Sourdough Strawberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Fluffy Sourdough Strawberry Muffins with an Oat Crumb Topping are the perfect way to celebrate spring and serve for breakfast or brunch!

The moist and tender muffins are made with fresh strawberries, bright lemon zest, tangy buttermilk and sourdough discard, and finished with a crunchy oat crumble.

These strawberry muffins come together quickly so you can make them on a whim, but there’s even an overnight option for convenience!

Be sure to follow my detailed instructions and tips below so they rise tall and you get domed bakery-style muffin tops.

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👍 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Uses fresh strawberries as another fruit option compared to the popular Sourdough Blueberry Yogurt Muffins. The strawberries become jammy in the oven!
• Buttermilk and sourdough discard keep the muffins moist and tangy.
• Domed bakery-style tops that rise tall.
• Not too sweet and lemon zest brightens them up.
• Slight crunch from oat crumb topping.
• Only need a couple of bowls, a whisk, and a muffin pan.

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🔍 Tips for Making Sourdough Strawberry Muffins

• Rest the batter at least an hour and up to overnight in the refrigerator for bakery-style tops.
• Keep the crumb topping cold after making it so it doesn’t melt.
• Bake at a high temperature (400ºF or 204ºC) so they rise tall.
• Fresh strawberries keep their bright red color better when baked rather than frozen strawberries.
• Don’t overmix the batter so the muffins will stay tender.
• Line your muffin pan with muffin tins/paper and grease them with oil to prevent sticking.

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🛠 Tools Needed

You only need a couple of mixing bowls and a few basic tools to make these muffins.

• Baking scale
  • Flour and sourdough starter can weigh differently from person to person, so weighing your ingredients is the best option! Measuring your ingredients by weight will make your baking more consistent and accurate.
• Muffin Pan
  • I love this USA Muffin Pan because it’s naturally non-stick and heavy-duty!
• Muffin Liners
  • For muffins that rise tall with crumb toppings like my Sourdough Apple Butter Muffins, I like these paper tulip muffin liners. They help prevent sticking, contain the crumb topping, and look nice when serving.
• Spatula and Whisk
  • If you have an electric hand mixer or stand mixer, you can also use them to mix the muffin batter.

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🛒 Ingredients Needed

See below for my ingredient recommendations and possible substitutions.

• All-purpose flour
  • You can substitute some or all of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour or a gluten-free flour like oat flour or almond flour.
• Salt
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda
  • Both leaveners help the muffins stay soft and rise tall in the oven.
• Lemon Zest
  • Like making homemade jams, such as Concord Grape Jam, lemon or citrus zest can brighten up fruit in baked goods so the flavor shines even more. I use orange zest in my Sourdough Cranberry Yogurt Muffins and that would work well here too.
• Unsalted butter, melted
  • You can substitute with coconut oil or another neutral oil.
• Buttermilk
  • I like the tanginess of buttermilk paired with strawberries, but you can substitute with whole milk, yogurt, or sour cream.
• Vanilla Extract
  • Substitute with almond extract.
• Light brown sugar
  • Brown sugar has molasses, which adds a little more richness to the muffins.
• Granulated sugar
  • Adds structure and sweetness to the muffins.
• Eggs:
  • Adds structure to help bind the ingredients together and helps the muffins rise tall.
• Sourdough Discard
  • If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, learn how to make one in a week following my how-to guide. See my top sourdough starter tips and other sourdough discard recipes.
• Strawberries
  • I recommend fresh strawberries for this recipe for the best bright red color, but you can use frozen as well.

Oat Crumb Topping

• Oats
  • Use old-fashioned rolled oats, not quick oats or steel-cut oats.
• Light brown sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Cold Unsalted Butter
  • Cut the butter into small cubes and keep it cold.

Variations

• Add ½ cup of slivered almonds to the batter and use ¼ tsp of almond extract instead of vanilla.
• Slice one banana and fold into the batter for sourdough strawberry banana muffins.
• Fold ½ cup of chocolate chips to the batter.
• Skip the crumb topping and sprinkle the tops with turbinado or raw sugar. You could also add a strawberry glaze or icing on top.
• Substitute the vanilla with orange blossom water or rose water for floral spring flavors.
• Add ¼ cup of dried lavender to the batter.
• For more intense strawberry flavor, roast them beforehand. You could also add a swirl of strawberry jam on top.
• Add ½ tsp of spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, or ginger to the crumb topping.

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🍓 How to Make Sourdough Strawberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Follow this detailed recipe guide as you make the best sourdough discard strawberry muffins.

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

1. Make the Crumb Topping

Combine the oats, flour, light brown sugar, and cold butter cubes in a small bowl.

Squeeze together with your hands until small clumps form.

Refrigerate until just before baking.

2. Mix the Dry Ingredients

Zest a lemon in a large mixing bowl with the granulated sugar and light brown sugar.

Massage the zest into the sugar with your hands to release the essential oils and fragrance the sugar. This will help enhance the strawberry flavor.

Then, whisk in the all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. Whisk the Wet Ingredients

In another medium bowl, whisk the two eggs, room temperature buttermilk, vanilla extract, and sourdough discard until incorporated.

Slowly whisk in the melted butter last.

4. Mix the Batter

Add the wet ingredients to the bowl of dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until only a few flour spots remain.

Toss in the chopped, fresh strawberries and fold gently.

Don’t overmix the batter so you’ll have tender and soft muffins.

5. Chill the Batter

For the best results, chill the batter for at least one hour and up to overnight.

Chilling the batter will help the flour and flavors hydrate, improve the flavor, and help the muffins rise tall in the oven. You can also bake them on your own schedule for convenience!

6. Bake

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (204ºC).

Line your muffin pan with paper liners or tins and spray with non-stick oil or grease.

Divide the cold muffin batter evenly among the 12 muffins. I like to use a large ice cream or cookie scoop.

Add a few chopped strawberries to the tops and sprinkle with the oat crumb topping. The chopped strawberries on top will poke through some when the muffins bake and get jammy!

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the streusel just starts to brown.

Cool on a wire rack before digging in!

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How to Store and Serve

You can store sourdough strawberry muffins at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or freeze them.

Before storing, always let your muffins cool down completely.

These can stay moist on the countertop for a few days, or you can refrigerate them for up to five days.

To freeze, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months in a freezer-safe bag. Thaw overnight and reheat in the oven or a toaster oven.

To serve slightly dried-out muffins, they’re excellent sliced in half and griddled with butter in a skillet!

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions:

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