These bakery style strawberry muffins are moist and fluffy, full of fresh, juicy berries, and finished with a crunchy sugar topping. Whip up a batch for a convenient grab-and-go breakfast, a lovely addition to a brunch buffet, or a sweet make-ahead afternoon snack. They're freezer-friendly, too!
Strawberry Muffins Recipe
Strawberries are definitely the most popular fruit in our house, and nothing beats the sweetness of a freshly-picked berry from a local farm here in Virginia during the spring months. This easy strawberry muffins recipe takes advantage of the ripe fruit for a quick breakfast or snack that the whole family will enjoy!
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you'll need for a batch of the best strawberry muffins! As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- All-purpose flour: the base of the muffin batter.
- Sugar: for sweet, bakery-style muffins. You can decrease the amount of sugar if you prefer a less-sweet muffin.
- Baking powder: the leavening agent that helps the muffins rise.
- Salt: to balance the sweetness.
- Cinnamon: for warmth.
- Vegetable oil and salted butter: two different types of fat give the muffins the best of both worlds -- moisture from the oil, and flavor from the butter.
- Vanilla extract: for even more flavor.
- Eggs: for structure.
- Whole milk: adds moisture and fat to the batter.
- Fresh strawberries: diced very small so that they distribute evenly throughout the muffins. If you're using frozen strawberries, do not thaw the berries before stirring them into the batter.
- Coarse sugar: for sprinkling on top of the muffins. This is optional, but the coarse sugar gives the muffin tops a sweet, crispy, crackly top that's such a delicious contrast to the fluffy, moist insides. This is the brand that I use, and anything similar will work.
How to Make Strawberry Muffins
These easy muffins come together in about 15 minutes with just a handful of ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. No mixer required!
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate medium bowl: oil, melted butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and milk.
- Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients; mix until combined.
- Fold the strawberries into the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly among 15 standard-size muffin pans. I like to use an ice cream scoop to make sure that each muffin is the same size (and therefore bakes in the same amount of time).
- Sprinkle coarse sugar on top of each muffin.
- Bake the muffins in a 350°F oven for about 25 minutes, and then allow them to rest on a wire rack until they're cool enough to handle. Slather on some butter and strawberry jam and devour!
How to Serve Strawberry Muffins
Strawberry muffins are such a versatile little treat -- especially when paired with butter, cream cheese, honey, or jam. You can offer them for a quick grab-and-go breakfast on busy mornings; pile some in a basket as a part of a special brunch buffet; set out a few with a glass of lemonade or iced tea for an afternoon snack; or even add them to your bread basket as a side dish with dinner.
We love the variety of a bread basket that includes some homemade bread, a few warm muffins, and a couple wedges of cornbread. It turns an ordinary weeknight meal into a special restaurant-worthy occasion -- and you can pull each of these items from your freezer with almost zero effort! Enjoy the coffee shop strawberry muffins at room temperature or serve them warm. They're best with a smear of soft butter or a dollop of homemade strawberry jam!
Storage
Allow the muffins to cool completely. Store in a large Ziploc freezer bag or other airtight container. The muffins will last for 2-3 days at room temperature, or you can freeze the muffins for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat
If the muffins are frozen, allow them to sit on the counter for a few minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F. Frozen muffins will require about 10-12 minutes in the oven; room temperature muffins will only need about 5 minutes to warm through.
Alternatively, you can microwave one muffin at a time for 15-30 seconds or just until warm.
Recipe Variations
- Use the same batter to prepare a loaf of strawberry bread instead of individual muffins. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour.
- For whole wheat strawberry muffins, you can substitute half of the all-purpose flour (1 cup) for an equal amount of whole wheat flour. I don't recommend using 2 full cups of whole wheat flour, because it will make the muffins a bit too dry and dense.
- Use any fresh berries that you have available. A mix of blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries is delicious.
- Add chocolate chips for a strawberry-chocolate combination!
- Strawberry lemon muffins: to give these muffins a powerful lemon punch, add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon zest to the batter and omit the cinnamon.
- Crumble topping: sprinkle this streusel on top of your muffins before baking.
- Strawberry banana muffins: fold the blackberries into this banana muffin batter.
- For an earthy, savory complement to the berries, add some fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, or basil.
- Mini Muffins: bake the batter in mini muffin tins in a 350°F oven for about 12-15 minutes.
