Homemade Basic Muffin Recipe (with 7 Variations)
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With more than a million page views and 175 comments, our soft and tender Homemade Basic Muffin Recipe is super easy and delicious! It’s one of the most popular recipes on my website for a reason and our family’s favorite way to jazz up any meal!
Our family’s favorite muffin recipe always makes our meal feel special. This Basic Muffin is soft and tender and can be flavored according to your tastes so everyone in your family thinks so too. You may want to double it so there are a few left for breakfast tomorrow.
My family has always loved muffins and any time that I thought that I just needed to add something special to a simple meal it always came down to this Basic Muffin Recipe.
The photos featured here are my Lemon Poppy Seed version.
Even after working all day, if I had some soup on the stove I could whip up this Basic Muffin in a jiffy. They took the soup to a whole new level.
These muffins are so versatile. You don’t have to do a thing to them but here are a few variations that I make to these homemade muffins that make people think my recipe box is just full of muffin recipes:
Basic muffin ingredients
The thing we love about this recipe is the uncomplicated ingredients that you probably already have. If you need substitutions, see our “Basic Baking” article for help with techniques, ingredients, and supplies.
- Egg. Grade A large is what we recommend
- Milk. Any variety will do
- Vegetable oil. Or any neutral flavor oil
- Vanilla extract
- Sugar. White granulated sugar. Substitutions work well in the recipe as well.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
How to make muffins from scratch
- Preheat the oven and line a muffin pan with muffin papers or grease the pan well.
- Combine Egg, Milk, and vegetable oil in a small bowl.
- In a separate bowl combine baking powder, flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Blend only until combined.
- Spoon batter into each muffin paper until 2/3 full and bake.
Tips for the perfect baked muffin
- I mix the wet ingredients together separately from the dry ingredients before combining them. This assures that our ingredients are well mixed which will prevent over-mixing if they’re all combined together. Over-mixed muffins can be tough or rubbery.
- Baking powder can lose its potency. Replace it every 6 months or test it by putting 1/4 cup of boiling water into a bowl and adding about 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder. If it bubbles, it’s still good.
- Turn the muffin pan in the oven halfway through baking. Even the best ovens can heat inconsistently. Turning them will ensure even baking.
- If you feel your batter is to thick to scoop, add a little extra milk. See the video to see how thick my batter is.
- This muffin can be served warm. We remove them from the muffin tin after removing them from the oven and let them cool on a baking rack.
“Made muffins with my 3 year old after finding this recipe and can I just say WOW! Easy to follow, delishious, and even my picky little one ate 2! We made snickerdoodle muffins and they were divine! Thank you for sharing this.”
Brittany
Basic muffin variations
- Lemon Poppy Seed – Exchange vanilla extract for 1 teaspoon of lemon extract and add 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds.
- Snickerdoodle – Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top before baking.
- Lemon Blueberry – Exchange vanilla extract for 1 teaspoon of lemon extract and add 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries.
- Almond – Exchange vanilla extract for 1 teaspoon of almond extract and top with shaved almonds.
- Morning Glory – Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 cup raisins, and 1/4 cup of walnuts. Sprinkle oats over the top if desired.
- Cinnamon Raisin – Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/3 cup raisins.
- Apple Pie – Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 cup chopped apples. Sprinkle top with turbinado sugar.
- Chocolate Chip – Add 1/2 cup chocolate chips
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As you can see, these homemade muffins have so many options and they bake up so quickly. It makes the perfect recipe to introduce baking to the kiddos too.
In no time at all, they can dig into their works of muffin art! My favorite is just a plain muffin, hot from the oven and drizzled with honey. I’m salivating just thinking about them!
Pin these yummy homemade muffins
Whew, We knew we loved a great muffin recipe! That’s not even all of them and my brain has a few more waiting to be created!
If you like this recipe, we would appreciate your comment and a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review!
Homemade Basic Muffin Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 egg beaten
- 1/2 cup milk any variety will do
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cup flour all-purpose
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Line a muffin pan with muffin papers or grease the pan well.
- Combine Egg, Milk and vegetable oil and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl combine baking powder, flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients. Blend only until combined.
- Spoon batter into each muffin paper until 2/3 full. Bake for 16-20 minutes.
- Store in an airtight bag or container.
Video
Notes
- We mix the wet ingredients together and the dry ingredients together before combining them. This assures that our ingredients are well mixed which will prevent over-mixing if they’re all combined together. Over-mixed muffins can be tough or rubbery.
- Baking powder can lose its potency. Replace it every 6 months or test it by putting 1/4 cup of boiling water into a bowl and add about 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder. If it bubbles, it’s still good.
- Turn the muffin pan in the oven half-way through baking. Even the best ovens can heat inconsistently. Turning them will assure even baking.
- This muffin can be served warm. We remove them from the muffin tin after removing them from the oven and let them cool on a baking rack.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
As amazing as these muffins are, here are some of our most popular!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Don’t forget to pin it for later and follow me on Pinterest for more delicious recipes like this one!
As you can see, there’s nothing basic about this basic muffin recipe. It’s just waiting to be reinvented in your kitchen!
These quick and easy muffins also make a yummy breakfast treat the next morning, Just store them in an airtight bag or container if you have any leftovers!
Can you think of a couple of homemade muffin varieties that you would put on your table? I’d love it if you shared it in the comments below!
This was great! Moist, perfect subtle sweetness. I added more milk to thin out the batter
Thank you so much Sarah!
I just love your chocochips muffins recipe alot and hav made it many times …
Just wanted to know what can we add to make this recipe eggless ??
I haven’t made these without eggs, but the sub would be to make a flax egg (1 T flax mixed with 2 T water left to sit for 5 minutes). If you try it, please let me know how it came out. Thank you!
Just wondering if any of these can be frozen? I’d like to have some ready for pop in visitors.
What a great question! Yes, Gee, they freeze great. After they are completely cool just place them in a freezer safe container or bag. They thaw at room temperature very quickly and can be warmed in the microwave.