Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins
A perfect way to use up your sourdough discard, these blueberry muffins are fluffy and delicious and bursting with blueberries. With the yummiest crumb topping, these sourdough discard blueberry muffins bake up just like a bakery style muffin.
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Sourdough discard muffins are not only so delicious, but they are such a great way to use up that sourdough starter discard you’ve been saving in the refrigerator. You’ll also want to make sure you save some of my other sourdough recipes, like Banana Nut Sourdough Muffins, Sourdough Banana Bread, and Cinnamon Roll Focaccia,
Blueberry Sourdough Discard Muffins are so good for an easy and satisfying breakfast. Or they’re great for an afternoon snack! I love using them for my kids’ lunches too! I know you’ll love how easy and yummy these muffins are!
This recipe makes one dozen large delicious blueberry discard muffins.
Ingredients
- Sourdough discard: Use your starter whether it’s more active or really hungry and runny. To get best results, weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale. One cup of active starter with most likely weigh less than one cup of runny starter. If your starter is thicker, you may need to add more milk to thin out the batter.
- Baking powder & baking soda: Even though we’re using sourdough starter, discard is an unfed starter and won’t be enough to give these muffins the tall, fluffy texture they need. Baking powder and baking soda are still necessary for this recipe.
- Greek yogurt adds a really fluffy texture and flavor. You can swap it out with sour cream if you like.
- Blueberries: You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries.
- Sugar: These muffins are sweet and delicious. If you want to cut back on the sugar, you can decrease it by up to 25%. So instead of using 1 cup (200g) sugar, you could use 3/4 cup (150g). They’ll still be delicious, but just a bit less sweet.
- Lemon zest is optional but could provide a yummy flavor and slight tartness with these sweet discard muffins.
How to make Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
- Make the crumb topping by combining the butter, sugar and flour together with a fork. Set it aside as you mix the muffin batter. The crumb topping will dry out as it sits, making it easier to sprinkle on top of the muffins later.
- Prepare a muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with nonstick spray.
- Combine the dry ingredients: the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl: the melted butter, milk, eggs, sourdough starter discard, Greek yogurt, and vanilla.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. I love that this recipe comes together so quick and easy, and you can mix it by hand! Depending on how thick your batter is, you may need to add a bit more milk to thin it out. It needs to be a consistency that you can easily scoop into the muffin tin.
- Fold in the blueberries. You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries.
- Scoop the muffin batter into the muffin tin, filling each well with equal amounts of batter. Sprinkle the crumb topping generously over each muffin. Slightly press the crumb topping into the tops of the muffins to keep it in place as it bakes.
- Bake at 350°F for 28-30 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to make sourdough discard muffins healthy
- Reduce the sugar by up to 25%. Use 3/4 cup sugar instead of 1 cup.
- Use Whole grains: Swap out some of the white flour for whole grain flour like whole wheat, spelt, or khorasan. Baking with whole grains gives your baked goods more nutrients and keeps your tummy fuller longer. It’s important to keep in mind, whole grain muffins will have a denser texture. The more whole grains you use, the less fluffy the muffins will be. When deciding how much whole grains to use, start by swapping out about 20% of the white flour. If you like the results and feel like you could go further, next time swap out 30%. See how far you can take it while maintaining a texture and flavor you and your family still enjoy. I do this with many of my recipes, including my Sourdough English Muffins.
- Add flax meal. Flax meal has lots of beneficial nutrients and can keep you fuller longer. I’d use 2 Tablespoons of flax meal for this muffin recipe.
- Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Greek yogurt provides a good source of protein without as much fat.
Storing
Store the muffins in a zip top bag or airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze them to enjoy later – get them out the of the freezer the night before and let them thaw overnight at room temperature. Freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat them in the microwave if you want to enjoy a warm muffin.
I know you’ll love these delicious Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins! They taste even better than a bakery! If you love blueberry recipes, you should also try my Lemon Blueberry Sourdough Bread or my Lemon Blueberry Olive Oil Cake.
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Equipment
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- pinch fine sea salt
Muffins
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup sourdough starter discard
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
Instructions
Prepare Crumb Topping
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the crumb topping: 2 Tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and a pinch of salt.Set aside.
Prepare the Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 12 count muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.Set aside.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the wet ingredients:8 T melted butter, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup (120g) sourdough starter discard, 2 Tablespoons milk, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir to combine. If the batter is too thick, add a bit more milk to thin it out. Fold the blueberries into the batter.
- Scoop the muffin batter into the muffin pan, making 12 large muffins. Sprinkle the crumb topping generously over each muffin.
- Bake 24-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
Video
Notes
- You can make the muffin batter ahead of time and refrigerate overnight.
- Store muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Muffins can be wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months.
My kids absolutely loved these muffins! They disappeared so fast! Next time, I’ll have to double the recipe! Thank you! We love these!
My kids love these too! So happy you tried it. Thank you!
Seriously the BEST blueberry muffins I’ve ever made! Thanks for sharing!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed these! We love them too!
Can you substitute the yogurt for milk?
Yes, but add 2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar to the milk and let it sit for 10 minutes. This is going to improve the texture…making it fluffier and more tender.
These are so delicious!!! The recipe is straightforward and easy to follow. Highly recommend!
So glad you loved it! They are really so yummy!
