Easy Zesty Blueberry Muffins With Streusel Topping

Some of my favorite foods on the planet are fruits and I try to eat some every day. Any fruit...strawberries, watermelon, bananas, kiwis, apples...the list could go on and on. Having grown up in southern New Jersey, blueberries are most definitely on the list too.

Jump to:

• 🧾 Ingredients for muffins
• 📋 Ingredients for streusel
• 🥣 Mixing the muffin batter
• ⏲️ Baking
• 🥄 Streusel topping
• 🫐 Fun facts about blueberries
• 📝 Recipe

When I was a kid, my mom would take my sister and I to a pick-your-own blueberry field. When we arrived, the people there would hand us each an empty coffee can hanging by a string and then drive us out to the fields on a flatbed trailer behind a tractor.

With smiles on our faces, we rode along on the dusty flatbed, bouncing through the dirt rows, amazed at this seemingly endless supply of fruit! When the tractor eventually came to a stop far into the fields, we walked around, looking for a row of bushes that was just bursting with blueberries.  

Once we decided on a row, with coffee cans hanging around our necks, we got to work. This was great fun for us kids... dropping blueberries into our cans, both hands working back and forth, hearing that satisfying plunk, slowly watching it fill up with that blue deliciousness.

Of course, when mom wasn’t looking, I would sneak a few into my mouth...because who could resist?! Thus began my love of blueberries. Whether they’re plain, in a bowl of milk, or baked into a muffin...they’re all yummy!

But I also have a sweet tooth and sometimes want a pastry or other baked good for breakfast. So, I created a recipe that’s the perfect combination of both! Blueberry muffins with lemon zest and a brown sugar streusel topping.  

These muffins are just delicious, with sweet blueberries, a hint of zesty citrus, and crunchy crumbly brown sugar baked on top! My favorite way to enjoy these muffins is to slice one in half, put a pat of butter on each side, and warm them up in the microwave for a few seconds so the butter melts in a bit.  

🧾 Ingredients for muffins

• All purpose flour
• Granulated sugar
• Salt
• Baking powder
• Salted butter
• Lemon zest
• Eggs
• Milk
• Vanilla extract
• Blueberries

📋 Ingredients for streusel

• Salted butter
• All purpose flour
• Light brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Salt

See the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.

🥣 Mixing the muffin batter

Preheat oven to 375℉. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, first mix together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Then, add butter, lemon zest, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract and mix just until all ingredients are incorporated together. Finally, by hand, gently fold blueberries into batter.

Spoon batter into a well greased or lined muffin pan, filling each cup about two-thirds.

⏲️ Baking

Bake for 20-25 minutes. The muffins will start to rise by this time.

🥄 Streusel topping

In the meantime, make the streusel topping. In a bowl, mix together melted butter, flour, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt. Toss together using a fork until small crumbs form.

Remove muffins from oven, gently brush the top of each muffin with butter, and sprinkle with streusel topping. Bake another 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!

🫐 Fun facts about blueberries

• Blueberries are native to the US and 98% of blueberries grown here come from 10 states:  New Jersey, California, Oregon Florida, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Michigan, Mississippi, and Washington.
  
• Blueberries are one of the only foods that are naturally blue in color.
  
• Most blueberries reach peak ripeness from mid-June to mid-August.
  
• Blueberries are very healthy:  Just one cup has 80 calories, 3.6 grams of fiber, 25% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C, and are high in antioxidants.
  
• The US grows more blueberries than anywhere else in the world. More than 500 million pounds are produced in the US every year.
  
• Blueberries contain a compound on their skin that protects them from spoiling too fast, so don’t rinse that off until you’re ready to eat them.

Do you have a sweet tooth like me? Check out a few more of our delicious recipes:

• Dutch Oven Blueberry Cobbler
• Quick & Easy Blueberry Crisp
• Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Bars
• Chocolate Cake in a Mug
• Mint Chocolate Cheesecake
• The Best Banana Nut Bread Recipe
• Sour Cream Coffee Cake
• Mom’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Strawberry Shortcake Waffles with Nutella
• Pear Almond Tart

Did you make this Blueberry Muffins recipe? Let us know in the comments below!

📝 Recipe

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