These Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins are made with sweet fresh berries and buttermilk then topped with a delicious sugar and butter crumble! Pull these homemade muffins out of the oven after just 20 minutes of baking!
You might also enjoy my Blueberry Muffins and Raspberry Muffins that are made from the same delicious base recipe!
These Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins are bursting with bright, juicy strawberry flavor! Making them the perfect breakfast treat or mid-day snack!
Is there anything better than fresh local berries? I think not. Except baking with them, that’s pretty good too!
A couple of weeks ago I went with my mom to scoop up some of the last strawberries of summer. An hour’s worth of work yielded 6 quarts of beautiful, ripe berries.
And I knew just what to do with them! Whip up a batch of these muffins that readers have called the best muffin recipe they’ve ever had!
All About These Sweet & Tasty Muffins
Taste: The base of the muffins has a slight hint of sweetness. While the baked berries bring the juicy, vibrant strawberry flavor! Finishing off the sweetness in these muffins is the sugary, buttery streusel topping that’s super delicious!
Texture: These Easy Strawberry Muffins are delightfully tender, light, and fluffy! With the baked strawberries bringing a sweet sticky texture that’s finished off with the crumbly, baked topping!
The Secret Ingredient In This Strawberry Muffin Recipe!
If you guessed buttermilk, you’re right! Buttermilk is what makes these yummy muffins wonderfully soft and fluffy on the inside!
Buttermilk and other kinds of milk have different acid levels and react differently with the leavening agent and sugars used. Buttermilk’s acidity level tenderizes the gluten, giving these muffins their soft, light interior.
This texture is similar to what you get when you use sour cream or Greek yogurt in a baking recipe!
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a Buttermilk Substitute right at home. All you need is milk and lemon juice, vinegar, or cream of tartar.
I have tested this recipe with whole milk and while I do think the buttermilk adds just a bit more to the flavor and texture of the muffins, it is a great substitute.
Expert Recipe Tips:
- For clean baking and easier serving, line the muffin tins with paper liners.
- When adding the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, be sure to alternate with adding the buttermilk!
- For flat muffins, mix most of the strawberries into the batter and add the rest to the top. For dome-topped muffins stir all the strawberries into the batter.
- I found that 1/4 cup of batter is the perfect amount to add to the muffin cups.
- You want to make sure to use cold butter when making the topping as that’s what makes it all crumbly!
- Fresh Strawberries should always be used for this recipe! Frozen strawberries have too much additional water/juice in them, and this will result in soggy/sunken muffins.
- Check the muffins for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of one.
- If you want to make this into a coffee cake, check out my Strawberry Coffee Cake recipe! It’s very similar but has a different crumble topping and method.
I’ve always loved coffee cake, there’s just something about that sweet crumbly topping and the slight dryness of the cake! All of which pairs perfectly with your morning cup of coffee.
They’re best warmed with butter spread on them! Mmmm SO good!
Normally I use my summer berries in desserts like my Blackberry Buttermilk Panna Cotta. Or in drinks like my Strawberry Daiquiri or, you know, just eat them straight!
You can also make really easy fillings or simple syrups if you’re looking to use your berries up quickly!
The nice thing about this muffin recipe is that you can use any berry you fancy or even do a mixed berry topping, now doesn’t that sound good?
Blueberry and Blackberry season is right around the corner here in Maine, so stayed tuned for more delicious berry recipes!
Storage Instructions
Store these Strawberry Muffins in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy them within 2 days.
Make A Batch To Freeze And Enjoy Later!
To do so, first, wrap each muffin individually in aluminum foil. Then place the wrapped muffins into freezer bags and place them in the freezer. To enjoy, first thaw them overnight in the fridge.
👋 Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review; I love hearing from you! And don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos or join our Busy Family Recipes Facebook Community and share them there!
This recipe was published in July 2014 and was updated in July 2022 with fresh photos and recipe tips.
Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk or whole milk, see notes
- 1½ cup diced fresh strawberries divided
Crumble:
- ½ cup cold butter, diced small
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat over to 375°F and line a muffin pan with liners and set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.¼ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Beat in egg and vanilla. The mixture will be a bit lumpy, that’s okay.1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.1½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- Slowly add the flour mix, alternating with the buttermilk, until incorporated into the butter mix. Beating until completely combined.½ cup buttermilk
- Gently fold in most OR all of the strawberries. See notes.1½ cup diced fresh strawberries
- Add about ¼ cup of batter to each muffin liner then load up the tops of the muffins with the remaining strawberries.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the crumble ingredients until pea-sized crumbs form then sprinkle crumble on the tops of the muffins.½ cup cold butter, diced small, ½ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup light brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Reduce oven heat to 350°F and bake muffins for 18 to 20 minutes. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
- You can mix most of the strawberries into the batter and add the rest to the top, which will result in flatter muffins. Or you can mix all of the strawberries into the batter which will yield dome-topped muffins.
- Buttermilk Substitute: Whisk a 1/2 cup of milk (whole or 2%) or heavy cream into a large bowl or measuring cup with 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar.
- I have tested this recipe with whole milk and while I do think the buttermilk adds just a bit more to the flavor and texture of the muffins, it is a great substitute.
- Best consumed within two days.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
Rebecca Hubbell says
So happy you loved the muffins! Thanks for leaving a review!
Lexi says
Turned out really good and they taste amazing.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad you love the recipe! We love the with blueberries too and raspberries is also a favorite!
Antoinette says
The BEST strawberry muffins; I also add blueberries.
Have also doubled recipe, but use 2.5 cups flour.
Muffins so good, with or without crumble topping.
Thanks , this is a go to!!!
Rebecca Hubbell says
You can try reducing the amount of batter you put it or reducing the amount of crumble topping. You can also try chilling the batter for 30 minutes in the fridge before baking.
Sondra says
I have made this delicious recipe 3 times and my muffins are always flat and run over.
What am I doing wrong
Vamika says
Thanks for sharing this Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins love this one
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you enjoy them so much!
Skylar says
These muffins come out PERFECT every time. My fiancé will eat three in a day!
Thanks for sharing!
Sharon says
I made these and loved them! So easy and delicious! Will make them again,
Barbara says
I did use almond milk with vinegar added let set a bit worked great
Cathie says
These turned out great! My only comment about the recipe is I did not get 18 muffins, but 12 when measured by 1/4 c. measure. Other than that, excellent!
Karri says
These turned out delicious. They taste like strawberry shortcake in a muffin. I used whey from homemade greek yogurt.
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Michele, I’m not very familiar with non-dairy alternatives and have never tested in this way so I’m not sure, sorry.
Michele says
Can you make a dairy free buttermilk with almond milk and lemon juice?
Rebecca Hubbell says
Sorry for the confusion, Sarah. You only need 1/2 cup of that substitute mixture, I just updated the post to note that.
Sarah says
I used your recipe for making my own buttermilk. But you called for one cup of milk to make that recipe. Do we use half a cup of the made buttermilk in the recipe or the full amount that we made? I hope that makes sense
Rebecca Hubbell says
Buttermilk is crucial to the structure of the cupcakes, so while you shouldn’t use regular milk you can make a substitute for buttermilk using milk and lemon juice. The full instructions are in the post 🙂