Name: Strawberry Lemon Muffins with Struesel
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Ingredients: 2 1/4 C. All-Purpose Flour (plus 1/2 Tbsp. To toss strawberries); 1/2 tsp. Salt; 1/2 tsp. Baking soda; 1 tsp. Baking powder; 1/2 C. Honey or maple syrup; 1/2 C. Oil (such as avocado, canola or vegetable oil); 2 eggs; 1/2 C. Buttermilk Milk; 1/2 C. Greek yogurt; 1 tsp. Vanilla extract; 1 C. Strawberries (diced into bite size pieces); 2 Tbsp. Lemon zest; 2 Tbsp. Lemon juice; 3 Tbsp. All-purpose Flour; 3 Tbsp. Sugar; 2 Tbsp. butter (cold and cut into small pieces); 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

These strawberry lemon muffins with streusel are soft, flavorful and always a family favorite. The vanilla and lemon batter is mixed with fresh diced strawberries and then topped with a sweet streusel. They are made with simple ingredients and only take about 30 minutes to make from start to finish. A must bake for a sweet treat this spring or summer.

A strawberry lemon muffin on a muffin liner.

Blueberry muffins are often requested for breakfast at my house, but I love to switch things up every now and then. And these strawberry muffins with lemon are such a tasty alternative. The lemon in the muffin really enhances the strawberry flavor, while providing a light citrus flavor. And the streusel topping gives the muffins just a touch more sweetness. These muffins will quickly become one of your favorite sweet breakfast treats with a cup of coffee or tea.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Flavorful: The fresh strawberries with the bright lemon adds so much flavor the the muffins without being too sweet.

Easy: These muffins are easy to make and only take about 30 minutes to whip up from start to finish.

Moist: The muffins are tender and moist, even for the days following after making them.

What I Love:

I love adding these muffins to my kids lunch boxes as sweet treat for them at school. They are so easy to tuck into their lunch and travel well. Plus, my kids adore this strawberry lemon muffins so they are always excited to see them in their lunch box.

The ingredients used to make the strawberry lemon muffins.

Ingredients and substitutions

All-Purpose Flour: Simple all-purpose flour is used in this recipe. If you need to make this recipe gluten-free, replace with a 1:1 ratio gluten-free flour.

Baking powder & soda: The leavening agents used.

Salt: Enhances the flavors.

Honey: Adds sweetness to the muffins without making the recipe too sweet. You can replace with maple syrup.

Neutral Oil: You will need a neutral oil, such as avocado, canola or vegetable oil, to create moisture in the strawberry muffins.

Eggs: Provides structure to the muffins.

Buttermilk: Helps create a light and tender muffin. To make a buttermilk substitute, mix 1/2 cup of milk with 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Stir and let stand for 5-10 minutes before mixing it into the batter.

Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt adds to the moisture of the muffins. You can use sour cream or a regular plain yogurt instead.

Vanilla Extract: Creates a vanilla flavor to the muffin batter.

Fresh Strawberries: You will need fresh strawberries for this recipe. I do not recommend using frozen strawberries.

Lemon Juice and zest: Both lemon juice and zest give the muffins a bright citrus flavor. You will need 1-2 lemons.

Streusel topping: The streusel topping is made up of all-purpose flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon.

How to make lemon strawberry muffins

Preheat the oven to 415 degrees F.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk together and set aside.
In a separate large mixing bowl, add the honey, eggs, oil, buttermilk, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Whisk together until fully combined.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until just combined. It is OK of there are a few lumps.
Add the diced strawberries in 1/2 tablespoon of flour and toss until the strawberries are coated. Add the strawberries to the batter and gently fold in. Let the batter rest for 10-15 minutes.
While the batter is resting, make the streusel topping by combining the flour, sugar and cinnamon together in a medium bowl (you can re-use the bowl from the dry ingredients to save on dishes!). Mix together. Add the butter pieces and cut into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until the butter is broken down into very small pieces.
Line 12 muffin tins with muffin liners. Divide the strawberry batter into the 12 muffin tins evenly. Evenly sprinkle each muffin with streusel.
Bake the muffins at 415 degrees F. for 5 minutes. Then reduce the heat down to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 10-13 minutes or until the muffins are set and toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Let cool slightly and enjoy!

Sara’s Tip

If you have time, let the muffin batter rest for 10-15 minutes before baking. This allows for the flour to hydrate, creating a thicker batter. And it gives your muffins those tall domes and improves texture. If you are short on time, you can skip this step but I highly recommend it for the best results.

Strawberry lemon muffin batter in the muffin tins.

How to store the muffins

You can store the muffins in a air tight container on the counter up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for about 4 days.

You can also freeze the baked lemon and strawberry muffins. To do this, let the muffins cool completely. Then wrap each muffin in plastic wrap, and place into a zip lock bag. Label and date the bag before placing in the freezer. You can store the muffins in the freezer up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, you can defrost in the microwave or fridge.

What are buttermilk substitutions?

The buttermilk makes these muffins really tender and moist. But if you do not have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own!

To make a buttermilk substitute, mix 1/2 cup of milk with 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Stir and let stand for 5-10 minutes before mixing it into the batter.

Do I have to use fresh strawberries?

I do recommend only using fresh strawberries for these muffins. I have found that frozen strawberries have too much moisture and do not work well.

I have not tested the recipe with freeze dried strawberries. However, I do think that you could use freeze dried strawberries without it impacting the recipe too much.

If you give these strawberry lemon muffins with streusel a try, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

And be sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see your creations.

From my kitchen to yours, happy baking. I hope you those the strawberry muffins as much as we do!