Strawberry muffins, the kind I’ve been making forever! This is the recipe I grew up with, the one my mom made when I was a kid, and the same one I’ve baked more times than I can count. I’ve tested it, tweaked it, and trusted it for years, and it never lets me down.
They’re big, fluffy, and packed with juicy strawberries, with those classic sugar topped domes that make you feel like you’re biting into a bakery muffin. A little hint of lemon zest adds just the right pop of brightness in every bite. I make these all the time for family, friends, and myself, and they disappear every single time. They’re easy, consistently delicious, and the kind of recipe you’ll come back to again and again. Check out my orange chocolate chip muffins and lemon curd muffins too!
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Why You'll Love these Easy Strawberry Muffins
- Flavor: Fresh strawberries with a hint of lemon, perfect for breakfast or brunch! Check out my coconut and strawberry cake , apricot tart, and strawberry white chocolate cheesecake too!
- Ease: Using melted butter simplifies the process, eliminating the need for a mixer and making cleanup a breeze.
- Texture: These chocolate strawberry muffins are perfectly moist on the inside, while the sugar-sprinkled tops bake up crunchy and golden for that irresistible bakery-style finish just like my blueberry chocolate muffins!
Equipment
Using a kitchen scale is a total game-changer for baking. It makes measuring ingredients super precise, so your recipe comes out perfect every single time. Plus, fewer measuring cups means less cleanup, and who doesn’t love that? Invest in one, and you’ll wonder how you ever baked without it!
Fresh Strawberry Muffins Ingredients
- Melted butter: Keeps the muffins rich, moist, and tender. I love using salted butter, add ¼ teaspoon more salt if you do not have salted.
- Fresh strawberries: Brings natural sweetness and bright, juicy bursts of flavor to every bite, making these muffins taste fresh and vibrant. My strawberry cake pops and tropical mocktail are so good too!
- Eggs: Provide essential structure and richness to the batter, helping the muffins rise and hold together perfectly.
- Lemon zest: Adds a subtle brightness and slight tang that complements the strawberries and enhances the overall flavor. Check out my lemon chocolate cake!
- Baking powder: Ensures the muffins rise beautifully, giving them that light, airy texture you want in a perfect muffin. Make sure it hasn't expired.
See recipe card below for quantities.
Variations
- Chocolate: Add white chocolate or dark chocolate to create a richer flavor that pairs beautifully with the strawberries.
- Orange zest: Use orange zest instead of lemon to bring a slightly sweeter and more floral citrus note to the chocolate chip strawberry muffins. Orange chocolate ganache cake is amazing!
- Mixed berries: Add blueberries, raspberries, or even blackberries for a mixed berry version that’s bursting with flavor and variety.
- Buttermilk: Use buttermilk instead of whole milk if that's what you have on hand!
This muffin recipe has not been tested with other substitutions. These are just suggestions.
How to Make Strawberry Muffins
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners, spray the liners and top of the pan with nonstick spray to ensure they come out of the pan. Chop the strawberries ¼ inch thick.
Step 2. Place the lemon zest and sugar in a large bowl, rub together or beat together until fragrant and combined. Add the melted butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and milk in the bowl, whisk until combined.
Step 3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add it to the wet ingredients. Whisk until combined and a batter just forms. Do not over mix. Fold in the strawberries. Make sure they are evenly distributed.
Step 4. Divide the batter evenly over the 9 muffin liners. It will look like a lot of batter for one liner, it’s not. Top with a little more sugar (I like coarse raw sugar) to just coat the tops. Place in the oven and immediately turn the oven temperature down to 400°F. Bake for 18- 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Hint: Top the muffins with coarse sugar or granulated sugar before baking, it makes the tops extra delicious and adds texture!
Easy Strawberry Muffins Recipe Tips
- Reduce oven temperature right away: Starting with a hot oven helps create high domes, and reducing the temperature prevents the tops from burning while the insides cook through.
- Don’t over mix: Mixing the batter too much can overdevelop the gluten, resulting in dense muffins instead of the light and fluffy texture you’re aiming for.
- 9 muffins is perfect: Making more than 9 muffins will prevent the muffins from developing those big, bakery style tops.
- Chop the strawberries ¼ inch thick: Cutting the strawberries into even, bite sized pieces ensures they’re evenly distributed.
Homemade Strawberry Muffins FAQs
Strawberries contain A LOT of water, frozen strawberries might have way too much water. Do not thaw them if using, the bake time will be longer as well.
The oven temperature, baking powder, and making sure to chop the add ins the same size and making sure the pieces aren't too big.
Don’t overbake and don’t use too much flour. Even a great recipe will turn dry if it spends too long in the oven or is packed with extra flour. For the best results, always weigh your flour if you can. If you’re using measuring cups, use the fluff and spoon method: fluff the flour first, gently spoon it into the cup, then level it off with a knife. Never scoop directly from the bag, it packs in too much flour and leads to dense, dry muffins.
Neither! For tall, bakery style muffins, start hot at 425°F, then lower the oven to 400°F immediately.
The initial blast of heat gives the batter a quick burst of steam and lift, which helps the muffins rise fast and form those big, domed tops. Then, dropping the temperature lets the centers finish baking evenly without drying out.
Storage
Room temperature: Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one day to keep them fresh and moist.
Refrigerator: Avoid storing the chocolate and strawberry muffins in the refrigerator, as it can make the muffins dense and less enjoyable to eat.
Freezer: Freeze the muffins for up to two months. When ready to eat, thaw them at room temperature and enjoy as if they were freshly baked!
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📖 Recipe
Homemade Strawberry Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin tin
- Muffin liners
- Measuring cups or kitchen scale
- Measuring Spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk or mixer
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups (225 grams) all purpose flour Use the fluff and spoon method if not weighing, see notes
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine kosher salt
- 1 large lemon, zested can also use orange zest
- ⅔ cup (145 grams) granulated sugar plus more for tops
- 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk whole or 2%
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 and ½ cups (255 grams) fresh strawberries chopped ¼ inch thick
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a muffin pan with 9 liners, spray the liners and top of the pan with nonstick spray to ensure they come out of the pan.
- Place the lemon zest and sugar in a large bowl, rub together or beat together until fragrant and combined.
- Add the melted butter, vanilla extract, eggs, and milk in the bowl, whisk until combined.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add it to the wet ingredients.
- Whisk until combined and a batter just forms. Do not over mix.
- Fold in the chopped strawberries, making sure they are distributed evenly.
- Divide the batter evenly over the 9 muffin liners. It will look like a lot of batter for one liner, it’s not! This is how you get big tops. Top with a little more sugar (I like coarse raw sugar) to just coat the tops.
- Place in the oven on the center rack of the oven to ensure even baking, avoiding placement too close to the top or bottom and immediately turn the oven temperature down to 400°F. Bake for about 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, check earlier if your oven runs hot.
- Let cool before removing them from the pan.
Nancy says
Oh my gosh such a hit!!
Amanda Valsamis says
i'm so glad!! THank you so much!