Raspberry Buttermilk Muffins

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These easy buttermilk muffins are lightly sweetened, have a rich nutty flavour from spelt flour, and are loaded with raspberries!

Several raspberry muffins on a wire rack.

Photography by Sophie MacKenzie.

Whether we’re focused on modern baking, or more traditional classics, we love simple recipes that allow the ingredients to shine! Enter these fantastic raspberry buttermilk muffins.

A great option for breakfast or snack, the best part is they come together in 15 minutes, and bake up in half an hour. They also freeze well in batches for meal planning.

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💖Why You’ll Love This Recipe
📋Ingredients
👩‍🍳Method
💡Top Tips
📝Recipe Notes
❓Recipe FAQ
Recipe

💖Why You’ll Love This Recipe

✔️ Buttermilk gives the muffins a real lift, making them extra light and fluffy.
✔️ Sweetened with brown sugar and applesauce, they’re not too sweet.
✔️ You can use fresh or frozen raspberries and make them year round.

📋Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Buttermilk: if you don’t have any on hand or can’t buy it, make your own buttermilk by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice or plain vinegar to whole milk.
Spelt flour: use a blend of half whole spelt and half light spelt flour if you prefer. Whole wheat and white all-purpose flour can also be used!
Frozen raspberries: swap in frozen blueberries, blackberries, or any other fruit you like. You can also substitute fresh fruit in these buttermilk muffins in equal amounts!

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

👩‍🍳Method

STEP 1: Mix the wet ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
STEP 2: Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl and add the buttermilk mixture.

STEP 3: Gently fold in the raspberries.
STEP 4: Scoop into muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes.

💡Top Tips

1. Cool completely before serving. Paper liners have a tendency to stick to still-warm muffins, and cooling will prevent this.
2. Add chocolate chips. Consider adding up to ½ cup of chocolate chips or nuts when you add the raspberries.
3. Don’t over-mix. As soon as the flour is just mixed in, stop stirring. Over-mixing can lead to tough muffins, especially with lower gluten flours like spelt.

📝Recipe Notes

Note that frozen berries can make the batter stiff and harder to stir.
If subbing whole wheat, note that recipes using whole wheat flour tend to require more liquid, so keep this in mind if your raspberry muffin batter feels a bit stiff or dry. Just add an extra splash of milk.
To make dairy-free muffins simply swap out the buttermilk for an equal amount of plant-based milk mixed with either 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.
Store muffins in the fridge for up to five days, or at room temperature for 2-3 days in a sealed container. Freeze in a large airtight container with a tight fitting lid for up to three months.
Try an apple version with 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and 1 cup diced apples instead of berries.

❓Recipe FAQ

What does buttermilk do in baking?

Buttermilk helps to break down gluten strands, making for a more tender, cake-like muffin. It also reacts more with baking soda, resulting in a greater rise.

Is oil or butter better for muffins?

While it comes down to individual recipes, oil often makes for moister muffins. This is because it’s a bit harder to over-mix with oil and because butter is solid at room temperature.

Can you add frozen fruit to muffin mix?

We argue that frozen berries are often easier to add to muffin batter as they won’t break down when mixing like fresh berries do. No need to thaw first!