This is an easy one-bowl recipe for strawberry white chocolate muffins that are tender and moist, with just the right amount of sweetness. A hint of lemon zest provides a bright, floral note that complements the sweetness of the strawberries and white chocolate.
Strawberry and white chocolate make such a great pairing: strawberry is sweet, floral, and a bit tart, and white chocolate is creamy and sweet, with a hint of buttery, milky flavor. These two flavors come together beautifully in this easy, one-bowl muffin recipe that is tender, moist, and absolutely irresistible!
In addition to the strawberry and white chocolate, this muffin recipe also features lemon zest, which adds that "special something" to complement and balance the sweeter flavors of the white chocolate and strawberries.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you make a purchase through the link, it won’t cost you more but I may earn a small commission. I only recommend products that I personally use and love!
Jump to:
Recipe ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need for the white chocolate and strawberry muffins:
Ingredient notes
- Oil: you just need any neutral cooking oil, such as canola oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil.
- Strawberries: fresh strawberries are great in this muffin recipe, but you can use frozen strawberries with a few tweaks. I discuss how to use frozen strawberries in the the substitutions and additions section below!
- Milk: skim, 2% or whole milk will do, depending on how rich you would like your muffins (the more milkfat, the richer they will taste).
- Coarse sugar: this is an optional ingredient that will provide a nice crunch for the muffin tops. You can use any type of coarse sugar, such as turbinado or demerara sugar, sanding sugar, or pearl sugar.
Need to use up the rest of your white chocolate chips? Try my recipes for mango scones with white chocolate chips, vanilla brownies, or Biscoff truffles!
Step by step photos
Here's how to make this easy recipe for strawberry white chocolate muffins, step by step. For a brief slideshow of these steps, check out my white chocolate and strawberry muffins web story!
1. The first step is to line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Or, generously grease the muffin tin with nonstick spray. Also, let's pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Next, we will prep the strawberries and lemon zest. After rinsing and patting the strawberries dry, chop them into small pieces (about ½ inch/1.3 cm in size). And, zest the lemon (again, rinse and dry the lemon first!). Set both aside for now.
3. Now we will start to assemble the muffin batter. We will first add the dry ingredients to a large bowl. After whisking them together, use a wooden spoon to make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
4. Next, crack the eggs into the center of the well. Use the whisk to break up the yolks and beat the eggs up a bit within the well.
5. Pour the milk and oil into the well. Whisk together the dry and wet ingredients, just until all the flour is moistened.
Top Tip
For the most tender muffins, be careful not to over mix the batter. Stop when all the flour has been moistened but there are still some lumps remaining (you don't want perfectly smooth batter).
6. Now add in the chopped strawberries and lemon zest you prepped earlier. And, add in ½ cup white chocolate chips. Gently stir the muffin batter again, just until all the strawberries and white chocolate chips are evenly distributed into the batter.
7. We are now ready to fill our muffin tin! I like using a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop the batter. After all the batter is distributed, sprinkle more white chocolate chips overtop the muffin batter.
To make the muffin tops look a little fancier, and to give them a nice crunchy texture, you can also sprinkle on some coarse sugar. Here I used Wilton White Sparkling Sugar (affiliate link).
8. Bake the strawberry white chocolate muffins in the preheated oven for 22 - 26 minutes, or until the tops are firm and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with no wet batter (some moist crumbs are ok though!).
Let the muffins cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Tips and tricks
- Be sure to chop the strawberries to around ½ inch (1.3 cm) in size. You don't have to be super exact, but I found this size was the "sweet spot" that allowed the strawberry chunks to incorporate well throughout the muffins while still maintaining their texture.
- And, for best results, I recommend measuring the flour by weight. The scale I use is the Escali Primo Digital Food Scale (affiliate link). This is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will provide consistent results every time!
- If you don't have a kitchen scale, spoon the flour into the measuring cup, sweeping off the excess with a knife. If you scoop the measuring cup down into the flour instead, the flour will compact and you may get too much flour, resulting in drier muffins.
Substitutions and additions
There are many ways you can customize this strawberry and white chocolate muffin recipe. Here are a few substitutions and additions you can try:
Substituting frozen strawberries
- To substitute unsweetened frozen strawberries for this recipe, you will need to let them sit for about 5 minutes before they can be more easily chopped. But, don't let them thaw any longer than that or they will stain the batter red!
- You will need 1 ¾ cups frozen chopped strawberries (rather than 1 ½ cups fresh). This is because the frozen berries are more firm and don't slump down as much in the measuring cup as fresh. Or, use the weight measurement (225 g).
- You will also need to add about 3 - 4 minutes to the bake time.
Other substitution and addition ideas
- If you don't have a lemon available to make zest, you can try orange zest instead. Or, use 1 teaspoon lemon or orange extract.
- You can also make this muffin recipe with other berries instead of strawberries, such as blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries (or a combination!).
- Prefer the flavor of butter in baked goods? Feel free to substitute half the oil with melted and cooled butter. But, make sure the eggs and milk are at room temperature if doing so. Otherwise, the milk will clump up when it's added to the cold ingredients.
