sourdough blueberry muffins
This sourdough blueberry muffins are soft, sweet, tender and moist! They taste just like a bakery blueberry muffin but homemade in less than an hour.
When life gives you leftover sourdough starter, don’t toss it! Use it to make sourdough blueberry muffins, which are legitimately my new favorite blueberry muffin from scratch. You can, and should, also make sourdough cinnamon rolls, sourdough waffles and sourdough pancakes, but we are here about these muffins!
Just like my banana bread muffins and chocolate chip banana muffins, these are soft but dense muffins that hold their shape and don’t crumble when you bite into them. These muffins that are bursting with fresh berries in their tender centers but have that ever-so-crisp edge at the top.
Table of contents
Why You Will Love this Blueberry Muffin Recipe
- The texture & flavor you love in a bakery blueberry muffin: Every bite of these muffins is soft, moist, tender, and full of blueberry flavor with a hint of crunch from a demerara sugar topping.
- The sourdough starter is here for moisture and nothing else. This recipe does not rely on sourdough starter to raise the muffin tops, because that makes for tough and (not delightfully) chewy muffins.
- Better than bakery blueberry muffins in under an hour. We let baking soda do the heavy lifting so you get fast, flavor blueberry sourdough muffins in almost no time at all!
- Lightly sweetened with maple syrup or honey. No processed sugars in these muffins! Feel good about serving them for breakfast with peaches and cream overnight oats or a tropical protein smoothie!
Pro Tips for Making Tender Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
- Don’t overmix the batter. This is a cardinal rule for all muffins and it keeps the muffins from becoming tough. Mix the ingredients until they’re just – and I mean just – combined, and you’ll get muffins so soft and fluffy, you’ll want to use them as a pillow.
- Don’t be tempted to use only all-purpose flour for this recipe; the combination of flour and almond flour is what gives these muffins their softness and light texture especially in spite of the sourdough starter.
- Top these muffins with demerara sugar for crunch. This easy addition add extra crunch and sweetness just like in my taller-than-life lemon poppy seed muffins and gingerbread loaf.
- Paper liners will keep the muffins moist for longer. You could bake these directly in muffin tins sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, but muffins baked in liners retain moisture better than those without especially when freezing.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-Purpose Flour
- Almond Flour: The combination of almond flour and all-purpose flour keep these muffins light and tender. If you can’t use almond flour, use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup fine cornmeal.
- Baking Soda: Since baking soda is the one doing the leavening in these muffins, you’ll want to make sure it is fresh. It is going to react powerfully with the acid in the sourdough starter for tall, proud muffins!
- Ground Cinnamon
- Salt
- Sourdough Starter: You can use active fed starter or sourdough discard for this recipe. It does add moisture to the muffins but the baking soda is doing the heavy lifting! If you don’t have a sourdough starter lying around, let me introduce you to my blueberry lemon muffin bread, which is essentially a blueberry muffin baked in loaf pan! You could also make these jumbo blueberry muffins. If you are just starting your journey, I suggest you start with my sourdough starter recipe then read the ins and outs of how to feed sourdough starter. Practice makes perfect, so you will also have enough discard to make sourdough cinnamon rolls and sourdough focaccia!
- Maple Syrup or Honey: If you want sweeter muffins, use honey.
- Milk: The milk that you choose will impact the flavor and texture of any muffins. I love the results when I use dairy milk, especially whole milk or buttermilk, but I often choose unsweetened almond milk to reduce the calories.
- Vegetable Oil: You can use melted unsalted butter or melted coconut oil in place of vegetable oil. Butter lends the best flavor but muffins made with oil are the most moist and will retain that moisture longer just like these incredibly moist pumpkin muffins!
- Large Egg
- Blueberries: You can use either fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries in these muffins.
- Demerara Sugar: The demerara sugar adds extra crunch and sweetness on top. You can omit it or use coarse sparkling sugar or turbinado if desired. You could also add a crumb topping like my coffee cake muffins.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Some Possible Variations
- Add a little spice or extract: Swap out the ground cinnamon for a mixture of spices like in my gingerbread pancakes! You could add a teaspoon vanilla extract or ¼ – ½ teaspoon almond extract or another family favorite.
