Tender, flavorful muffins bursting with blueberries and topped with crumbly, cinnamon-y streusel. Take breakfast or brunch to the next level with these muffins that are so good, you’ll think you’re having dessert.

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I’m unofficially declaring January brunch month. To quote my husband, I’m caked out. Don’t get me wrong, I love all things baking and dessert and always will. But I’m just in need of something lighter and simpler these days.

Enter brunch baking.

Oh my word. Brunch baking is so easy and so delicious. Plus, it’s usually a little on the healthier side, with ingredients like applesauce and blueberries. That totally makes up for the sugar, right? I think so. Plus there’s a lot less effort involved in making muffins than in making an elaborate cake. I think we could all use some easy recipes these days.

Plus, who doesn’t love blueberry muffins? They remind me of my childhood, and I’m pretty sure they’re the first thing I ever learned to bake. (Side note: the first time I followed a recipe on my own was from my Cooking with Mickey Cookbook, and I chose to make cheese souffle. At 12. I’m either cool or crazy.)

But blueberry muffins were what my mom always made on weekends. Even though they were from a box, they were so good and I was so excited when she finally let me start helping her make them. Personally, I think these are just as good—plus they have applesauce and fresh blueberries! Practically a health food. ;)

Why this recipe works

The use of butter and oil for the fats helps to make these muffins light and fluffy yet still moist. Applesauce also brings moisture without adding density or fat, plus there’s some health! The flour ratio has been balanced to create a good rise and keep the blueberries from sinking without making the muffins dry. Plus that streusel topping. Oh. My. Goodness. It’s buttery and cinnamon-y and just the right amount of sweet.

Storing these muffins not in an airtight container actually helps keep the topping crunchy, since the residual moisture from an airtight container will soften it. However, they don’t last as long that way, so you could always store them airtight then heat them back up in the oven for a few minutes to get that crispiness back!

Key ingredients

Flour. Always spoon then level your flour to avoid packing it in and creating a dry baked good.

Baking powder. I use just the right amount to get that perfectly rounded muffin top!

Cinnamon. You can omit, but I think it adds a great pop of flavor! Plus, it’s almost a necessity in the streusel topping.

Salt. Sea salt is my go-to, since it has a better flavor and is supposed to be healthier.

Eggs. Be sure these are room temperature and fresh!

Applesauce. Use plain, unsweetened for this!

Oil. I prefer grape seed or avocado, but any cooking oil would do.

Butter. Melt this then let it cool while you measure out the rest of the ingredients.

Sugar/brown sugar. Brown sugar is the secret to my perfect streusel topping. And the combination of both sugars in the muffin is what gives them moisture, depth of flavor, and rise.

Vanilla. Not necessary, but why chance it?

Blueberries. You can use fresh or frozen, but I strongly recommend organic fresh blueberries if you can find them!

How to make blueberry streusel muffins

1. Melt the butter. You could actually melt the butter for the muffins and topping at the same time, if you have a scale and can correctly divvy it up between the two. I’m not as bright as I’d like to think and melted the butter in two batches.

2. Make the streusel topping. You want pea-ish sized pieces. I suggest mixing it with a fork to achieve this.

3. Sift and whisk the dry ingredients. Sifting helps make these so, so fluffy!

4. Whisk eggs, oil, vanilla, and applesauce. Make sure they’re well, well blended.

5. Whisk in cooled butter. Doing this separately ensures you don’t accidentally scramble the eggs if the butter hasn’t fully cooled.

6. Whisk in sugars. Whisk well, until the sugar is at least partially dissovled.

7. Fold in dry ingredients then blueberries. Only fold the flour until mostly mixed in, as folding in the blueberries mixes it the rest of the way.

8. Fill muffin tins. Aim for about 3/4 full so you get a nicely rounded muffin top.

9. Top with streusel. Don’t skimp! There’s plenty to go around.

10. Bake. The streusel should look golden and a toothpick should come out with moist crumbs (not clean, as this usually signifies they’re over baked).

Enjoy!

Tips and FAQ’s for this recipe

Don’t mix the flour in completely!

