Mini Blueberry-Lemon Muffins with Buttermilk

Each of these adorable lemon blueberry mini muffins has one whole blueberry in the center. They're so cute and just as fun to make as they are to eat. If you need a baking idea with blueberries, these are perfect for a quick snack break or as a picnic treat!

I am obsessed with homemade muffin recipes lately, and these mini lemon blueberry poppyseed muffins are one of my faves! If you need a baking idea with blueberries, especially ones that are juuuust starting to wrinkle, this is perfect.

I love the combo of lemon and poppyseed, and I love the combo of lemon and blueberry, so I decided the perfect way to celebrate these flavors was by concentrating them into adorable bite-size mini muffins. Each mini muffin has one whole blueberry in the middle and a crackly lemon sugar topping that is so good.

If you're looking for a recipe with blueberries that doesn't use a mini muffin pan, you may like my super moist lemon-blueberry sour cream pound cake, which also has a lemon sugar topping!

Lemon and blueberry is a classic flavor combination, and though these are mini muffins, I've used a few special techniques to dial those flavors up to the max.

It might seem a little fussy tucking a single blueberry carefully into the middle of each mini muffin, but it's the best way to get that perfect blueberry center on every single one.

And the lemon sugar on top is, well, it's not the icing on the cake — but it is the sugar on the muffin!

I use just a few special ingredients to make these lemon-blueberry mini muffins, but all of them should be easy to find at your grocery store.

Fresh lemon zest makes such a difference in these mini muffins. It provides such a bright, perfectly lemon-y flavor. I use a rasp-style microplane zester; the recipe uses the zest of one whole lemon, but half of goes in the batter and the other half in the lemon sugar topping.

How to Make Lemon Blueberry Mini Muffins

Lemon blueberry mini muffins follow the muffin mixing method: mix the dry ingredients together, mix the wet ingredients together, then fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined.

The only prep-ahead step is to soak the poppy seeds in advance (this also gives the buttermilk time to come to room temp).

When flour is mixed with wet ingredients, it begins developing a gluten network. Gluten provides strength and structure, which is great in bread doughs, but not so great in delicate, tender muffins. When mixing muffin batter, the goal is to mix the wet and dry ingredients in as few motions as possible just until combined and then STOP.

Once the lemon poppy seed muffin batter is mixed, I always cover the bowl and set it aside to rest; this gives the baking powder time to activate.

Assembling Mini Blueberry-Lemon Muffins

When making mini blueberry-lemon muffins I use mini muffin liners to line the pan. If you have a good non-stick mini muffin pan, you don't necessarily need them, but I always use them because it makes clean up easier.

The best blueberries for these mini muffins are the biggest ones you can find at the grocery store. Just make sure you sift through them to remove any stems!

Then, I use a toothpick to gently and carefully push the muffin batter over each blueberry, tucking them inside the muffins.

I find sliding the toothpick under or around the blueberry and then "pulling" or "folding" the batter over the blueberry works well.

It's okay if the blueberries are still a little bit visible under the muffin batter, I just try to get them tucked in as best I can.

You can use the back of the spoon to spread it out evenly, but I kind of like leaving the sugar a little bit clumpy on top.

Because they're so small and have a big ol' blueberry center, this mini muffin recipe has a pretty short bake time. When a toothpick inserted comes out clean, I know they're done. Just make sure not to pierce a blueberry with the toothpick or thermometer!

📖 Recipe