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Home » Muffins & Bread » Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Published: Apr 30, 2021 · Modified: Mar 10, 2022 by Allison · 129 Comments

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Our favorite Lemon Blueberry Muffins! Fluffy and tender muffins filled with lemon zest, lemon juice, and blueberries and finished with a lemon-sugar crumb topping and tangy lemon icing. These flavorful muffins are perfect for breakfast or snacking. They can even be served as dessert.

Closeup of a lemon blueberry muffin with crumb topping and white icing
Jump to:
  • Recipe overview
  • What makes this recipe the best
  • FAQs
  • Recipe tips
  • Serving and storage
  • More breakfast and brunch recipes
  • Recipe

In my world, muffins fall under one of two categories:

  • “Company Muffins”: These are the muffins you make when you want everyone to be impressed. You make them for company, you bring them to a brunch, and you serve them on holidays. They’re buttery, sweet, and tender – like something from a bakery.
  • “Everyday Muffins“: These are the muffins that I make for my family on a regular basis. Because we can’t always start our day with something that closely resembles cake (dang it!), I make some healthy swaps like reducing sugar and swapping in whole grain flours, etc.

These Lemon Blueberry Muffins fall squarely into the “Company Muffin” category, and I couldn’t be happier about it. You need to make these and share them and spread the Lemon Blueberry Muffin love!

Closeup of a lemon blueberry muffin cut in half.

Recipe overview

This recipe is super easy. You don’t need any fancy equipment. You can use a hand mixer or make it by hand.

  • Start with the crumb topping. Assemble it and place it in the fridge while you continue with the muffins.
  • Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl.
  • Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl.
  • Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then stir in the blueberries.
  • Place in a muffin pan and top with the crumb topping.
  • Bake!
  • Cool and add the lemon icing.
Lemon blueberry muffin batter in a white bowl.
Muffin batter in a muffin tin topped with crumb topping.

What makes this recipe the best

There are several things that make these muffins better than any other lemon muffin I’ve made before:

  • Lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon glaze ensure that every bite of these muffins is loaded with bright lemony flavor.
  • Sour cream makes these muffins extra moist and gives them a tender texture. The tang from the sour cream also complements the lemon.
  • A splash of almond extract imparts a subtle almond flavor that goes great with lemon.
  • Blueberries! Lemon and blueberries were made to be together. The pop of fresh blueberries takes these over the top!
  • Lemon sugar crumb topping AND lemon icing. The perfect finishing touch on top of the muffins.

FAQs

Can I use frozen blueberries?

Yes. Keep the blueberries frozen and stir them in straight from the freezer. The smaller they are the better, since large (frozen) blueberries will hold quite a bit of moisture. Note: The color might bleed into the muffin batter a bit more than it would with fresh blueberries.

Can I leave out the blueberries?

Sure! You’ll have a delicious lemon muffin.

What if I don’t have sour cream?

Try one of these Sour Cream Substitutes.

How many lemons will I need?

Two large lemons should provide enough juice and zest for this recipe.

My batter is really thick. Did I do something wrong?

Nope. This batter is supposed to be thick. I recommend scooping it with an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups. It will likely be too thick to pour.

What if I don’t have a muffin pan?

You can make my Blueberry Bread or Lemon Loaf Cake.

Can I use a loaf pan?

Try this recipe instead: Lemon Blueberry Bread.

Recipe tips

  • Don’t overmix when combining the wet and dry ingredients.
  • If you choose to use a hand mixer instead of a whisk (for the wet ingredients) make sure you don’t beat the mixture for too long. You don’t want to incorporate too much air.
  • Use a fine grater (like a Microplane) or zester to remove the zest from the lemons. Only remove the yellow part of the skin, not the white pith.
  • Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the muffin pan.
  • Prefer to skip the crumb topping? You can absolutely leave it off and these muffins will still be delicious (see pic below).
Lemon Blueberry Muffins in a white muffin pan.

Serving and storage

Serving: These muffins are best the day they are made. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. They are perfectly delicious on their own, but adding a pat of salted butter makes them extra tasty.

Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Note: The crumb topping might soften over time.

More breakfast and brunch recipes

  • Raspberry Peach Mimosas
  • Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
  • Baked French Toast
  • Strawberry Sangria
  • Cream Cheese Fruit Tarts
  • Cinnamon Roll Cake
  • Lemon Coconut Cake

Recipe

Closeup of a lemon blueberry muffin with crumb topping and white icing

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Fluffy and tender muffins filled with lemon zest, lemon juice, and blueberries and finished with a lemon-sugar crumb topping and tangy lemon icing.
4.64 from 47 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved!
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 300kcal
Author: Allison – Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

Crumb topping:

  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Muffins:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • Finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature*
  • ¾ teaspoon pure almond extract
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 ⅓ cups fresh blueberries

Icing:

  • ¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • a pinch of lemon zest

Instructions

Crumb topping:

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-count muffin pan with paper liners. 
  • For the topping: In a medium-sized bowl rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers. Stir in the flour. Add the cubed butter and use your fingers to rub the butter into the flour/sugar until all of the butter is in small pieces and the mixture resembles sand. Place in the refrigerator while you continue with the recipe.

