Blueberry Ricotta Muffins are the best moist and flavorful blueberry muffins out there! This easy recipe, made with ricotta cheese and lemon, is sure to be your new favorite muffin recipe!
If you have leftover over ricotta cheese, then you need to make these muffins. They are fluffy and moist, and have the best crumb.
Love blueberries and ricotta? Be sure to try my other favorite Blueberry Ricotta Coffee Cake recipe with a delicious streusel topping. And, don’t miss this delicious Italian Blueberry Ricotta Cake recipe or my Blueberry Peach Muffins! For a chocolatey treat, check out this tender Chocolate Chip Ricotta Muffins.
Why this Recipe Works!
If you’ve never baked with ricotta cheese, you definitely need to start. Ricotta is a mild-flavored cheese that adds a moist and dense texture to anything you bake.
In addition to the ricotta, these muffins use fresh blueberries and lemon. The combination of blueberries and lemons are perfect here, with the lemon bringing out the bright flavors of the blueberries without being overwhelming.
Using ricotta in these muffins keeps them extra moist and soft, days after they are made. They are a great make-ahead muffin to have on hand for the week. Just store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Ingredients for Blueberry Ricotta Muffins
These muffins are full of pantry staples like flour, baking powder, sugar, and eggs. What makes them truly special is the ricotta, lemon, and blueberries.
- Ricotta Cheese: these muffins are best with full-fat ricotta cheese, but part skim works too! If you happen to have a watery ricotta, be sure to strain it before using.
- Lemon: here I use both lemon juice and lemon zest. The lemon adds a hint of flavor without being overwhelming. You can leave it out if you’d like, or if you prefer a stronger lemon flavor, double the amounts used here.
- Blueberries: of course fresh blueberries are best, however, frozen work too. You can either thaw the frozen blueberries or just add them in frozen to the batter. You may just need to add an extra minute or two the baking time.
Read on to see how easy it is to make these delicious and moist muffins.
How to Make Blueberry Ricotta Muffins
This recipe for Blueberry Ricotta Muffins is simple to make. All you need is a large mixing bowl, a 12-cup muffin tin, and a handheld mixer.
To start you will need to either spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray, or line it with cupcake liners. It’s always a good idea to spray the top of the pan too, so the muffin tops don’t stick.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
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In a large bowl, use your handheld mixer to whisk together the butter, sugar, and ricotta cheese until light and fluffy; about three minutes (step 1). Mix in the egg and lemon juice and zest, then mix in the flour mixture.
Fold in the blueberries (step 2) and mix until well combined (step 3). Use a muffin/ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin (step 4).
Bake the muffins in a preheated oven for about 23-25 minutes. You want to test with a toothpick to make sure the muffins are cooked through.
Let the muffins cool in the baking tin for about 5 minutes, before removing and placing on cooling rack. Once completely cooled, you can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week, or freeze for up to a month.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
Check out my tips and FAQs for making the best Blueberry Ricotta Muffins!
- To get a light texture, be sure to beat together the sugar, butter, and ricotta using a handheld mixer until the mixture is light and airy. This should take about 3 minutes.
- If you love a lemon flavor, double the amount of zest and juice used in this recipe.
- If you can’t get fresh blueberries, you can use frozen. No need to unthaw, just add them to the batter.
- Store these muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also freeze them for up to a month.
If you have leftover ricotta cheese, you can use it to make baked goods or a frittata. Ricotta is excellent in Almond Ricotta Cookies, or use it to make Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake. It is also delicious added to a veggie frittata like this Asparagus Ricotta Frittata. If you have a very small amount, use it to spread on a toasted baguette or toast and top with fresh fruit and honey.
Ricotta is a great filling for pastas and Italian meat pies. It’s also delicious stirred into marinara sauces. If you have a 15 ounce container of ricotta cheese, you can mix it with mozzarella and meat sauce to make Stuffed Shells. Or try making this healthy Turkey Spinach Manicotti with either whole milk or part skim ricotta. For a traditional Italian recipe that’s great anytime of the year, try this Italian Easter Pie recipe.
