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!

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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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:

• Blueberry Tea Cake
• Blueberry Pot Pies
• Roasted Blueberry Crème Fraîche Ice Cream
• Blueberry and White Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

A few memories from the past…

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.

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