Muffins:

  • In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk, sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs, almond extract, and melted butter. You can do this by hand with a whisk or with a hand mixer. Mix until just combined. Don't over mix.
  • Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and carefully stir with a rubber spatula until the two mixtures are just combined (it will be thick and a little lumpy. That's OK. Don't overmix). Carefully stir in the blueberries.
  • Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups (I use an ice cream scoop). Sprinkle the crumb topping on top of each muffin cup, lightly pressing the crumb onto the top of the muffin batter.
  • Bake for 18-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes, then remove each muffin to cool completely.

Icing:

  • Whisk all ingredients until smooth. Adjust to your desired consistency by adding more powdered sugar to thicken or more lemon juice to thin. Drizzle icing over cooled muffins.

Video

Notes

*To quickly bring eggs to room temperature: place the eggs in a bowl of really warm tap water for about 3 minutes.
Serving: These muffins are best the day they are made. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. They are perfectly delicious on their own, but adding a pat of salted butter makes them extra tasty.
Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Note: Over time the crumb topping might soften.
Recipe updated April 2021. I added a lemon-sugar crumb topping, but that was the only change made. The original muffin portion of the recipe is the same. Feel free to leave off the crumb topping if you’ve made these before and liked them better that way. 

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 119mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 455IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!

Recipe adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours.

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Comments

  1. Susan Latham

    April 08, 2021 at 5:48 am

    5 stars
    Delicious!

    Reply
    • Allison

      April 08, 2021 at 9:18 am

      I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Liz

    April 30, 2021 at 1:13 pm

    5 stars
    Blueberry muffins are my favorite and the lemon takes these to the next level! Yum!

    Reply
  3. Izzy

    April 30, 2021 at 1:59 pm

    5 stars
    I love the blueberries in a muffin, and I must admit that the lemon really adds to the flavor! Irresistible to the last bite!

    Reply
    • Allison

      May 03, 2021 at 1:46 pm

      I’m glad you enjoyed them!

      Reply
  4. wilhelmina

    May 15, 2021 at 8:16 am

    5 stars
    These muffins were dreamy! I enjoyed one with my coffee while soaking in a beautiful morning on the porch, it was perfect!

    Reply
  5. Sam

    May 15, 2021 at 8:17 am

    5 stars
    These muffins were delicious! My family loved them!

    Reply
    • Allison

      May 17, 2021 at 8:25 am

      I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Betty Crocker

    July 01, 2021 at 9:01 am

    5 stars
    OMG, these muffins are amazing. I didn’t have sour cream so I used 9% full fat vanilla yogurt and it worked really well as a replacement. I’ve used frozen berries in muffin recipes but am not a big fan. Not only do they bleed in the batter a lot but they don’t taste the same as fresh berries. Use fresh berries whenever possible. The fresh burst of blueberries in this recipe is awesome!

    Reply
    • Allison

      July 06, 2021 at 3:25 pm

      I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Laura G

    September 11, 2021 at 6:45 am

    5 stars
    I love this recipe, it is my all-time favorite. I bake it frequently.

    The MAJOR caution is that prep and bake times are significantly understated. I bake often. I have made this recipe often. No matter what I do, it is a 35 minute prep time. Baking time is 25-30 minutes. I’ve got a high-end double oven and I’ve calibrated oven temp. At 375 convect bake, it is 25 minutes – 33% longer than stated. At 375 it has been closer to 30 minutes bake time. It is 30 minutes in the oven at our home on the beach in FL. My sister lives in Boulder, she is still waiting for her muffins to bake.

    The minor improvement: 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons… that is a heaping 1/3 cup. So skip the extra measuring!

    Reply
  8. Crystal

    May 16, 2022 at 7:29 pm

    5 stars
    These are boyfriends favorite muffins! I make them every year for his birthday or whenever i have extra time. I leave out the crumbs and just do the icing and butter when they are out! They do take longer to bake tho. I always double the recipe and give them to friends and family. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Allison

      June 01, 2022 at 5:51 pm

      You’re welcome! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂

      Reply
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aboutHi, I'm Allison! I'm a busy wife and mom with a passion for cooking and baking. This is where you'll find my favorite homemade recipes, designed to help you make every day delicious! Read more....

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