This post may contain affiliate links, read my disclosure policy for more information. Advertisements displayed do not reflect endorsements or recommendations made by Entirely Elizabeth.
If you love bakery style muffins, these Lemon Strawberry Muffins are about to become your new favorite. They’re soft, fluffy, and loaded with fresh strawberries and zesty lemon.
The perfect option for breakfast, snacking, or tucking into lunchboxes. I also love sharing this one with family and friends during the Easter/ spring season.
If you love these, you’ll love my Pink Lemonade. It’s got all those delicious lemon and strawberry flavors, but in a refreshing drink.
There is something about the smell of lemon and strawberries that feels like the very definition of a sunny, spring morning. The first time these Lemon Strawberry Muffins came out of the oven, they were gone before they barely had a chance to cool. It was clear to me… this recipe was a keeper!
What makes these so special is the bakery style experience, without any extra fuss. Tall domed tops, a soft cake-like interior, and a simple batter that just mixes together and bakes. There’s no streusel, no glaze, no hassle. Just delicious and simple muffins.
For more recipes with fresh lemon and strawberry, try my Lemon Curd Cake, Strawberry Cheesecake Dip, Lemon Blueberry Cookies, Strawberry Blueberry Pie, or this Strawberry Snack Cake.
Watch This Quick Video Tutorial:
Note: In the video I made these muffins jumbo instead of standard-sized.
Ingredients in Lemon Strawberry Muffins
Here’s everything you will need to make these yummy muffins, and a few important notes so keep reading!
- All- Purpose Flour: Use the spoon and level method to weigh your flour. Just fluff it up with a whisk, spoon scoops of flour into a measuring cup and once filled, level it off with a knife. That’s the perfect amount of flour!
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Granulated Sugar
- Lemon Zest: You’ll need one medium sized lemon. I recommend buying organic to avoid chemicals on the peel, and make sure it’s washed before zesting. I like using this zester grater to do it.
- Unsalted Butter: Melted and slightly cooled so it isn’t too warm or cold when it gets added into the batter.
- Eggs: Brought to room temperature.
- Buttermilk: Also brought to room temperature. If you don’t have any, make your own with whole milk and lemon juice. Just add one tablespoon of lemon juice to the whole milk and allow it to sour for 30 minutes before using.
- Sour Cream: Brought to room temperature too.
- Oil: I recommend avocado oil, but you can also use canola oil or vegetable oil. It just needs to be neutral in flavor.
- Vanilla Extract
- Fresh Strawberries: I recommend buying these organic too. Be sure to wash and dry them before dicing into small chunks. I like to save the strawberry tops to make Strawberry Simple Syrup. It tastes great in cocktails, matcha, and cold brew.
How to Make Lemon Strawberry Muffins
1. Make the Batter. Rub together the sugar and lemon zest, add the wet ingredients one at a time until incorporated, and fold in the dry ingredients. Allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes before folding in the strawberries.
2. Divide and Bake. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cavities, and bake. Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Find the complete recipe instructions with measurements below.
Helpful Recipe Tips
Pay attention to where the baking soda gets added. Typically we add baking soda in with the other dry ingredients, but this time we will add the baking soda in with the flour that the berries get tossed in. Why? Baking soda needs to be baked immediately after it gets added to batter or it won’t work properly. Since this recipe calls for a rest, that’s why I altered where it gets added.
Let the batter rest. Trust me on this one! Resting the batter allows the gluten to relax and the flour to fully hydrate, which means a more tender muffin. It also gives the baking powder time to activate which gives you those tall, domed tops we love.
Don’t sleep on the 2 temperature baking method. The initial high heat creates a burst of steam which rises the batter, and gives your muffins the tall, domed tops. The second lower temperature allows the muffins to bake slower and evenly without over-browning or drying them out.
Storing and Freezing Information
These Lemon Strawberry Muffins keep well in and airtight container or resalable bag at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, you can refrigerate them for up to 1 week. Keep in mind that refrigerated muffins tend to dry out faster. If you have a microwave, a quick 10 to 15 seconds can revive their texture.
You can also freeze these muffins for up to 3 months, and for the best results I like to wrap each muffin individually in plastic wrap then place them in a freezer bag. This helps prevent freezer burn, but also makes it easy to pull out one or two at a time. Unthaw your muffins at room temperature, overnight in the refrigerator, or in the microwave for 20 to 25 seconds. Either way, they’ll taste just as yummy as the day you made them!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
More Muffin Recipes You Might Enjoy
Lemon Strawberry Muffins
EQUIPMENT
- 1 muffin pan - 12 cavity, jumbo, or mini
- hand mixer - with beater attachments
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups all-purpose flour - measure with the spoon and level method
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ cup unsalted butter - melted and slightly cooled
- 2 eggs - room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sour cream - room temperature
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil - or canola/vegetable
- 1 cup buttermilk - * room temperature
- 1 ½ cups fresh strawberries - washed, green tops removed, and diced small
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
INSTRUCTIONS
- To a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Remove two tablespoons of this mixture, stir in the baking soda, and set it aside for coating the strawberries later.
- In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar and lemon zest. Using clean fingers, rub them together until the sugar is fragrant and the zest is fully worked in. Pour in the slightly cooled melted unsalted butter and whisk for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture becomes pale and silky.
- Add the wet ingredients one at a time in this order, eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream, avocado oil, and buttermilk. Whisk well after each addition and make sure it's fully incorporated before adding the next.
- Fold in the dry ingredients with a spatula, mixing until the flour is absorbed. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.
- While the batter rests, preheat oven to 425 °F and lightly grease a muffin tin with oil or butter.
- Once the batter is done resting, toss the chopped strawberries with the reserved baking soda flour mixture until well coated. Gently fold them into the batter until evenly distributed.
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cavities.
- Bake at 425 °F for 7 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 °F and continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick test comes out with few moist crumbs.
- Let the muffins cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
VIDEO
RECIPE NOTES
- Measuring flour with the spoon and level method. Simply fluff up the flour with a whisk. Scoop and drop flour into your measuring cup until it is heaping. Level off the flour to the top of your measuring cup. That’s it!
- Frozen strawberries are not recommended due to the high water content. Stick with fresh for the best flavor and textured muffins.
- Make different sized muffins, and adjust the bake time. Jumbo muffins take 25 to 30 minutes to bake, while mini muffins it’s only 8 to 12 minutes. This is after the initial bake time of 5 minutes at 425°F.
- Save your strawberry tops and make Strawberry Simple Syrup for sweetening your favorite drinks.
STORING INFORMATION
- Room temperature, in an airtight container or plastic bag, for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerated, in an airtight container or plastic bag, for up to 7 days.
- Frozen, wrapped individually in plastic wrap and stored in a plastic bag, for up to 3 months.
- Unthaw frozen muffins at room temperature, in the refrigerator overnight, or in the microwave for 20 to 25 seconds before enjoying.
Metric conversions are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.
Just pulled these out of the oven. Made them jumbo with freeze dried raspberries and they turned out perfect. Cooking time was about 20 minutes after the initial 7 at the higher temperature.
Excellent recipe for a thick bakery muffin! Thank you 🙂
Can freeze dried strawberries be used? Would you have to increase any of the liquid if they can?
Hi TP,
You can definitely use freeze dried strawberries without increasing the liquid. Just watch the bake time (it takes a few minutes less).
Hope this helps. Enjoy!
~Elizabeth