple cider vinegar to ensure they puffed up nicely while baking. Thanks for this recipe!
So happy to hear that! Great tip with the ACV, too 🙂
These truly are the best! Wouldn’t change anything! I just have a question, anyone baked this recipe in a cake tin? How did it come out? Wondering if i should 1.5x the recipe. I have so many blueberries but need to bake a birthday cake. Thinking to serve with compote and double cream 😋
That sounds delicious! I haven’t tested this in a cake tin, but you can use a loaf pan to turn it into a bread!
Super excited to try this recipe BUT I want to make JUMBO muffins. How would you suggest I adjust baking time? Thanks!
I’m guessing they’ll take a little longer. start checking around 25 minutes and bake for 5 more mins as needed. It’s really going to depend on how jumbo you’d like them 🙂
I am eager to use your recipe ! Looks delicious !
I hope you love it!
Hi Monica, I love your recipes and have your cookbook. Would this muffin recipe be interchangeable with different berries? I have a lot of blackberries at the moment and thought they could potentially work in this recipe. Thanks!
Hi! Yes, that would be delicious! I might suggest cutting them in half (or even smaller) because blackberries can be so large.
Really good recipe but why so many dishes???
Best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had!! I make extra now and freeze them
So happy to hear that!
These are the best blueberry muffins ever!! I followed the recipe as written. The only complaint I have about them is that they’re too good!#self control
We’re obsessed with them! Glad you love them, too 🙂
Made these using Bob’s Red Mill gf flour and frozen blueberries. The streusel topping is such a nice addition, making these muffins really look bakery made. They are delicious!
Perfect! So happy you love them 🙂
These muffins are definitely bakery worthy. I omitted the almond extract and used frozen blueberries with the flour trick. They baked so well, the blueberry distribution is great, and the crumble is the best part. It took about 27 minutes at 400 in my oven.
Amazing! So glad they turned out beautifully 🙂
I use your recipe for blueberry muffins all the time and they always turn out great, but for the batch that I just made, I used duck eggs. I swear, they tasted even better than they normally do! So happy I found your recipe!
Amazing! Glad this is a favorite!
The are incredibly good! I’m curious, how did you come to your calorie count? When I use a calorie counter for recipies it says 535 calories a muffin.
I also subbed applesauce for the butter, vinegar and soda for the eggs, monk fruit for the sugars and cherries for the blueberries on my second bake. We’ll see how they turn out!
Hi! We use a special recipe nutrition calculator for all of our recipes. Let me know how the second bake goes!
I have made this recipe several times now, everyone LOVES them!
Made these today. Wish I could send a Pic. Didn’t have butter so I cooked the margerine til it smelled rich fake milky. Ended up needing a qtr cp more flour. They turned out nice.
I’m glad the margarine worked out well!
I’ve grown blueberry’s for 25 years. I’ve made a ton of blueberry muffins and I’ve tried a ton of recipes. This is the best! The crumb is beatiful and so is the topping. It’s not dry or to sweet. It’s perfect.
So happy to hear that!
I was looking forward to making these but found them a bit dry and cakey. The topping was also a bit dry. The addition of brown butter and almond extract adds flavor and the method of coating blueberries with flour is brilliant. My modifications: I used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 white flour instead of 2 cups white flour. I added 2 Tbsp more milk. I don’t think that would have changed the outcome too much.
So strange! Did you use the spoon and level method when measuring the flour? And did you scrape in all of that cooled brown butter?
These turned out amazingly! I made these today with the following modifications:
– To simplify for me, I did not brown the butter. I only microwaved it until it melted.
– Reduced the crust’s brown sugar to 50g.
– Reduced the batter’s sugar to 120g
– Omitted the almond extract for personal preference.
They were delightful! Lovely cinnamon crust on top with just the right amount of sweetness for me. Thank you for the recipe. Do you have any tips on maintaining the high dome of the muffin after it reaches the peak? Mine didn’t quite achieve the bakery “dome” look but it was getting there!
Perfect – so glad you loved these! Hmm the hotter baking temp (400 degrees F instead of 350) is usually how I achieve this “domed” top. I’ve read that you could try putting the muffins in at an even higher temp, and then reducing the temp right after they go in to create that dome shape as well!
Thank you for replying and for the tip! I’ll try again and see!
These turned out amazingly! I made these today with the following modifications:
– To simplify for me, I did not brown the butter. I only microwaved it until it melted.
– Reduced the crust’s brown sugar to 50g.
– Reduced the batter’s sugar to 120g
– Omitted the almond extract for personal preference.
They were delightful! Lovely cinnamon crust on top with just the right amount of sweetness for me. Thank you for the recipe. Do you have any tips on maintaining the high dome of the muffin after it reaches the peak? Mine didn’t quite achieve the bakery “dome” look but it was getting there!
I made these with fresh picked blueberries over the weekend and they came out beautifully. Followed the recipe exactly except for the milk, I only had almond and I forgot to leave it out to be at room temperature so when I added it to the butter, the consistency was off. I thought I had just ruined the whole recipe but nope. They were delicious! I got many compliments on these muffins. The combination of the vanilla and almond together is so good!
I’m glad they still turned out well! Yes, be sure those ingredients (including the brown butter) come to room temp first 🙂
Truly bakery style, delicious muffins that will have everyone grabbing a second or third!
Absolutely!!
Loved!! Thank you.
So happy to hear that!
Easy to do – follow the directions! This recipe is my go-to for breakfast muffins. I make the whole twelve – my husband will have two the first day – then I freeze the rest as directed. (We are a family of 2). He will ALL BY HIMSELF find them in the freezer and reheat through the week. This is huge.
I love that metric measurements are given too. I find this is the most accurate way to replicate a recipe. I make them exactly described. I have used both fresh and frozen berries, both work great!
Everyone in my extended family has given rave reviews. Nothing should be changed – but do use a high quality cinnamon and extracts.
So glad these are a hit!!
Just a quick question, is the batter supposed to be super thick?
Smells great, still in the oven.
Check out the video to see what it should look like! Hope these turned out beautifully for you 🙂
Absolutely delicious and easy to make! Love that you can use any milk on hand. I baked mine for 20 min on the convection setting and they turned out perfect.
Absolutely amazing 😍 I’ve always thought I just suck at making muffins, turns out I just haven’t found the right recipe yet 😅. They are so fluffy and not at all to sweet🫐❤️ 5 out of 5 stars worth ⭐️
So glad you gave these ones a try!
Great recipe !
Love the strudel topping on these muffins and the mix of brown and white sugar!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