Blueberry Lemon Curd Muffins (100% whole grain, dairy-free options)
These moist, zingy and light blueberry lemon curd muffins are sure to brighten your day! Can be made 100% whole grain and dairy-free.
Now that we have Valentine’s Day out of the way, I can go back to celebrating all things lemony!
I was in the mood to stuff things a few weeks ago. And because I had so much leftover lemon curd and there was an awesome sale on blueberries, how could I not go with blueberry lemon curd muffins? :)
So the question was how to stuff the muffins. I did some googling to see if more people piped lemon curd into muffins after baking or if they did it how I wanted to do it, which is by filling the muffin liners half-way with batter, dolloping a tablespoon of curd into the center, and then pouring in more batter. I couldn’t really find anyone who did it this way, and I can’t understand why. It’s so easy! And you don’t need to get out a piping bag. I’ll do anything to avoid doing more cleaning!
I’ve made these blueberry lemon curd muffins with white whole wheat, whole spelt and regular whole wheat flour. The muffins came out great with each one, but if you don’t like the whole grain taste, definitely go with white whole wheat! Or whole spelt. There’s quite a bit of lemon zest in there, which covers up the whole grain taste, but not completely with regular whole wheat.
I really didn’t care about the calories when I was making these muffins, but if you do care, you’ll probably want to avoid the streusel. And lemon curd. But that’s all the fun, isn’t it? ;) I vote for eating one of these with some fruit on the side, rather than eating 4 muffins and nothing else. Which is usually how I roll.
Blueberry muffins are great on their own, but the lemon curd is such a fun surprise. You can’t tell that these are lemon curd blueberry muffins just by looking at them.
If lemon isn’t your thing (I’m really sorry because that’s all I’m really interested in right now!), you can make these lime curd muffins! Or even orange curd muffins. Replace the lemon zest, extract and curd with lime or orange zest, extract and curd. I bet an orange curd version with strawberry chunks instead of blueberries would be amazing. :)
Or to skip the citrus altogether, try these old-fashioned blueberry muffins!
These blueberry muffins stay soft for days, and they’re also vegan if you skip the lemon curd and streusel. If you need a dairy-free alternative, make sure to use my homemade honey-sweetened and dairy-free lemon curd.
These muffins would be amazing for Mother’s Day, brunch or tea! The same is true of these lovely-looking lavender cookies.
I hope you’ll enjoy these muffins! If you give them a try, I’d love to hear how you liked them in the comments below. Thanks!
Blueberry Lemon Curd Muffins (100% whole grain, dairy-free options)
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 2 1/4 cups (281 grams) white whole wheat or whole spelt flour, whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (176 grams) unrefined sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 1/4 cup (185 grams) blueberries fresh or frozen
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1/3 cup canola oil or light olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups (354 ml) buttermilk see notes for dairy-free
- 1 cup (226 grams) lemon curd if not making mine, make sure yours is dairy-free, if necessary
For the streusel:
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) unrefined sugar
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) rolled oats
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (50 grams) white whole wheat or whole spelt flour, whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons (56 grams) cold unsalted butter or 3 1/2 tablespoons (49 grams) coconut oil for a dairy-free version
Instructions
- First, prepare the streusel. Mix all the ingredients together until it resembles coarse crumbs. You can use a pastry cutter but I prefer to use my fingers.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) and line 2 muffin pans with 16 muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients, including the blueberries.2 1/4 cups (281 grams) white whole wheat, 3/4 cup (176 grams) unrefined sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1 1/4 cup (185 grams) blueberries
- In a medium bowl, mix together the lemon extract, oil, and buttermilk.1 teaspoon lemon extract, 1/3 cup canola oil, 1 1/2 cups (354 ml) buttermilk
- Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir just until combined.1/2 cup (100 grams) unrefined sugar, 1/2 cup (50 grams) rolled oats, 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (50 grams) white whole wheat, 4 tablespoons (56 grams) cold unsalted butter
- Fill the muffin liners halfway, dollop 1 tablespoon of lemon curd on top, and then fill with more batter, almost all the way to the top.1 cup (226 grams) lemon curd
- Sprinkle the streusel over the tops of the muffins.
- Bake the muffins for 18 – 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Make sure not to insert the toothpick in the very center where the curd is! It’ll come out wet, if you do.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cover and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- To make dairy-free and vegan buttermilk: add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to a 1 cup measuring cup. Fill with milk of choice. Add another 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to a 1/2 cup measuring cup. Fill with milk of choice. There’s your 1 1/2 cups of dairy-free and vegan buttermilk!
