These Olive Oil Blueberry Muffins are moist and fluffy, full of fresh, bursting blueberries with tall, domed bakery-style tops sprinkled with sugar. They are made with extra virgin olive oil rather than butter or canola oil, and they're lower in sugar than typical muffins.

For another delicious olive oil muffin variety: Citrusy Olive Oil Muffins.

Olive Oil Blueberry Muffins in a muffin tin with one muffin cut in half to show the soft interior of the muffin filled with blueberries.

These healthier muffins are easy to throw together (no mixer), great to prep ahead to have on busy mornings, and they freeze well. I love to have these as afternoon snacks for the kids, or toasted a few days later with a slather of butter.

I tested these muffins three times to ensure that they are super moist and tender, have tall domed bakery-style tops, and have the right amount of blueberries so that they are full and flavorful.

Blueberries and olive oil can also be used to make Blueberry Olive Oil Cake or Lemon Blueberry Mascarpone Cake.

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients needed to make Olive Oil Blueberry Muffins.

Milk: Use whole milk if possible, but low-fat milk works well too.
Olive Oil: Use extra virgin olive oil. If you want to use olive oil as a replacement for vegetable or canola oil, but do not want a strong olive oil taste, pick an extra virgin olive oil that is fairly neutral in flavor. If you want the herby note of the olive oil to shine through, pick an olive oil that you love, such as one that you like to dip bread in. Olive oil can also be used in Italian Olive Oil Cake.
Eggs: Use large eggs, pasture-raised if possible.
Vanilla Extract: Use real vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla. Costco and wholesale stores sell large bottles for a low cost per unit volume.
Flour: Use all-purpose, unbleached flour. I use a measurement of 140g of flour to 1 cup, similar to America's Test Kitchen.
Sugar: I use only a half cup of granulated sugar so that the muffins are not overly sweet, and are more suitable for a breakfast treat than a dessert.
Baking Powder: Used for leavening.
Salt: To bring out flavor.
Blueberries: I use fresh blueberries, but frozen would work well.
Turbinado Sugar: This is optional for sprinkling on top of the muffins.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to Make Olive Oil Blueberry Muffins

Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make these incredibly moist Olive Oil Blueberry Muffins.

Note: The recipe card with instructions, ingredient list, and quantities is included further below these step-by-step photos.

A mixing bowl with the wet ingredients combined and a separate mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.

Prep: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Step 1. Wet Ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the whole milk, extra virgin olive oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Step 2. Dry Ingredients: In a separate large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

A bowl with the olive oil blueberry muffin batter with blueberries on top and after the blueberries have been incorporated.

Step 3. Combine and Add Blueberries: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently combine until just incorporated. Do not overmix. Add the blueberries and gently combine.

A muffin pan filled with the Olive Oil Blueberry Muffin batter and sprinkled with turbinado sugar and the muffin pan after the muffins have been fully baked.

Step 4. Bake: Divide the muffin batter evenly across 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

Place the muffin pan in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake for 22-24 minutes.

Tips for the Best Blueberry Muffins

Don't Overmix: To make light and fluffy muffins with a tender crumb, do not overmix the batter. It is best to make these muffins by hand rather than with a mixer. Mixing too much develops gluten, which is great for a chewy pizza crust, but not great for a tender muffin.
Use an Ice Cream Scoop: Fill the muffin cups using an ice cream scoop. It's the easiest way to divide the batter and prevent the batter from spilling on the muffin pan itself.
Fill to the Top: Line the muffin pan with cupcake liners and fill each one to the top. This will give you a nice tall muffin.
High Heat: Heat activates the baking powder, which acts as a leavening agent. For extra-tall muffins, preheat the oven to 425°F. Ensure it is fully preheated, which may take 15-30 minutes longer than what the oven indicates. Place the muffins in the oven, then immediately drop the temperature to 350°F. You could bake the muffins for 5 minutes at the higher temperature of 425°F, then drop it to 350°F, but more often than not, I forget to drop the temperature if I don't do it right away and end up overbaking the muffins.

Additional Notes

Frozen Blueberries: Frozen blueberries can be substituted for fresh blueberries. Do not thaw the frozen blueberries. Incorporate them frozen so that you do not discolor the batter.
Jumbo Muffins and Mini Muffins: This recipe can easily be converted to jumbo muffins (extend the baking time to roughly 30 minutes) or mini muffins (reduce the baking time to 12-15 minutes).
Measuring Flour: For best results, measure your flour in grams. Otherwise, use the dip and sweep method that is used by America's Test Kitchen.

Storage and Freezing

To Store: Store the muffins in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
To Freeze: These blueberry muffins freeze very well. Store in a gallon-sized freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, gently toast in the oven at 350°F for 5-10 minutes or in a toaster oven. Cut in half and slather with butter or eat as is.