These easy vanilla muffins are a fantastic option for breakfast and snacks. Made with simple ingredients and prepped in minutes, they're perfect for any time.
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Vanilla muffins are a tasty baked treat that everyone can enjoy. Made from scratch, these muffins are perfect for any occasion.
We LOVE muffins around here, and while I'm normally mixing up Old Fashioned Blueberry Muffins or Bakery Style Strawberry Muffins, I like to change things up a bit by making this vanilla muffins recipe whenever I can.
This vanilla muffin recipe is perfect for a simple breakfast or brunch. Serve it up with some Strawberry Banana Orange Smoothie and these 4 Ingredient Scones alongside some fresh fruit and celebrate a relaxing (and delicious) morning.
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💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's great for customizing. I often use this recipe as a "base" recipe for adding in other great ingredients that we have on hand, like strawberries, chocolate chips, sprinkles, etc. You can even mix and match add-ins for some fun Red White and Blueberry Muffins.
- It's great for beginners. Made in a mixing bowl with a whisk or electric mixer, there's not a lot of manual effort needed (and not many dirty dishes are created either!)
- They aren't too sweet! These Easy Vanilla Muffins feel perfectly balanced in flavors and textures. Not as sweet as a muffin, but not too savory either, you'll find yourself reaching for another muffin before you know it.
🛒 Ingredients
Butter- You will need some softened butter for this recipe. You can use salted or unsalted butter depending on what you have on hand. If desired, you can swap butter for vegetable oil for a lighter texture.
Eggs- Adding in 3 eggs will make the muffin taste richer and help with the binding and leavening.
Baking powder- To help your muffins puff up and rise as they bake, you will want to use baking powder. This is a great leavening agent used to help baked goods rise, especially in something like these Baking Powder Biscuits.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
🔀 Substitutions & Variations
Butter: Using butter is nice and adds a wonderful level of richness you can't get elsewhere, which is why I often prefer it. That said, using vegetable oil or canola oil can produce a lighter and fluffier texture in our muffins, so if you don't wish to use butter- use oil.
Milk: You can use dairy free milk, whole milk, or even buttermilk.
🥣 Recipe Add-Ins
If desired, you can add in up to 1 cup of any of the following:
- White chocolate chips
- Rainbow jimmie sprinkles
- Chocolate chips
- Diced strawberries
- Fresh or frozen blueberries
- Cinnamon bakers chips
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Buy ingredients in bulk. Sugar, flour, and baking powder are much cheaper when purchased in larger bags.
Swap butter for oil. Vegetable or canola oil is often cheaper and still produces soft, fluffy muffins.
Skip paper liners. Grease the pan instead to cut down on disposable costs.
🥄 Instructions for Easy Vanilla Muffins
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Step 2: Add your butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl (Image 1).
Step 3: Cream the two together until they're light and fluffy.
Step 4: Add in the eggs, one at a time (Image 2).
Step 5: Beat well after each addition (Image 3).
Step 6: Add in the milk and vanilla (Image 4).
Step 7: Mix well until blended.
Step 8: Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt (Image 5). Using a whisk or large rubber spatula, stir in the baking powder, salt, and flour until no flour streaks remain (Image 6). Be careful not to overwork the batter.
Step 9: Use a medium-sized cookie scoop or an ice cream scooper to fill each muffin cup ⅔rd of the way full (Image 7).
Step 10: Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean (Image 8).
Step 11: Remove the muffins from the pan and let them cool on a wire rack.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- We need both cooking temps. Cooking our Easy Vanilla Muffins at a higher temp is what gives us the nice domed look so that they don't turn out flat.
- Do not overwork the batter. Be gentle and just mix until moistened and combined. Overworking the batter will result in developing the glutens which makes the muffins gummy and rubbery.
❄️ Storage
Room Temperature: Store cooled muffins in an airtight container for 1-2 days. They taste best fresh or lightly warmed.
Freezer: Freeze cooled muffins in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or microwave for 15-20 seconds.
🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
These Easy Vanilla Muffins pair wonderfully with fresh fruit, yogurt parfaits, smoothies like my Strawberry Banana Orange Smoothie, or a side of 4 Ingredient Scones for a full brunch spread. They're also great with scrambled eggs, bacon, or a warm cup of coffee for a simple, cozy breakfast.
- Strawberry Banana Orange SmoothieRecipe $1.67 / Serving $0.84
- 4 Ingredient SconesRecipe $1.58 / Serving $0.20
- 25 Christmas Breakfast Ideas
- Instant Pot YogurtRecipe $3.76 / Serving $0.24
❓ Easy Vanilla Muffins FAQs
Cupcakes are light and fluffy and pair well with frosting, whereas muffins are seen to be denser and often perfect on their own without the addition of frostings or glazes. For a delicious cupcake recipe check out my Honey Bee Cupcakes with Honey Buttercream.
Butter makes the muffins taste better, but oil gives them a fluffier texture. They both do the same thing to the recipe- they add fats to keep them moist. Choosing which one you want to use is up to you.
It is possible to overmix the batter. When the flour is added, you want to mix as minimally as possible to incorporate it. Otherwise, you'll end up with a gummy, rubbery muffin texture that bakes unevenly and may even come out with elongated tops.
🍽️ More Recipes You'll Love
- Small Batch Blueberry MuffinsRecipe $2.59 / Serving $0.43
- Banana Orange MuffinsRecipe $2.04 / Serving $0.17
- Cake Mix Blueberry MuffinsRecipe $4.41 / Serving $0.25
- Cranberry Eggnog MuffinsRecipe $4.80 / Serving $0.28
🐝 If you tried these easy vanilla muffins, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Easy Vanilla Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened - ($0.99)
- 1 ⅔ cup granulated sugar - ($0.60)
- 3 large eggs - ($0.45)
- 1 ¼ cup milk - ($0.25)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract - ($0.09)
- 4 teaspoon baking powder - ($0.20)
- ¼ teaspoon salt - ($0.01)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour - ($0.39)
Instructions
- Prep pan. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Cream. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Add liquids. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until blended.
- Add dry ingredients. Gently stir in the baking powder, salt, and flour just until combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Fill. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about two thirds full.
- Bake. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
Notes
- Recipe Tips. Baking at a higher temperature helps create tall, domed muffins. Mix only until combined to avoid dense or gummy muffins.
- Storage. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. Best enjoyed fresh.
- Freezing. Freeze cooled muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 months and thaw before serving.
Nutritional Information
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