Blackberry Muffins {With Buttermilk & Crumble Topping}

Blackberry muffins are soft and tender and make a delicious breakfast or tasty afternoon snack. Filled with blackberries and buttermilk, then topped with an easy cinnamon streusel topping, these blackberry buttermilk muffins are an easy grab-and-go breakfast.

Homemade blackberry muffins

My family loves muffins in the morning, and these blackberry crumble muffins are just the thing for breakfast happiness. The muffin base is tender and moist and studded with juicy, fresh blackberries. And the muffin tops are the real star: super wide and sprinkled with lots of cinnamon streusel for crunch and flavor.

If you’re looking to make bakery-style blackberry muffins at home yourself, this recipe is your answer. These some of the best blackberry muffins I’ve ever had. And the best part? You’ll only need 7 pantry staples + blackberries and 15 minutes prep to pull warm blackberry muffins with streusel topping from the oven. Yum!

If you love muffins, check out my pistachio muffins, blueberry muffins, peanut butter muffins, and pumpkin muffins, which are some of our other favorites! I also used simar streusel on my rhubarb coffee cake.

And if you have blackberries leftover, try this delicious easy blackberry curd from Fab Food 4 All.

Blackberry muffin ingredients

This easy blackberry muffin recipe has 8 required ingredients, and a few optional ingredients to make the best result. See the recipe card below for the full measurements.

• Blackberries shine in this homemade muffin recipe and are responsible for sweet-tart bursts of fruit in every bite. While I prefer fresh, sun-ripped blackberries, frozen blackberries are perfect when fresh produce is out of season. It’s best to leave the berries whole because cut or crushed berries can turn the batter purple.
• All-purpose flour is the base of this easy muffin recipe. For soft and tender muffins, be sure to spoon and level the flour into the measuring cup (don’t scoop it out of the bag) or weigh it out on a kitchen scale.
• Sugar adds a little sweetness to these blackberry streusel muffins. I used golden sugar, which is a type of light brown sugar. Regular brown sugar or granulated sugar are good options, too.
• Baking powder: Make sure it’s fresh so that the berry muffins rise well while they’re baking in the oven. You may use baking soda if you don’t have baking powder, but you won’t get the same tall muffin tops you see in the pictures.
• Ground cinnamon adds warmth to the streusel and creates that classic bakery taste. I love how perfectly cinnamon blends with the refreshing blackberry aroma.
• Buttermilk adds a mild tanginess that corresponds well with the blackberries.
• Melted butter gives us perfectly moist muffins and a rich buttery flavor. We also need melted butter for the crunchy cinnamon streusel crust.
• Eggs bring the other ingredients together to form the muffin batter.

Optional ingredients

While the above items are the only ones absolutely necessary, the following ingredients are optional. You decide whether you want to include them in your blackberry muffins.

• Vanilla extract helps to help bring out the full depth of flavor in these homemade muffins. 1 tsp is perfect.
• Salt: I usually bake with salted butter and don’t add extra salt. But if you’re making the blackberry cakes with unsalted butter, feel free to add 1/8 tsp salt to the muffin batter and 1/4 tsp salt to the streusel topping.
• Almond extract adds complexity and takes the blackberry buttermilk muffins to the next level. Add up to 1/2 tsp.

I’ll also show you more ways to customize the easy blackberry muffins further down below.

How to make blackberry muffins

How do you make blackberry muffins from scratch? Each blackberry muffin has a domed muffin top laced with juicy blackberries and crispy crumb topping. Here’s how to make them at home:

Step 1: Prep

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F / 180°C / gas mark 4.
• Line a 12—hole, regular-sized muffin tin with paper muffin liners, set aside.
• Measure out the ingredients.

Step 2: Form the streusel

• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon.
• Drizzle in the melted butter and combine with a fork until coarse crumbles form.
• You can also squeeze handfuls of dough together to create large crumbles. Add to 2 extra tbsp of flour if the mixture seems too wet and doesn’t clump together.

Step 3: Combine the dry ingredients

• Add the all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and ground cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir the ingredients to make sure everything is evenly mixed before adding the wet mixture.

Step 4: Mix wet ingredients

• Combine the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter in a separate mixing bowl or large measuring cup, giving it a quick whisk to blend everything together.

Step 5: Make the muffin batter

• Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir until just combined. The batter will be thick and lumpy, don’t overmix or try to get it smooth.

Step 6: Fold in the blackberries

• Gently fold the blackberries into the muffin batter until evenly incorporated. Try not to crush the berries as they may stain the muffins purple otherwise.

Step 7: Fill muffin tin

• Using an ice cream scoop or 2 large spoons, fill the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Evenly sprinkle the streusel over the muffins, aiming for the batter and avoiding the tin.

Step 8: Bake

• Bake the blackberry muffins for 20 to 25 minutes. These muffins stay light and only get golden brown around the edges.
• To test for doneness, insert a toothpick or skewer into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean (with no batter), the muffins are ready. Be sure not to overbake, or the muffins end up dry.

Step 9: Cool

• Allow the muffins pan to cool on a wire rack for about 20 to 30 minutes before removing muffins.

Step 10: Serve

• You can serve the muffins still warm or at room temperature.
• Optionally sprinkle with extra cinnamon and powdered (confectioners’/icing) sugar before serving.

