This is an easy recipe for Bakery Style Mixed Berry Muffins. These muffins are moist, fluffy & have huge tops. It’s easy to add your favorite frozen mixed berries to this basic muffin batter. I love that these are not overly sweet or greasy. 
*this post was updated on 5/5/20. The recipe is the same*
I couldn’t start this post without admitting that I am a muffin addict. I could eat muffins all day every day. I usually gravitate to blueberry & corn but have never turned down a muffin of any kind. I do have a terrible muffin secret though.
The truth is…I’m really only in it for the muffin tops (cue the episode of Seinfeld).
I don’t know what it is about them…the muffin is just way better up there, don’t you agree? Okay, so I totally still also eat the stumps, don’t worry. When it comes to baked goods, trust me, nothing goes to waste!
Ripping the top off of a muffin is just totally satisfying. A great reason to bake up a dozen for yourself, no one can judge you for eating all the tops if you wanted to.
ANYWAY.
I LOVE this recipe. It is quick and easy to make and you only need a small handful of standard baking ingredients. Better yet, you can make these muffins with frozen berries.
Muffins with Frozen Berries
In my fridge, you will always find a ton of frozen berries. I use them in smoothies, quick breads, crisps and so much more. Frozen berries are great to have on hand.
They work wonderfully for these muffins.
Sometimes I pick up a bag of mixed berries; blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Other times, I make a custom mix depending on what I have in my freezer that day.
Raspberries are amazing in this muffin. I love the color and pop of the deep red/pink berries, and tartness it adds.
Try a mixture of frozen blueberries and strawberries
Also incredibly delicious.
How to add frozen strawberries
If you plan on using whole, frozen strawberries, here’s how to add them to the muffin batter.
Measure out about a 10 strawberries (I’m assuming they’re pretty large, they usually are in those frozen bags!).
Place on a plate and microwave for about 20 seconds. They should still have some ice crystals and still be partially frozen when you remove them from the microwave.
Cut the strawberries in half and then each half into quarters to create bite-sized pieces.
Work quickly once you add the berries
Especially if you’re using dark berries, such as blueberries. As soon as they start to defrost in the batter, the frozen berries can cause big streaks of color which can make the muffins look discolored.
It’s not hard to avoid as long as the berries are good and frozen before you add them, and you immediately scoop the batter into the muffin tin.
I got a little sidetracked with this batch since I was also trying to take photos.
How to Make a Bakery Style Muffin
The key that I found for making the perfect muffin is to fill the muffin tin at juuust the right level. If you fill it too much, your muffin will overflow all over the place. If you under-fill it, you won’t have a big enough top.
I recommend using a cookie scoop to get the exact amount into each tin. I use the 3 Tbsp size. This is a very handy size scoop to have around, especially for things like cupcakes and muffins. 
I’ve also had good success filling them just a little below the edge of the muffin liner (a 1/4 inch or so), if you’re looking for a more modest muffin.
This is the best muffin recipe
This recipe is especially wonderful because these muffins are SUPER light and fluffy, not dense and greasy.
The tops bake up with just a little bit of that crisp edge. The berries add such a wonderful pop of tartness & sweetness all at once. I like to add a touch of sparkling sugar for that bakery-made feel.
They are just absolutely divine.
These muffins are soft, fluffy and full of delicious, sweet berry flavor. You can easily make these in the morning for breakfast, they are quick and easy to prepare and bake up rather quickly.
I hope you love these as much as I do!
Looking for more berry recipes? Try my easy Blueberry Danish with Mascarpone or Blueberry Bread!
PrintBakery Style Mixed Berry Muffins | with Frozen Berries
This is an easy recipe for Bakery Style Mixed Berry Muffins. These muffins are moist, fluffy & have huge tops. It’s easy to add your favorite frozen berries to this basic muffin batter. I love that these are not overly sweet or greasy.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ½ c butter (melted & cooled, unsalted or salted can be used- if using salted, you may want to reduce the added salt to ¼ tsp)
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 c buttermilk or milk
- 2 ½ c all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ c frozen mixed berries (store in freezer until ready to add in the batter)
- sparkling sugar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Put paper liners in a cupcake tin.
- In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar and vanilla using a spoon or spatula.
- Add the eggs and mix until well combined. Pour in the milk and stir until completely incorporated. The mixture will be very liquidy at this point.
- In smaller bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt)
- Slowly add half of the flour and fold it into the mixture. Stir. Once mostly combined, add the remaining flour. Continue folding the mixture until the flour has just absorbed. Do not mix any further! The batter should be thick and have lumps.
- Lastly, take the frozen berries out of the freezer and gently fold them into the batter.
- Using a cookie scoop (or normal tablespoon), put 6 tablespoons of batter into each cup (I used a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop, so that’s two scoops).
- Add sparkling sugar to the tops of each muffin (optional).
- Bake for 5 minutes. Then, reduce the temp to 375°F for another 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from oven when finished baking and let rest for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan to finish cooling on a rack. These muffins are freezer friendly for up to 3 months!
Notes
Recipe adapted from: LittleSweetBaker
Made by Owlbbaking.com
How to add frozen strawberries
If you plan on using whole, frozen strawberries, here’s how to add them to the muffin batter.
Measure out about a 15 strawberries (assuming they’re pretty large, they usually are in those frozen bags!)
Place on a plate and microwave for about 20 seconds. They should still have some ice crystals and still be partially frozen when you remove them from the microwave.
Cut the strawberries in half and then each half into quarters to create bite-sized pieces. This should yield about 1 ½ c of chopped fruit. If you need to use more, store the cut pieces in the freezer (until ready to use) and repeat with more berries.
Keywords: Mixed Berry Muffins
Recipe adapted from: LittleSweetBaker
I just made these very addictive muffins again. I had some fresh blueberries in my fridge which I added about 2 cups instead of frozen. Also added some lemon zest. They are incredible. Seriously the base recipe is great. The add in possibilities are endless.
Thank you so much for sharing Annette!! 🙂 The added lemon zest sounds amazing! I love using this recipe for all kinds of flavors!!
I just made this recipe and the muffins are DELICIOUS. Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Caroline!! I make this recipe all the time, it really is so good!! 🙂
This is absolutely the best muffin recipe. I have made them several times. They NEVER make it to the freezer. This will always be my go to recipe.
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the kind words Annette!!! I love these muffins and make them all the time with all kinds of flavors and add ins. They are the best! So glad you love them too! 🙂
This recipe is scrumptious! My husband liked them so well that he ate 3!!
Thank you so much for sharing, Karen! I’m so glad you both loved the recipe!! 🙂
Can I substitute margarine for butter in this recipe?
Hi Madison! I haven’t tried this swap before, but that should be fine!
Hi,
Can I use vegetable oil in the place of melted butter?
Hi Lily! I have not tried this, but yes, I think you could. The muffin might be a tad more oily since butter and oil absorb a bit differently.
I used strawberries and rhubarb picked from our garden and cooked down with a little sugar and honey. The muffins came out nicely.
★
Those flavors sound divine! I’m so glad you liked the recipe!
I made these with frozen mixed berries, i fousn that once the muffins were done, the tartness of the berries took over the entire muffin :/ is there a way to make the berries sweeter or not as tart?
★★★★
Hi Nancy! Oh no! That doesn’t sound too good! Hmm, that’s a tough question. The only way to offset that is with more sugar, but since the berries are added frozen, more sugar wouldn’t stick to them. Even if they are thawed and strained, you could add sugar but the batter will get very streaky and extra wet from the thawed fruit. I’m wondering if perhaps the berries were just an extra tart batch? You can always make this recipe using fresh berries too!
Thank you so much for this yummy recipe! I used blueberries, raspberries and pecans. These muffins were delicious! The only thing I need for my next batch is that pretty coarse sugar for that legit bakery look and a little crunch!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you loved it, Miriam!! Oh my, Pecans sound like a GREAT addition!! Definitely – the coarse sugar on top makes these extra amazing!
These muffins are absolutely AMAZING!!! I substituted unsweetened almond milk (as that’s what I had on hand). I loved that they used frozen berries and baked up so big! They are to die for delicious! Will definitely be my go to recipe for berry muffins! Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Hey Cassie! Thank you so much for the kind words!! Using unsweetened almond milk is a great substitute for these, I’m so glad you loved them!!
The recipe says frozen berries. One of you answers to a comment said to thaw and drain the juice. Which one do I do? Also, I have mixed berries that also contain strawberries. Can I use these?
Hi Shirley! Apologies for the confusion. Looks like I do need to add a note for this! Appreciate you bringing it to my attention. Add the berries in their frozen state. Do not thaw. I haven’t tried this recipe with frozen strawberries, but it would probably work as long as you slice/dice into small pieces (maybe while they’re partially frozen).
Thank you for clarifying that!
This was so yummy!! I only had two changes, I used almond milk and also just left muffins in for 20 mins at 375
Great recipe!! These are just too good 🙂
Thanks so much for the comment, Steph!! I’ve used almond milk in this recipe before too, it’s a great substitute!
Could I use half and half in place of the milk/buttermilk? Looking to use up half and half and berries!
Hey Sarah! Yes, that should work just fine! 🙂
I’ve made these twice in the last 2 weeks – the first time I followed the recipe and aside from being delicious, several kids in my son’s class gave me compliments for them. They were the only batch of muffins that got all eaten up amongst a few other recipes other people brought in! The second time I made them was today and I used gluten free flour and they are just as delicious. I put my berries in while still frozen and didn’t have any problems either time.
Thank you so much for the comment!!! You’re so sweet! Good to know that using GF flour is interchangeable, I haven’t tried it before!
These muffins are delicious! Thank you for a spot on recipe ! ????
Thank you for the kind words!! So glad you loved them!!
Do you thaw the berries and drain excess juice before you add them, or do you add them while frozen?
Hi Jessica! Great question! I would thaw them and drain the excess juice. Otherwise it might be too much liquid added to the batter.
Do you mean 1/2 cup of each berry? These turned out excellent! I doubled the recipe but cut the sugar by half a cup. They took an additional 6 minutes to bake for me. Perhaps bigger muffins.
★★★★★
Hi Mandy! I apologize, I think that is a typo! 1 cup of mixed berries can be added, or more to your liking. I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
You do not indicate how many eggs and when to put in the frozen berries.
★★★★
Hi Vilma,
Thanks for the alert! I apologize for the miss and delay getting back to you! This recipe has now been updated. 🙂
This muffins are so delicious. Making my second batch.
★★★★★
So glad to hear you’re enjoying them, Vilma! They’ve become a staple in my house!