- The nutrition information provided is calculated as a courtesy and is only an estimate. I am not a licensed nutritionist or dietitian. For the most accurate nutritional data, consult a professional or use your preferred calculator.
- Muffin recipe adapted from 100% Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins from King Arthur Flour.
I have leftover lemon curd and I’d love to use it in these muffins. Can they be frozen?
They can! Hope you’ll enjoy them.
Fantastic muffins. Great balance between the blueberry and lemon flavors. Recipe works as advertised. Our grandkids have been enjoying muffins for breakfast over the last year and these are one of their favorites (grammy’s too!!)
I’m so happy you and your grandkids have been enjoying the muffins! Thanks a bunch for your comment. :)
I’m rather late to comment on this post but I just want to say this recipe is de-licious! I followed your recipe to a tee except I halved it and omitted the streusel, and it came out just like in the photos! Not to mention tasted great – there’s a good balance between the blueberry and the lemon :-)
Anyway, I’m happy to have found your blog and will definitely be trying more of your recipes in the future!
Yay! I’m so happy you enjoyed these muffins. I posted this recipe two years ago and you’re the first people to leave feedback so thank you very much! I loved these muffins and was so bummed that nobody else seemed into them. ;) I hope you’ll enjoy the other recipes just as much! Thanks a ton for your comment.
So excited to find this recipe. Came home from my sister in law’s house (she made awesome muffins) craving muffins and so made some seriously delicious blueberry muffins. Which we plowed through. But they were so unhealthy! We might as well have been eating cake lol. It is hard to find whole grain blueberry muffin recipes! And lo! there yours were! So happy–pinning now. Will probably try with and without lemon curd–because you are right, sometimes you need to splurge!
Well, these are almost cake with all the filling and streusel. ;) I hope that you’ll enjoy them! We really did love them. And thanks for pinning! :)
Yum! My favorite parts are the lemon curd center and struessel top!
Haha. Mine too! The muffin is just there to hold that other stuff in place. ;)
Streusel should neevvvverrr be avoided – it makes the muffin! These are gorgeous, I love that lemon surprise in the middle!
Thanks, Anna! And I agree. Streusel forever! ;)
It will be a new recipe for my muffin collection. Muffins are perfect for any tea party. These ones should be a nice decision for a Sunday breakfast for the whole family. How did you invent this recipe?
I just wanted something to use my lemon curd on or rather – in. ;) Thanks so much, Maria! I hope you get a chance to make them. :)
Erin, what an amazing healthy version of blueberry muffins! And I love lemon flavor in muffins – what a great idea to use lemon curd! By the way, I just made and posted my own version of blueberry muffins too!
Ooh! Going on over to check them out. :)
I just bought a huge bag of lemons and they are destined for these muffins!
Yeah! Do it, girl! You’ll love them. :)
I can’t get enough lemon right now! Love the lemon curd filling!
Same here! I’ll take lemon everything, please. :)
Oh, lemon curd! What a fun surprise!
Way better than beans, right?! ;)
I like your dollop method. I don’t mind a piping bag, but your way sounds much easier. And, less clean up. These look beautiful.
Oh, goodness, no. Half-full piping bags sit around for weeks. Then I find them. And they’re nasty. Perhaps if I weren’t such a bad cleaner-upper. ;)
Lemon curd, my weeaaaknesss!! Also, streusel. Apparently I have a lot of weaknesses, and you bundled them all up in this muffin. They sound SO tasty.
Thanks, Kelly! And sorry to tempt you like that. ;)
Any muffin that involves lemon curd & streusel topping has my name alllll over it! These are amazing, Erin!
Thanks so much, Kelli! :D
Lemon curd is one of the best kinds of surprises! Blueberries and lemon are just made for each other.
LOVE the addition of lemon curd, Erin! Also, I love that these superb blueberry muffins are dairy free. Thanks for sharing!
And thank you for your kind comment! :)
Totally envious of your sale on blueberries! I can handle a jar of lemon curd with a spoon, so the idea of finding some hiding in my muffin is 100% delightful :)
Hehe. Happy to hear that! And yeah, nothing like berries from Chile. ;)
It sounds amazing, I love that it’s healthy plus a lemon flavour is a big advantage. i am having a crazy period lately, traveling to Poland and working hard before my holiday in Sydney. I hope to meet you soon for chatting and maybe baking? I know I am not a good friend, I am honestly busy. Big hug to you, my talented friend.
I know you’re busy! When you’re less busy, let me know and we can get together. I’m mostly free. :)
I am such a sucker for lemon curd! These muffins look so tasty! Almost like dessert :)
Yup! They’re pretty much dessert. Dessert for breakfast is always a good thing, though, right? ;)