Weird, but true. This is one of the things I first learned about baking from my mom. I thought it was so weird that you don’t mix the muffin batter until smooth. What kind of madness was this?? Mixing too much causes gluten to develop, which we don’t want too much of here or we’ll get dense, chewy muffins. So, I only mix the flour until it’s mostly combined, then I get the rest of it at least combined (but not smooth) when I fold in the blueberries. Those lumps of flour will dissolve as the muffins bake, creating the perfect crumb.

Can I use frozen blueberries?

Yes! I personally prefer organic, fresh blueberries because I don’t have to rinse them and they’re always a little larger than the frozen kind. But if you only have frozen on hand, that’s okay! Just use them frozen—do not thaw them. If you are using fresh blueberries and want to rinse them (I don’t), be sure they have time to dry completely.

Don’t skimp on the streusel!

This recipe makes plenty of streusel to cover each muffin well. Because the surface area of the top of the muffin will increase as they bake, you’ll want plenty of streusel to cover as much of those beautifully rounded tops as they bake. Plus, it’s delicious, so why would’t you want it?

My muffin tools

Here are my must-have tools I use for making these muffins. Affiliate links provided.

Handheld whisk (this is always my go-to whisk)

Mesh sieve (because sifting is KEY for a fluffy muffin)

Cupcake pans(I’ve used many over the years and these are the most consistently successful.)

You might also like:

Blueberry Lemon Loaf Cake

Apple Fritter Bread

Perfect Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread

Blueberry Clementine Curd

Blueberry Streusel Muffins

Print recipe

prep time: 10-15 minutes
bake time: 20-25 minutes
total time: 40 minutes

servings: 14-16

Ingredients:

or the streusel topping

¾ cup (102g) all-purpose flour
⅔ cup (134g) packed brown sugar (light or dark will work)
1 tablespoon (8g) ground cinnamon
⅓ cup (76g) salted butter, melted

for the muffins

1 ¾ cups (238g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons (10g) baking powder
½ teaspoon (3g) salt
1 tablespoon (8g) ground cinnamon
1 cup (244g) unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon (13g) pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons (56g) avocado or vegetable oil
4 tablespoons (56g) melted unsalted butter
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
½ cup (100g) packed brown sugar (light or dark will work)
1 ¼ cups (about 185g) blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not thaw if using frozen)

Instructions:

If you need to rinse your blueberries, do so ahead of time and let them dry completely, so no extra liquid is added. I like to use organic and not bother rinsing them.
Preheat your oven to 350F/175C. Line 1 ½ muffin pans with liners (this recipe makes about 16 muffins).
First, make the streusel topping. Whisk the flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the butter and mix with a fork until roughly pea-sized or slightly larger crumbles form. Set aside.
Next, make the muffin batter. Melt the butter and set aside. Don’t let it cool enough to solidify, but do let it cool somewhat before using.
Using a large fine mesh sieve, sift then whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, vanilla, eggs, and oil until very well combined. Slowly stream in the melted butter while whisking quickly (this prevents scrambling the eggs).
Add the sugar and brown sugar to the wet ingredients and whisk for about 1 minute, until the sugar looks partially dissolved. You can whisk it by hand or, if using a stand or hand mixer, mix on medium.
Add the flour mixture and stir gently until mostly combined. It should be somewhat lumpy and still have somes streaks of flour, which will get stirred in during the next step.
Gently fold in the blueberries. (If you’re unsure what folding means, you basically run a rubber spatula along the edge an entire turn around the bowl the pull the spatula toward the middle once you’ve come fully around the bowl, “folding” the batter on the edge into the middle part.)
Fill each muffin tin about ¾ full with batter. Top with crumble topping, covering it until no batter is visible. Don’t be stingy with the crumble topping!
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crumble looks golden and the tops of each muffin have rounded and a toothpick inserted in one of the middle muffins comes out with some moist crumbs. Check early so they don’t over bake–each oven is different. Let cool in pan at least 10 minutes. Remove and let cool about 30 minutes.

Enjoy with your morning coffee!

These will last, uncovered, 2-3 days. You can store these in an airtight container to make them last longer, but the crumble topping will become a bit soft by the second day due to the moisture in the container.