There’s nothing quite like homemade blueberry muffins with crumb topping fresh from the oven. A simple blueberry compote gives these muffins extra fresh berry flavor without making them soggy. They’re unbeatable!
Whether you’re making them for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack, this easy recipe delivers delicious bakery-style muffins every time!
I have several recipes for homemade blueberry muffins. These Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping are my favorite! The blueberry compote does take extra time, but it is so worth it!
I discovered the recipe watching America’s Test Kitchen over 15 years ago. I’ve made them often since then, but thought it was time to replace the old photos and add a few tricks I’ve learned over the years.
These amazing bakery-style blueberry crumb muffins always get rave reviews, and are a great way to start the day.
Why You’ll Love These Blueberry Muffins
- Buttermilk gives them a moist, fluffy texture.
- The compote adds blueberry flavor without making the muffins soggy.
- Sweet crunchy streusel tops them off perfectly!
- Cooking at high heat for a few minutes leads to lovely domed tops.
- They’re perfect for breakfast, brunch, or snacking.
- You can freeze them and pop a couple in the microwave on busy mornings.
How to Make Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping
- COMPOTE – Cook the berries and sugar in a small saucepan until thick and bubbly, about 8 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 425° and spray 18 muffin cups with cooking spray. - STREUSEL CRUMB TOPPING – Mix the flour, sugar, and butter until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.
- BATTER – Whisk together the dry ingredients; stir in the berries.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar briskly for two minutes. Whisk in the melted butter, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. Gently stir in the flour mixture and blueberries.
- ASSEMBLE – Spoon muffin batter into the 18 muffin cups. They should be about 2/3 full. Top each with about a teaspoon of blueberry compote; swirl with a knife. Sprinkle crumb topping over each muffin.
- BAKE – Bake muffins for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 425°, then turn the oven down to 350°. Bake for 12-15 more minutes, or until set in the middle and golden brown on the edges.
- COOL – Let muffins sit in the muffin pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
We like them served warm, but they are also tasty at room temp.
Tips for the Best Blueberry Muffins
- Toss blueberries with the dry ingredients before folding them into the batter to help prevent sinking.
- Do not overmix the batter or the muffins may become dense.
- Baking at a slightly higher temperature for the first few minutes encourages tall muffin tops.
- To ensure that the muffins are the same size, use a large cookie scoop to portion the batter.
Variations:
- In place of the buttermilk, you can use 1/2 cup of milk + 1/2 cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt.
- Almond Blueberry Muffins – Replace half of the vanilla with almond extract, and add 1/3-1/2 cup of sliced almonds to the topping.
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins – Add fresh lemon zest to the batter and the topping.
- Mixed Berry Muffins – Replace part of the blueberries with raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries.
- Cinnamon Blueberry Muffins – Add ground cinnamon to both the batter and crumb topping.
- Glazed Muffins – Drizzle cooled muffins with a simple powdered sugar glaze.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen blueberries?
Frozen blueberries work beautifully in the compote, but I prefer fresh berries for the muffins. Frozen berries make the batter cold, so it’s harder to get the middle done without the edges getting dark. But if you thaw them, they cause streaking or unappetizing gray muffins.
Why did my blueberries sink?
If you make the recipe as directed, the batter is thick enough that the berries shouldn’t sink. But if you replace the buttermilk with milk, the batter will be thinner, and that could cause your berries to sink.
Can I make these ahead of time?
Absolutely. They stay moist for several days and freeze beautifully.
Can I make mini muffins?
Yes, but I recommend cutting the recipe in half. Otherwise, you will get at least 60-70 mini muffins, and three pans will overcrowd the oven, resulting in unevenly baked muffins.
Reduce the baking time to about 15 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick.
More of my best muffin recipes :
- Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins
- Sour Cream Banana Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins Recipe
- Rhubarb Muffins
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Malt-O-Meal Magic Muffins
- Apple Snickerdoodle Mini Muffins
Recipe originally published July 26, 2010, updated August 2026.
Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping
Equipment
Ingredients
Blueberry Compote
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 tsp sugar
Topping:
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup salted butter, very soft
Muffin Batter
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup salted butter, melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
Blueberry Compote:
- Combine the cup of berries and teaspoon of sugar in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat for about 8 minutes, or till berries are mashed and the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool while you prepare the muffins.
