Our family loves these easy strawberry muffins. We swirl juicy fresh strawberries into the most delicious vanilla batter, then finish with a crinkly vanilla sugar top. Trust me, these are incredible!
This quick and easy strawberry muffin recipe bursts with sweet, fresh strawberries. It’s one of my all-time favorite muffins, and I can’t wait for you to try it!
For more delicious muffin recipes, see these chocolate strawberry muffins with a chocolate batter, fresh strawberries, and a chocolate drizzle.
Key Ingredients
- Strawberries: Use sweet, flavorful, fresh strawberries for the best strawberry muffins. If you only have frozen strawberries, thaw and drain them first. Their texture will be softer, so they may break apart slightly when mixed into the batter.
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour in this recipe, but you can easily substitute whole wheat flour, spelt flour, or even an all-purpose gluten-free blend.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar keeps these muffins light and airy. I also create a vanilla sugar topping by mixing sugar with vanilla extract (it’s so good). This bakes into a delightful crinkly, almost crunchy crust. I also add a sugar topping to these peach muffins.
- Baking powder: The secret for light and airy muffins. Use recently purchased double-acting baking powder (it lasts about 3 months), and use aluminum-free if you are sensitive to the taste.
- Spices: These strawberry muffins have an incredible flavor thanks to a combination of vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and a touch of black pepper. Although the black pepper might seem unexpected, it complements the strawberries beautifully! Feel free to leave it out.
- Oil: This is the secret to creating moist and tender muffins. While you can use melted butter, oil produces a more light and airy texture.
- Milk: Use regular milk or your preferred non-dairy milk in this recipe.
How to Make Strawberry Muffins
I can’t wait for you to try these strawberry muffins! The recipe is so easy to make, they will be in the oven in no time!
The method is very similar to these blueberry muffins. Whisk together your dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then combine the wet ingredients in another. To make the muffin batter, combine the two mixtures, and then fold in lots of fresh strawberries.
For that incredible crunchy sugar top, use your fingers to rub a little vanilla extract into some granulated sugar. Sprinkle it over the batter before baking. (I use the same trick when making our lemon blueberry muffins!)
I bake strawberry muffins at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This high oven temperature encourages the baking powder to do its job and guarantees light and fluffy muffins. If you’d prefer to watch me make this recipe, see our recipe video below.
Storing Strawberry Muffins
Store homemade strawberry muffins at room temperature for up to 3 days. Line an airtight container with paper towels to absorb extra moisture and prevent your muffins from getting soggy. Avoid the refrigerator, as it dries them out. Freeze muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or reheat from frozen in a 300°F oven for 5 to 8 minutes.
Perfect Strawberry Muffins
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Our family loves these light and airy strawberry muffins. The recipe is easy and quick to make. We love the spice from cinnamon and black pepper. The pepper is unusual, but the black pepper and strawberries are lovely. If you are not convinced, feel free to leave it out. The muffins will still be delicious!
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
Muffins1 ½ cups (195g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil
1 large egg
1/3 to 1/2 cup (80ml – 120ml) milk, reduced fat or whole milk are best
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
8 ounces (226g) fresh strawberries, hulled and diced, 1 ¼ cup diced
Topping1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 12 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners.
2Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and black pepper in a large bowl.
3Choose a measuring jug that holds at least 1 cup. Add the oil to the jug, and then crack in the egg. Pour in enough milk to reach the 1-cup line on the jug (this should be about 1/3 cup of milk). Add the vanilla extract and whisk until everything is combined.
4Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir gently until the batter comes together. Be careful not to overmix! The batter will be thick.
5Gently fold in the strawberries.
6Make the sugar topping by stirring one tablespoon of sugar with a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
7Divide the batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle a little vanilla sugar on top of each muffin.
8Bake muffins for 15 to 20 minutes or until the tops are no longer wet and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out with crumbs, not wet batter. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Frozen strawberries: Thaw, drain excess liquid, then dice. The thawed frozen strawberries might break apart when mixed into the batter, but they taste great.
- Measuring your flour: Fluff the flour in its container, then gently scoop it into your measuring cup until slightly mounded. Level off the top with a knife for accurate measuring. For even more accuracy, use a scale and measure the flour by weight (in grams).
- Batter thickness: The batter should be thick and “scoopable” — not runny and not dry or extra thick like dough. If the batter is too runny, add flour, a tablespoon at a time until correct consistency. If the batter is dry or too thick, add milk, a tablespoon at a time until the proper consistency.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates, assuming reduced-fat milk.
These muffins were outstanding! So moist and delicious. I added a few chopped pecans to the sugar mixture on top. Will certainly make these again.
Made jumbo muffins cooking at 350 for 30 min.
WOW!!!! What can I say??? My 13 year old granddaughter made these strawberry muffins and we are still ooohing. THEY are soooo good. Thank you. We will never buy box muffins again.
Great recipe as written. Great muffins. One friend thought it was a little sweet, so I reduced the sugar to 110 grams, used just a teaspoon of vanilla, and doubled the pepper. Sweetness was perfect, strawberry taste was more in the front. The extra pepper had the pepper going from not really noticeable to adding hint of warmth to the muffin. While I liked it, others may not. The topping is fantastic. I never put toppings on my muffins before your recipes. Now I will never make a muffin without a topping. Thanks for all your recipes.
Followed the recipe exactly, but added a little more of the vanilla/sugar crumble on the top the second time – delicious!! Thank you 😀