- If you don't have coarse sugar for the muffin tops, feel free to leave it off entirely, or, you can also sprinkle regular granulated sugar on top!
Storage
- These strawberry white chocolate muffins store well at room temperature for 1 - 2 days. To store them, first allow them to cool fully, then place them in an airtight container or food storage bag that has been lined with paper towels (to absorb excess moisture).
- After about a day, the tops of the muffins can lose some of their crunch. To bring back some of that delicious crunchiness, you can re-heat the muffins in a toaster oven for 1 - 2 minutes.
- For longer term storage, you can freeze the muffins in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Here is a great resource on how to freeze muffins.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can definitely use unsweetened frozen strawberries to make these white chocolate and strawberry muffins. You will need to let them thaw for about 5 minutes before you can chop them, and add 3 - 4 minutes onto the bake time. For more tips on using frozen berries, see the substitutions and additions section above.
No! Because this recipe uses oil, which will not curdle like melted butter when added to cold ingredients, you do not need to bother making sure the eggs and milk are at room temperature. (Another bonus - oil also gives muffins a very moist and tender crumb!)
No, the coarse sugar is an optional ingredient and is only used for topping the muffins, to give them a beautiful look and crunchier bite. If you don't have coarse sugar, feel free to leave it off. Or, you can even sprinkle a little regular sugar overtop the muffins before baking!
Related recipes
If you’ve tried this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or review in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. And sign up for my weekly newsletter to get recipes delivered straight to you!
Print📖 Recipe
Strawberry White Chocolate Muffins
This is an easy one-bowl strawberry white chocolate muffin recipe. A hint of lemon zest provides a bright, floral note that complements the sweetness of the strawberries and white chocolate.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: breakfast, dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (281 g) all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled, or use weight measurement)
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons (11 g) baking powder
- ½ (3 g) teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (237 ml) milk
- ½ cup (118 ml) neutral oil (vegetable oil, canola oil, etc.)
- 1 ½ cups (225 g) chopped strawberries* (about ½-inch (1.3 cm) pieces)
- ¾ cup (140 g) white chocolate chips, divided
- zest of 1 lemon (2 g)
- coarse sugar crystals (optional, for topping the muffins)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners (preferred), or spray the muffin tin well with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together to combine. With a wooden spoon, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Crack the 2 eggs into the well. Use the whisk to break the yolks and lightly whisk the eggs in the well.
- Add the milk and oil to the well. Whisk the wet and dry ingredients together just until combined (some lumps are ok - do not overmix).
- Add the chopped strawberries, lemon zest, and ½ cup white chocolate chips to the muffin batter (reserve the remaining ¼ cup white chocolate chips for later). With the wooden spoon, gently stir in the added ingredients until evenly combined (do not overmix).
- Fill each muffin tin with the batter. Top the muffins with the remaining ¼ cup white chocolate chips. For crunchier muffin tops, sprinkle coarse sugar on each muffin (optional).
- Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 22 - 26 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (A couple moist crumbs are ok, but no wet batter. And be sure you aren't looking at a melted chocolate chip!).
- Let the muffins cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then remove the muffins to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Notes
*You can use either fresh or unsweetened frozen strawberries. When using frozen berries, you will need 1 ¾ cups chopped frozen berries, or use the weighted measurement (225 g). Let the frozen berries sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes, just long enough so they can be chopped (do not fully thaw). And, you will need to add an additional 3 - 4 minutes to the bake time.
The muffins will keep at room temperature for 1 - 2 days, in an airtight container lined with paper towels. (Wait until the muffins are fully cooled before storing them.) For longer storage, the muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months.
The nutrition information below was calculated using 2% milk and does not include the optional coarse sugar topping. This nutrition information is an estimate only; the nutrition counts of your dish will vary based on the brands and exact amounts of ingredients used. This information was provided by an online nutrition calculator, and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, health, or nutritional advice. See our full nutrition disclosure policy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 246
- Sugar: 17.3 g
- Sodium: 130 mg
- Fat: 9.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.5 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5.7 g
- Cholesterol: 63 mg
Cintia
Delicious!! Thanks for the recipe.
Kate
Yay Cintia I'm so glad that you enjoyed the muffins! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Jennifer Allan
Not sweet enough or fluffy.
Flor to sugar ratio incorrect.
Kate
Jennifer I'm really sorry that the muffin recipe didn't live up to your expectations. The reason that the sugar is lower in this muffin recipe than my others is because the white chocolate chips are very sweet. Also, I am wondering if you used the weighted measure for the flour. Sometimes if the volume measurement is used, it's easy to add too much flour if the flour is scooped out with the measuring cup, instead of using a spoon to add flour into the cup. Adding too much flour could make the muffins dense, as could overmixing.
Either way, I appreciate you trying my recipe and giving your honest opinion. Next time I update the recipe I will keep your feedback in mind. Can I recommend my vanilla muffin recipe to you? This has more sugar in the batter itself, as well as an optional vanilla glaze so it may be more to your liking.