- Bring in the citrus! Blueberries are best friends with lemon and orange for a reason! Add a grate of lemon zest or orange zest alone or with a bit of extract! You could add a little lemon juice but if you want the full lemon experience add blueberries to my lemon poppy seed muffins instead.
- Go berry wild! Get crazy like I do with my berry cream cheese coffee cake recipe! Substitute the blueberries for raspberries or blackberries, or make a mixture of all three!
- Swap the sugar for streusel! Make this easy streusel topping recipe and crumble over the muffins before baking. Just don’t add too much, or it will weigh them down and the centers will sink!
How to Make this Sourdough Blueberry Muffins Recipe
Never again will that sourdough discard go to waste; not when you can use it to make moist blueberry muffins! Further instructions and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Heat oven to 425°F. Line 12 standard muffin pan with paper baking cups.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until well combined. In a separate large bowl, whisk starter, maple syrup (or honey), milk, vegetable oil and egg until well combined.
Step 3: Whisk the wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Carefully fold in blueberries.
Step 4: Spoon batter evenly into baking cups (they will be about 3/4 full). Sprinkle tops of muffins with demerara sugar, if desired.
You can use an ice cream scoop for easy, spill-free portioning.
Step 5: Bake muffins 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, domed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 6: Cool muffins 5 minutes in pan, then carefully transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Let muffins cool completely at room temperature then store them in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag at room temperature for up to 4 days; in the refrigerator for up to a week; or frozen for 2 months.
In this sourdough muffin recipe, the sourdough starter helps make the muffins more moist in addition to the vegetable oil and milk. The blueberries also add moisture and keep them moist for longer. Other ingredients that can add moisture to muffins are sour cream, buttermilk, Greek yogurt, coconut oil and other add ins.
After 4 days I would recommend refrigerating blueberry muffins, but I prefer to freeze any that I know I will not consume within 2 days, so that they stay fresh and moist longer! This is especially true of very moist muffins with blueberries and buttermilk, which can spoil at room temperature after 3 days.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Description
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup sourdough starter ripe or discard
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/3 cup milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups blueberries fresh or frozen
- Demerara sugar for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper baking cups.
- In a large bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt until well combined. In a separate medium bowl, whisk starter, maple syrup, milk, vegetable oil and egg until well combined. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined. Carefully fold in blueberries.
- Spoon batter evenly into baking cups (they will be about 3/4 full). Sprinkle tops of muffins with demerara sugar, if desired.
- Bake muffins 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown, domed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool muffins 5 minutes in pan, then carefully transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.
- Don’t be tempted to use only all-purpose flour for this recipe; the combination of flour and almond flour is what gives these muffins their softness and light texture. If you can’t use almond flour, use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup fine cornmeal.
- You can use leftover sourdough starter that’s fed or unfed–totally up to you! The flavor of the starter doesn’t really come through in the muffins, so the point is really to use up starter that you don’t want to toss!
- Variations – Add vanilla extract, almond extract, different spices, lemon or orange zest, or change up the fruit! Try blackberries or raspberries, or a mix of all three!
- Storage – Let muffins cool completely at room temperature then store them in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag at room temperature for up to 4 days; in the refrigerator for up to a week; or frozen for 2 months.
Nutrition
Before You Go
On that note, I leave you to these soft, moist, tender, flavorful, totally life-changing blueberry muffins. I encourage you to give my sourdough bread recipe a try and peruse all my sourdough recipes for your next baking adventure!
I made these sourdough muffins today and I was surprised they were fluffy, sweetness was just right for me. My bestie came at the right time to visit me. She doesn’t like sweet bakes and she approved this muffin is a healtheir choice for her personal liking. I used all the imgredients you listed except the sugar (for topping). Thank you very much.
Christina, I love that! I agree that these muffins are just the right amount of sweetness (I don’t love those muffins that are ultra-sweet). So glad you both enjoyed them! 🙂
These are so delicious! Everything a blueberry muffin should be. Substituted plant based butter and a flax egg (2 tbsp ground flax + 2.5 tbsp warm water) and left off the extra sugar. Sweet and soft and yum!
