Strawberry Muffins

Sweet, light, and packed with fruity flavor, these strawberry muffins are the perfect addition to your breakfast or brunch menu. This easy strawberry muffin recipe uses fresh strawberries and a hint of vanilla flavor to create a delicious and versatile muffin that the whole family will love. And they only take 30 minutes to bake!

Jump to:

• 🌟 Why this is the best Strawberry muffin recipe
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• ✨ Flavor variations and substitutions
• 🎓 Expert tips
• 🥣 Equipment notes
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🧁 More Muffin and Breakfast Recipes
• Strawberry Muffins

🌟 Why this is the best Strawberry muffin recipe

1. It is easy to make - You do not need fancy ingredients, equipment, or baking experience for this strawberry muffins recipe.
2. It does not take much time - They are ready in just half an hour: Eight minutes of prep time and 22 minutes of bake time.
3. They are super moist - Unlike some muffin recipes, this one uses a combination of oil and butter to make the muffins super light and fluffy! It also includes a signature vinegar and baking soda hack, making them incredibly spongy and moist.
4. It is versatile - There are endless ways to customize and kick up the flavor of these muffins. See the Variations and Substitutions section at the end for inspiration!
5. They are easy to store - These muffins are also perfect for batch cooking, as you can make them in advance and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. Be sure to check out my tips for storing muffins.

📝 Ingredient notes

1. Sugar - Sugar sweetens the batter. White granulated sugar works just fine for this recipe. Refer to my sugar guide to learn more about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking.
2. Butter - I recommend unsalted butter with 82% fat content. You can also make your butter at home. The butter needs to be at room temperature but not melted.
3. Oil - Oil makes the muffins moist and fluffy. Use a neutral oil without flavor, such as vegetable oil, for the best results.
4. Egg - You must bring the eggs to room temperature first so that they emulsify correctly.
5. Vanilla extract - For the best taste, use pure vanilla extract. Avoid using imitation vanilla extract. You can also make your own delicious DIY vanilla extract at home.
6. Flour - All purpose flour works well for this recipe. See my flour guide to learn about the different types of flour in baking.
7. Baking powder - Baking powder helps to make the muffins rise. You can also use one of these baking powder substitutes.
8. Salt - Salt is a must-have ingredient that balances out the sweetness of the muffins. Do not skip it!
9. Milk - High-fat content milk provides the muffins with the best taste and texture. I recommend whole milk with 3% fat. Like the butter and eggs, the milk must be at room temperature.
10. Baking soda and white vinegar - The baking soda and vinegar combo intensifies the moisture and sponginess. Don't skip these ingredients!
11. Strawberries - Fresh strawberries cut into smaller pieces are best. If you use frozen strawberries, it is important not to thaw them. I do not recommend freeze-dried strawberries.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

1. How to make strawberry muffins

1. Preheat your oven to 175C / 347F (no fan). Then, lightly grease a muffin tin with butter or nonstick cooking spray, or prepare it with paper liners.
2. With an electric hand mixer, cream the room-temperature butter and sugar in a large bowl for a few minutes until it reaches a light and fluffy texture. Very slowly, mix in each egg one at a time. Then, add the vanilla extract.
3. Slowly pour in the oil while continuing to whip the mixture. Then, slowly pour in the room-temperature milk and continue to whip the batter.
4. Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt). Then, switch to a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the batter just until combined. Do not overmix.
5. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar with baking soda. It will be very bubbly. Immediately fold the mixture into the muffin batter just until combined.
6. Put approximately 24 strawberry pieces aside and, with a rubber spatula, carefully fold the rest into the batter. Be careful not to mash them while folding.

💡 Top Tip: Use only the equipment noted in the recipe to prevent the batter from being overmixed. Stick to a rubber spatula to fold the dry ingredients and the strawberries into the batter.

2. How to bake

1. Pour the muffin batter into the muffin tin cavities until each is approximately ¾ full. Then, press two strawberry pieces onto the top of each.
2. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for approximately 20-22 minutes. You can also use the "toothpick test" and insert a toothpick in the center of the muffin. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.
3. Serve fresh from the oven, or store at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

💡 Top Tip: For a mess-free and even distribution of the batter into the muffin cups, use a small ice cream scoop or piping bag to pour in the batter.

✨ Flavor variations and substitutions

These light and healthy strawberry muffins are the perfect treat on their own. However, you can customize your muffins and enhance the flavor even more with one of these many flavor variations and substitutes:

If you love chocolate-covered strawberries, add cocoa powder and chocolate chips to the batter as I do in my brownie muffins to make chocolate strawberry muffins! 

Combine or replace the strawberries with other sweet berries such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or cherries.

Fold in mashed bananas to tropical-flavored strawberry banana muffins.

Turn them into strawberry lemon muffins by adding grating lemon zest to the batter. You can also try orange zest for strawberry orange muffins.

Add chopped rhubarb to make fruity, tart strawberry rhubarb muffins.

Add crushed nuts such as pecans or walnuts to give your muffins a crunchy texture, plus protein!

Fill the muffins with strawberry puree as I do in my strawberry-filled cupcakes. You can also try other creamy fillings, such as my homemade lemon curd, or cream cheese filling for strawberry cream cheese muffins!

Add toppings for a sweet finishing touch. Top them with powdered sugar, turbinado sugar, or streusel crumb topping.

Replace half the white sugar with brown sugar for a sweet, molasses-like flavor.

Replace the vanilla extract with almond extract for a nutty flavor profile. Or, use a bit of both!

Make egg-free muffins with one of these many egg substitutions.

Switch out the all-purpose flour for one of the alternatives in my flour guide for gluten-free muffins.

🎓 Expert tips

1. Always bake in preheated oven.
2. To give your strawberry muffins the best flavor, use fresh strawberries. If you want to make strawberry muffins with frozen strawberries, do not thaw them first. However, you may need to increase the baking time by 2-3 minutes to compensate for the extra moisture.
3. The butter, eggs, and milk (your wet ingredients) must be at room temperature to prevent the batter from baking. To help bring the eggs to room temperature quicker, you can set them in a bowl of warm water for five minutes.
4. It is important to add the wet ingredients to the batter very slowly. The batter could break and curdle if you pour them in too quickly.
5. Whisk the dry ingredients in a small bowl to evenly distribute them before adding them to the batter.

🥣 Equipment notes

A digital scale will help ensure that each ingredient is measured consistently and accurately. A digital oven thermometer will ensure the correct baking temperature and best baking experience, as some oven models can vary by a degree or two.

An electric hand mixer is required to whip together the sugar with the wet ingredients. You will need a rubber spatula to fold the wet and dry ingredients together without overmixing and to carefully fold the strawberries without mashing them. Once you prepare the muffin batter, you will use a 12-cup muffin pan for baking.

❓Recipe FAQs

🧁 More Muffin and Breakfast Recipes