These are the absolute best blueberry muffins I’ve ever made!!! Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so happy you like them! They’re a staple in our home!
If we make the batter and let it sit overnight, should the blueberries be added in the morning?
If you’re using fresh blueberries, it would be okay to add them to the batter the night before. However, if you’re using frozen blueberries, I’d probably add those in the morning. Let me know how they turn out!
If you don’t have the full 120g of sourdough discard (closer to 80g), could you just add equal parts flour and milk in its place until you reach 120g?
Yes, that could work.
So delicious! My family loves these muffins!
So happy to hear it! We love them too!
These muffins are absolutely delicious. I made double the recipe because I had A LOT of sourdough discard I had to use. I ended up making 26 muffins instead of 2 dozen. My batter came out like cake batter even though I used a kitchen scale and measured everything out precisely. I’ve only made muffins a couple times in my life but I only had a couple issues. the crumb topping completely dissolved. Also, j used frozen mixed berries and all of my berries sank to the bottom causing my muffins to rip and the bottom to be still a little doughy. so other than the looks it was still very yummy. would you mind on giving me a couple tips and tricks for next time I make them? because these are for sure going to be a regular snack at my home. <3
Emil, thank you for trying out this recipe and for your input. I’d be curious how old your sourdough discard was…Older discard is going to be very liquid, so that may have contributed to the runny batter texture. I usually use up my discard within a couple weeks, when it’s on the thicker side. The runny batter is probably also the culprit for the blueberries sinking to the bottom, especially if using frozen – which are heavier and wetter than fresh. Next time, I’d suggest adding 2-3 Tablespoons of flour to your batter to see if that helps thicken up the consistency. It should be thick enough that you can spoon into the muffin tin. If it’s a pourable mixture, it’s too thin. Hope this helps! Let me know how it turns out next time!
These muffins turn out amaaaaazing, BUT…..I’ve never not had to add additional liquid (milk) to this. Even with all the wet ingredients + the 2T of milk, it struggles to incorporate all of the flour and dry ingredients.
So glad you enjoyed this. Yes, the additional milk can really vary depending on how wet your discard is. If you’re using a newer discard, that still has some volume to it, you’ll have a drier muffin mix and will need more additional milk. It’s not something you necessarily need to worry about – add what you need to get the right texture and it will all work out.
These were delicious! Based on the recipe and the comments I knew they were going to be good, so I went ahead and doubled the recipe and I don’t regret it! I think the next time I make them I will try to make them a bit healthier and use the suggestion the author gave to use a little less sugar. I may even try a little less butter and I definitely don’t need as much crumb topping as the recipe made. I just started doing sourdough this week and was looking for something non-intimidating that I could use the discard for and this was perfect!
So glad you enjoyed these! Yes, you can definitely reduce the sugar a bit and will still taste great! If you don’t use all the crumb topping, you can store it in an airtight container in your pantry for a few months. I love having it on hand for muffins, or pastries! Thank you for your message!
Wonderful flavor and texture! Bake time seems way off. At the top it says 24 minutes but in the instructions it says 28-33. 24 would definitely be more accurate, at 28 mine were brown and crispy in the top. Will definitely make again reducing bake time.
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed them. Thank you for letting me know about the temperature. I’ve updated the instructions. It is important to note, all ovens bake a bit differently. Anytime I try a new recipe, I always check it a few minutes early, just in case my oven runs hotter than the author’s.
These were so delicious! Moist and flavorful. I did mini-muffins and skipped the topping. My kids devoured them!
Would leaving the mixture in the fridge for 24+ hours be considered long-fermentation and help with gut health? I ask because my husband has a gluten sensitivity and long-fermented baked goods don’t bother his stomach whereas a normal discard recipes would 🙂 He adores blueberry muffins so this would be a huge win, if so!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! I haven’t tried leaving the batter in the fridge over 24 hours. I suspect that long of a fermentation would affect the activity of the baking baking soda and powder. Now I’m intrigued and may look into a long fermented muffin recipe. If I were to experiment with this, I’d try combining the discard, flour, milk, and yogurt, and refrigerate that for 24 hours, then mix with the remaining ingredients before baking. This would allow the the additional flour to be long fermented with the discard…possibly helping with digestion. But, again, I haven’t tried this. I will definitely put this on my list as recipe to develop though, because I’d personally love it too. Let me know if you try it!
I’ve made these muffins several times and they turn out SO amazing every time. I had to cook them slightly less time, but I think my oven just runs hot. Do you think this recipe will work substituting strawberries for blueberries? Want to make these this weekend but couldn’t find any good looking blueberries!
So glad you’re enjoying them! I have not tried these with strawberries, but let me know if you do! I’m curious how that would turn out. You can also use frozen blueberries too, if you can’t find any good fresh ones in the store.
These were wonderful! I reduced the sugar just a bit (for my own preference) and the tart blueberries with the sugary topping made it taste SO GOOD! I added a little cinnamon to the sugar topping and that was a nice addition. Thank you for such a thorough and YUMMY recipe!!
I’ve made these 3 times in the last week and everyone is obsessed! Once I added lemon juice and zest for a lemon blueberry moment and they were so good. Do you think there’s a way to make these without the blueberries and do a coffee cake type of vibe with brown sugar and cinnamon?