Looking for a sweet and classic muffin recipe for strawberry season? These strawberry sourdough muffins are just the thing for a spring morning. With fresh strawberries and a lemon-sugar topping combined with a moist muffin base, they’re a delicious way to use sourdough discard.

Muffins in a tin, topped with sugar, with a red and white checkered cloth and fresh strawberries nearby.

Strawberry Sourdough Muffins

The perfect sourdough discard recipe for spring and summer, these are moist muffins with lots of fresh fruit flavor.

Prep Time 20

Bake 20

Total Time 40

Serving Size servings

Ingredients

Muffin Batter

¾ cup white sugar
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup vegetable oil (can be substituted with melted butter)
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
½ cup discard sourdough starter
1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
1 lemon (juice)
1 ¼ cup diced strawberries

Lemon Sugar Topping

½ cup white sugar
1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest

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Instructions

Prep. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the center. Prepare a muffin tin with paper liners.
Mix dry Ingredients. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Mix and add wet ingredients. Combine the vegetable oil, milk, egg, and sourdough starter in a separate mixing bowl. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over-mix. (the batter will be thick!)
Add berries and lemon. Add the diced strawberries and lemon juice and zest and gently stir until mixed in.
Scoop batter into muffin tin. Fill the muffin tin with batter about ⅔ of the way to the top.
Make the topping. Mix the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl. Equally distribute the topping on top of the muffin batter.
Add lemon sugar. Equally distribute the topping on top of the muffin batter.
Bake. Bake in preheated oven for 18-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Finished muffins will have golden tops. Remove from oven and allow them to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature. Muffins will stay fresh two days at room temperature or can be frozen up to one month.

Notes

If you don’t have a sourdough starter, you can use 1/2 cup of plain yogurt or buttermilk instead.

You can use any type of berries you like in this recipe.

These are a favorite to a spring breakfast that we can pop in the freezer and eat on a busy morning. They do just fine with frozen fruit, but there’s something about saving them for strawberry season.

A muffin tin filled with freshly baked muffins, topped with sugar, with fresh strawberries and a red and white checkered cloth in the background.

My kids love them as a snack but I usually have one with a giant cup of coffee.

Muffin Tips

Fresh berries add the best flavor and texture. But if you’re using frozen, thaw them first and drain off any extra liquid.
When adding the strawberries, fold them in gently so the batter doesn’t turn pink
Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tin evenly so they’re all the same size.

Key Ingredients and Tools

Sourdough Starter. This adds a unique tangy flavor and helps the muffins rise. Best of all, helps you avoid food waste. If you’ve stumbled onto this recipe and don’t have sourdough starter, plain Greek yogurt will work too. (Or try my strawberry white chocolate muffins, perfect for even non-sourdough people.)

Fruit. Blueberries, raspberries, or even mixed berries work great in this recipe. Just make sure to keep the total amount of berries the same.

Lemon Zest. Fresh lemon zest is key here. Adds so much brightness.

Vegetable Oil. I’ve always through vegetable oil makes the moistest muffins, but if you don’t like to bake with it, melted butter is fine.

Muffin Tin with Paper Liners. Paper liners make it easy to remove the muffins and keep them from sticking. They also make cleanup a breeze.

Storing Leftover Muffins

Store these in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.

These muffins freeze well. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container. They can be frozen for up to one month. When you’re ready to eat, thaw them at room temperature or warm them in the microwave for a few seconds.

Sourdough Muffins for All Seasons:

Sourdough Banana Muffins with Crumb Topping
Blackberry Sourdough Muffins
Blueberry Sourdough Muffins
Lemon Sourdough Muffins
Sourdough Apple Muffins

I hope you enjoy making and eating these as much as my family does. Remember, you can customize them with your favorite berries and keep them fresh or freeze them for later. Happy baking!

Fresh Strawberry Sourdough Muffins