BEST Basic Muffin Recipe

This BEST Basic Muffin Recipe is a plain batter yielding soft, yummy muffins that are easy to jazz up with your favorite add-ins...berries, diced fruit, chocolate, raisins, nuts, coconut, and more! For muffins that are infinitely customizable, this is the only recipe you'll ever need!

If you're a fan of yummy muffins, you'll also love Banana Blender Muffins, Oatmeal Spice Muffins, and Carrot Cake Muffins!

Muffins are one of those easy-to-bake, fun-to-eat recipes that are suitable from breakfast to snack time to dessert. Why? Because there are infinite variations, of course! They can be sweet or savory...healthy or decadent...plain and simple or loaded with goodies. And with a tried-and-true Basic Muffin Recipe like the one I'm sharing today, you can quickly whip up a batch of homemade muffins in any ol' flavor you like!

This Basic Muffin Recipe yields muffins that are soft and tender yet substantial. These muffins are more dense than they are fluffy, but I promise that that's not a bad thing! It simply means that they have a pleasant texture that will stand up to pretty much any ingredient you'd like to stir in or sprinkle on top.

Ingredients

So what simple ingredients are required to make this basic muffin recipe?

• Flour. All-purpose white flour is the standard for most basic muffin recipes. However, to keep them on the healthier side, I almost always make my muffins with whole wheat pastry flour. This 100% whole wheat flour gives baked goods a lighter taste and texture than that achieved using regular whole wheat flour. In other words, your muffins will taste like they're made with standard white flour while actually having the nutritional value of 100% whole wheat!
• Granulated sugar.
• Baking powder + salt.
• Butter. Unsalted (I like to control the salt) and at room temperature.
• Eggs.
• Milk. You can use whole milk, low-fat milk, or your favorite non-dairy milk alternative, such as unsweetened almond milk.
• Pure vanilla extract. Don't skimp on it! And depending on your add-ins, swapping out the vanilla for a different extract (or incorporating an additional extract on top of the vanilla) might be appropriate.
• Optional add-ins. Scroll down for lots 'o inspiration!

2. Work the butter into the flour mixture using a fork or pastry cutter.

3. Mix in the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.

4. Scoop the batter into lined muffin pans and bake!

If you are stirring in add-ins, you'll want to do so during step 3. And if you're sprinkling goodies on top, you'll do that at the end…just before popping the pan into the oven.

Ya catch my drift? 😉

1. Whole Berries. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, or cranberries. Berries may be fresh or frozen. However, if you're using frozen, don't thaw them first or they'll get mushy and break up when you stir them in.
2. Diced Fruit. Strawberries, apples, bananas, peaches, pears, pineapple, or rhubarb.
3. Citrus Zest. Orange, lemon, or lime zest add a puckery punch.
4. Chocolate. Semi-sweet, milk, or white chocolate in chips, chunks, or shavings...choose your favorite! Or for a different sweet and festive option, stir in colorful sprinkles instead.
5. Dried Fruit. Raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, or dried mango are all options, though large pieces of dried fruit may need to be chopped first.
6. Coconut. Flaked or shredded coconut...sweetened or unsweetened.
7. Nuts or Seeds. Chopped nuts add texture and crunch, particularly when they're toasted first. I typically add pecans, walnuts, or almonds to my muffins. Poppy seeds or pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are also nice additions.
8. Granola. Store-bought or homemade granola both work great.
9. Spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, or even pumpkin pie spice add warm spice to your muffins, used individually or in combination.
10. Extracts. Vanilla is pretty standard, but almond, lemon, or rum extract can lend a unique flavor profile to a batch of muffins. I recommend using pure (not artificial) extracts when at all possible.

For muffins where you add fruit, you may swap out a portion of the milk in the recipe for the corresponding fruit juice. The amount of juice to use will depend on how "strong" it is. For example, to make apple muffins, I'd replace ½ cup of the milk with apple juice (in addition to stirring some diced apples into the batter). But to make lemon muffins, I'd only replace ¼ cup of the milk with lemon juice (in addition to stirring in some lemon zest). This is because apple juice isn't as strong/tart/puckery as lemon juice, so more of it may be used.

Keep in mind that you can also sprinkle some goodies (such as granola or streusel or rolled oats) on top of your batter-filled muffin liners. This can be instead of or in addition to mixing add-ins into the batter.

So are you ready for some fun and tasty kitchen experimentation? You're just 30-ish minutes away from the best batch of muffins ever! Because not only is this basic muffin recipe yummy, but YOU get to incorporate your favorite goodies to make any batch of muffins YOUR OWN!

Happy baking, friends. 🙂

Post originally published on August 27, 2019, and updated on September 25, 2020, and April 24, 2023.