Easy Strawberry Muffin Recipe
I wanted to make a scratch strawberry cake. But when I realized what needed to be done to accomplish that, strawberry muffins sounded real good. There are so many recipes for strawberry cakes and cookies, but most of them involve cake mix. Nothing wrong with Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies or cake mix in general, but I wanted to make a scratch cake. However, scratch strawberry cakes involve making a homemade strawberry jam of sorts, which is added to the batter, but because of the volume of flour and dry ingredients needed to compensate for all that liquidy jam, the cakes tend to turn out very pale pink and lackluster. Unless you use red food coloring, which seems to defeat the point of a scratch cake, so muffins it is. These strawberry muffins were proclaimed the “best muffins I’ve ever had” by my taste tester. However, it was 1pm when I gave him the muffins and he hadn’t had breakfast or lunch, so a dirty shoe would taste good by that point. But he inhaled 3 muffins in 10 minutes. And then 3 more by the end of the first day.
They’re easy to make, no mixer is needed, and I used frozen strawberries. What I also love is that the berries don’t all sink to the bottom, a problem that tends to plague fruit-based quick breads. That wall of berries on the bottom tastes fine, but I want the visual appeal of pretty berry chunks in the middle of the muffin, not just sunken at the bottom. To combat the sinking issue, the batter is extra thick. Like, really thick. It’s hard for berries to move around in such a heavy, thick, dense batter. My strawberries weren’t very sweet and I only used 3/4 cup sugar to sweeten 1 dozen muffins plus 1 small mini loaf (or ~14 muffins).
To compensate for their tartness, I added mini chocolate chips. Chocolate and strawberries are a great combination. Isn’t that what every Valentine’s Day candy company is counting on with chocolate-covered strawberries? I used buttermilk, oil, and Greek yogurt, and all three are wonderful for keeping quick breads soft, moist, springy, fluffy, with just the right balance of lightness and density. I’ve written extensively about buttermilk, most recently in this post. I prefer oil to butter in quick breads for keeping them moist and soft. And even though you’ll still be eating chocolate chips for breakfast, the strawberry muffins aren’t overly sweet. What they are is soft, tender, and moist with big chunks of strawberries in every bite. Who needed that strawberry cake anyway?
What’s in Strawberry Muffins?
To make these homemade chocolate chip muffins with strawberries, you’ll need:
Frozen Strawberries All-purpose flour Granulated sugar Baking powder Cinnamon Salt Egg Buttermilk Canola oil Greek yogurt (or sour cream) Vanilla extract Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
How to Make Strawberry Muffins
Place the berries in a bowl and toss with a couple tablespoons of flour. Then, whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and the dry in another. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until combined. Gently fold in the berries and chocolate chips. Fill regular sized muffin cups about 3/4 full, then bake until tops are domed, puffed, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs dangling but no batter.
Can I Use Fresh Strawberries Instead?
I’m sure you could use fresh, but fresh strawberries in January aren’t too practical.
How to Store Strawberry Muffins
These chocolate chip strawberry muffins will keep airtight for up to 5 days at room temperature. You can also store them in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Tips for Making Chocolate Chip Strawberry Muffins
I used half of a 16-ounce bag of frozen berries. Allow the berries to come up to room temp for about 10 minutes from the freezer, or just long enough that you can put a pile on your cutting board and chop them. Don’t let them thaw completely because by that point they’re watery and will water down the thick batter you’ve created. Toss the berries with 2 tablespoons of flour. That’s another trick that helps prevent sinking. I used mini chips because I like smaller chips in muffins, but if all you have is larger, I’m sure they’ll work.
More Strawberry Recipes:
ALL OF MY STRAWBERRY RECIPES! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Strawberries and Cream Coffee Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze – One of the best coffee cakes I’ve ever had or made. Use your favorite fresh, frozen, or seasonal fruit in this incredibly moist and soft cake batter
Strawberry Cream Cheese Shortbread Bars — A buttery shortbread crust topped with cream cheese filling, frosting, and strawberries!! EASY and perfect for spring and summer parties!!
Crustless Fresh Strawberry Pie — FAST, super EASY, no-mixer dessert that’s perfect for summer entertaining, picnics, or potlucks!! Somewhere in between pie, cake, and blondies is what you get with this FABULOUS recipe!
The Best Strawberry Banana Bread — This strawberry bread is packed with fresh, juicy strawberries in every bite! This is an easy, no-mixer quick bread recipe you’re going to love!
Strawberry Layer Cake with Strawberry Frosting — Soft, tender cake loaded with FRESH strawberries and a sweet strawberry frosting!! An EASY strawberry layer cake that’s perfect for parties! Strawberry fans will LOVE IT!!
Strawberry Lemonade Bars — Imagine crossing lemon bars with a strawberry pie. These easy bars taste like strawberry lemonade! Sooo good!
Strawberry Custard Bars — These easy, one bowl, no mixer custard bars are perfect for your fresh strawberries. There’s a shortbread crust, topped with diced strawberries, before a custard filling is poured over the the top.