Store-bought ricotta cheeses come pre-strained and don’t need to be strained before using. If you happen to get a store-bought ricotta with liquid on top, simply pour off the liquid before using. Homemade ricotta cheese will need to be strained before using it for baking. You can do this by letting the ricotta sit in a fine mesh sieve with a bowl underneath to catch the liquids.
More Muffin Recipes
Check out these other delicious muffin recipes!
Blueberry Ricotta Muffins
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin tin
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour (310 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced (about ½ teaspoon zest, 2 tablespoons juice)
- 1 ½ cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or liners; set aside.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, use a handheld mixer to beat together the sugar, butter, and ricotta until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the egg, lemon juice and zest, and mix to combine. Pour in the dry ingredients and mix until batter is just combined.
- Pour the blueberries into the batter and use a rubber spatula mix them into the batter (the batter will be thick).
- Scoop the batter into the muffin tins. Place on center rack in preheated oven and bake just until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean; about 23-25 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Notes
Nutrition
I made these blueberry muffins and they were awesome! I don’t always have ricotta on hand. Is there a substitute you recommend? Thank you.
You could try small curd cottage cheese or greek yogurt. Enjoy!
Hii this recipe looks great. Wondering if swapping out with raspberries would affect them much?
Raspberries works here. Just toss them in flour before adding to the batter. Enjoy!
I made them and it was really good. I was a little scared with the consistency of the mixture but when I tried them they turned out soft esponjoso. I like the way that they are not too sweet and have a soft flavor. Thank you.
They look delicious! Making them today
Hope you love them!
I was a bit dubious when I popped these in the oven as my mixture was super thick! I really had to work it into the muffin tin
The muffins turned out perfect tho! And they taste amazing. Beautiful texture, not too sweet. My new go to!
Yay! So happy you loved them 🙂
Best muffin recipe yet. It was perfect. They’re moist, sweet–but not too sweet, lovely texture, and the muffins didn’t collapse. Great!
Thanks so much for the comment! I’m so happy you enjoyed them 🙂
Can I use melted butter? Thank you.
that works!
My husband says these are the best blueberry muffins he has ever had (and he’s eaten a lot of muffins :)). I made them exactly as written, just topped them with a little turbonado sugar for a bit of crunch. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Ellie! I’m so happy you and your hubby enjoyed these. They are so good! 🙂
These muffins are delicious! I made them with gluten free flour, added a teaspoon of vanilla and substituted 1/2 cup of maple syrup for the granulated sugar. Splendid 😀
Wow! These were the best muffins I’ve ever made. I did have to make a substitution – I only had a half cup of ricotta, so I added an additional half cup of smetana (high-fat Russian sour cream). I also used about two tablespoons less sugar than the recipe called for, but next time could go with the full amount and I don’t think it would be too sweet. Thanks for the recipe! It’s a keeper
I just made a gluten and sugar-free version of this recipe and they are DELICIOUS! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that! 😊
Delicious!
Easy – made double batch for company – perfect!!
Thank you!!!
So happy you loved them! 🙂
I’ve made this recipe multiple times. Delicious! They freeze very well and taste great when removed from freezer as needed and microwaved for a few seconds. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear that you love the muffins, Tracy! Thanks so much for the comment 🙂
I love ricotta. It makes all so moist. Plan to make muffins this week/
Happy to hear it! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Can this be made in a 9 X 5 baking loaf instead of muffins?
Thanks! 🙂
Yes! You’ll just have to adjust baking time. It’ll probably take close to 60 minutes. Let me know how it goes!
I’ve never used ricotta in muffins before (I usually use yogurt), but I’ll definitely be giving this recipe a try. They look so light and fluffy.
I seriously love that flavor combination!! My kids loved it!
Oh, my word these are fantastic! This is going to be my go-to blueberry muffin recipe, leftover ricotta or no! Yum!
What was so great about these muffins was they stayed much moister the next day and great reheated we love this recipe
Wow! this is my new favorite recipe!
Mine too! So happy you loved it.