Homemade Basic Muffin Recipe – A Family Favorite

Homemade Basic Muffin Recipe has a soft and tender crumb and is so quick and easy to make. This easy muffin recipe has so many variations that it will quickly become your family favorite muffin too! 

Our family 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

1. Preheat the oven and line a muffin pan with muffin papers or grease the pan well.
2. Combine Egg, Milk, and salad oil in a small bowl.
3. 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.
4. Spoon batter into each muffin paper until 2/3 full and bake.

Tips for the perfect baked muffin

• 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 halfway 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.

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 teaspoon 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

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

More muffin recipes you may enjoy

• Sweet Magnolia Banana Chocolate Chip Espresso Muffins
• Rhubarb Oatmeal Muffins
• Mango Muffins
• Crystallized Ginger Muffins
• Lemon Pistachio Muffins
• Loaded Blueberry Muffins
• Harvest Muffins
• Gluten-Free Coconut 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!

When I’m not baking muffins, I’m baking bread. Here are a few of our most popular bread recipes.

• Overnight Sourdough Bread
• Italian Bread Recipe
• Medianoche Bread
• Strawberry Rhubarb Bread

You may need

• 12 cup Muffin Pan – I love these muffin pans and have three of them so I can get them all filled and baked at once. They’re great for egg cups too!
• Baking racks – I love these racks because nothing will slip through the grid and they fit inside my jelly roll pan so I don’t need to flip what I’m baking on them.
• Muffin cup liners – Not all muffin cup liners are created equal. We learned that the hard way. Choose a grease-proof, non-stick liner.

Our most popular recipes

• Chocolate Trifle
• Fruit Cocktail Salad
• Pear Pie Filling
• Swedish Apple Pie
• Peach Sauce

If you like this recipe, we would appreciate your comment and a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review!

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4.89 from 34 votes

Homemade Basic Muffin Recipe

A great Homemade Basic Muffin Recipe makes any meal special.  This recipe is quick and easy and you can flavor them any way you want.

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 16 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 8 muffins

Author Julie Menghini

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

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 salad oil.
• 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

Tips:

• 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

Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 179mg | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 55IU | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 1.3mg

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.

Tried this recipe? That’s awesome!Mention @hostessatheart or tag #hostessatheart!

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 leftover!

Can you think of a couple of homemade muffins varieties that you would put on your table? I’d love it if you shared it in the comments below!