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Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Tender, moist, and loaded with fresh blueberries, these easy Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping are the best blueberry muffins in the world. The perfectly crunchy streusel topping certainly sets them apart from the basic blueberry muffin!

Overhead view of moist blueberry muffins in a pan

The Best Blueberry Muffin Recipe

This is the blueberry muffin recipe I grew up on, straight from my dear Grandma Renelt’s recipe box. These Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping are perfection. They’re tender and moist, with bright bursts of fresh blueberries studded throughout. And, as if that wasn’t enough, there’s a crunchy, buttery, sugary crumb topping that totally clinches the win for blueberry muffins.

Blueberry muffins in a metal pan for serving

So many of you love this recipe. It’s one that I shared during my very first year of this blog, back in 2010. I thought the muffins deserved some extra love before we say goodbye to 2021, as Grandma Renelt passed away earlier this year. She had such a strong, beautiful presence in our family and we miss her dearly!

Close-up of freshly baked blueberry muffins

Aside from being a very special family recipe, there are legit reasons why I think these are the absolute best blueberry muffins. First, they are so easy to make. All you need to do is mix the batter ingredients, and then make the crumble and sprinkle it over the top of the batter. Bake, and you’re good to go! Second, the ingredient list is super simple. Every ingredient is a pantry staple, which means that as long as you have blueberries on hand (fresh or frozen), you can whip up these moist blueberry muffins anytime!

Friends and family have asked me for this recipe time and time again and with very good reason. Once you try these, you’ll never need another blueberry muffin recipe!

Overhead view of blueberry muffin ingredients

What You’ll Need

The very best recipes are simple ones that have you coming back again and again. I love this recipe’s short ingredients list of pantry staples!

FOR THE MUFFINS:

  • Egg
  • Milk – Any dairy milk on hand will work.
  • All-purpose flour
  • Sugar
  • Baking powder – Helps these muffins rise and gives the perfect texture.
  • Salt
  • Cinnamon – Adds a little warmth to the overall flavor of the muffins, beautiful with the blueberries.
  • Blueberries – You can use fresh or frozen blueberries.

FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING:

  • Sugar – When baked with the flour and butter, the sugar adds a crunchy, sweet element to the tops of the muffins.
  • Flour
  • Unsalted butter – The butter should be at room temperature, not melted, for the perfect crunchy crumb texture. 

How to Make Blueberry Muffins

This easy muffin recipe comes together with just a few simple steps.

  • Make the muffin batter. Combine the egg, milk, and oil. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir.
  • Add the blueberries. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon into the muffin tin and allow to rest while you prepare the topping.
  • Make the crumb topping. Combine all ingredients with a fork until crumbly, with some larger pea-size pieces. Sprinkle over the muffin batter.
  • Bake. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the crumb topping is golden.
blueberries on a bush

Can You Make These with Frozen Blueberries?

Even though these muffins are even more fantastic when made with fresh blueberries, this recipe works very well with frozen blueberries, too! Simply fold the frozen berries (do not thaw) into the muffin batter, just like you would the fresh berries.

After we pick blueberries each summer, we just have to make a batch of blueberry muffins. The fresh, sweet/tart goodness of the just-picked berries is undeniable. But I always make sure to pick enough blueberries to freeze, to ensure a few batches of Grandma’s muffins over the upcoming months.

Overhead view of homemade blueberry muffins in a muffin tin with fresh blueberries filling the empty cups
Blueberry muffins in a muffin tin

Tips for Success

For full, plump, and perfectly moist blueberry muffins, here are a few things you’ll want to consider.

  • Do not overmix the batter. Once you add the wet ingredients, mix just until combined. Overmixing will cause the muffins to lose some of their tenderness.
  • Use less muffin cups for fuller muffins. For plumper, fuller muffins, divide batter between just 10 of the muffin cups (as shown in my photos). For smaller muffins, use all 12 cups.
  • Make the topping perfectly crumbly. My biggest piece of advice for making crispy crumb topping for muffins is to use butter that is just nicely softened at room temperature. Do not melt the butter and do not use butter that is overly soft. And then, with a fork, just keep pressing the dry ingredients into the butter until pea-sized pieces form. When sprinkling the crumb topping mixture over the muffin batter, use your fingers to compress some of it into larger pieces.
Overhead view blueberry muffins with a hand holding one

Serving Suggestions

These muffins are absolutely divine when enjoyed still a bit warm from the oven, and make an easy grab-and-go breakfast or dessert.

With the sweet, crunchy topping, these muffins really don’t need anything else. However, a schmear of butter is always welcome. A good quality, salted butter is beautiful, and for an extra special experience with even more flavor, try my whipped blueberry butter or cinnamon honey butter!

Blueberry muffins in a metal pan for serving with one cut in half

How to Store Leftovers

  • How to store leftovers. These blueberry muffins are best eaten on the day they are made, when the crumb topping is crunchiest. If we don’t eat all the muffins in the first day, we leave them out on the counter, uncovered. This helps to keep the crumb topping crisp.
  • How to freeze. These muffins can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. You can either defrost them in the fridge or pop one in the microwave for a quick breakfast on the go. Just know that the crumble topping will not be as crisp as when they are just baked.

