Name: Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: ½ cup sourdough starter discard; 1 cup heavy cream (at room temperature); ½ cup canola oil; 1 large egg (at room temperature); 2 tsp. vanilla extract; 2 ½ cups flour; ½ cup sugar; 1 tsp. baking soda; 1 tsp. baking powder; ½ tsp. salt; Zest of 1 lemon; 2 cups blueberries (divided); ½ cup Turbinado Sugar

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With bursting berries and a crunchy, café-style top this sourdough blueberry muffin recipe is sure to be your new go-to breakfast bake!

Baked sourdough blueberry muffins sit in a vintage muffin pan.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a homemade blueberry muffin that was this good! The kind that’s dense and moist, with just a hint of lemon. The kind with a generous sprinkling of Turbinado sugar on the top that make them taste like they came straight from a coffee shop.

These blueberry muffins are those muffins. And they’re made with sourdough starter!

A 45 degree angle shot of a blueberry muffin sitting up in a vintage baking pan on a light gray backdrop.

Sourdough Starter in Muffins

Yes! Can you believe it? This easy blueberry muffin batter is made with sourdough starter discard. Because we cannot survive on naan bread alone!

Although this recipe for blueberry muffins from scratch uses sourdough starter, it doesn’t need to be super active (meaning: you don’t need to feed it 8 - 12 hours before using, unless you want to).

A blueberry muffin sits on a black cooling rack. There are other muffins and a few loose blueberries scattered around the grey backdrop.

Grab your starter from the fridge or off the counter and add it to the batter. The use of sourdough discard adds moisture, density, and creates a great texture in this recipe. Don’t fret – these blueberry beauties do not taste like sourdough bread!

Ingredients for a Sourdough Blueberry Muffin Recipe:

Sourdough discard (or unfed starter)
Blueberries
Lemon Zest
Flour
Sugar
Baking Powder & Soda
Salt
Canola Oil
1 Egg
Heavy Cream
Vanilla
Turbinado Sugar

How to make the best blueberry muffins from scratch

As with all my muffin batters, this one comes together in minutes, uses minimal dishes, and is capital E, capital Z.

You’ll start by whisking your wet ingredients together in a large measuring cup.
Then you'll whisk together the dry ingredients (which in a muffin recipe includes sugar. Crazy, I know).
Remember those dry ingredients? Take 1 tablespoon of that mixture and sprinkle it over the top of your blueberries and toss them to coat. This will keep your berries from sinking to the bottom of the batter during baking!
Gently stir the wet into the dry, followed by the dusted blueberries.
Portion into a prepared muffin tin (no paper wrappers here, folks), sprinkle with raw sugar, and bake until golden.

Recipe Hints and Substitutions:

Dairy Daze: I love the flavor and fat that heavy cream adds to these muffins (also, it’s what I had on hand when I was making them for the first time). But! Sour Cream is also absolutely delish! It creates a slightly denser crumb, but oh the moistness of the muffins is unreal! Whole milk would work too, in a pinch. Please, no 2% or Skim milk in this recipe.
Berry Tasty: While I think blueberries are the best berry for muffin making, I also know that mulberries, raspberries, and blackberries are currently, or will be, in season. Use an equal amount of any of those berries (or even try a mixture!), if you’d like. Frozen berries are good too! Grab them straight from the freezer for this recipe, no need to thaw. Don’t forget to scatter a few berries over the tops of the muffins to get that real coffee house style look!
Aww Sugar, Sugar: That sparkly crunch on the tops of the muffins is brought to you by Turbinado sugar. Also known as raw sugar, this is a sugar that has not been refined and processed as much as regular granulated sugar. Despite its brown hue, it is NOT the same as brown sugar. If you don’t have Turbinado sugar, regular granulated can be used in its place, though I’d maybe double the amount to achieve that crisp crunch.
Love me tender: The key to delicious, tender muffins is to be oh-so-gentle when mixing the batter. When combining the wet and dry ingredients, leave a few streaks of flour before stirring in the blueberries. The addition of the fruit, and the subsequent mixing, will incorporate any errant streaks of dry ingredients. Same goes for scooping the batter – be gentle! I like to use a scoop like this to simply and easily transport the batter from bowl to pan.

A blueberry muffin with a bit taken out of it sits on a black cooling rack on a light grey backdrop.

Here’s to baking a better breakfast!

baked blueberry muffins sit in a vintage muffin pan

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Sourdough Blueberry Muffins

These bakery style blueberry muffins from scratch boast a delicious secret ingredient – sourdough discard! These sweet, tender muffins will be your new favorite breakfast!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Baking, Blueberry, Muffins, sourdough, sourdough starter

Servings: muffins

Calories: 228kcal

Author: Amanda Gajdosik

Equipment

Muffin Tin

Ingredients

½ cup sourdough starter discard
1 cup heavy cream at room temperature
½ cup canola oil
1 large egg at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups blueberries divided
½ cup Turbinado Sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a muffin tin (or two) with baking spray and set aside.
In a large measuring cup whisk together the sourdough starter, heavy cream, canola oil, egg, and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, powder, salt, and lemon zest. Take 1 tablespoon of this dry ingredient mixture and sprinkle it over 1 ½ cups of the berries, tossing to coat.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir very gently to combine, folding batter over itself. When a few streaks of flour remain, stir in the coated blueberries.
Using a large portion scoop, divide the batter among the prepared pans. Top each muffin with a few of the reserved blueberries and about 2 teaspoons of the turbinado sugar.
Bake muffins in preheated oven for 20 – 22 minutes, or until tops are domed, beautifully golden brown, and spring back when lightly touched.
Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for ten minutes before removing from muffin tins. Cool until just barely warm before serving.

Notes

Muffins can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days. Zap in the microwave for 15 seconds before serving.
I like to freeze muffins in freezer-safe zip-top bags in pairs of two for easy grab and go snacking. Defrost in the fridge overnight or microwave for 45 seconds before serving.
See blog post for notes on recipe substitutions.

Nutrition