Blueberry season is one of my favorite times of year, and this easy Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins recipe puts freshly picked blueberries and leftover sourdough starter to delicious use! The sourdough discard in the batter creates a slight tang that pairs perfectly with the sweet, juicy pop of the blueberries.
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Why We Love This Recipe
- They aren't overly sweet like many homemade muffin recipes can be.
- It's one of the best ways to use your sourdough discard instead of tossing it in the trash. Other great ways to use it up is with these sourdough chocolate chip cookies and sourdough discard banana bread!
- It works well with both fresh or frozen blueberries, so you can make it all year long!
- The coarse demerara sugar on top creates the perfect sweet crunch on top of these fluffy, jumbo blueberry muffins.
- Bakery-style sourdough blueberry muffins make for an easy homemade breakfast all week long! Make my sourdough discard pancakes to go along with them!
- They take less than an hour to make and freeze super well!
Ingredients
- Baking powder helps give these muffins the perfect bakery muffin top.
- Sourdough discard is the leftover sourdough starter that doesn't get fed. Instead of letting it go to waste, it can be used to make these delicious blueberry muffins! This muffin recipe uses ½ cup of sourdough discard. If you don't have your own starter at home, stop by a local bakery and see if they'll share some with you.
- Sour cream is used to add extra moisture and tanginess.
- Fresh blueberries work best in these muffins, but frozen blueberries can be used as well. If you go this route, do not thaw them ahead of time.
- Demerara sugar is an optional topping to give them an extra sweet crunch!
See recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- For a blueberry almond twist on these sourdough starter muffins, add ¼ teaspoon almond extract to the wet ingredients, and sprinkle the top of the muffins with sliced, toasted almonds.
- Next time, try lemon blueberry muffins by adding a teaspoon of lemon zest to the we ingredients.
- You can substitute other berry varieties in place of the blueberries, or use a combination of multiple berries.
- Use chocolate chips in place of the blueberries for sweet bakery-style chocolate chip muffins!
- These sourdough discard muffins can be made into regular or mini muffins as well! Follow the instructions in the recipe card notes below.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
Equipment
This sourdough discard muffin recipe only requires a few simple tools to make.
- Mixing bowls
- Jumbo muffin pan
- Muffin liners
How to Make Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then add blueberries to the dry ingredients and toss to coat.
Step 2: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla, sour cream, milk, and sourdough starter discard.
Step 3: Fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture until just combined.
Step 4: Using a large cookie scoop or spoon, fill 6 jumbo muffin liners about ¾ of the way up with muffin batter. Sprinkle demerara sugar on top of each muffin (optional).
Bake at 425°F for 6 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and continue baking about 15-20 minutes more until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Leave in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Expert Tips
- Place your oven rack in the center of the oven for the most even baking. Make sure it's fully preheated to 425°F before placing the muffins inside. I recommend using an oven thermometer so you know it's accurate!
- When tossing the blueberries in the flour mixture, do so very gently so you don't smash the blueberries which will bleed into the batter.
- Use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour in grams. This will help ensure that the muffins have a light and fluffy texture, since flour is easily over-measured in measuring cups which often yields dry, dense muffins.
Recipe FAQs
To keep a sourdough starter alive, it requires a daily "feeding" of flour and water mixed with a small amount of starter from the day before. The sourdough discard is the leftover sourdough starter consisting of flour, water, and natural yeast that you can reserve for recipes like these sourdough muffins.
Yes. Substitute equal parts flour and water in place of the sourdough discard, or see if your local bakery has some to spare.
Demerara sugar is a raw, coarse sugar that helps create a crunchy topping on top of the batter. You can commonly find Sugar in the Raw at your local grocery store.
This helps prevent the berries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.
Storage
Room Temperature: Store sourdough discard blueberry muffins in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
Refrigerator: These are best stored at room temperature or in the freezer.
Freezer: Individually wrap each cooled blueberry muffin in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag for up to 1 month.
Did you try this recipe?
Let us know what you thought by leaving a comment below and sharing it on Instagram, Facebook, & Pinterest!
Thank you!
-Kayla
📖 Recipe
The Best Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins
Equipment
- Jumbo Muffin Pan
- Muffin liners
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour weighed in grams (see metric tab) or spooned & leveled
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
- 1½ cups blueberries fresh or frozen
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) vegetable oil or other neutral oil
- ¼ cup (59.15 ml) whole milk room temperature
- ½ cup (120 g) sour cream room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup (130 g) sourdough discard room temperature
- ¼ cup (50 g) demerara sugar optional, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and fill a jumbo muffin pan with parchment liners (or coat with non-stick spray)
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Toss in the blueberries.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the eggs, vegetable oil, milk, sour cream, vanilla extract and sourdough discard.
- Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until the flour streaks disappear.
- Fill the muffin liners ¾ full with batter and then sprinkle demerara sugar on top (optional).
- Bake jumbo muffins at 425°F for 6 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 375°F and continue baking until a toothpick comes out clean (about 15-20 more minutes; 21-26 minutes total).
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Sarah Hill says
I have so much discard in my fridge and my husband likes to buy a blueberry muffin every morning so decided to make these for him. We both love them and I will make again!
Ana says
These muffins were delicious and so fluffy! I liked that they were not super sweet. I added zest from one lemon and rubbed it into the sugar and it worked well!
Christina says
These muffins were so delicious and easy to make! My toddler loved helped me mix the ingredients together, and we loved the final product!
Kayla Burton says
Aw yay! Thank you so much, Christina!! <3
Sandy R says
Delicious! I used lemon flavoring and lemon zest instead of the vanilla. I also subbed nutmeg for the cinnamon. This recipe would be a good jumping off point for other sourdough discard muffins.
Melanie says
SO good! I’ve made these a few times now, and they never disappoint. I added some lemon juice and zest this time and they were extra!
Kayla Burton says
Ooh the lemon additions sound amazing!! Thank you for sharing, Melanie! I'm so happy you like them 🙂
Josi says
I decided to make 12 regular size muffins instead of 6 jumbo and the batter size was perfect! These muffins are fluffy and moist. My coworkers loved them!
Kayla Burton says
Oh good I'm so happy to hear that!! Thank you, Josi!