Blueberry Muffins Lab272 recipes
← Blueberry Muffins Lab

What goes into blueberry muffins

The main ingredient list of all 272 recipes, with names merged so one choice counts once: unsalted and salted butter are butter, light and dark brown sugar are brown sugar, kosher and table salt are salt. Different flours stay apart. Frosting, glaze and other extras are counted on their own at the end.

In short

  • Most blueberry muffin recipes use butter (64%); 43% use oil, and 8% use both.
  • For sugar, 73% use white sugar alone, 10% brown sugar alone, and 8% white and brown sugar together.
  • For leavening, 64% use baking powder alone, 25% baking powder and baking soda together, and 4% baking soda alone.
  • For dairy, 41% use milk alone, 16% buttermilk alone, and 9% yogurt alone.
  • 22% add spice, 7% fruit and 4% nuts; 71% add none of these.

The main choices

Each block sorts every recipe into one group by a single decision. Amounts are the median among recipes in that group, scaled to 250 g of flour, the size of a typical batch. The recipe named under each group is the one in it closest to the typical batch on every ingredient.

Butter, oil or both

Each recipe counted once, by the fats in its main ingredient list.

  • Butter only

    median 109 g fat · closest to typical: Blueberry Muffins (thebakingexplorer.com)

    55%152 recipes

  • Oil only

    median 87 g fat · closest to typical: Easy Lemon Blueberry Muffins (pipingpotcurry.com)

    34%93 recipes

  • Butter and oil

    median 109 g fat · closest to typical: BEST Blueberry Muffins (butternutbakeryblog.com)

    8%24 recipes

  • Everything else

    1%3 recipes

Margarine and vegan butter count as butter (1 recipe). Oil includes coconut oil (3%) and olive oil (2%).

White, brown or a syrup

Each recipe counted once, by the sweeteners in its main ingredient list.

White sugar includes powdered sugar, in 3% of recipes. Coconut sugar counts as brown (1%). "With honey or maple syrup" means any liquid sweetener (honey, maple syrup and other syrup), with or without dry sugar. Coarse and cinnamon sugar are usually sprinkled on top, so they do not count here.

Baking soda, baking powder or both

Each recipe counted once, by what it relies on to rise.

  • Baking powder only

    median 10 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Blueberry Muffins (thebakingexplorer.com)

    64%175 recipes

  • Baking powder and baking soda

    median 11 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Lemon Blueberry Muffins (savingdessert.com)

    25%69 recipes

  • Baking soda only

    median 7 g baking soda and powder · closest to typical: Starbucks Blueberry Muffins Recipe (crazyforcrust.com)

    4%12 recipes

  • Everything else

    5%16 recipes

Sourdough starter includes discard, which many recipes add for flavor rather than lift.

Which dairy

Each recipe counted once, by the dairy in its main ingredient list. Butter is counted with the fats.

  • Milk only

    median 139 g dairy · closest to typical: Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins (livewellbakeoften.com)

    41%114 recipes

  • Buttermilk only

    median 163 g dairy · closest to typical: Easy Lemon Blueberry Muffins (pipingpotcurry.com)

    16%44 recipes

  • Yogurt only

    median 202 g dairy · closest to typical: Blueberry Muffins (tasteandtellblog.com)

    9%25 recipes

  • Sour cream only

    median 186 g dairy · closest to typical: Lemon Blueberry Muffins (savingdessert.com)

    8%22 recipes

  • Milk and yogurt

    median 200 g dairy · closest to typical: Blueberry Muffins (thebakingexplorer.com)

    7%21 recipes

  • Everything else

    16%46 recipes

Yogurt includes Greek yogurt (7%).

Whole eggs, yolks or whites

Each recipe counted once, by the parts of the egg it uses.

  • Whole eggs only

    median 89 g egg · closest to typical: Blueberry Muffins (thebakingexplorer.com)

    89%243 recipes

  • No egg

    closest to typical: Vegan Blueberry Muffins (acouplecooks.com)

    6%19 recipes

  • Everything else

    3%10 recipes

A large egg is about 50 g out of the shell, a yolk about 18 g, a white about 32 g.

Add-ins

Share of recipes that add at least one of each. A recipe can add several, so the shares do not sum to 100%. 71% add none of these.

  • Spice22%

    cinnamon 19% · nutmeg 5%

  • Fruit7%

    banana 4%

  • Nuts4%

    walnuts 1% · almonds 1%

How often each ingredient appears

Share of the 272 recipes that list it at least once, for every ingredient in 5% or more of them. The median amount is among recipes that use it and give a weighable amount, scaled to 250 g of flour; for a flour, it is that flour's share of all the flour in the recipe.

  1. Blueberries99%

    271 recipes · median 200 g

  2. Baking powder93%

    254 recipes · median 9 g

  3. Eggs92%

    251 recipes · median 89 g (about 2 large eggs)

  4. All-purpose flour90%

    245 recipes · median: all of the flour

  5. Granulated sugar83%

    228 recipes · median 156 g

  6. Salt82%

    224 recipes · median 2.4 g

  7. Vanilla65%

    178 recipes · median 6 g

  8. Butter64%

    175 recipes · median 104 g

  9. Milk55%

    152 recipes · median 129 g

  10. Vegetable oil37%

    101 recipes · median 77 g

  11. Baking soda33%

    92 recipes · median 3.7 g

  12. Lemon zest22%

    60 recipes · median 4.7 g

  13. Cinnamon19%

    52 recipes · median 1.7 g

  14. Brown sugar18%

    50 recipes · median 107 g

  15. Buttermilk17%

    48 recipes · median 163 g

  16. Sour cream13%

    38 recipes · median 132 g

  17. Yogurt11%

    30 recipes · median 169 g

  18. Lemon juice10%

    29 recipes · median 30 g

  19. Coarse or raw sugar9%

    25 recipes · median 34 g

  20. Whole wheat flour8%

    24 recipes · median 99% of the flour

  21. Greek yogurt7%

    20 recipes · median 137 g

  22. Whole lemon or orange6%

    17 recipes

  23. Nutmeg5%

    14 recipes · median 0.5 g

Toppings and extras

26% of recipes (72 of 272) list something beyond the main recipe: a frosting, glaze, filling, crumb topping, a boiling bath or a sprinkle on top. None of it is counted above. The most common extra ingredients, as a share of all recipes:

  • Granulated sugar9% (27)
  • Butter9% (25)
  • All-purpose flour8% (23)
  • Coarse or raw sugar8% (23)
  • Cinnamon4% (13)
  • Powdered sugar4% (13)
  • Brown sugar3% (9)

How the ingredients are counted

A recipe uses an ingredient when any line of its main ingredient list names it. Names are merged by the words in them, so “1 cup unsalted butter, softened” and “salted butter” are both butter, and a line that offers a choice (“walnuts or pecans”) counts as the first one named. Canola, vegetable and other neutral oils are one oil; coconut and olive oil are listed on their own.

Lines only for greasing the pan are left out. Lines for brushing, sprinkling or serving, and lines that belong to a frosting, glaze, filling or topping, count as extras.

Amounts come from the grams on each recipe page: printed by the source, or converted from cups and spoons with standard densities. Scaling them to 250 g of flour lets a small recipe and a double batch line up. Percentages are rounded down.