These Blueberry Orange Muffins bake up soft and tender with juicy blueberries and zesty orange flavor. They come together in just one bowl and are ready to eat in under 30 minutes! Use fresh or frozen blueberries.
Quick Look: Blueberry Orange Muffins
- ⏲️Ready in: 30 minutes
- 👪Yield: 12 muffins
- 🥘Key Ingredients: Flour, sugar, blueberries, navel orange
- 🍳Method: Oven
- ⭐Difficulty: Easy
- 👩🍳Texture/Flavor: Soft and tender with juicy blueberries and bright citrus flavor from fresh orange juice and zest.
- ☀️Best For: Breakfast, brunch, meal prep, lunchboxes, afternoon snacks
- ✅Why You'll Love Them: This one-bowl recipe comes together quickly, freezes beautifully, and makes an easy homemade breakfast throughout the week.
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If you love baking with fresh blueberries, be sure to try my buttery Old Fashioned Blueberry Pound Cake with its tender crumb and crackly sugar top.
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If you love blueberry muffins, be sure to also try my Blueberry Chocolate Chip Muffins. They're packed with juicy blueberries and melty chocolate chips for another easy breakfast treat.
Why You'll Love Them
Blueberry Orange Muffins are easy to make. No need to separate the dry ingredients from the wet ingredients - one bowl is all you need!
If you love blueberries with a hint of orange flavor, these muffins are for you! There is no need to add orange extract to these babies as they have just the right amount of orange flavor.
You can use fresh or frozen blueberries, but fresh is always better in my opinion. I can't wait for our blueberry bush to start putting out those juicy little blueberries this summer.
One large navel orange is all you need for the juice and zest for this recipe.
You'll want to eat these muffins on repeat during the summer! If you're into that bright blueberry flavor, you'll want to bookmark my Blueberry Cookies Made With Oats. They've got a cozy oat texture and just the right sweetness.
Key Ingredients
Blueberries - For fresh blueberries, be sure they're firm and not overripe. You can also use frozen blueberries if fresh are not available.
Navel orange - One large navel orange should give you enough juice and zest for this recipe. Make sure the orange is fresh, with a bright orange peel and not too mushy.
Milk - As a general rule, whole milk works best for baking. But feel free to use your milk of choice. Almond milk works fine. Evaporated will work, too.
Melted butter - butter adds rich flavor, a tender crumb, and better browning. Which is why I prefer butter over oil for these muffins.
All-purpose flour - use your favorite brand of flour but do not use self-rising flour. It won't work the same as all-purpose flour for this recipe.
Not only does orange go great with blueberries, it's also fantastic with chocolate! If you have not tried my Chocolate Cake with Orange Zest yet, you're missing out on a highly decadent cake experience!
How to Make Blueberry Orange Muffins
Photo 1: Whisk together the butter, milk, orange juice, orange zest, and egg.
Photo 2: Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk some more.
Photo 3: Gently fold in the blueberries.
Photo 4: Evenly distribute the batter into regular size muffin cups. Bake for about 15 minutes at 400F.
For another quick and cozy muffin option, try these Applesauce Cinnamon Muffins with Bisquick. Ready in 15 minutes!
Best Way to Juice an Orange
- Roll the orange firmly on the countertop before cutting.
- Quarter the orange and squeeze each section over a bowl.
- Press the pulp through a mesh strainer to get every last drop of juice.
If you love blueberry baked goods, my buttery Blueberry Lemon Loaf Cake is another cozy favorite with bright lemon flavor and a tender crumb.
Anne's Recipe Tips
- Enjoy these as mini blueberry orange muffins! Mostly fill each mini muffin cup with batter and bake at 375F for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the peel from the orange with a citrus zester. A good zester will remove all the orange part and none of the bitter white layer.
- If you don't have a zester specifically designed for this, you can use a grater with small holes, or a paring knife. Scrape them on the peel of the orange. You essentially want to gather small bits of the orange peel.
