These Buttermilk Muffins are hands down, some of the BEST muffins I have ever tasted! They are light and fluffy with a subtle hint of honey, the perfect amount of sweetness, and just a touch of sour buttermilk flavor.
⭐ 60 Five Star Reviews – “These are so good!! This recipe is a keeper.”
“I’ve just caught my cat trying to steal a muffin from the table, so clearly this is good stuff 😉”
They taste like a cupcake and a muffin had a baby… I can’t really explain it; you just have to make these muffins! Topping them with honey butter makes them even more incredible.
Have you ever heard of the TV show Hart of Dixie? It was (ok, still is) one of my favorite shows. I recently binge-watched it again and thought I might try to recreate some of the favorites from the Butter Stick Bakery. Of course, the Buttermilk Muffin was the first recipe I had to try to make!
There are some other items on the Butter Stick Bakery menu that sound delicious…Shelton’s Peanut Butter Clusters, Salted Caramel Chocolate Fritter Cupcakes, and Breakfast Skillet Bread Pudding. I think I might try a Breakfast Bread Pudding next!
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for the best buttermilk muffin recipe. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Kosher Salt
- Buttermilk
- Honey
- Melted Butter
- One Egg
Recipe Variations
This recipe makes a basic buttermilk muffin that is honestly perfect as is – but you can make:
- Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins – Add 3/4 cup fresh blueberries (Try them with a little lemon zest, too!)
- Strawberry Muffins – Add 3/4 cup diced strawberries
- Chocolate Chip Muffins – Add 1 cup of chocolate chips
- Fruit Muffins – Add any fresh or frozen fruit to make your favorite fruit muffins!
- Cinnamon Muffins – Add 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
This is a perfect base for your dream muffin.
How to Make Buttermilk Muffins
First, preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. (Picture 1)
In another bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and honey. (Picture 2) Make sure the butter has cooled down, or it will harden up the second it hits the cold buttermilk. If this happens, you can save it by heating the whole mixture very slowly in a small saucepan over low heat just until the butter melts again. Make sure the heat is very low, or the egg will cook.
Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. (Picture 3 – 4)
Line the cups of a muffin pan with paper liners or grease them with butter, then fill the muffin cups three-fourths full with muffin batter. (Picture 5)
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 10–15 minutes.
Let the muffins cool for about 5 minutes before removing them from their pan and moving them to a wire rack. Serve while warm with butter and a drizzle of honey.
Can You Use Normal Milk?
Yes – if you don’t have buttermilk, there are two options.
You can make your own buttermilk substitute by adding 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar to a 1 cup measuring cup and filling it to the top with whole milk. Let it sit for at least five minutes, then stir and use as buttermilk. You can also thin out some sour cream or Greek yogurt with some milk.
You also don’t have to use buttermilk, but these muffins won’t have the same sour flavor. This recipe is based on this Taste of Home recipe, so if you don’t want to use buttermilk, I would recommend using this recipe.
Can You Add Fruit to Buttermilk Muffins?
Yes! I tested these muffins with fresh blueberries (tossed in a little flour to keep them from sinking) and they were really good. I still like the honey buttermilk flavor best though. About 3/4 cup of fresh blueberries is enough. (You can also use frozen blueberries!)
The inside is so fluffy, and the berries add a nice fruity tartness.
How to Store Leftover Muffins
Once cooled, these muffins should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will last for 3–5 days.
They are best if reheated before eating – I like to warm them in the toaster or oven but you can also put them in the microwave for about 10 seconds. They are delicious when sliced in half with a little sliver of butter on them.
Helpful Tips
- Make sure that the melted butter has cooled down before combining it with buttermilk, or it will harden up the second it hits the cold milk. If this happens, you can save it by heating the whole mixture very slowly in a small saucepan over low heat, while whisking, just until the butter melts again. Make sure the heat is very low, or the egg will cook.
- Reheat these muffins when serving – they are so good nice and warm with a little bit of melted butter on them.
Looking for More Ways to Use Up Leftover Buttermilk?
Some of my favorite ways to use buttermilk are in Classic Southern Coleslaw (Similar to Raising Cane’s or KFC!), Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders, Southern Cornbread, Sweet Skillet Cornbread, and Cranberry Orange Muffins!
Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
The BEST Buttermilk Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup butter melted and cooled (4 tbsp or ½ stick)
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.2 cups all-purpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, 3 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- In another bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, melted butter, and honey.1 large egg, 1 cup buttermilk, ¼ cup butter, ¼ cup honey
- Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
- Fill the greased or paper-lined cups of a muffin tin about three-fourths full.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, for about 10-15 minutes.
- Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.
Notes
Storage
Once cooled, these muffins should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will last for 3 – 5 days. They are best if reheated before eating – I like to warm them in the toaster or oven but you can also put them in the microwave for about 10 seconds. They are delicious when sliced in half with a little sliver of butter on them.Tips
- Make sure that the melted butter has cooled down before combing it with buttermilk or it will harden up the second it hits the cold milk. If this happens, you can save it by heating the whole mixture very slowly in a small saucepan over low heat just until the butter melts again, whisking gently. Make sure the heat is very low or the egg will cook.
- Try this recipe with ¾ cup of blueberries or strawberries tossed in flour or my husband’s favorite – chocolate chips. (1 cup) I prefer the plain muffins, but he loves chocolate everything! You can also make cinnamon muffins by adding 1 – 1 ½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients.
- Reheat these muffins when serving – they are so good nice and warm with a little bit of melted butter on them.
Special Equipment Needeed
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
I made these gluten free with King Arthur flour (using same amount of flour) and a teaspoon of guar gum. I wanted them a little less sweet so I only put in 1/3 cup of sugar and about 2 heaping tablespoons of honey. I added a smidge more buttermilk to make up for the loss of liquid. I also added chocolate chips to half of them. Sublime!!
That sounds amazing!! Glad you enjoyed them!
I had 1/2 gallon of Buttermilk I wanted to use up, and I came across this recipe. I doubled it and the recipe was SO easy. I followed it exactly, but used Jumbo muffin tins/liners instead. I baked them for 20 minutes and they came out perfectly. This is a keeper. Thank you for submitting!
I’m so glad you liked the recipe! It’s such a great way to use up leftover buttermilk 🙂
These are the most delicious muffins I have EVER tried! I bake 100% gluten free and so I subbed the wheat flour with GF King Arthur Flour. One time I was out of honey and maple syrup, so I subbed it with sugar but then added 1 tsp of imitation maple flavor and 1 tsp on vanilla. Whenever I have too much buttermilk, I quadruple the recipe and use up the milk and freeze the batter. Whenever I am craving the soft, fluffy, mapley/honey muffins, I take them out, let the batter defrost for a couple hours and then pop them into muffin liners and 15 minutes later I have the most DELICIOUS muffins I have ever come across!! I can’t believe how underrated this recipe is. If I could rate it higher than five stars, I would! My family loves it too!!
These are so good!! This recipe is a keeper. Wondering if the freeze well
They freeze VERY well! I make them in huge batches when I have company coming, and I pull out whatever we need the night before – then we toast them in the morning and serve them with honey butter.
Can you make this with diabete sugar instead?
I haven’t tried, but someone let me know that they made them with coconut nectar and they baked up really well but they weren’t very sweet. They said that they were used to that so they enjoyed them!
Found this one afternoon in search of a quick bread that would go well with pulled pork. Less than 25 minutes later I pulled these beautiful golden gems out of the oven, ready to be served. They were hit at a dinner gathering that evening, AND relieved my worry about what to do with leftover buttermilk 🙂 Definitely a ‘make again’ recipe thank you! PS: any advice on trying them gluten free?
Yes! I made them GF with King Arthur Flour. It worked PERFECTLY! I always bake GF. GF substitutions work well unless it is yeasted dough. Don’t try to sub GF flour for breads, rolls, cinnamon rolls, etc. Just make sure to use a GF flour mix (because they include xanthum gum which is important in GF baking) such as Bob’s Red Mill, King Arthur, Cup4Cup, Better Batter, so on.
These muffins are super fluffy and perfect with chili. I added an extra 1/4 of butter by accident and they still turned out really well!
I’m so glad you liked them! Butter makes everything better 😆
I stumbled upon this recipe while looking for ways to use up leftover buttermilk (well, actually kefir, but close enough). And I am very happy I did. Doubled the recipe, baked both jumbo and normal sized muffins, sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top as per Linda’s suggestion, and they came out perfect. The only deviation from the recipe was to use about 1/4 less sugar – European tastebuds 🙂 Definitely bookmarking this recipe, thank you! Oh – I’ve just caught my cat trying to steal a muffin from the table, so clearly this is good stuff 😉
This is so wonderful to hear! I am making a batch this week and I am going to try the cinnamon sugar addition. Don’t let your cat steal too many 😉
Great recipes. Easy to follow and make. Fluffy muffins that aren’t too sweet. Love it!
So glad you liked them!
Light, fluffy and very delicious! I added a bit of sugar with cinnamon on top prior to baking.
Yum! That sounds delicious 🙂 I will try that next time I make them!