My lemon blueberry muffin recipe makes tender, flavorful muffins packed with juicy blueberries and bright lemon flavor from both zest and juice.
These easy blueberry lemon muffins are an absolute treat. We’ve been making them for years, so I’ve spent years tweaking the recipe to make it perfect for you! The recipe is based on our reader-favorite blueberry muffins, so it’s simple, reliable, and uses everyday ingredients you probably already have on hand.
My favorite part is the crackly sugar top! Before baking, we sprinkle the muffins with sugar and add a thin lemon slice. As they bake, the sugar caramelizes and the lemon becomes sweet and almost candied.
Key Ingredients
- Blueberries: You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for these muffins. If using frozen, don’t thaw them. Adding them straight from the freezer prevents the batter from turning purple.
- Lemon: These muffins get their fresh lemon flavor from both lemon zest and juice.
- Flour: All-purpose flour works beautifully, but this recipe is flexible. You can use whole wheat, spelt, or even a gluten-free 1:1 blend (like Bob’s Red Mill) with excellent results.
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar keeps these muffins light and tender. You can swap in brown or coconut sugar, but the texture will be a bit different. For a lovely crackly top, sprinkle a little extra sugar over each muffin before baking.
- Oil: Oil helps keep the muffins moist and tender in the middle. It’s one of my secrets to the best blueberry muffins. The oil gives a soft, moist texture that lasts for days.
- Milk (or Non-Dairy Milk): Use whatever milk you have on hand. I’ve tested these with homemade oat milk, unsweetened almond milk, and coconut milk (from a carton, not canned), and all work beautifully.
- Egg: Adds structure and richness. If you’re baking without eggs, you can use one flax egg instead.
- Baking Powder: This keeps the muffins light and fluffy. Make sure yours is fresh (it loses its effectiveness after about three months). If you’re sensitive to flavor, look for aluminum-free baking powder (I like Bob’s Red Mill).
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Tip 1: Make the lemon sugar. The secret to the best lemony flavor is rubbing the zest into the sugar before mixing the batter. It releases the oils from the zest, making a huge difference (a trick I also use in our lemon bars and blueberry scones).
Tip 2: Whisk the dry ingredients thoroughly. Use a whisk (or sifter) to combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. For the best rise and even texture, you want the baking powder evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Tip 3: Mix the batter by hand. I make these muffins the same way I make peach muffins or strawberry muffins. Whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another, then fold them together with a spatula. There’s no need for an electric mixer. A whisk, spoon, or spatula works perfectly.
Tip 4: Sprinkle a little sugar on top. For that incredible, crackly sugar top we love, sprinkle a little sugar on the muffins before they go in the oven. And, since this is a lemon muffin, I love adding a tiny slice of lemon on top, too. If you place the lemon slice down first, then add sugar on top, it caramelizes and candies while the muffins bake in the oven.
More Lemon Blueberry Recipes
Easy Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
My family loves these muffins with blueberries and fresh lemon so much! The trick to the best lemon flavor is making our simple lemon sugar! When baking this recipe, you can make 10 standard-size muffins or fill the cups a bit more and make 8 larger muffins with big, beautiful bakery-style tops. (I’ve also included tips for mini muffins in the recipe below!).
When measuring the flour, either weigh it or use the “spoon and level” method shared in our tips section below.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 medium lemon
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled (195g)
3/4 cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for muffin tops (150g)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/3 cup neutral-flavored oil, like safflower, avocado, or vegetable oil (80ml)
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk or non-dairy milk, use more as needed (80ml)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 to 8 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries, generous 1 cup
Very thin lemon slices, optional for tops
Directions
1Prep: Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line muffin cups with paper liners (8 for big muffins, 10 for standard, or 22 for mini). Lightly grease or spray the tops of the muffin tin with oil to prevent the oversized tops from sticking. High-quality nonstick pans may not require this.
2Make lemon sugar: Use a microplane or citrus zester to remove the zest from the lemon. Add the zest (about 1 tablespoon) to a small bowl with the sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar until the lemon perfumes it.
