Bursting with sweet blueberries and tart lemon flavor this delicious recipe creates moist, tender muffins that are perfect for breakfast, brunch or any time! This delicious muffin recipe will be your new favorite way to enjoy blueberry muffins!

two lemon blueberry muffins on a white plate with lemons in the background.

Blueberry muffins are a classic, they are perfect for holiday gatherings, busy weekday mornings, or an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee. This great recipe adds the light and citrusy flavor of lemon that up levels the classic to an even tastier version!

These are the perfect muffins to whip up with summer blueberries, but they can also bring a freshness to the colder months by using frozen berries! This recipe makes 12 muffins in a standard 12-cup muffin pan, they are also great for oversize muffins or mini muffins. If you are planning to use a smaller or larger muffin pan just adjust the cooking time accordingly.

The ingredients for lemon blueberry muffins laid out on a marble countertop

Ingredient Checklist –

(check out the printable recipe card for the full recipe)

All Purpose Flour

Baking Powder

Salt

Sugar

Eggs

Buttermilk- Buttermilk helps create tender muffins, if you need a substitute check out the FAQ below for ideas!

Sour Cream- This also helps create a delicious muffin texture, you can swap out for Greek yogurt. Plain yogurt has a similar effect in the muffins.

Lemon Juice- Fresh lemon juice is the best, you’ll need about 2 lemons. Bottled juice works fine too if that is what you have!

Vanilla Extract – Real vanilla is a must! Imitation vanilla doesn’t have nearly as delicious a flavor.

Lemon Extract- this helps add delicious zesty lemon flavor!

Melted Butter- Butter gives a rich flavor to these muffins.

Vegetable Oil

Frozen Blueberries- Frozen berries are perfect for these muffins because they keep their structure while baking.

Sanding Sugar for Topping– A generous sprinkle of sanding sugar gives these muffins a delicious bakery crunch on top.

Lemon zest– This is optional but a little bit of lemon zest mixed with the sanding sugar makes a tasty and delicious topping to the muffins.

a lemon blueberry muffin cut in half on a white plate

How to make these muffins

First prepare a muffin tin by lining it with paper muffin liners. Set it aside while you prepare the batter.

Now set aside 2 tbsp of flour in a small bowl, then in a separate bowl whisk together remaining flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Now in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add in the buttermilk and sour cream and mix thoroughly.

Next add in the sugar, lemon juice, oil, melted butter, vanilla and lemon extract. Mix thoroughly.

Place blueberries in a medium bowl and add the reserved flour. Stir gently to coat the blueberries with flour. This helps suspend them in the batter and not sink to the bottom.

a collage of the steps for making muffins

Now add the flour mixture gradually into the wet ingredients, mixing after each addition until well incorporated. Fold in the blueberries until evenly distributed.

Let the batter rest for 30 min, unrefrigerated, lightly covered if desired. I like to drape a tea towel over mine so that it doesn’t get any hair or dust in it.

After the batter has rested preheat the oven to 400. Use a scoop or spoon to fill muffin cups ¾ of the way full with muffin batter.

Sprinkle the tops generously with sanding sugar if desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Cool in pan until cool enough to handle, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.

A wooden board with a pile of muffins on it with lemons and blueberries.

FAQ & Tips For Success

Can I use fresh blueberries? These are best made with frozen berries because they hold up better to baking. If you have fresh berries

just pop them the freezer for at least an hour before baking. That way you can use your fresh plump blueberries to make these the best lemon blueberry muffins you’ve ever had!

Can I substitute buttermilk? If you don’t have buttermilk it is easy to whip up a substitute in just a few minutes. Just place 1 Tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice in a cup of milk, stir it and let sit for 5 minutes before using.

Can I add a crumb topping? If you love a delicious sweet streusel topping on your muffins you can easily add one to this recipe! With just a little sugar, butter, and flour you can whip one up and add to these! Here is a delicious easy recipe for streusel crumb topping if you need one!(add link)

Muffins, blueberries and lemons on a marble countertop

Why do I need to rest the batter? Resting this batter helps to create nice fluffy muffin tops. It gives the baking powder a chance to react with the acidity in the batter so that you end up with a lighter batter that rises easily. If you don’t rest it your muffins may not rise as well or get bakery style tops.

How to store these muffins- Keep any leftovers in an airtight container . I like to keep mine in large zip top baggies, or wrap them individually so that they are easy to grab on the way out the door!