These are everything I wanted in blueberry muffins. So glad to have such a tasty use for my excess starter. The almond flour is genius to keep the gluten down and the muffins texture fluffy and moist. I used a mix of mostly honey with a touch of maple syrup. The only change I might make next time would be to add some lemon zest.
Love these! If I want to do banana nut muffins will it work? I know there is more moisture in bananas so wondering if it will work
Jacquelyn, I can’t say for sure how these would work with bananas instead, HOWEVER, I am planning to make a banana-nut version for the blog very soon! Stay tuned. 🙂
I forgot to give my review previously. This rrcipe is a keeper ? Do you think I can replace the blueberries to apple?
Christina, Thank you! I haven’t tried it with apples but I imagine it would work with most any chopped fruit!
My new go-to sourdough muffins . These muffins taste FANTASTIC! They are light, tender, moist, naturally and mildly sweetened, loaded with blueberries and very flavorful.
Delicious! I’m always looking for discard starter recipes – I hate to throw it out! – and this one is a keeper. I topped them with a quick cinnamon streusel instead of the sugar, and they were excellent. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi , I’m quite a newbie when it comes to culturing sourdough starter. I got a jar of starter from a friend yesterday, and it’s supposed to have been fed yesterday. Today I wanted to use it to bake muffins, but found it quite thick when I opened the jar. My question is: can one use this straight from the fridge or should one let it cone to room temperature or feed it before using to make muffins? Thanks! – Mel
Mel, I prefer to use a ripe (fed) starter for discard recipes, but you can add starter in any state — straight from the fridge or room temp. Hope that helps!
I made this recipe as written, here are my thoughts:
Thanks to the almond flour’s particle size, we get a light texture, but I would change the ratio to favor AP for a more solid muffin in the future.
This was WAY too much fruit for my muffins, they didn’t have enough structural integrity for me ????
I would say half , to maybe even a third would be better.
I would also use dried fruit that I rehydrated, especially if I kept the 1:1 flour ratio. This muffin was too wet for me.
Thanks for sharing!
These muffins taste amazing, have a great texture, and are a great way to use discard! However, both times I’ve made them the edges have started burning before the muffins after fully cooked. I’ve done regular and jumbo muffins and had issues in both cases! My oven seems like the most likely culprit, but I haven’t had issues with any other baked goods burning recently. I’m sure I’ll make these again so maybe I’ll try a lower baking temp for longer and see if that helps.
Kristina, Thanks for the note! I’ve never had this issue with the muffins so it sounds like it might be an oven issue? I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer to gauge the true temperature of your oven so you can adjust accordingly. Happy baking!
Ok this is my second comment:) I was in error, aka wrong! They are not burnt just darker than i am use to seeing in a muffin. They are delicious!
Barb, Thanks so much! So glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
I agree with the comment about there being too much fruit – would definitely recommend using half the quantity. I found the muffins to be a bit too dense and doughy. I’d recommend upping the amount of baking soda, butter and adding an extra egg to make this muffin lighter and less doughy.
Everyone gobbled the sugary crusted top and the inclusion of almond flour enabled the muffin to stand up to my substitution of ripe plums which has a lot of liquid making the center custardy/pudding-like. Blueberries would have been the better choice here, but I saw an opportunity to use my plums.
Delicious….made them with butter. Thank you.
Loved these muffins – tons of fruit, more nutrition with the almond flour, super moist and my batch made 16! Very happy and can’t wait to make again! TYSM
What a great recipe! So easy to make and muffins come out looking exactly like the picture. Thank you. Will definitely make again.
Wonderful recipe! Tasted like it came straight from the bakery. Don’t sleep on the Demerara sugar, gives a great crunch.
OMG !! these muffins turned out FANTASTIC. I did not have honey or maple syrup so i added 3/4 cup of sugar. All the muffins were swiped off in a day. Making another batch tomorrow. Thank you so much for this delicious recipe ?