UPDATE: This post was updated on March 17, 2025 to include conversions for metric measurements and nutrition information.
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! The best part? No rising time is needed; you'll have these ready to eat in under an hour.
Looking for other sourdough discard recipes? Check out these Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Discard Bagels, Sourdough Discard Waffles, and these Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls. And if you'd like a few more muffin options, try these Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins and Sourdough Discard Pumpkin Muffins.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- There is no rise time needed! You'll have these muffins ready to eat in under an hour.
- You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for these muffins.
- The orange or lemon zest gives these muffins a nice, light flavor.
- The sourdough discard gives these muffins a bit of additional rise and some sourdough tang. And it's a great way to use up some of your sourdough discard!
- Muffins freeze well! You can make a batch and freeze some for later!
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.
- Unsalted butter: Creaming the butter helps make these muffins light and fluffy, so don't skip the time to cream this well! Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature so it creams well with the sugar.
- Yogurt: Use a plain or vanilla-flavored yogurt. This could be a non-dairy or regular dairy yogurt.
- Orange or lemon zest: I like to use orange zest with this recipe, but you could also use lemon. It helps bring a bit of brightness to the recipe!
- 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.
- Blueberries: These can be fresh or frozen! If frozen, let them thaw and drain off any excess water that might separate from the berries.
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:
- Change the berries - Want to try this with a different berry? Try strawberries, raspberries or blackberries instead of blueberries.
- Add nuts - This recipe would be great with added walnuts or almonds. Try reducing the blueberries by ¼ cup and adding ¼ cup of chopped nuts.
- Add a crumble topping - Do you want a little extra sweetness or crunch with the muffins? Add a crumble topping to bring in a little extra texture and sweetness.
- Use active sourdough starter - If you want to use active sourdough starter instead of sourdough discard, you can! Keep in mind that active starter has more yeast to it, so your muffins will rise more. You may find that you need to divide the batter into more muffin cups so they don't overflow.
I have not tested this recipe with other variations, but if you do, let us know how it turns out in the comments! I always love to hear how you're adapting these recipes and use those as ideas for future recipes as well!
How to make Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins
There are just a few key steps to making these Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins.
Cream the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.
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.
Add sourdough discard and yogurt and stir to combine.
Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Optional step: 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.
Fold the blueberries into the batter until combined.
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!
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! You can also grease the pan with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- 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.
- Let the muffins cool slightly before serving with butter or your other favorite muffin toppings.
- If the muffins are sticking to your liners after baking, let them cool for a few minutes! The muffins won't stick when cooled.
Equipment
You'll need a large mixing bowl and a hand-held mixer (you could also use a KitchenAid Stand Mixer) to make the batter. You'll also want a mixing spoon (personally, I love a GIR Spoonula for this use). I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure the sourdough discard.
You'll need a 12-cup muffin pan as well as muffin liners. For muffin liners, you can either make your own with parchment paper, use paper liners, or use silicone liners. A cookie scoop is also really helpful for transferring the batter to the muffin cups.
kitchen essentials
My Favorite Muffin Pan
The perfect muffin pan for all your baking needs!
Storage
Room Temperature Storage: Store Sourdough Discard Blueberry 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 FAQ
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. If frozen, let the berries thaw first and drain off any excess liquid that might separate from the berries.
Room-temperature ingredients will produce a better rise than if you use ingredients that are cold, right out of the fridge. Will it still work if they're cold? Generally speaking, yes. But will the muffins rise as much? No.
If you want to use active sourdough starter instead of sourdough discard, you can! Keep in mind that active starter has active yeast, so your muffins will rise more. You may find that you need to divide the batter into more muffin cups so they don't overflow.
This is optional, but I highly recommend it! It gives the muffins a little extra crunch and sweetness. I can buy turbinado sugar (such as Sugar in the Raw) at your local grocery store or online.
Let the muffins cool! As the muffins cool, they will no longer stick to the liners.
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.
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!
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!