These Raspberry Muffins are a breakfast and brunch delight! With a tender crumb, juicy berries, and a buttery, crunchy streusel topping, they're easy to make with surprisingly better-for-you ingredients. Make them year-round with frozen or fresh raspberries!
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Table of Contents
If you've been around toddlers for any extended period of time, you may realize that they love muffins. My little dude is no exception. So, naturally, I've been on a never-ending muffin excursion.
Some weeks, I'm developing 2 or 3 recipes at once. Though I'm a fan of keeping all foods neutral and allowing him to eat sugar, I won't miss an opportunity to expose him to nutritious ingredients where I can, incorporating healthy fats, fruits, fiber, and lean protein into recipes as much as possible.
This raspberry muffin recipe, like many of my other muffin recipes, was such a recipe. My goal: to create a tender-crumbed, sweet, and buttery muffin that was rich in healthy fats, whole grains, and fruit.
After a few recipe iterations, I landed on the recipe I'm sharing today. Each handheld breakfast treat has 4 grams of fiber, whole grains, healthy fats, juicy berries, and a moderate dose (4g) of protein. Not bad for a breakfast "treat!"
Best of all, the dude inhales the muffins (or "muppins," as he calls them!), requesting them as soon as he gets up in the morning or comes home from daycare.
Though these healthy raspberry muffins are toddler-approved, the buck doesn't stop there. My grown-up running friends and family love them, too. They're fabulous with a Mocha Protein Coffee or Peach Smoothie after a long run for a tasty and nutritious pick-me-up.
Do you rave about raspberries? Me too! 🙋🏼♀️ Check out my Raspberry Coffee Cake, Raspberry Smoothie, and Raspberry Cobbler Recipes
Ingredients and Substitutions
Enough of my rambling — let's dive in, shall we? Here's what you need to grab:
Flour - For whole grains and fiber, use whole wheat pastry flour. Otherwise, all-purpose flour works!
Oil - I like using avocado oil when I have it on hand because it's full of good-for-you fats (source) and a light, neutral flavor. However, you can also use melted coconut oil or room temperature vegetable or canola oil.
Eggs - Two large eggs bind the batter, helping it rise.
Sugar - Just a moderate amount sweetens the deal! Use white sugar or swap cane or coconut sugar for a processed sugar-free treat.
Lemon Zest - This adds light citrus notes, a dreamy complement to the tart-sweet berries! Use fresh zest for the best flavor. You will need the zest of a whole lemon, or about 2 ½ teaspoons.
Greek Yogurt - Adds moisture, makes the crumb extra tender, and adds healthy protein. You can use plain or vanilla yogurt of any fat percentage.
Milk - For a touch of moisture! I recommend whole or 2% milk.
Vanilla Extract - For an indulgence and warmth! Use pure extract if possible for the best flavor.
Baking Soda, Baking Powder, and Salt - To leaven the raspberry muffins and season them lightly, enhancing their sweetness.
Streusel - For this, you will need more flour, sugar, a pinch of salt, and 7 teaspoons of softened butter. I recommend unsalted butter, but salted can work in a pinch, just omit the extra salt.
How to Make Raspberry Muffins
For the complete recipe and measurements, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F and move the baking rack to the center of the oven. Line 2 muffin tins with 12 muffin liners, adding the paper liners to every other cup.
Step 2: Whisk the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, yogurt, and milk in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step 3: In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined.
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
Step 5: Add the raspberries and 1 tablespoon of flour to a small bowl. Gently toss until the berries are covered in the flour.
Step 6: Add the berries to the muffin batter and gently fold in until the berries are distributed throughout.
Step 7: Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, adding a heaping ⅓ cup to each cup.
Step 8: Prepare the streusel: Add the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt to a small mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Add the softened butter and work it in with a fork or your fingers until the mixture resembles pebbles.
Step 9: Spoon 2 teaspoons of the streusel mixture onto each muffin. Bake the muffins at 400°F for 5 minutes. Decrease the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for 18-22 minutes more until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.
