3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins

You won’t believe how tender, buttery and easy Aunt Bee’s 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins are! The savory muffins are golden brown and slightly crisp on the outside, light and airy on the inside, and ready for the oven in just 10 minutes. Similar to biscuits, they’re a perfect addition to your next weekend brunch, a great side dish with a salad or a warm bowl of soup, or a tasty companion for a tender roasted chicken. This versatile sour cream muffin recipe is one that you’ll turn to time and time again — and they’re even freezer-friendly!

Sour Cream Muffin Recipe

My great Aunt Bee never steers me wrong — especially in the kitchen — and these easy homemade sour cream muffins are no exception! At 101 years old, Aunt Bee has hosted many Southern ladies for lunches and brunches over the years, so when she says that an easy 3 ingredient muffin recipe is tender and delicious, I don’t question it.

These particular sour cream muffins are especially quick and easy, thanks to 3 simple ingredients: self-rising flour, sour cream and butter. Spend a couple of minutes stirring them together and you’ll have a beautiful batch of Aunt Bee’s golden brown sour cream muffins ready for your next meal.

Thanks to the butter and the tang from the sour cream, these muffins actually taste very similar to buttermilk biscuits — but they’re way easier to prepare! Southern hostesses (like Paula Deen) often serve a version of these sour cream muffins alongside soup or salad for lunch, or in the bread basket at dinner. They’re a great side dish when you want something homemade, but you don’t have much time to spend in the kitchen.

Ingredients

This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a batch of savory sour cream muffins. As always, specific measurements and complete baking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Self-rising flour: a common pantry staple in most Southern households, self-rising flour is simply flour with the baking powder and a bit of salt already added. It’s traditionally made from a softer, lower protein version of all-purpose flour, which yields tender muffins.
• Butter: I prefer salted butter, but you can use unsalted butter if you have it on hand.
• Sour Cream: for its acidity, as well as its fat and liquid content. In conjunction with the leavening agents, the acidity helps the muffins rise. The sour cream also gives the muffins a nice, subtle tanginess and a tender crumb.

How to Make 3 Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins

These Southern sour cream muffins come together with ingredients that I always have in my kitchen, and only require about 10 minutes of hands-on effort. They’re one of my favorite go-to sides when I need a delicious addition to a weeknight dinner since they taste like biscuits, but they don’t require any rolling or cutting!

1. Combine the self-rising flour, melted butter and sour cream. Stir just until a thick dough comes together; do not over-mix.
2. Spoon the batter into paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup to the top. I use an ice cream scoop for this step!
3. Bake in a 350° F oven for 25-28 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
4. Brush the warm muffins with melted butter.
5. Cool for a few minutes in the pan, and then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

What to Serve with Sour Cream Savory Muffins

Think of these savory muffins like little buttery biscuits — they’re versatile and delicious at any time of day! Serve them on their own for breakfast with butter and honey, honey butter, jam, or apple butter. Add eggs on the side or stir up a skillet of sausage gravy. In Virginia, country ham biscuits are a classic snack or meal — and these would work well with the ham, too!

For lunch, Southern ladies like to pair the muffins with chicken salad, tuna salad, egg salad, Waldorf salad, or a hearty pasta salad. They’re also great alongside a bowl of soup, stew or chili!

On the dinner table, here are some entrées that go well with sour cream muffins:

• Crispy Fried Chicken
• Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy
• Pecan-Crusted Chicken
• Virginia Crab Imperial
• Southern Chicken and Pastry (Chicken and Dumplings)
• Grilled Pork Tenderloin
• Oven BBQ Chicken Breast
• Shrimp and Grits
• Slow Cooker Cowboy Pork and Beans
• Oven-Fried Cornflake Chicken
• Crock Pot Ribs
• Pulled BBQ Chicken in the Crock Pot
• Crab Cakes
• Shrimp Creole
• Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy
• Chili con Carne or “Good Luck” Southern Chili
• Smothered Pork Chops
• Southern Fried Catfish
• Sheet Pan Low Country Boil
• Whole Roasted Chicken
• Sweet Heat Southern Glazed Salmon
• Mississippi Roasted Pork Shoulder

Storage

• Store the muffins in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.
• If you want to keep the muffins fresh for more than a couple of days, freezing is your best bet. Wrap the muffins tightly in an airtight container or bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Thaw the frozen muffins on the counter overnight, or take a muffin straight from the freezer and pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds (or until warm).

