Lemon Blueberry Muffins are a delicious balance of sweet, juicy blueberries and bright, vibrant lemon flavour, baked with a sprinkling of lemon crumble topping.
With this easy lemon blueberry muffin recipe, you can make bakery-style muffins at home that are soft, tender and bursting with the taste of fresh berries and lemon.
Table of Contents
Why I think you will love these muffins
- Super easy recipe.
- Blueberry and lemon = perfect match!
What you need to make lemon blueberry muffins
*Please see the recipe card below for a full ingredient list with exact quantities and detailed instructions
- raw (golden) caster sugar
- fresh lemon zest and juice
- self-raising flour (self-rising flour)
- fresh blueberries
- buttermilk
- vegetable oil
- salted butter
- vanilla extract
- an egg
- plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- light brown sugar
*Please see the recipe card below for a full ingredient list with exact quantities and detailed instructions
Substitutions for lemon blueberry muffins
- Sub (plain) caster sugar for raw caster sugar.
- How to make self-raising (self-rising) flour: for every cup (150g) of plain (all-purpose) flour, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder (not baking soda) and sift together well. For this recipe (muffin batter), sift together 5 teaspoons of baking powder and 375g plain flour.
- Fresh blueberries can be substituted with frozen (don't thaw them first).
- To make buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to 1 cup (250ml) of whole milk and let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until the mixture appears slightly thickened and curdled.
- Substitute salted butter with unsalted butter plus a pinch of salt.
How to make lemon blueberry muffins
- For the crumble, rub lemon zest into the brown sugar.
- Whisk in plain flour, and then add melted butter and mix to combine.
- To make the muffin batter, add caster sugar to a large bowl and rub in lemon zest.
- Whisk in self-raising flour, then add blueberries.
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- Whisk together wet ingredients.
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, then fold gently to incorporate. Importantly, don't overmix so the muffins stay light and airy.
- Scoop the batter into a muffin tin lined with paper cases.
- Top each of the muffin cups generously with crumble mixture and bake.
My top tips for the best result
- Grate the lemon zest directly over the bowl containing the sugar each time (so the oils that are released go into the bowl too), and don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl. If you watch closely when you grate the zest of citrus fruits, you may be surprised at how much oil is released and how far it spreads.
- You only want to grate the thin, outer yellow part of the lemon - not the white pith beneath or your zest will become bitter.
- Rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar with a flexible spatula increases the lemon flavour in the muffins by the abrasive nature of the sugar crystals, which break down the zest slightly to release the natural oils.
- Overmixing the batter will make the muffins tough. It's important to mix this batter as little as possible. The more it gets mixed, the tougher and denser the texture of your muffins will be. Use as few strokes as possible and try to make each count by scraping right along the base of the bowl - I use a silicone or rubber spatula for best results.
Storage
Store these lemon blueberry muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
The lemon crumble topping will soften over time.
Suitable for freezing.
More muffin recipes
White Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins - a sweet bakery treat that you can make yourself at home using fresh or frozen raspberries.
Nutella Swirl Muffins - so simple to make, just prepare your batter, then add a dollop of Nutella hazelnut spread on top, give it a swirl and bake!
📖 Recipe
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Lemon Blueberry Muffins are a combination of juicy blueberries and zesty lemon flavour, baked with a sprinkling of lemon crumble topping.
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Serving:
Calories: 409kcal
Ingredients
- 220 g raw caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest grated (see my notes)
- 375 g self-raising (self-rising) flour (see my notes to make your own)
- 250 g blueberries
- 250 ml buttermilk (see my notes to make your own)
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 60 g salted butter melted
- 1 egg
Lemon Crumble Topping
- 125 g plain (all-purpose) flour
- 85 g light brown sugar
- 65 g salted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest grated (see my notes)
Watch me make this recipe
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180c.
- Line a 12-hole muffin pan with muffin liners and set aside.
- For the crumble topping, add brown sugar to a small bowl, then grate in lemon zest over the bowl.85 g light brown sugar
- Use a flexible spatula to rub the lemon zest into the sugar.125 g plain (all-purpose) flour1 teaspoon lemon zest65 g salted butter
- Whisk in plain flour, then add melted butter and mix to combine, then set aside.
- For the muffin batter, add raw caster sugar to a large bowl, grate in lemon zest, then rub the lemon zest into the caster sugar.220 g raw caster sugar1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Mix in self-raising flour, then stir in blueberries and set aside.375 g self-raising (self-rising) flour250 g blueberries
- In a jug or medium bowl, combine buttermilk, vegetable oil, lemon juice, vanilla, melted butter and egg, then whisk to combine (the mixture will look curdled, that's normal).250 ml buttermilk4 tablespoons vegetable oil2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice1 teaspoon vanilla extract60 g salted butter1 egg
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, then fold gently until it's just incorporated - don't overmix (see my notes).
- Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan, then generously top each muffin cup with crumble topping mixture (it will look like a lot but use it all!).
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the pan and place them on a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- Grate the lemon zest directly over the bowl containing the sugar (to capture the oils that are released), and don't forget to scrape the sides of the bowl.
- When grating the lemon zest, only grate the thin, outer yellow part of the lemon - not the white pith beneath or your zest will taste bitter.
- Rubbing the zest into the sugar increases the lemon flavour by the abrasive sugar crystals breaking down the zest slightly and releasing the natural oils.
- To make self-raising (self-rising) flour: for every cup (150g) of plain (all-purpose) flour, add 2 teaspoons of baking powder (not baking soda) and sift together well. For this recipe (muffin batter), sift together 5 teaspoons of baking powder and 375g plain (all-purpose) flour.
- To make buttermilk, add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to 1 cup (250ml) of whole milk and let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes until the mixture appears curdled and slightly thickened.
- Overmixing will make the muffins tough. The more you mix, the tougher and denser the texture of your muffins will be. Use as few strokes as possible and try to make each one count by scraping right along the base of the bowl - I use a silicone or rubber spatula for best results.
Want to save this recipe?
Email yourself a link to this page and come back later.
Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 98mg | Potassium: 110mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 327IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1mg
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