Fluffy sourdough blueberry muffins are bursting with blueberry flavor, tangy sourdough, and lightly sweetened with sugar. As an easy, make-ahead breakfast or snack, this recipe will be a family favorite and the muffins likely won’t stick around long.
![sourdough blueberry muffins on a wire rack on a white countertop with blueberries scattered around on the counter. The front muffin is sliced in half.](https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/sourdough-blueberry-muffins-7-1024x683.jpg)
Springtime on the homestead simply bursts with activity. Winter signals a time of slowing down, curling up by the fire, and enjoying lots of hearty meals (like this Shepherdโs pie).
Spring, on the other hand, is a time of excitement and activity.
Flowers start to emerge from the cold soil, anxious to show off their blooms, and garden planning is underway. Seeds are getting started, the garden beds are being prepared for a season of production, and there is no slowing down on the homestead.
When we start to head into the busy season, I like to make more simple meals, or recipes that can be made ahead for a later time.
On days we know will be teeming with work, or even on our family adventure days (check out the podcast to see what these days look like), I love to be able to make something that can be easily transported for a picnic or eaten as a snack to hold us over until dinner.
These sourdough discard blueberry muffins hit the spot. You can whip them up in minutes, or long ferment them for added health benefits.
They’re lightly sweetened with a subtle burst of blueberry, which shouts spring or summer.
Dream with me here. I’m picturing the juicy, ripe blueberries fresh from a local blueberry farm packed into these muffins or this sourdough blueberry cobbler. I cannot wait for summer.
Tips For Making Sourdough Blueberry Muffins:
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries. If you use frozen, I guarantee your muffins will turn purple. It’s just cosmetic, though. They’ll be delicious! Be sure to keep the blueberries frozen, not thawed.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour into the blueberries to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
- You can use an active sourdough starter or even sourdough discard for this recipe. You can find more sourdough discard recipes here.
- For a more natural sweetener, I used coconut sugar. You can substitute coconut sugar for regular sugar, one for one.
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Tools you may need:
Stand mixer or large bowl. I recommend a stand mixer if you are planning to long-ferment this recipe.
Muffin liners
Ice cream scoop
Measuring cups and spoons
FAQ
What is the secret to moist muffins?
There are three things that help make muffins moist: using oil in the batter, not over-mixing, and lastly, not over-baking.
Over-baking will definitely give you a dry, not-so-yummy muffin, while over-mixing will cause the gluten strands to strengthen too much, giving you a tougher product. Oil, on the other hand, gives the muffin moisture.
Do you cut blueberries for muffins?
It is not necessary to cut blueberries for muffins. Just use them whole.
If you really want to chop them up, then by all means, do so.
Should you wash blueberries before baking?
Wash and dry the blueberries right before baking. Since blueberries have thin skin, they tend to spoil more quickly after washing. Just make sure your berries are dry before adding them to the batter.
Is it better to use fresh or frozen blueberries for muffins?
Either can be used, just make sure if you are using frozen to add them to the batter completely frozen. Do not let them thaw before adding.
How do you keep blueberries from sinking in muffins?
If you have issues with blueberries sinking in the muffin batter, add about a half a tablespoon of flour or so to a bowl with the blueberries and toss to coat.
If you have a hard time with unfermented grains, try using einkorn flour for this.
Can I make this recipe dairy free?
Yes. Just swap out the butter for melted coconut oil.
Blueberry Muffin Ingredients:
Flour – All-purpose, spelt or freshly milled wheat will work.
Salt – Salt brings out the flavors in baked goods – and all dishes. It makes sweets sweeter and if you leave it out, you will end up with a bland tasting recipe.
Leaveners – Baking powder and baking soda are used to give the muffins their rise.
Cinnamon – This a deliciously warm and subtle spice to the muffins
Butter – Could also substitute with avocado oil or melted coconut oil.
Sugar – This can be substituted with coconut sugar; most recipes will say a 1 to 1 substitution for coconut sugar to regular sugar. I do find the sweetness to be slightly different. Also, if you are using “regular” sugar, try to choose organic sugar since “regular” sugar is usually made with GMO sugar beets.
Eggs – room temperature.
Sourdough starter – Active sourdough starter or discard can be used for this recipe. This is because the rise comes from baking soda and baking powder rather than sourdough starter.
Blueberries – Fresh or frozen will work. If you are using frozen, make sure to use them fully frozen, don’t let them thaw or else they will release too many juices and you will have a purple muffins.
How To Make Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Grease muffin tin wells or line with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and sourdough starter.ย
Lastly, incorporate one egg at a time.
Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t over-mix the batter or you could end up with a tough muffin.
Gently fold the blueberries into batter. To prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins, you could dust 1 tsp of flour over the blueberries and stir before folding them into the batter.
Optional: Allow the mixture to sit in the fridge for one hour.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tins.
Bake in a preheated oven at 425 for 5-6 minutes, then drop the oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 13-15 minutes. This helps capture the rise while also baking through.
Test muffins with a cake tester. Allow to cool.
How To Make Long Fermented Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
The night before, combine melted butter and sugar well.
