Strawberry Muffins

Did someone say “strawberry muffins!”? That’s a call to the breakfast table if I ever heard one. These bakery-style vegan strawberry muffins are a shoo-in for family favourite this summer. Done in just 35 minutes, they strike the perfect balance between fluffy and dense. They’re packed with juicy strawberries (no skimping here), and the demerara sugar on top adds a light, irresistible crunch I’m obsessed with.

Serve ’em up with a steaming mug of Dalgona Coffee or my creamy Iced Matcha Latte, and I can almost guarantee you’ll be coming back for seconds.

What Makes These Strawberry Muffins Worth Baking?

I am SO excited for you to try these bakery-style muffins. Here’s why:

• BIG strawberry flavour. I didn’t go easy on the strawberries, here. These muffins are loaded with juicy fruit and topped with it, too. They’re the perfect way to kick off strawberry season.
• Perfectly distributed fruit. Too often, fresh fruit (and other muffin-batter mix-ins) sink to the bottom of the muffin cups in the oven. Not these. I tossed the berries in flour, which helps suspend them in the batter. That means there’s juicy fruit in every bite.
• Quick to make. These muffins come together in 35 minutes (with just 15 minutes of prep), making them ideal for busy mornings. Who says you can’t have the breakfast of your dreams on a Monday?

Notes on Ingredients

Time to get out your mixing bowls and ingredients! Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe (see the recipe card below for precise measurements):

• Soy milk – I’ve tried other vegan milks, and soy milk wins it for me. It curdles really nicely with the lemon juice to make a vegan buttermilk. If you prefer a soy-free muffin, my Banana Oatmeal Muffins are amazing.
• Lemon juice – Definitely stick with fresh-squeezed lemon juice if you can. Bottled lemon juice is too acidic.
• Strawberries – These are the star of the show, so make sure you pick ripe, juicy berries. I like the smaller ones, as they’re often sweeter. If you’d like to use raspberries, blueberries, or chopped blackberries instead, you can.
• All-purpose flour – You’ll use it in the batter and to coat the strawberries. This will help keep the fruit suspended in the batter rather than sinking. Gluten-free? A 1:1 gluten-free flour would also do the trick.
• Melted vegan butter – I often use oil (like olive oil or coconut oil) in my muffins, but I wanted a richer butter-like flavour for these. Vegan butter does the trick. You can use a store-bought product or my Homemade Vegan Butter.
• Light brown sugar – I went with brown sugar rather than white. Its light molasses flavour adds a nice depth to these muffins.
• Vanilla extract – To deepen the flavour profile.
• Baking powder – For the perfect rise.
• Sea salt – If you don’t have it, table salt will do.
• Lemon zest – You don’t want to skip this. Fresh lemon zest gives a pop of flavour that really takes these muffins over the top.
• Demerara sugar – This coarse sugar gives the muffin tops a crisp, bakery-style finish and adds subtle crunch. Raw turbinado sugar would be a fine substitute.

How to Make These Strawberry Muffins

You might need a few bowls here, but this recipe is pretty straightforward. Here’s how it’s done. For more detailed instructions, scroll to the recipe card below.

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

• Make the vegan “buttermilk”. Mix together the soy milk and lemon juice, then let it stand for 5-10 minutes to curdle.
• Prep the strawberries. Place 1 1/2 cups of the chopped strawberries in a bowl and toss with a little flour.

• Combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together the vegan butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Whisk in the vegan buttermilk.
• Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.

• Assemble. Fill each muffin cup to ~3/4 full and scatter the reserved strawberries over the tops. Sprinkle each muffin with demerara sugar.
• Bake. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Cool. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack.

Tips for Perfect Muffin Tops

For me, the muffin top is the best part. I love how it browns up a bit more than the rest of the muffin, giving it an almost caramelized flavour. Here’s how to get them right:

• Don’t overmix. When combining the wet and dry ingredients, only mix until you can’t see any more dry flour. Overmixing will overdevelop the gluten in the flour, resulting in tough, peaked muffin tops, rather than the fluffy, round ones you crave.
• Rest the batter. If you have a little extra time, let the batter rest for 5-10 minutes before baking. This allows the flour to hydrate and swell, resulting in sturdier, taller muffin tops.
• Don’t skip the sugar topping. One of my favourite things about these muffins is the crunch from the demerara sugar topping. So don’t skip it!
• Be patient. Before transferring the muffins to a cooling rack, let them rest for ~5 minutes. They’ll hold their shape better.
• For bigger muffin tops. If you want a more prominent, bakery-style muffin top, you can fill the muffin cups almost to the top. Just keep in mind they might take a tiny bit longer to bake.

Ways to Make These Your Own

If you’re in the mood to get a little creative, have a look at some of these fun twists on the original recipe:

• Swap out the strawberries. If strawberries aren’t your thing, fresh blueberries, raspberries, or chopped blackberries would work well. I do have a wonderful Blueberry Muffin Recipe if you want to check that out.
• Add some nuts. Sometimes I’ll add slivered almonds or walnuts to these bad boys. Poppyseeds or shelled sunflower seeds would be fun, too.
• Cream cheese filling. Want to get fancy? Mix together some Vegan Cream Cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Make a divot in each unbaked muffin, and fill it with the cream cheese mixture. Just like I did in my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins. They’re heaven.

More Vegan Muffin Recipes

In a muffin kind of mood? I’ve got a few more recipes I think you’ll love. Check them out:

• Morning Glory Muffins
• Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
• Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
• Vegan Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
• Apple Streusel Muffins