Tips for the best blackberry muffins

Try these tips to make the best blackberry muffins from scratch:

• Room temperature ingredients are key to get tall, domed muffins. If you forgot to take out the eggs from the fridge, place them in a bowl with lukewarm water (not boiling!) for 10 minutes, so they warm up.
• Don’t over mix the muffin batter. The texture of the batter is supposed to be lumpy. Over-stirring will make the muffins dense and dry. So just stir until the batter comes together and you no longer see lumps of flour.
• Overfill the muffin pan. To get tall muffins with wide tops, fill up each muffin cup to the top. The muffins will spread out on the pan while baking, but just enough to not melt together.
• Be generous with the crumbs. Cover the muffins with streusel until you’ve used it all up. It might seem too much, but the muffin tops will expand while baking and the amount is perfect for covering the dome.
• Let the muffins cool before turning them out of the tin. Don’t try to lift the muffins out of the pan while they’re still warm – otherwise, you may accidentally break the muffin tops. I also find it easier to remove the muffins from the sides of the pan first and then the ones from the middle of the pan.
• Run an offset spatula underneath the muffin edges if the muffin tops seem stuck to the pan. Be careful as you don’t want to cut off the top.

Blackberry glaze

The muffins are perfectly delicious as is, but I couldn’t resist to whip up a colorful blackberry glaze. Yes, that’s right. The beautiful berry color comes from blackberry juice – no food coloring needed.  

The glaze is super simple, you only powdered (confectioners’/icing) sugar and blackberries. Here’s what you do:

1. Crush 6 to 10 fresh or frozen + thawed blackberries in a small bowl. Simply squish them with the back of a spoon.
2. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve. Catch the blackberry juice in a bowl, discard the solids.
3. Add 1 cup / 130 g / 4.6 oz powdered (confectioners’/icing) sugar to create a thick glaze. You may need to add more powdered (confectioners’/icing) sugar to get the right consistency.
4. Spoon the glaze over the muffins and decorate with fresh berries.

Lemon blackberry muffins

Blackberry lemon muffins are incredibly scrumptious and perfect for citrus lovers. Make the following adaptations to the basic recipe for delicious lemon blackberry muffins:

• Lemon zest will introduce a bright and sunny note. The grated zest of 1 organic lemon is enough for the blackberry muffin recipe. Add half to the muffin batter and half to the crumble mixture.
• Lemon glaze: Drizzle the muffins with a sweet and sour lemon glaze after baking. To make the lemon glaze, add 1 cup / 130 g / 4.6 oz powdered (confectioners’/icing) sugar into a small mixing bowl. Stir in lemon juice until a thick glaze forms, approx. 2 to 3 teaspoons. Drizzle over the baked blackberry muffins. Yum!

More healthy blackberry muffin variations

I want to share 3 more ways to customize this easy homemade blackberry muffin recipe:

• Blackberry blueberry muffins: To make blueberry blackberry muffins, use 1 cup of each fresh blackberries and blueberries.
• Blackberry yogurt muffins: Simply replace the buttermilk with yogurt to make blackberry muffins with yogurt. Regular unflavored, vanilla, and Greek yogurt will all work.
• Blackberry sour cream muffins: Substitute the buttermilk with sour cream and follow the recipe instructions as described.

Easy blackberry muffins FAQ

How many blackberry buttermilk muffins does the recipe make?

The recipe makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

Can I use frozen blackberries for blackberry muffins?

Yes, you can use frozen blackberries. I recommend not thawing them first and tossing them with a little extra flour (approx. 3 tsp) before adding them to the batter.

Note that frozen berries will cool the muffin batter, and your muffins won’t rise as much as mine did.

Can I make the recipe with other berries or fruit?

Yes, this muffin recipe will work with other berries, for example, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, or chopped strawberries.

I don’t recommend stone or stem fruit as they are too heavy, and the batter won’t rise properly. And no banana blackberry muffins. The recipe doesn’t work with bananas, sorry!

Can I bake homemade blackberry muffins without paper liners?

Muffin liners make it easy to get the muffins out of the pan. If you don’t have or don’t want to use paper liners, spray the entire muffin pan (the cavities + the top) very generously with cooking spray. I find that cooking spray works better than greasing the pan with butter.

Can I make mini blackberry muffins?

Probably, but I don’t recommend it. Blackberries are rather large berries, and you would have to cut them into smaller pieces to get fruit into every mini muffin. The juice from the berries will turn the muffins greenish-purple (not the prettiest sight) and make the batter wetter.

If you attempt it, you likely need to decrease the baking time.

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Blackberry buttermilk muffins storage

How to store blackberry muffins

I’ve compiled some tips for storing and freezing your buttermilk blackberry muffins.

• At room temperature: The muffins taste best on the day they’re made. You can store them at room temperature for 2 days.
• Fridge: You can keep the muffins in an airtight food container or zip-top bag in the fridge for up to 5 days. Allow the muffins to come to room temperature before enjoying – they will taste better.
• Freezer: Wrap leftover blackberry muffins individually in plastic wrap/cling film and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, put the frozen muffins into the refrigerator overnight. Reheat them in the oven or microwave before eating.

How long do blackberry muffins last?

Blackberry buttermilk muffins will last for 2 days at room temperate, 5 days in the fridge, or 3 months frozen.

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