Fold in sourdough starter (add extra 1/2 cup of sourdough starter for 1 cup total of starter), and flour. Mix well.
Cover and allow to ferment for 8-24 hours.
After fermentation, preheat the oven to 425.
To the fermented dough, add salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, and eggs. Mix together well. I recommend using a stand mixer, as the dough will be very thick and more challenging to stir.
Gently fold in blueberries.
Pour muffin batter into a lined or greased muffin tin.
Bake in a preheated oven at 425 for 5-6 minutes, and then drop the oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 13-15 minutes.
Test with a toothpick. The muffins are ready when the toothpick comes out clean.
How To Store, Freeze, And Reheat:
Store in an air-tight container. Best if eaten within 3-5 days. Or store in the freezer (I like to use a freezer zip-lock bag) for up to 3 months.
I love to double this recipe and have one batch for now and freeze one batch for later. When you want a quick and easy breakfast, just pop these into a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until they are thawed completely and warm.
Find More Sweet Sourdough Recipes
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
WET INGREDIENTS
- 8 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Grease muffin tin wells or line with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together melted butter, sugar, vanilla and sourdough starter.
- Incorporate one room temperature egg at a time.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Gently fold blueberries into batter.
- Optional: Allow the mixture to sit in the fridge for one hour.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin tins.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 425 for 5-6 minutes, then drop the oven temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 13-15 minutes.
- Test muffins with a toothpick. Allow to cool.
Notes
- *To long ferment this recipe add 1 cup of sourdough starter instead of 1/2 cup. This gives the batter the extra moisture it needs to properly ferment the dough. Find the long-fermented directions in the post above.
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries. If you use frozen, I guarantee your muffins will turn purple. It’s just cosmetic, though. They’ll be delicious! Be sure to keep the blueberries frozen, not thawed.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour (1-2 tsp) into the blueberries to help prevent them from sinking to the bottom.
Ashley says
This was excellent! I made two small tweaks due to dietary restrictions and they still came out wonderful as both standard sized muffins and mini muffins! ๐
My personal changes were to halve the sugar to 1/2 cup and use coconut oil instead of butter. I did also do the optional 1-hour in the fridge prior to baking. They were wonderful
Debra says
I used mulberries that we had picked and these muffins turned out so good!! My family gobbled them up right away so Iโm making more! Lol
Just for those of you who added the sugar to the dry ingredients (like me) and did not mix it in with the sourdough discard, it turns out just fine so donโt worry. ๐
Iโll do it the right way this round.
Vanessa says
Since I am all over your recipes here and successfully made a few up to now I did get confused with some long ferment recipes where you don’t precise if it is done on the counter or fridge like this one for example…it would be awesome if you added that extra info.
Does it even matter anyways can it both be done? I’m guessing fridge would be suitable for 24+ hours?
Lisa Bass says
It depends on whether you need the recipe to rise or not. A rise in dough is achievable on the counter. It needs the warmth to help rise. In the fridge, it slows down the fermentation. You are still getting the health benefits, but the colder temperatures don’t allow for much of a rise.
Vanessa says
Thanks for your response. I did the fermentation first on the counter for about 9h and mixed everything carefully in my food processor…I only added 3/4 of sugar with a big spoon of honey and the batter was very thick but oh my the muffins turned out so heavenly fluffy and delicious! Cannot wait to buy your book…
Vanessa says
Also added chocolate chips with my frozen blueberries!
Vanessa says
Also added chocolate chips to the frozen blueberries!
Emily says
sooo delicious!!! will be making again and recommending to my friends!
Amy says
This is only the 2nd recipe using sourdough starter I have tried and the muffins are delicious! In all honesty, we could have done with less sugar, but I will definitely make these again. I used discard from my fridge before feeding my starter. Next time I will try them using fed starter!! And now I can’t wait to make more sourdough baked goods!!
Lisa Bass says
So happy to hear you enjoyed them!
Tommie says
Does the long ferment need to be done in the refrigerator?
Lisa Bass says
Yes, it does!
Sarah says
If I wanted to make this into a cake, what would I do differently? Bake it longer? My daughter wants me to make sourdough blueberry cake for her birthday.
Lisa Bass says
I have a vanilla cake recipe on my blog that you could add in fresh blueberries to. Here’s the link!
Sarah says
Thank you! I meant to ask how to make it long fermented as well. Is there an easy way to do that?
Kathryn says
Thank you, Lisa!! These are without hesitation the BEST blueberry muffins I have ever made, and will be a repeat favorite for my family. Sourdough discard makes these SO good! I reduced the sugar by half, and did a 20 hour ferment on the dough. I am baking from the low desert, and I did the first bake for 5 minutes and the second at 13 and they are perfect. Happy baking!
Kim says
Love love love this muffin recipe. Itโs so forgiving, Iโve done half the sugar, fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and always long ferment. I like to do a mini muffin batch for my toddler, theyโre so easy to keep in the freezer and thaw a few at a time.
Audrey says
I am new to sourdough – just started about 2 months ago – and have been looking for things to do with discard. I made these muffins exactly as directed and they are so good! I will definitely be making these again! Thank you! Iโm excited to try your other recipes!