Blueberry Crumb Muffins (with easy glaze)

Jump to Recipe

Soft homemade muffins with blueberries that rise beautifully. They're berry-packed and topped with a buttery crumb topping that bakes to a golden brown. Finished with a delectable lemon-flavored glaze, they're ready in 45 minutes and freeze well.

Table of Contents Open

Stack of three blueberry crumb muffins in paper liners. White background.

Blueberry muffins are essential in every home baker's repertoire and we already have several posted.

These go a step further with a crunchy crumble and finger-licking lemon glaze. Sweet, easy and bakery style if you use jumbo muffin pans.

Why make this recipe

Quick and easy: the batter comes together in no time, so you can whip them up quickly and have warm muffins when the craving hits.
Eating them warm: they're great after 10-15 minutes of cooling down. You'll have to eat them plain, without the icing.
Make ahead: they keep well for a day at room temperature, covered or in an airtight container, and freeze wonderfully. I suggest warming them in a medium oven (350°F/180°C) before eating.
Adaptable: use fresh blueberries or frozen ones. Skip the glaze, and they'll still be amazing.

Metal pan with blueberry muffins with streusel topping. White surface with a white cloth.

Ingredient list

Blueberries: you can use fresh or frozen berries; both work well.
White granulated sugar.
Light brown sugar: it's used for the streusel but you can use all white sugar.
Buttermilk: what if you don't have fresh buttermilk? You can buy buttermilk powder and prepare it as you need to. Or make homemade buttermilk (it's VERY easy, see Notes in the recipe card for details).
Unsalted butter.
Vegetable oil: we use sunflower oil, which is neutral, but coconut oil, canola, or light olive oil can be used.
Eggs: large, fresh.
All-purpose flour.
Baking powder: make sure it's not expired.
Salt: I like using kosher salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine.
Cinnamon: any ground cinnamon you normally use works fine. I like Frontier Vietnamese cinnamon and Simply Organic Ceylon cinnamon.
Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works and is infinitely cheaper.
Powdered sugar: also called confectioners or icing sugar, you can easily buy it online. Domino powdered sugar is a very popular one.
Fresh lemon juice.

See the recipe card towards the end of this post for quantities.

Ingredients for blueberry muffins in bowls on a grey surface including sugars, oil, butter, cinnamon, flour, eggs.

How to make blueberry crumble muffins

This is an old-fashioned muffin recipe, where the wet ingredients are mixed in a bowl and the dry ingredients in another. The two are then combined.

Whisk the wet ingredients together. There's no need to beat. This is not a recipe to use the electric or stand mixer.
Stir the dry ingredients together. Make sure they're well combined and distributed, especially the baking powder and salt.

Crumble mixture in a white bowl on a grey surface.

Make the crumble first and refrigerate it while you prepare the batter.

Glass bowl with muffin batter and blueberries on a grey surface.

Fold in the berries with a spatula so you don't smash them, or at least as little as possible.

Crumble-topped muffins on the pan before baking. Light grey surface.

Divide the blueberry batter evenly. A cookie scoop will help with this.
Sprinkle the crumble on top. It's a little messy; that is fine.

Baking muffins

Muffin tin: I like to use paper liners (paper cups or muffin liners) because it's easier to clean afterward, they keep the muffins moist and are great if you want to transport them. But you can simply butter or use baking spray for the muffin pan.
Filling the pan: make sure you distribute blueberries in all of the muffin tins. I use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups evenly. Don't go over ¾ of their capacity.
When are the muffins done? Take the baking time given in the recipe as your guide and check five minutes earlier. See if the tester or toothpick comes out clean. All ovens are different, so it might take a few minutes more or less than specified.

Baked blueberry crumb muffins in a metal pan. Close up view.

Kitchen notes

Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Light mixing: you mustn't overmix the muffin batter.
Blueberries: fresh berries are always my first choice, but these homemade muffins can be made year-round with frozen blueberries. Add them to the batter straight from the freezer; no need to thaw them.
Crumb topping: you can make it ahead and refrigerate it for a week or freeze it for a month. To use, let thaw in the fridge.

White towel in a basket with pile of blueberry crumb muffin.

Simple glaze

This finger-licking icing really rounds up the flavor of these muffins, adding a touch of lemon. It's extremely easy to make, and we have a post on how to make powdered sugar glaze if you want to read more about it.

Use powdered sugar and lemon juice. It should be like thick honey and drizzled over the cold muffins. If the muffins are warm or hot, the icing drips too much and becomes too thin.

Glaze dripping from a spoon on a blueberry crumb muffin. More muffin in the background.

How can I make my muffins lighter and fluffy?

Have the ingredients and oven at the right temperatures specified in the recipe. Don't overmix the batter and take them out as soon as a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.

Why do the berries sink to the bottom?

They sink when the batter doesn't hold them because the berries weigh more and naturally sink due to gravity. It depends on the recipe. This one holds them well.

Why did my muffins turn out dense?

Too much mixing or beating the batter is, in my experience, the main culprit. The ingredients have to be lightly mixed *just* until integrated. Use a spatula or whisk for best results, as it's hard to overmix a muffin batter by folding it by hand.

What is the secret to moist muffins?

A mix of oil and butter, not overbaking the muffins, and not overmixing or beating the batter. Using oil adds richness and moisture while butter adds flavor. Store covered so they don't dry up.

Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
You might also consider subscribing to our FREE email series to Boost your Home Baking Skills! And our regular newsletter.
And let's connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.