Step 10: Cool the muffin trays on wire cooling racks for 5-10 minutes or until cool enough to touch. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool directly on the wire rack until your desired temperature.
Recipe Pro-Tips
- Measure the flour accurately. Over-measuring the flour can make the muffins heavy and dry. I recommend weighing the flour with a food scale if possible; otherwise, fluff it with a fork before scooping it into measuring cups and leveling off the top.
- Don't overmix. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined and a few streaks of flour remain. Overworking the flour will develop its gluten, making the muffins tough and dense.
Recipe Variations
- Chocolate or White Chocolate Raspberry: For an indulgent twist, omit the lemon zest and stir ⅔ cup of mini chocolate chips or white chocolate chips into the batter with the floured raspberries.
- Mixed Berry: Swap blueberries, blackberries, chopped strawberries, or a mix of all three for all or part of the raspberries for tasty mixed berry muffins.
- Protein Muffins: Up the protein content by reducing the flour by ¼ cup and adding ½ cup of vanilla or unflavored protein powder.
- Gluten-Free: Swap your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour for the whole wheat pastry flour and follow the recipe directions as listed. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes before baking.
High-Altitude Baking Instructions
For fluffy and well-risen muffins at 3000 feet and higher, make these adjustments:
- Increase the flour to 2 cups (or 250g).
- Decrease the sugar to ⅔ cup.
- Reduce the leavening agents to ½ teaspoon each of baking soda and baking powder.
- Increase the baking temperature. Start the muffins at 400°F as directed, then lower the temperature to 365°F (not 350°F).
Storage Directions
- Refrigerating: Leftovers keep covered in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Once cooled to room temperature, you can freeze the muffins in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Defrost them at room temperature for 30-60 minutes until thawed.
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Tools Needed to Make This Recipe
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
- Peach Muffins
- Rhubarb Muffins
- Zucchini Carrot Muffins
- Blackberry Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Banana Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
Recipe Card
Raspberry Muffins
Ingredients
Raspberry Muffins
- ½ cup avocado or vegetable oil
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs brought to room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Zest from 1 large lemon approximately 2 ½ teaspoons
- ½ cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup milk preferably whole or 2%
- 1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour + 1 tablespoon for preparing the berries
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (8 oz) fresh or frozen raspberries
Streusel Topping
- ⅓ cup (40g) all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- Large pinch salt
- 7 teaspoons butter softened to room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and move the baking rack to the center of the oven. Line 2 cupcake pans with 12 cupcake liners, adding the liners to every other cup.
- Whisk the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, yogurt, and milk in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Add the raspberries and 1 tablespoon of flour to a small bowl. Gently toss until the berries are covered in the flour.
- Add the berries to the muffin batter and gently fold in until the berries are distributed throughout.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, adding a heaping ⅓ cup to each cup.
- Prepare the streusel: Add the flour, sugar, and a pinch of salt to a small mixing bowl. Whisk until combined. Add the softened butter and work it in with a fork or your fingers until the mixture resembles pebbles
- Spoon 2 teaspoons of the streusel mixture onto each muffin. Bake the muffins at 400°F for 5 minutes. Decrease the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake for 18-22 minutes more until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean.
- Cool the muffin trays on wire cooling racks for 5-10 minutes or until cool enough to touch. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool directly on the wire rack until your desired temperature.
Notes
- Refrigerating: Leftovers keep covered in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Once cooled to room temperature, you can freeze the muffins in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Defrost them at room temperature for 30-60 minutes until thawed.
- Increase the flour to 2 cups (or 250g).
- Decrease the sugar to ⅔ cup.
- Reduce the leavening agents to ½ teaspoon each of baking soda and baking powder.
- Increase the baking temperature. Start the muffins at 400°F as directed, then lower the temperature to 365°F (not 350°F).
- Measure the flour accurately. Over-measuring the flour can make the muffins heavy and dry. I recommend weighing the flour with a food scale if possible; otherwise, fluff it with a fork before scooping it into measuring cups and leveling off the top.
- Don't overmix. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined and a few streaks of flour remain. Overworking the flour will develop its gluten, making the muffins tough and dense.
