If you're working with a sourdough starter and have some discard to use, these Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins are a delicious breakfast or brunch recipe! They're also very adaptable and you could make this recipe with other berries as well!
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Yum these are SOO GOOD and easy to make, the whole family loves these.
- Morgan
Why you'll love this recipe
- You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for these muffins. You might also like these Sourdough Discard Blueberry Bagels.
- The orange or lemon zest gives these muffins a nice, light flavor.
- This recipe uses sourdough discard, but you can easily modify to use active sourdough starter if you prefer.
- Muffins freeze well! You can make a batch and freeze some for later! Try these Chocolate Sourdough Zucchini Muffins and Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins, too!
Ingredients
As long as you have sourdough discard, you're halfway there! Below are a few key things you'll need to make these Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins.
- Sourdough discard: This should be unfed and at room temperature before you make this recipe. This recipe is designed for a sourdough discard with a 1:1 ratio (1 part flour, 1 part water). If your sourdough starter uses a different ratio, you may need to adjust a few ingredients in this recipe.
- Learn more about how to make a homemade sourdough starter.
- Blueberries: These can be fresh or frozen!
See full recipe below for detailed directions.
Substitutions & Variations
This is a great base recipe for sourdough discard muffins and can easily be adapted. Below are a few variations to try:
- Use active sourdough starter - While it's not needed for leavening purposes, you can use active starter instead of sourdough discard, if you prefer. To do so, replace the sourdough discard with active starter (200g). You do not need to change any other ingredients in the recipe.
- Use different berries - Try strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries instead of blueberries. Try these Sourdough Cranberry Orange Muffins, too!
- Add nuts - Add walnuts or almonds. Reduce the blueberries by ¼ cup and add ¼ cup of chopped nuts.
How to Make Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins
There are just a few key steps to making these Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins. The full recipe with detailed directions is at the bottom of this post.
- Step 1: Cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
- Step 2: Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly before adding the next egg. Add vanilla extract and orange or lemon zest, stirring to combine.
- Step 3: Add sourdough discard and yogurt and stir to combine.
- Step 4: Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Step 5 (optional): Toss the blueberries with 1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour to coat. This helps keep the berries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins so they'll be dispersed throughout the muffins.
- Step 6: Fold the blueberries into the batter until combined.
- Step 7: Line a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin liners, then fill each cup evenly with batter. I prefer using parchment paper liners as they are bigger, which means bigger muffins! Using a cookie scoop is an easy way to fill the cups!
- Step 8: Sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar, then bake 22-24 minutes until golden brown.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use muffin liners to keep the muffins from sticking to the pan. Personally, I like to use parchment paper muffin liners - you get a bigger muffin!
- Coating the blueberries with flour before adding to the batter helps keep them from sinking to the bottoms of the muffins.
- Using room temperature ingredients for this recipe helps ensure that the muffins will rise appropriately.
- If the muffins are sticking to your liners after baking, let them cool for a few minutes! The muffins won't stick when cooled.
- Looking for more sourdough discard breakfast recipes? Try these Sourdough Discard Scones and Sourdough Discard Waffles.
Storage
Room Temperature Storage: Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in the microwave for 15-30 seconds to make them warm and soft again.
Freezer Storage: These muffins freeze very well. Let them cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. You can also leave the muffin liners on for freezing! To reheat, let the muffins thaw at room temperature, or reheat in the microwave for 30-60 seconds.
Recipe FAQs
Sourdough discard is what you have leftover after feeding your sourdough starter. You can either literally discard (compost or trash) sourdough discard, you can use it to create a new starter, or you can use it in sourdough discard recipes like this one.
If you're new to working with sourdough starter, check out these in-depth posts on how to feed sourdough starter, how to use sourdough discard and tips for struggling sourdough starter.
Yes! You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe.
More Sourdough Discard Breakfast Recipes
If you tried these Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you! Happy Baking!
Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons orange or lemon zest
- 200 grams (about ¾ cup) sourdough discard unfed, at room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons plain or vanilla yogurt non-dairy or regular dairy
- 1 ½ cups blueberries thawed, if frozen
- 2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners*. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a hand-held blender on medium speed to cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing in between each. Mix in vanilla extract and orange or lemon zest.
- Mix in the sourdough discard and the yogurt until smooth and combined. Fold the dry ingredients into the batter mixture and stir just until no dry spots remain. Fold the blueberries into the batter until just combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin liners, filling each cup about ⅔ full (a cookie scoop works well for this!). Depending on the size of your muffin cups, you might find that you have enough batter for an extra muffin. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake for 22-24 minutes until golden brown. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool fully.
Tracy says
I made them, but didn't have fresh lemons or oranges- but I did have some orange extract- so, they had a bit of an orange flavor with the blueberries and sourdough! I also used blueberry greek yogurt. They were delicious!
Amy Giagnacova says
Best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had
Kelsey says
If using this recipe to make mini muffins, how would you adjust temp & bake time?
Jessica Vogl says
I haven't tested that, but I would leave the oven temperature the same and adjust the timing (try 12-14 minutes instead of the 22-24 minutes listed for the full-size muffins).
Christy says
I love these but could you please send me the original recipe with the yogurt and without the oil. I truly enjoyed it better. The muffins seemed much drier with this new recipe. They are still so delicious but I just prefer the one where you add yogurt instead of oil. Thank you!
Jessica Vogl says
Hi Christy! A previous version of this recipe used 2 Tbsp of yogurt instead of the 3 Tbsp of vegetable oil. I made that chnage as I was working on helping these muffins to rise more and I found that the oil helped with rising!
Jessica Vogl says
Hi Christy! I wanted to send a quick note that I think you're right and I've reverted this recipe back to using yogurt instead of oil. You'll see it above as it was before!
Kristi Abbott says
Hello
Can you use greek yogurt?
Thank you
Kristi
Jessica Vogl says
Yes, that should work!
Christy says
Thank you so much!!
Morgan says
Yum these are SOO GOOD and easy to make, the whole family loves these.
Crystal says
Absolutely fabulous muffins!! Thank you for sharing your talents!!
Janet says
Do you have the calorie and nutrition break down for your recipes ?
Jessica Vogl says
I don't at the moment, sorry!
LeAnn says
Thank you Jessi, for all the recipes for the discard starter. I have made the pizza dough a few times and it is great! Now, I'm trying this recipe. You mentioned baking powder in the recipe ingred. and then in the instructions, you mentioned baking soda. Not sure what it should be so I added a little of both.
Jessica Vogl says
Thank you, LeAnn, and and thank you for flagging! I'll be sure to update that!