- Preheat your oven to 425° and spray 18 muffin cups with cooking spray (or use paper liners).
Crumb Topping:
- Combine the sugar, flour, and softened butter in a small bowl. Use your hands or a fork to mix until crumbly. Set aside.
Batter:
- Stir or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar for at least 2 minutes, or until pale and thickened. Add the melted butter, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture to the liquid ingredients, then dump the blueberries onto the flour. Stir gently just until combined.
- Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Spoon about 1 tsp of cooked berries on top of each muffin. Swirl in with a butter knife.
- Combine topping ingredients till crumbly and sprinkle on top of muffins.
- Bake muffins at 425° for 10 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 350° and bake for another 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out without wet batter.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5-7 minutes, then carefully remove to a wire rack.
Notes
- For lemon blueberry muffins, add a tablespoon or two of lemon zest to the batter, and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest to the crumb topping.
- You can use fresh or frozen berries for the compote, but for the batter, I highly recommend using fresh blueberries. Frozen berries prevent the muffins from cooking in the middle before the outside is done, and thawed berries turn the muffins an ugly gray color.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt.
- Muffins can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-5 days. You can also freeze them in a heavy-duty Ziploc freezer bag for up to 3 months. To prevent the crumb topping from falling off, I like to flash-freeze them first on a cookie sheet, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap before placing them in the bag.
Nutrition
If you’ve been searching for the best blueberry muffin recipe, look no further. These blueberry muffins with crumb topping are soft, moist, and loaded with fresh blueberry flavor. Plus, the buttery streusel topping adds the perfect sweet crunch to every bite!
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Hi Kara,
Delectable recipe!! I’ve made before and want to make again this week. Do you think if I used whole wheat flour that this would alter the recipe at all? Thank you so much!
Kindest regards,
Caroline
So glad you liked them Caroline! I’ve made them with half whole wheat flour, and they turn out just great. I bet they would be fine with all wheat flour.
If you try it, let me know how they turn out!
How many muffins does this make?
These are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I made these saturday and yesterday!!!!! O WOW is all I can say!!!!!!!! I also made these with the same batter:
Banana and Strawberry Muffins
Chocolate Jimmy Muffins
Cherry Muffins
Plain Banana Muffins
Banana Smore Muffins
Just Yummy!!!
I’ve never heard of banana smore muffins, but they sound delicious. I’ll have to try them. 🙂
My kids and hubby LOVE blueberry cupcakes. But I’m not a blueberry fan. BUT I love blueberry cupcake batter! I think I’ll make half with blueberries and half with Chocolate chips for me! Thank you for linking up to Topsy Turvy Tuesdays!
Hmm, chocolate chips? I think I’ll be trying that. 🙂
Everything you make sounds too delish!!!!
wow these look yummy! im trying them tonight!!
Can’t wait to try this. I love blueberries in a muffin but find it hard to eat them solo.
These muffins look awesome! My husband loves making muffins. He makes them all the time!
Definitely my favorite 🙂
We just picked a gallon of blueberries that are in the freezer ~ I believe some of them need to be made into these muffins!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
I’m going to be redundant and say those look delicious!
Almost forgot … the muffins look yummy! I’m envious of the finished house purge! And I grabbed your button! 🙂
Hey!
I ventured here by way of the request for a critique on SITS. You’re going to like this one! 🙂 You have a beautiful, creative, inviting, user friendly blog! I clicked BOTH follow and like before commenting! 🙂
OH MY! Those look wonderful! I feel like such a cheeseball now because I have a lil baggy of blueberry muffin mix. I actually planned on making it today with my lil princess. She’s only 2 so she need to be just a lil bit older before I do a recipe like the above. See now, that makes me a lil less cheeseball…..yes? LOL
Thanks so much for sharing. Can’t wait to try these.
I love making big batches of muffins ahead of time and having them on hand in the freezer. Your muffins look lovely and the recipe sounds great.
Those look fantastic.
mmmmm…. those look so good! I have never thought about making a big batch and putting them in the freezer – I am so going to do that – probably with these!!
ooo I am so printing this out so I can make some! Thanks for sharing!
These look scrumptuous!. Will have to try these
So jealous. Our home could really use another detox. And those muffins look delish! I’d love for ya to link them up with my tasty tuesdays tomorrow if ya can.