These Sourdough Blueberry Muffins are made with a whole cup of sourdough discard for an ultra tender crumb and great flavor. They’re stuffed with juicy berries, dipped in lemon butter and topped with sugar.

You know what helps make a muffin super tender and moist? Sourdough discard!

If you don’t already have one, I can show you how to make a sourdough starter and how to feed a sourdough starter.

If you don’t have a starter yet, you can make regular Blueberry Lemon Muffins without the discard. In the meantime….

If you’ve got your discard ready to go, let’s get started.

How to make Sourdough Blueberry Muffins using a whole cup of discard:

a bowl with sourdough discard mixed with other wet ingredients and then pouring the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Combine the sourdough discard with the other wet ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.

a bowl of muffin dough with blueberries being folded in.

Fold fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter.

a scoop of blueberry muffin batter going into a greased muffin pan. — Fill the pans about 2/3 full.

Fill the pans about 2/3 full.

a pan of blueberry muffins before and after baking. — Bake the muffins until they spring back when pressed in the center. Cool a few minutes in the pan before topping.

Bake the muffins until they spring back when pressed in the center.
Cool a few minutes in the pan before topping.

a muffin dipped in butter and a muffin dipped in sugar. — Dip the warm muffin into the lemon butter and then into granulated sugar.

Dip the warm muffin into the lemon butter and then into granulated sugar.

Tips for making Sourdough Blueberry Muffins:

A ripe unfed starter is more acidic and will make a more tender muffin. A recently fed starter gives a milder flavor. I generally let my discard get fairly ripe, leaving it about 1 week without a feeding (kept in the refrigerator).
There is just enough sugar in this recipe to offset the gluten that can develop when the starter is added to the flour. Sugar is a tenderizer and retains moisture.
You can use fresh or frozen blueberries. Frozen blueberries may turn the batter green and can leak juice. No need to defrost the berries before adding them. The baking time might be slightly longer with frozen berries.
These muffins are best still slightly warm from the oven. But they can be stored at room temp for a day or two thanks to the sourdough discard. Never refrigerate the muffins since the refrigerator makes baked goods stale faster.
Leftover muffins can be frozen and reheated in a low oven. Line the muffins on a pan and put them in the freezer until firm, then pack them in a freezer bag.

a bowl of blueberry muffin batter with juicy leaking into batter and a muffin on a plate.

Frozen blueberries can leak juice into the batter. The baked muffins may have green spots and discoloration from the juice. But they should taste just fine.

Want more muffin recipes? Bacon & Egg Muffins, Blueberry Cornbread Muffins, Cranberry Muffins, Sunflower Muffins, Zucchini Muffins, Squash & Poppyseed Muffins, Bran Muffins, Lemon Blueberry Muffins.

I know you hate to throw away that sourdough discard. Check out these recipes that use sourdough discard.

If you love this recipe as much as I do, I’d really appreciate a 5-star review.

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4.82 from 11 reviews

Sourdough Blueberry Muffin Recipe

By: Eileen Gray

These Sourdough Blueberry Muffins are made with a whole cup of sourdough discard for an ultra tender crumb. The muffins are full of juicy berries and topped with lemon butter and sugar.

Prep Time20

Bake Time15

Total Time35

18 Standard Muffins

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Ingredients

14 oz all purpose flour (2 3/4 cups, see note)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
10 oz granulated sugar (1 1/4 cups, divided)
2 large eggs
8 oz sourdough discard (1 cup, unfed)
5 oz vegetable oil (2/3 cup)
4 oz whole milk (1/2 cup)
2 lemons
10 oz blueberries (2 cups, fresh or frozen)
4 oz unsalted butter (melted)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter and flour 18 standard-size muffin cups or line with paper liners. Alternately, the recipe will make 9 jumbo muffins.
Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 3/4 cup (6oz) of the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients to combine.
14 oz all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon table salt, 10 oz granulated sugar
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, sourdough discard, oil, milk and the finely grated zest and the juice from 1 of the lemons.
2 large eggs, 8 oz sourdough discard, 5 oz vegetable oil, 2 lemons, 4 oz whole milk
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until the flour is barely incorporated, then gently fold in the blueberries. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each muffin cup 2/3 full.
10 oz blueberries
Bake until the center of a muffin springs back when lightly pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, 15-20 minutes.
While the muffins are baking, melt the butter along with the zest and juice from the other lemon in a small bowl. Place the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar in another small bowl.
2 lemons, 4 oz unsalted butter, 10 oz granulated sugar
Cool the muffins for 5-10 minutes. They should be slightly warm but not too hot to handle. Lift each muffin out of the pan and dip the top of the muffin into the lemon-butter and then into the sugar. Allow the sugar to set for a few minutes before serving.

Equipment

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Notes

If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.

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