Fresh from the Kitchen: Recipes & Food Inspiration

Key takeaways

Add extra flour for structure to support abundant blueberries and prevent gummy muffin centers.
Use frozen blueberries year-round; they’re picked at peak ripeness, sweeter, and less likely to break during mixing.
Toss blueberries with flour before folding in to keep them suspended and prevent sinking.
Cool melted butter before adding so it will not partially cook the eggs or harm batter texture.
Use an instant-read thermometer; muffins should register about 200°F for reliably baked centers.

My blueberry banana muffins combine sweet mashed bananas with bursts of juicy blueberries for a fruity muffin with a tender, buttery crumb. Sour cream is my go-to ingredient to keep the muffins moist. I bake these muffins with a quick blast of high heat before finishing at a lower temperature, which creates tall domed tops with the perfect texture.

The Story Behind These Muffins

This blueberry banana muffin recipe started with a smoothie. One day I blended bananas and fresh blueberries because that’s what I had on hand. I was so surprised with how good it tasted, that I knew I had to make a muffin.

I built this recipe from my base recipe for banana muffins with sour cream, then adjusted it to handle the extra fruit.

If you enjoy fruit forward muffins like my lemon blueberry muffins or heartier options like whole wheat blueberry muffins, this one fits right in between. It has the comfort of banana muffins with the fruity sweetness of blueberries.

My Recipe Development Notes

Adding more flour for structure. Because I was trying to pack in as many blueberries as possible, I added more flour than my base base banana muffin recipe to support the weight and the fruit and to keep the center of the muffins from becoming gummy.
Start with high heat in the oven. Usually I start my muffin recipes at 400°F, then reduce the temperature to 350°F to finish baking. But to ensure my muffins overcame the weight of the fruit and ended up with a nice dome, I started at 425°F and then finished at 350°F.

A blueberry banana muffin on a wire rack surrounded by other muffins

Fresh or Frozen Blueberries, Which Should You Use?

I tested these blueberry banana muffins with both fresh and frozen blueberries, and the muffins tasted great with both.

When blueberries are in season, ripe, and sweet, fresh berries are wonderful. But here’s the important part. Out of season fresh blueberries can taste bland and watery. When that happens, they dilute flavor instead of adding it.

That’s why I recommend frozen blueberries for this recipe. Frozen berries are picked at peak ripeness, which means they’re typically sweet, which means you can make these muffins any time of the year. Plus they’re less likely to break when mixing the batter.

Blueberry Banana Muffins Ingredients

Blueberry banana muffin ingredients - all-purpose flour, bananas, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, kosher salt, blueberries, vanilla extract, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, sour cream, baking soda, large eggs

Blueberries: For this recipe you can use fresh or frozen blueberries. I prefer frozen blueberries because they are typically sweet. I recommend only using fresh blueberries when they are in season. They are more likely to be sweet. Out of season blueberries tend to be taste bland and watery (and more expensive).
Ground Cardamom: I love using cardamom in this recipe. The citrusy floral vibe of this spice goes really well with the sweetness of the blueberries and banana.

Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to Make Blueberry and Banana Muffins

Step 1: Place the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Set the dry ingredients to the side.

Step 2: Place the granulated sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom in a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Sugar spice mixture with 2 large eggs in a large mixing bowl

Step 3: Add the eggs and whisk until the batter is lighter in color and smooth.

Mashed bananas in a medium sized mixing bowl

Step 4: Mash the bananas with a fork, then whisk them by hand to make them smoother.

Smashed bananas added to the muffin batter

Step 5: Whisk in the pureed bananas, melted butter, and sour cream. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes

The flour mixture added to the banana muffin batter

Step 6: Add half the flour and fold it in with a silicone spatula. Add the remaining flour.

The muffin batter in a large ceramic bowl, with the blueberries mixed in

Step 7: The batter is now ready to bake.

The muffin batter spooned into a 12 cup muffin tin. Three to four blueberries dot the top of each muffin

Step 8: Divide the batter between a 12-cup muffin pan lined with paper liners.

Twelve baked blueberry banana muffins in a 12-cup muffin tin

Step 9: Bake the muffins first at 425°F, then at 350°F for a total baking time of 20-22 minutes.

Step 10: Remove the muffins from the oven, let them cool in the muffin tin, then move them to the

A single blueberry banana muffin on a small plate with the muffin wrapper removed. More muffins are in the background with a small bowl of blueberries

Tips for Successfully Making These Muffins

Cool the butter before adding it. If it is too hot, it can partially cook the eggs and affect texture.
Let the batter rest briefly after adding sour cream. This gives more time for the sugar to dissolve and make the muffins more moist, since sugar adds moisture.
Use an instant read thermometer if unsure. These muffins are done around 200°F internally. That takes the guesswork out of baking time.
Do not skip the temperature shift. That initial high heat is key for getting tall bakery style tops, especially with the added weight of blueberries.

A blueberry banana muffin cut in half on a small plate. There are purplish blue blueberries in each half

If you make these fruity banana muffins please leave a rating and a comment below.

Connect with me on Instagram and tag me @bakesbybrownsugar to share your recipe remake photos.

Like what you see? Click here to subscribe to Bake’s by Brown Sugar Baking Newsletter to get free and delicious treats delivered to your inbox.

Want to Save This Recipe?

Enter your email below and I’ll send it to your inbox. Plus get new and recommended recipes sent to you every week!

By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Bakes by Brown Sugar.