Tips for the Best Strawberry Muffin Recipe
- Fresh summer berries are always best. You can substitute with frozen strawberries; however, be aware that the frozen berries may "bleed" and turn the batter a weird color. Do not thaw the frozen berries before adding them to the batter.
- Dice the berries into small, bite-sized pieces so that they're easily distributed throughout the batter.
- 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!
- Fill the muffin cups about ⅔ full. I like to use an ice cream scoop to make sure that each cup has an equal amount of batter, ensuring that the muffins bake evenly in the oven.
- Don't skip the sugar topping on these muffins! It creates perfect sweet, crispy tops that contrast beautifully with the moist, tender insides.
- To check if the muffins are done, insert a toothpick into the center and make sure it comes out clean. Don’t cook them for too long, or they can dry out.
What to Do with Fresh Picked Strawberries
If you have a bounty of fresh fruit that you picked yourself or that you scooped up at the market, here are a few more strawberry recipes to try:
- Strawberry Crisp
- Strawberry Chicken Salad
- Old-Fashioned Strawberry Pie
- Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Strawberry Bread
- Perfect Strawberry Shortcake
- Spinach Salad with Strawberries and Poppy Seed Dressing
- Strawberry Freezer Jam
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Strawberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar (or reduce the sugar to ¾ cup or ⅔ cup for a less-sweet muffin)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup (½ of a stick) salted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 1 cup diced fresh strawberries
- Coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 15 standard muffin cups or line with paper muffin cups.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, melted butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and milk.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients; mix just until combined (be careful not to overmix).
- Gently fold in the strawberries.
- With a large ice cream scoop or spoon, fill the prepared muffin cups about ⅔ full with batter. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Fresh summer berries are always best. You can substitute with frozen strawberries; however, be aware that the frozen berries may "bleed" and turn the batter a weird color. Do not thaw the frozen berries before adding them to the batter.
- Dice the berries into small, bite-sized pieces so that they're easily distributed throughout the batter.
- 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!
- Fill the muffin cups about ⅔ full. I like to use an ice cream scoop to make sure that each cup has an equal amount of batter, ensuring that the muffins bake evenly in the oven.
- Don't skip the sugar topping on these muffins! It creates perfect sweet, crispy tops that contrast beautifully with the moist, tender insides.
- To check if the muffins are done, insert a toothpick into the center and make sure it comes out clean. Don’t cook them for too long, or they can dry out.
- Use the same batter to prepare a loaf of strawberry bread instead of individual muffins. Pour the batter into a greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour.
- For whole wheat strawberry muffins, you can substitute half of the all-purpose flour (1 cup) for an equal amount of whole wheat flour. I don't recommend using 2 full cups of whole wheat flour, because it will make the muffins a bit too dry and dense.
- Use any fresh berries that you have available. A mix of blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries is delicious.
- Strawberry lemon muffins: to give these muffins a powerful lemon punch, add 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon zest to the batter and omit the cinnamon.
- Strawberry muffins with crumble topping: sprinkle this streusel on top of your muffins before baking.
- Strawberry banana muffins: fold the blackberries into this banana muffin batter.
- For an earthy, savory complement to the berries, add some fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, or basil.
- Mini Muffins: bake the batter in mini muffin tins in a 350°F oven for about 12-15 minutes.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in April, 2019. It was updated in April, 2022.
Marianne
Can other berries be used such as blackberries? I'm excited to try the recipe!
Blair
Hi, Marianne! Yes! You can definitely use other berries, but I would chop the blackberries if they're large so that you don't have huge chunks of berries throughout the muffin. Smaller berries (like blueberries) are fine to be left whole. Enjoy!
Adela
Can I use frozen strawberries instead of fresh?
Blair
Hi, Adela! Yes -- you definitely can! Just be aware that frozen berries tend to bleed a bit more in the batter, so they might turn your muffins a pinkish/purplish color. Also, I would add them to the batter while they're still frozen -- don't thaw them first. Enjoy! 🙂
Pauline
I did your recipe for strawberry muffins, why when you take the holder off the cake is not coming out clean. When you remove the wrapper it sticks to it. Not clean.what did I do wrong. Pauline
Blair
Hi, Pauline! I'm not sure! I haven't had that problem. I find that muffins and cupcakes tend to stick to the liners when you try to eat them warm. Is that what happened here? If you wait until they're completely cool, they usually come off easier. Otherwise, I can't think of what might be causing that. In the future, you might try spritzing the paper liners with a bit of nonstick spray as an extra safety measure to ensure that they come right out.