3Make muffin batter: Whisk the flour, lemon sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
4Choose a measuring jug that holds at least 1 cup. Add the oil to the jug, and then crack in the egg. Pour in enough milk to reach the 1-cup line on the jug (this should be about 1/3 cup of milk). Add the vanilla extract and whisk until everything is combined.
5Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir gently until the batter comes together. Be careful not to overmix! The batter will be thick, see tips below.
6Gently fold in the blueberries and about 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.
7Bake muffins: Divide the batter between muffin cups. If making big-topped muffins, the batter will come to the tops of the paper liners. Sprinkle a little sugar on top of each muffin. You can also add a very thin slice of lemon to the top and add more sugar on top of the lemon slice.
8Bake muffins for 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops are no longer wet and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out with crumbs, not wet batter. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Place the room-temperature muffins into an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days. To freeze, wrap them tightly in aluminum foil or store them in freezer bags. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Measuring your flour: Fluff the flour in its container, then gently scoop it into your measuring cup until slightly mounded. Then, level off the top with a knife for accurate measuring. Or, use a scale and measure the flour by weight (in grams) for even more accuracy.
- Frozen blueberries: Add frozen blueberries while frozen, do not thaw.
- Batter thickness: The batter should be thick and “scoopable” — not runny and not dry or extra thick like dough. If the batter is too runny, add flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the consistency is correct. If the batter is dry or too thick, add milk a tablespoon at a time until it has the proper consistency.
- For mini muffins: This recipe makes 22 to 24 mini muffins. The baking time will be less, so keep an eye on them while they bake and expect them to take 9 to 11 minutes.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Calculations are for one standard muffin (this recipe makes 10).
LOVE these muffins!!! The lemon zest sugar really makes a difference.
This recipe led to the best lemon blueberry muffins I’ve made! I needed to use up some cream, so I substituted the oil for cream, but followed the recipe exactly otherwise. It led to a very tender and soft muffin with amazing flavor! 5 stars for the flavor, which is the right balance of sugar and lemon. We love that they have a ton of blueberries!
That’s wonderful, Melissa! Thank you for coming back 🙂
Absolutely delicious!!! Rubbing the zest into the sugar is a game changer! Thank you!!!
They smell so good. The taste amazing. I reduced the sugar a bit
The easiest blueberry muffin recipe I have ever made. Came out perfect!
OMG I’ve tried numerous recipes but these are the softest, fluffiest muffins I have ever eaten. I’m so glad I’ve found your website ☺️
Did this recipe for the first time the other day and my whole family loved it!
Turner out very delicious and very sweet even through İ user coconut sığar and only 1/2cup. Will probably try even less next time. That tiny slice of lemon added nice sour pinch there too. Thank you for the recioe!
Best lemon & blueberry recipe I have found. I always have frozen blueberries, so it’s a great one to have on stand by for a quick muffin. It has lots of flavour and love it has limited ingredients that I usually have in my pantry.
These muffins are delicious. I love lemon and will always look for a recipe with lemon zest. I’m wondering if I can double this recipe as I love to have muffins on hand in the freezer
Loved these Delicious Lemony Blueberry muffins. Next time I’ll add the slice of lemon and sugar to the muffin tops. Having the 4 liquid ingredients in a measuring cup is genius! This is a Winner Recipe!! Yummy!
I’ve made these many times and they’re awesome. I sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar before baking. My question is…where is the lemon juice on ingredients and method?!? Thanks!
Hi Tina, We are so happy you love them! The step for adding the lemon juice was missed (a recent mistake when updating the recipe). I’ve fixed it now! You add about 2 tablespoons (or juice from half a lemon) at the same time as the blueberries.
Very good lemon blueberry recipe. I used a ready made ‘gluten-free flour mix’ and even my husband who usually prefers the regular flour loved them! I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup, but found them too sweet. Next time I would use 1/3 cup since as a ‘senior’ I am used to less sweetner in recipes. Since I didn’t have vanilla on hand, I used ‘Vanilla Oat Milk’ and it gave a nice flavour with the lemon juice & zest. Thanks for your recipes!