More Blueberry Recipes:

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Overhead view of blueberry muffins in a pan
Homemade blueberry muffins in a pan

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Yield: 10 to 12 muffins
prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 20 minutes
total time: 40 minutes
Tender, moist, and loaded with fresh blueberries, these easy Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping are the best blueberry muffins in the world. The perfectly crunchy streusel topping certainly sets them apart from the basic blueberry muffin!
4.6 Stars (298 Reviews)
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Ingredients

for the muffins:

  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup milk
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • cup blueberries fresh or frozen (if frozen, do not thaw)

for the crumb topping:

  • cup sugar
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400° F. Spray standard muffin tin with non-stick spray, or use baking cup liners, and set aside.
  • For the blueberry muffins: In a small bowl, mix the egg, milk, and oil.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  • Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir. Do not over mix.
  • Fold in blueberries. Batter will be very thick. Spoon into muffin tin and let rest a few minutes while you prepare the crumble topping. For plumper, fuller muffins, divide batter between just 10 of the muffin cups (as shown in my photos). For smaller muffins, use all 12 cups.
  • For the crumb topping: In a small bowl, combine all topping ingredients with a fork, until crumbly. Be sure to have some larger pea-size pieces of crumble. Sprinkle over muffin batter.
  • Bake until crumb topping is a bit golden and a toothpick comes out just barely clean, about 20 minutes. Let rest in pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool.

Video

Notes

Muffins are best eaten on the day they are made, when the crumb topping is crunchiest. If we don't eat all the muffins in the first day, we leave them out on the counter, uncovered. This will help to keep the crumb topping more crisp.
From Grandma Renelt's recipe box.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 Calories: 209kcal Carbohydrates: 33g Protein: 3g Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 2g Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g Cholesterol: 21mg Sodium: 145mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 16g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!

A few memories from the past…

Grandma with a cowboy statue
Grandma and The Cowboy at Paul Bunyan Center, 1964

My grandma was an incredibly special woman to me. She always worked hard and played even harder – she was a force to reckon with when it came to games of cards, dice, and marbles! And I’m positive that much of my domestic ways were passed directly from her, to my mom, to me. I am grateful for all the recipes Grandma passed along to our family, including the one for these blueberry muffins.

two girls with a cowboy statue
Our girls and The Cowboy at the Wall Drug Store, 2010
blueberry picking

This post was originally published in 2010, and then updated in 2016, 2018 and 2021.

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127 comments on “Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping”

  1. I have successfully made several of your recipes but  I must admit that I struggled with this one. It seemed that the flour/wet ingredients ratio is off a little. I double checked the recipe to make sure that I had not forgotten a wet  ingredient or mis-read the amount of flour. Then I added about a half cup more liquid. This brought the batter together.  I was also fortunate to have some bags of frozen BC blueberries (which are giant )in my freezer. Next time I will use less of the berries due to their size. in order to maintain a better muffin to berry ratio. 

    That being said, once baked these muffins were delicious and the crumb topping is absolutely scrumptious! The butter is a key ingredient in this crumb topping. 

    1. Hello Merla – I’m happy to hear you’ve made a few recipes from here! And sad to hear about your experience with this one. All I can say is that we make these muffins regularly. Yes, the batter is quite thick. But I have never felt the need to add additional wet ingredients to make the batter come together. I do hope you’ll give these another shot!

  2. 5 stars
    I came back from Maine with a container of the small Maine blueberries and was looking around for a crumb topped muffin recipe. I triied your grandmother’s and they are absolutely delicious! I made large muffins so it only made 9 which was perfect for me and my husband. He loved the muffins. I have now printed the recipe and it will be the go-to recipe in the future.

  3. 5 stars
    Oh my goodness! What a special connection between that photo of your grandma and your girls! Recipes that have stood the test of time like these muffins are the best kind! Super yummy!

  4. 5 stars
    Grandma’s recipes are always the best! These blueberry muffins look like perfection, especially with that buttery crumb topping!

  5. 5 stars
    How awesome to have a picture of the kids with same cowboy! We went berry picking and have blueberries everywhere, delicious muffins!

  6. lauren @ climbing grier mountain

    OMG! I have a picture with that crazy cowboy when I was a little girl. Also, these muffins, so making!

  7. Mary @ LOVE the secret ingredient

    That pair of pictures is so cute! And this recipe is simply irresistible, I love crumbles as a decadent sunday treat!

  8. Jennifer Farley

    Grandma recipes are always the best, aren’t they? I love that photo of her. And that crumble topping looks perfect.

  9. My wife and I are diabetic and foodies – what a combination! I have learned a number of tricks and substitutions to get our ‘treats’ down to the lowest level of carbs possible, but one thing eludes my thought process. In Grandma Remelts Blueberry Muffins With Crumble Topping, have you or anybody tried using a granular stevia product like Truvia (Spoonable) to replace the sugar in the crumble topping?

    This would also apply to other crumble type toppings as well as sprinkling on as a sugar topping.

    Love your recipes and love converting them to low carb so we can enjoy them.

    1. Sorry, Betsy – I’ve never used a jumbo muffin pan, so can’t recommend a time. You’ll just have to keep checking for doneness with a toothpick. Hope you like these!