- When measuring flour, spoon the flour into the measuring cup until it's slightly higher than the cup. Then use the back of a butter knife to level it off.
How to Keep Them Fresh
Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
To refresh a muffin, wrap it in a damp paper towel and microwave for a few seconds to restore moisture.
For longer storage, freeze the muffins for up to 2 months. Wrap them tightly and place them in a freezer-safe zip-top bag or container.
You might also enjoy my chewy Blueberry Muffin Mix Oatmeal Cookies made with muffin mix, oats, coconut, and pecans.
Blueberry Orange Muffins FAQs
For the brightest orange flavor, use both fresh orange juice and orange zest. Most of the orange oils are found in the zest, so don't skip it. You can also add a simple orange glaze after baking for an extra citrus boost.
Absolutely! These muffins stay moist for several days when stored in an airtight container. They're also freezer-friendly, making them a great make-ahead breakfast or snack.
Dense muffins are usually caused by overmixing the batter. Stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. A few small lumps are perfectly fine and will help keep the muffins tender.
No need to toss the blueberries in flour before adding them to the batter. The thick muffin batter helps keep the berries evenly distributed. Just be sure blueberries are dry with no condensation. Use a paper towel, or let them sit on the countertop to dry.
More Muffin Recipes to Consider
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Recipe
Blueberry Orange Muffins
Equipment
- mixing bowls set of 4 mixing bowls, perfect for prep, mixing, and serving
- citrus zester removes the zest without the bitter white part
- whisk comfortable grip and stainless steel wires
- measuring cup(s) magnetic handles keep cups together for storage
- measuring spoons round scoops fit neatly in seasoning jars and other small containers
- standard size non-stick muffin pan durable, dent resistant, and dishwasher friendly
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1 large ripe navel orange should give you enough juice and zest for this recipe
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1 large egg
- 1-½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup organic blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Instructions
- If you're using frozen blueberries, go ahead and take them out of the freezer and set them aside for now. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray standard-size muffin pan cups or paper liners with non-stick spray.
- Add the butter, milk, orange juice, orange zest, and egg to a large mixing bowl. Blend with a whisk just until smooth (about 30 seconds).
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend with a whisk just until smooth (about 30 seconds).
- Add the blueberries and gently fold them into the batter with a baking/mixing spatula being careful not to overmix. You just want to evenly distribute the blueberries throughout the batter; it doesn't have to be perfect.
- Spoon the batter equally into the muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes. The tops of the muffins should spring back when touched or you can check for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center of a muffin. If there is no gooey batter stuck to the toothpick, the muffins are done. If the muffins are not yet done, bake for another 2 minutes and check again. Remove from oven.
- Place the muffin pan on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes to cool before removing the muffins. The muffins are best enjoyed when eaten while still warm. For leftover muffins, wrap individual muffin in a paper towel, microwave on high about 10 seconds, and enjoy!
Notes
- Zest the orange first, then cut it in half to squeeze out the juice.
- Rinse and dry fresh blueberries and the navel orange before using them.
- No need to toss the blueberries in flour before adding them to the batter. Just be sure to use a paper towel to dry any moisture or condensation on the blueberries before using them
- No need to thaw frozen blueberries - use them right out of the freezer!
- Use paper liners to keep the moisture in and to keep muffins from sticking.
- Be sure not to overbake the muffins! Always check for doneness 3-5 minutes before what the recipe call for.
- To fancy them up, after they have completely cooled off dust them with powdered sugar or course-ground sugar.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy to my readers. I'm not a nutritionist and I don't guarantee the accuracy of this data. The data may differ according to the brands I used versus the brands you use. To calculate the data yourself using your brands, try using an online nutrition calculator or app.
Anne Clark says
I made another batch of these muffins while updating the post and was reminded why I love this recipe so much. The fresh orange zest really makes the blueberry flavor pop, and the muffins bake up soft, tender, and moist every time.