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These wholesome Strawberry Muffins are packed with fresh strawberries, whole wheat, chia seeds, and lemon. Hearty, filling and bursting with flavor! Ready in under 35 minutes!
These super soft strawberry muffins are complete with healthy chia seeds and whole wheat for the perfect nutritious breakfast on the run. The fresh zing from the lemon is reminiscent of my strawberry scones, and makes them totally unforgettable! I developed them one lazy Sunday morning many years ago, and since then have always had a batch stashed in the freezer! So I know for a fact that they’re delicious fresh-baked or reheated.
This easy muffin recipe can come together with just a bowl and a whisk, and you could rotate between them, my Peanut Butter Muffins, these apple spice energy bites, and my healthy pumpkin muffins all year long!
Why this is the best strawberry muffin recipe:
- A simple muffin recipe made in under 35 minutes. Combine the ingredients for the filling, then whisk the muffin batter together in one bowl.
- They are actually healthy and delicious. Tender and packed with filling fiber, fruits, and protein. Without compromising on flavor!
- Make ahead. These muffins are perfect for making and freezing ahead! I keep them in a baggie in the freezer for easy breakfasts or snacks on the go!
Professional tips for muffin recipes:
- Uses oil, not butter, for an extra moist muffin. The recipe calls for vegetable oil but you could also use melted coconut oil! Plus it is a healthy fat and that sounds like a win-win to me!
- Don’t overfill the muffin tins. Only fill the tins or liners ¾ full or they will overflow during baking. It isn’t catastrophic but they will be less pretty than those properly filled.
- Buttermilk is the secret ingredient! Buttermilk has just enough fat to add richness and moisture even after baking.
Ingredients
- Whole Wheat Flour: I prefer either King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Flour. Every brand has a slightly different texture depending on their grinding process. Both of these companies take care to control the temperature of the flour during grinding, which preserves the natural flavors, antioxidants and vitamins that are destroyed at warmer temperatures.
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Baking Powder: Double acting baking powder will react instantly when it is mixed with an acid and then again when it is heated. Because it is double acting, it has a slower, more stable rise than baking soda alone.
- Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt
- Strawberries: It’s best to choose fragrant, red, in-season strawberries. Out of season strawberries will have less flavor and more water. If strawberries aren’t in season try freeze-dried strawberries instead!
- Eggs: Whole eggs allow you to emulsify all that oil into the batter, resulting in moist, not greasy, muffins.
- Low Fat Buttermilk: I generally bake with low fat buttermilk rather than full fat. It provides just enough fat to keep quick breads moist. The acidity also reacts with the baking soda for a nice, tall muffin.
- Vegetable Oil: Vegetable Oil makes these muffins exceptionally moist. It emulsifies into the sugar and eggs to make the batter more moist than unsalted butter could. You could also use melted coconut oil for added health benefits!
- Lemon: Be sure to zest only the bright yellow parts of the lemon peel for the most concentrated flavor in your lemon zest and to avoid the bitter white pith. My motto for citrus juices is that fresh is always best!
- Chia Seeds: Chia seeds add fiber and texture to the strawberry muffins. They also have an array of other nutrients like Omega-3’s, iron and calcium! Read more about chia seed benefits here!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations on healthy strawberry muffins:
- Substitute the berries. Leave blackberries or blueberries whole! Or if they are frozen, keep them frozen so that they don’t bleed into the cupcakes and make them blue and mushy.
- Bake in loaf pans. This same recipe will yield two loaves of strawberry bread. Use my old fashioned banana bread as inspiration!
- Add some mix-ins! Almonds, chocolate chips and oats are all amazing options! Toasted walnuts like I use in my carrot cake roll would be delightful. Or pack in the chocolate like I do in these banana chocolate chip muffins!
- Experiment with flavors. Add some cinnamon, cardamom and allspice and/or the dry mix. You could also add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or swap out the lemon for orange, which you know from my easy strawberry jam recipe pairs wonderfully with strawberries!
How to Make Strawberry Muffins
Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F and spray 12 muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray or line with cupcake liners.
You can use parchment paper liners aka tulip liners like I do in these photos, for my jumbo blueberry muffins, and peach streusel muffins. This will allow you to fill each muffin a little higher without stress that they will spread together.
Step 2: Slice strawberries.
Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and chia seeds. Stir with a whisk or fork until the chia seeds are evenly distributed. Set aside.
Step 4: Mix together sugar, lemon peel and lemon juice. Stir in the oil, eggs and buttermilk until just combined.
Step 5: Add buttermilk mixture to the dry mixture and stir gently until just combined and a few lumps remain.
The biggest mistake people make when mixing muffins is over mixing. Over mixing leads to too much gluten development, which can make muffins tough. I always fold in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula.
Step 6: Add the strawberries and gently fold into the batter. Two or three folds should do it!
Step 7: Pour or scoop into prepared tins. Fill the cups all the way to the top to ensure you get nice tall muffins.
I like to use a large cookie scoop or ice-cream scoop to evenly portion my muffin batter!
Step 8: Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few clinging crumbs or they spring back lightly to the touch.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
The biggest mistake people make when mixing muffins is over mixing. Over mixing leads to too much gluten development, which can make muffins tough. I always fold in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula.
Frequently Asked Questions
Store strawberry muffins at room temperature for 3 days or frozen for longer storage. They can be frozen for up to 2 months in a zip top freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature. The refrigerator will dry out the muffins faster.
Fruit muffins are as healthy as the ingredients you use! Fresh strawberries have many vitamins and antioxidants. The whole wheat flour, chia seeds, and healthy fats from the oil are also quite useful for balanced nutrition!
You can make muffins with frozen strawberries, but be sure not to thaw them before putting them in the batter or they will make it overly wet. It’s tricky to use frozen strawberries if they are not pre-sliced, since they will be quite large. I would opt for freeze-dried strawberries for muffins instead!
Absolutely! These muffins freeze beautifully. I keep a batch in the freezer so that I can thaw and eat them as desired.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Strawberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour for batter
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour for strawberries
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups strawberries chopped and tossed in 2 teaspoons flour
- 1 egg slightly beaten
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel 1 extra large lemon
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and spray 12 muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray or line with cupcake liners.
- Slice strawberries.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and chia seeds. Stir with a whisk or fork until the chia seeds are evenly distributed. Set aside.
- Mix together sugar, lemon peel and lemon juice. Stir in the oil, eggs and buttermilk until just combined.
- Add buttermilk mixture to the dry mixture and stir gently until just combined and a few lumps remain.
- Add the strawberries and gently fold into the batter. Two or three folds should do it!
- Pour or scoop into prepared tins. Fill the cups all the way to the top to ensure you get nice tall muffins.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few clinging crumbs or they spring back lightly to the touch.
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed muffin recipes!
I actually made there muffins and they were a delish base for a couple of minor tweaks I made. I added some cinnamon, cardamon and all spice to the dry mix. I only used whole wheat cake flour and added toasted walnuts to the strawberries and I doubled the amount cause I like chunky, fruit muffins. I used orange instead of lemon and 1/4 light brown sugar and a scant 1/4 of white cane. everything came out wonderfully.
So glad you enjoyed! ❤️
These muffins look good & healthy! Just wondered if I could substitute blackberries or blueberries for the strawberries. I have those on hand. Thanks!
Hi Janet! I don’t see why not! Just leave them whole or if they are frozen keep them frozen so that they don’t bleed into the cupcakes and make them blue and mushy. Happy baking!!