The Best Blueberry Streusel Muffin Recipe

These blueberry streusel muffins have been a staple of mine for as long as I can remember. It’s one of my most requested recipes.

When my younger daughter was in elementary school, we would meet her best friend at the park on the way to school and have blueberry muffins to celebrate the first day of school.

It was such a sweet tradition. As a registered dietitian and mom, it’s so important to me that people enjoy food and relish in the traditions and connections food gives us. 

Who doesn’t love a warm blueberry muffin, full of juicy blueberries and a crispy, not too sweet streusel topping? One of the reasons I love this recipe is that making the batter the night before and letting it rest in the refrigerator overnight makes these muffins even more tender.

Plus, there’s very little work to get them baked in the morning. You can also make the streusel topping the night before. If you ask me and friends and family who’ve had them, these are the best blueberry muffins. 

Why you’ll love these muffins

• You’ll also love these blueberry streusel muffins because they’re always a hit for teacher events, family gatherings, or a potluck brunch. And they make a great breakfast, snack, or dessert! 
• Many people ask me if it’s ok for kids to eat muffins for breakfast. As a Registered Dietitian and mom, my answer is yes! Blueberry muffins contain fat, carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins and minerals our bodies need. Serve them with a glass of milk or a yogurt for some additional protein.

Ingredients 

• Unsalted butter – Using unsalted butter in cooking and baking allows you to determine the taste of your baked goods or dish.
• Whole milk has more fat than other milk, and fat is important for flavor of baked goods and helps create a moist texture. Fat molecules coat the flour particles and prevent gluten development, which gives you a more tender crumb. 
• Granulated sugar – Sugar is essential to making baked goods taste fabulous. It impacts taste, texture, browning/color, and moisture of baked goods. 
• All-purpose flour – I use unbleached all-purpose flour because that’s what I’ve always used. Unbleached flour takes longer to make than bleached. …..FINISH LATER
• Baking powder – Check to make sure your baking powder isn’t expired. 
• Salt – I like to bake with Morton’s Iodized salt because the crystals are smaller than other types of salt, so it dissolves more easily. 
• 2 cups frozen blueberries – I prefer to use frozen blueberries here because they’re more consistent in taste and texture than fresh blueberries. Many people ask if frozen fruit is as good as fresh. The answer is yes. Frozen fruits and frozen vegetables are picked at peak ripeness and typically frozen onsite or very close to where they were picked. If you prefer to use fresh blueberries, next blueberry season, go to a U-pick farm or buy them at the Farmers Market. You can also buy extra blueberries to freeze and use in muffins and smoothies throughout the year. 

Steps to make homemade blueberry muffins with streusel topping

Expert tips for making blueberry streusel muffins

• If the milk is significantly cooler than the melted butter, the butter will start to solidify into bits, making the mixture look curdled. To prevent this, you can heat the milk in your microwave for 10-20 seconds if the milk isn’t at room temp. If the butter still solidifies, you can put the mixture back in the microwave for about 10 seconds and whisk the butter and milk together.
• Mixing the muffin batter too much can result in dense muffins because mixing develops the gluten in the flour.
• Tossing the frozen berries with flour prevents them all from falling to the bottom of the muffin during baking. Set the bowl aside while you make the streusel topping.
• My favorite tip is to let the muffin batter rest overnight. If you’re going to bake the muffins in the morning, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight. Make the streusel and store it in the refrigerator too.

Variations

• Add the lemon zest of one lemon to the batter and you’ll have lemon blueberry muffins. 
• You can substitute many types of fruit, either fresh or frozen.
• If you add chopped peaches, you might add a 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger or cardamom to the batter.
• Add apples and you might add 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter or to the streusel crumble topping when you mix it together. 

Serving suggestions and storage

I like to serve these homemade muffins for breakfast with a glass of milk or a Greek yogurt, or as a snack or dessert. Don’t forget to serve then with room temperature butter for everyone who likes to spread butter on their blueberry muffins. 

How do I reheat blueberry muffins? You can either reheat them in your toaster oven or conventional oven at 300 F for about 15 minutes. Another option is to cut them in half and toast them in your toaster oven. They come out of the toaster oven ready to be buttered!

How do I store muffins? Store them at room temperature in an airtight container. 

How do I freeze blueberry streusel muffins? If you want to freeze them, place them in a freezer-safe container. They can be frozen for up to 6 months. I don’t usually freeze them, because they’re so easy to make and after a few days, there are no leftovers to freeze.