When life gives you leftover sourdough starter, don’t toss it! Use it to make these tastier-than-ever Sourdough Blueberry Muffins, a.k.a. legitimately my new favorite blueberry muffin made from scratch. Perfectly soft, sweet, tender and moist, these taste just like a bakery blueberry muffin but you can have them fresh from the oven in your home in less than an hour. BOOM. This recipe is part of a month-long series I’m working on featuring recipes that use leftover sourdough starter. For a refresher on all things sourdough, head to this post!

close-up of a sourdough blueberry muffin on parchment paper
sourdough blueberry muffins on parchment paper

Sourdough Blueberry Muffins = The Best Blueberry Muffins

Hear me out, friends: I am writing today to tell you that these are the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever made. And they’re made with sourdough starter. This recipe is perfect for using up that leftover stuff from the jar that you don’t want to throw away. Every bite of these muffins is soft, moist, tender, and full of blueberry flavor with a hint of crunch from a demerara sugar topping.

If you’re as much of a fan as I am of soft but dense muffins, muffins that hold their shape but don’t crumble when you bite into them, muffins that are bursting with fresh berries, muffins with that ever-so-crisp edge at the top but the tenderest centers. These are just facts.

sourdough blueberry muffins on a cooling rack

Taste

The starter is not intended to be used in this recipe for the flavor — it’s simply a way to not have your excess sourdough starter go to waste. It also lends extra moisture to the muffins.

But all in all? You’d never know these muffins were made with sourdough starter if no one told you. They 100% taste like a normal (but DREAMY) blueberry muffin that you can eat for breakfast, second breakfast, lunchtime treat, afternoon snack, pre-dinner snack, post-dinner snack, snack-that’s-perfect-for-enjoying-while-watching-The-Bachelor-finale and so on.

Now I Just Really Want a Blueberry Muffin. One Problem — I Don’t Have Sourdough Starter.

No worries if you don’t have a sourdough starter lying around ready to bake with! Let me introduce you then to my Blueberry Lemon Muffin Bread, which is essentially a blueberry muffin in loaf pan form with a kiss of lemon. It’s also very, very, very good. Very.

half of a sourdough blueberry muffin with butter on parchment paper

What Else Should I Know?

Ah, yes, let’s talk tips on baking the best muffins!

  • Don’t overmix the batter. This is a cardinal rule for all muffin-dom, and it’s important to keep muffins from becoming tough once baked. 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.
  • You’ll notice that this recipe uses almond flour. My favorite is Bob’s Red Mill almond flour, but you can use any variety! See the Notes section of the recipe for tips on swaps, if need be.
  • I love to top muffins and quick breads with demerara sugar for extra crunch and sweetness, but you can leave it out or swap it for coarse sparkling sugar (which makes the tops extra-pretty, too).

On that note, I leave you to these soft, moist, tender, flavorful, totally life-changing blueberry muffins. ENJOY. If you enjoy these, you will adore these Homemade Coffee Cake Muffins!

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sourdough blueberry muffin on parchment paper

Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.6 from 24 reviews
  • Author: Stephanie
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 12 muffins 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These soft, tender, moist and flavorful sourdough blueberry muffins use up that leftover sourdough starter so it doesn’t go to waste!

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup sourdough starter, ripe or discard
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
  • Demerara sugar, for topping (optional)

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 425°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper baking cups.
  2. 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.
  3. Spoon batter evenly into baking cups (they will be about 3/4 full). Sprinkle tops of muffins with demerara sugar, if desired.
  4. 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 just 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!
  • The demerara sugar adds extra crunch and sweetness–feel free to use it or leave it out. You can also use coarse sparkling sugar if desired.

P.S. Even more sourdough content you want and deserve: