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Packed with fresh raspberries and bright lemon, these lemon raspberry muffins are a bite of sunshine any time of year.
Muffins are one of my favorite ways to enjoy seasonal flavors and ingredients.
In the fall, I’m all about apple cider donut muffins, pumpkin muffins, and apple cinnamon muffins.
In the spring, I can’t get enough of strawberry banana muffins and lemon poppy seed muffins.
And this time of year, I’m making batches of zucchini muffins and these lemon raspberry muffins on repeat.
Sometimes I will store them in the freezer to enjoy in a few months when fresh raspberries are no longer in season, and sometimes I just bake them to share with my neighbors.
Either way, you can’t go wrong with these bright, beautiful raspberry muffins.
Bright and tangy lemon raspberry muffins
If you’re looking for a little bit of sunshine in your life, these lemon raspberry muffins are it.
These muffins use the same tangy buttermilk muffin base as my cranberry orange muffins. But instead of packing them full of wintery cranberries and orange zest, I used sweet-tart raspberries and bright lemons.
If you love my lemon raspberry scones or my lemon raspberry cheesecake, you’ll go bananas for this recipe.
The muffin base has a tender crumb and slightly tangy flavor thanks to the buttermilk in the recipe. Add in the pockets of fresh raspberries throughout and the flavorful lemon zest and these seriously remind me of summer sunshine.
Stephie made them for her family and neighbors and even her 4-year-old couldn’t stop eating them. So if you have any little berry fiends in your life, they’re bound to love these muffins.
How to make my raspberry muffins
Like most of my other muffin recipes, these lemon raspberry muffins are pretty easy to make.
Ingredients you’ll need
To make these raspberry muffins, you will need:
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 ounces fresh raspberries
- Coarse sugar for topping
Before getting started, make sure you’re familiar with how to measure flour. Nailing this seemingly simple step will help ensure the perfect raspberry muffins every time.
Don’t panic if you didn’t buy buttermilk. I have a whole post on how to make buttermilk that gives you several options for substituting with ingredients you already have on hand.
Similarly, don’t worry if you are out of brown sugar or if yours hardened in the pantry. Learn how to make a simple brown sugar substitute and how to soften brown sugar to save yourself a trip to the store.
If you don’t have fresh raspberries on hand or you want to make this recipe outside of berry season, you can use 6 ounces of frozen raspberries instead. If using frozen raspberries, do NOT thaw them before adding them to the batter.
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This recipe makes 12 muffins. Line your favorite standard muffin tin with paper liners or spray the cups with nonstick spray.
Add the lemon zest and sugars to a large bowl. Use your fingertips to mix the ingredients together until the sugar is moistened and fragrant. This will help infuse the flavor and aroma of the zest into every single bite of the muffins.
Into the same bowl, add the flour along with the baking soda and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, lemon juice, buttermilk, and oil. Create a small well in the dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.
Gently fold in the raspberries. If your berries are on the larger side, feel free to cut them in half before adding them to the batter.
Divide the batter between the prepared muffin wells – they’ll be quite full. I like to do this with a large cookie scoop.
For a crunchy sugar topping, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sugar before placing them in a 425°F oven for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, leave the oven door closed and set the oven temperature to 350°F. Continue to bake the muffins for an additional 7-9 minutes.
The raspberry muffins are done when the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Substitutions
- Feel free to use frozen raspberries instead of fresh. Do not thaw the berries before adding them to the batter.
- You may substitute the vegetable oil for any neutral-flavored oil, such as avocado oil.
- For a dairy-free version, make a buttermilk substitute using dairy-free milk.
- For a vegan version, substitute the buttermilk as noted above and swap the egg for a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoons water, allow to thicken for 5 minutes).
Storage tips
These lemon raspberry muffins are quite moist, so store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
If you want to make them ahead of time, feel free to store them in the freezer. Place cooled muffins in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag and freeze for 2-3 months.
When you’re ready to enjoy, let the muffins thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours. You can also take out just a few muffins at a time and microwave each for 30-60 seconds to thaw and warm them through.
Lemon Raspberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 ounces fresh raspberries see notes if using frozen
- Coarse sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, add the lemon zest, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Mix the ingredients together with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant.
- To the sugar mixture, add the flour, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, lemon juice, buttermilk and oil. Create a small well in the dry ingredients, pouring the wet ingredients into the well and stirring just to combine. Gently fold in the raspberries.
- Divide batter evenly into the prepared muffin wells. The wells will be very full. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.
- Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes. Leaving the oven door closed, set the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for another 7-9 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Video
Notes
- My favorite coarse sugar for topping muffins and quick breads is Sugar in the Raw Turbinado Cane Sugar.
- If using frozen raspberries, do not thaw them before adding them to the batter.
- If your berries are on the larger size, you can halve them before adding them to the batter to more evenly distribute them throughout the muffins.
- Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Substitutions:
- You may substitute the vegetable oil for any neutral-flavored oil, such as avocado oil.
- For a dairy-free version, make a buttermilk substitute using dairy-free milk.
- For a vegan version, substitute the buttermilk as noted above and swap the egg for a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoons water, allow to thicken for 5 minutes).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love your recipes! Can Canola oil be substituted for vegetable oil?
I think that would be totally fine!