Make the fluffiest EVER soft bakery style Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins with this tested-till-perfect recipe. They stay moist for days!
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Why This Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Muffin Recipe Works
- Blueberry muffins with sour cream give a soft, fluffy texture and bakery-style moist crumb.
- This is an easy-to-make recipe, perfect for both novice and experienced cooks and bakers.
- Freezer-filler; I love that you can whip one or two of these out of the freezer as a kid-friendly snack.
- They have that bakery-muffin pro look, taste and texture. Amazing!
Sour Cream Blueberry Muffins Ingredients
- Flour. All-purpose flour is all you need. You could make it with gluten-free flour if it can be swapped out 1:1 with regular flour.
- Sugar. Just good old white sugar from the store will do.
- Baking soda. This reacts with the acidic ingredients.
- Baking powder. The second raising agent in this mixture doubles down to ensure max fluffiness.
- Salt. It balances out the sweetness in the recipe a little.
- Butter. Contributes to the delicious flavor and texture. I use melted unsalted dairy butter in this recipe.
- Sour cream. This secret ingredient is one of the key contributors to the soft, moist texture. Use a full-fat sour cream if possible. You can use full-fat yogurt or buttermilk if you can’t get hold of sour cream.
- Vanilla. For that dreamy edge, vanilla extract makes everything taste like dessert.
- Egg. Ideally, at room temperature when baking (see pro tips on how to quickly bring ingredients to room temperature).
- Lemon zest and juice. Lifts this recipe’s flavor out of the depths of sweetness.
- Blueberries. Choose the freshest, plumpest-looking fresh berries you can find.
What is the secret to moist muffins?
1. Measure carefully. Weighing your flour is really the best way to make sure you don’t get too much. Flour compacts in the bag so I strongly prefer to use a scale to ensure I don’t get an extra tablespoon of flour in the batter by accident by using the scoop method. The extra flour added by scooping packed flour can make the difference between a moist muffin and a dry one.
2. Mix just enough. Overmixing will make muffins rubbery. You aren’t trying to whip air into a muffin once the flour and wet ingredients are combined. The protein matrix starts to form as soon as liquids are added, and it strengthens as you move the batter. Good for bread, VERY BAD for muffins.
3. Don’t overbake them. A thermometer is your best friend for checking doneness (the muffins are done at 190ºF and if they exceed 212ºF the moisture will be rapidly lost as steam.
How To Make Lemon Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins
- First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin and cases; set aside.
- Next, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, sour cream, vanilla, egg, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Fold in blueberries.
- Spoon batter into the prepared paper liners and then into the muffin pan. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until golden brown and the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Allow the muffins to cool on wire racks.
Storage Instructions
Once the muffins are cool, you can pop them either into an airtight container or a bag. They will happily store on the counter 3 days (but it’s cute that you think they’ll last that long).
You can freeze these muffins for 2-3 months in a freezer-safe bag or container. Allow them to thaw and warm them in the oven or microwave before serving.
Variations
- Make a crumble or streusel topping for the top of the muffins.
- Dial up the citrusy kick by making a glossy lemon graze to pop on as the muffins come out of the oven.
- Make up a mixture of cream cheese, soft butter, and powdered sugar to serve with the muffins.
- Orange and cinnamon: swap the lemon zest and juice with orange, and add a little cinnamon in.
- Gluten-free: swap out the regular flour for a gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Choc-chip: add 2 tablespoons of white chocolate chips to the mixture for added decadence.
FAQs
Are frozen or fresh blueberries better for muffins?
Fresh blueberries are better for muffins, but frozen blueberries can work (that’s the short answer).
The variety matters when using frozen blueberries for muffins. Specifically look for a label that says “wild” blueberries. These are smaller and will thaw quickly in the oven.
Larger (“high bush”) blueberries make for big, frozen hunks in the batter. The muffins will bake less evenly and create pockets of raw batter around each frozen blueberry.
Should I coat blueberries in flour for muffins?
You can coat the blueberries lightly in flour to prevent them sinking to the bottom of the muffin, but I don’t find it that effective. I prefer to scoop a bit of naked batter into each muffin cup before stirring in the blueberries. Then fold the blueberries into the remaining batter and top up each muffin cup. This works better to prevent a puddle of blueberries at the bottom of your muffins.
Can I use frozen blueberries, and do I need to defrost them first?
there is no need to defrost frozen blueberries first. You can add frozen berries straight from the freezer for your batter. Defrosting them will make them release their juices and the batter will turn purple.
What is the secret to moist muffins?
The secret to moist muffins according to food science is:
1. Measure carefully.
2. Mix just enough.
3. Don’t overbake them.
Each of these points is explored in detail above.
Why are my muffins soggy?
Muffins may become soggy if they were warm when you packed them away, if you used chunks of fruit (or frozen blueberries) that were too large, if the measurement was done incorrectly (too much liquid), or simply a bad recipe.
Pro Tips and Tricks
- If you want to have tall muffins, ensure you fill the muffin cups quite full. Grease the muffin tin to ensure the batter doesn’t stick if it overflows the cup.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Mix the ingredients through a few times but don’t overwork the batter.
- Fold blueberries in gently once the batter is 80% combined (there should still be floury streaks in the batter when you add the blueberries). This ensures you don’t accidentally over-mix.
- Measure your ingredients accurately for the best results and use a scale if possible (tap the “Metric” tab in the recipe card to see the ingredients listed by weights).
Other Muffin Recipes You Won’t Want To Miss
Lemon-Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line a 12-cup muffin tin; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate bowl, stir together melted butter, sour cream, vanilla, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Fold in blueberries.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until they reach 190ºF internal temperature for perfect, moist muffins every time. If you don't have a thermometer, they will be golden brown and tops will spring back when lightly pressed.
Video
Notes
- If you want to have tall muffins, ensure you fill the muffin cups quite full. Grease the muffin tin to ensure the batter doesn't stick if it overflows the cup.
- Don't overmix the batter. Mix the ingredients through a few times but don't overwork the batter.
- Fold blueberries in gently once the batter is 80% combined (there should still be floury streaks in the batter when you add the blueberries). This ensures you don't accidentally over-mix.
- Measure your ingredients accurately for the best results and use a scale if possible (tap the "Metric" tab in the recipe card to see the ingredients listed by weights).
Nutrition
Calories: 266kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 250mgPotassium: 77mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 418IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 53mgIron: 1mg
Last Updated on April 25, 2023 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD
I am diabetic, do you think I could use Splenda in place of the sugar, and still have good results? P.S. BIG congratulations on your baby boy!!
Love them! They taste amazing! I didn’t had enough sour cream so I substituted half of it with Greek yogurt and they turn out well. Thank you for the recipe
Easy recipe and excellent muffins. Such great flavour and very moist.
Delicious! I used (smaller) cupcake tins instead of (larger) muffin tins. Next time will use the large ones. I didn’t have enough sour cream so added yogurt and a little cream cheese.; otherwise followed the recipe exactly. The flavor is great, texture is almost too soft but could be from my substitutions. I’ll definitely make these again.
Delish! Really a great recipe. Saving it for future use. I only had frozen wild blueberries..as expected turned the batter blue but tasted excellent. Used a full sized ice cream scoop for consistency on the size of the muffins when scooping into the tins. Made a dozen and a half. I added vanilla sanding sugar on the second batch just for a little razzle dazzle. Came out perfect in 20 minutes.
These muffins are perfect!