Recipe Variations

• All-Purpose Flour: If you don’t have a bag of self-rising flour in your pantry, that’s no problem. You can make 1 cup of self-rising flour by placing 1 cup of all-purpose flour in a bowl. Whisk in 1 teaspoon of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of salt. This recipe calls for 2 cups of self-rising flour, so you would need to combine 2 cups of all-purpose flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt.
• Yogurt: I have not tested this recipe with Greek-style yogurt, but I imagine that it would probably work. Just make sure that you use a full-fat plain Greek-style yogurt so that it most closely resembles sour cream (you don’t want a thinner yogurt).
• Add Cheese: Grated cheddar cheese is a delicious addition to the muffin batter.
• Herbs: Mix in chopped fresh parsley, basil, or chives for a bright, savory addition.
• Sweet: add sugar to the muffins to make them sweet (about ½ – ¾ cup).
• Blueberries or Strawberries: sweeten the batter with some sugar and fold in fresh blueberries or strawberries.
• Double the recipe: if you’d like more than 9 muffins, you can use two muffin tins, double all of the ingredients, and bake 18 muffins.

Tips for the Best Sour Cream Muffins

• Make sure that your self-rising flour is fresh. Just like any other leavening agents, the baking powder in self-rising flour can go bad and your muffins will not rise.
• Use full-fat, room temperature sour cream for the best results. Full-fat, plain, Greek-style yogurt would probably work as a substitute, but I have not tested that version. Do not substitute mayonnaise for the sour cream in these muffins, because you need the acidity in the sour cream to help the muffins rise.
• The key to a perfect muffin is just barely mixing the ingredients. You want them to come together, but a few lumps are fine. This way they’ll stay moist and tender!
• This recipe yields about 8-9 muffins. Since a standard muffin tin has 12 cups, fill the empty muffin cups with water. This will help the muffins bake more evenly.

More Muffin Recipes to Try

• Chocolate Muffins
• Easy Banana Muffins
• Morning Glory Muffins
• Applesauce Pumpkin Muffins
• Corn Muffins
• Bran Muffins
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
• Blueberry Streusel Muffins

3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins

5 from 6 votes

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 25 minutes minutes

Total: 35 minutes minutes

Servings 9 muffins

Calories 239 kcal

You'll love Aunt Bee's tender, buttery, and delicious 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins! They taste like biscuits, but they're much easier!

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Ingredients

  

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• 2 cups self-rising flour
• ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted (plus an extra 1 tablespoon for brushing at the end)
• 8 ounces (1 cup) sour cream, at room temperature

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 9 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners; fill any empty muffin cups in the pan with water. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the self-rising flour, melted butter and sour cream. Stir just until a thick dough comes together; do not over-mix.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup to the top.
• Bake for 25-28 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
• Brush the warm muffins with 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan, and then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

• Make sure that your self-rising flour is fresh. Just like any other leavening agents, the baking powder in self-rising flour can go bad and your muffins will not rise.
• Use full-fat, room temperature sour cream for the best results. Full-fat, plain, Greek-style yogurt would probably work as a substitute, but I have not tested that version. Do not substitute mayonnaise for the sour cream in these muffins, because you need the acidity in the sour cream to help the muffins rise.
• The key to a perfect muffin is just barely mixing the ingredients. You want them to come together, but a few lumps are fine. This way they’ll stay moist and tender!
• This recipe yields about 9 muffins. Since a standard muffin tin has 12 cups, fill the empty muffin cups with water. This will help the muffins bake more evenly.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffinCalories: 239kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 4gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 111mgPotassium: 66mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 473IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 1mg

Keyword: 3 ingredient sour cream muffins, sour cream muffins

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Southern

Author: Blair Lonergan

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