Name: Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 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); ½ cup cold butter, diced small; ½ cup all-purpose flour; ¼ cup light brown sugar; ¼ cup granulated sugar

These Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins are made with sweet fresh berries and buttermilk and topped with a delicious sugar and butter crumble! They're super easy to make and readers have called them the best muffin recipe they've ever had!

Jump to Recipe

Strawberry muffins on a copper wire rack on a gingham napkin.

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!

Table of Contents

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!

Ingredients to make strawberry muffins on a wooden table.

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.

Step by step photo collage showing how to make strawberry muffins.

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!

Strawberry muffins on a cooling rack, the front one has been broken in half.

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!