This muffin recipe without baking powder is the perfect choice for those who want to enjoy fluffy, soft, and delicious homemade muffins that are just as good as the ones with baking powder. Made with wholesome ingredients, including all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, buttermilk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract, this recipe is simple and easy to follow.
Impress your family and friends with this must-try muffin recipe without baking powder that’s sure to become a new favorite. The buttermilk will act as a natural leavening agent, providing the perfect lift for the muffins to rise to perfection. So, whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting out, this muffin recipe is perfect for you. So, preheat your oven, gather your ingredients, and let’s get baking!
Here’s Why This Is The Best Muffin Recipe Without Baking Powder
Simple and wholesome ingredients: This muffin recipe without baking powder uses simple and wholesome ingredients that are readily available making it easy to make and enjoy delicious homemade muffins from scratch anytime.
Perfectly risen muffins: The addition of buttermilk provides acidity to react with the baking soda, ensuring that the muffins rise to perfection every time without the need for baking powder.
Versatile: You can add your favorite fruit or mix-ins such as chocolate chips to the batter, making this recipe versatile and perfect for any occasion.
Easy to follow: This muffin recipe is straightforward and easy to follow, making it perfect for beginner bakers and experienced ones alike.
Delicious: These no-baking powder muffins are soft, fluffy, and deliciously sweet, they make the perfect snack to enjoy with a cup of milk, coffee, or tea.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- All-purpose flour: For this recipe, I used all-purpose flour, it’s the base of this muffin batter and provides structure to the muffins. For a gluten-free option, you can use this gluten-free flour blend or use a store-bought version.
- Sugar: This adds sweetness and helps to tenderize the muffins. To make a sugar-free version, you can use a sugar substitute, such as stevia or erythritol.
- Salt: The salt enhances the flavor of the muffins.
- Baking soda: Since these muffins are made without baking powder we need to use baking soda to help to give a rise to these muffins.
- Melted butter: I love the flavor and richness that butter gives to these muffins. You can swap it and use oil instead.
- Egg: This recipe calls for one egg, it helps to bind the ingredients together and provides structure to the muffins. You can swap with 3 tablespoons of Aquafaba or combine 3 tablespoons of warm water with one tablespoon of flax meal to make a flax egg as a substitute.
- Vanilla extract: The warm aroma of vanilla is super comforting, it adds the perfect flavor to the muffins. You can use any other extract of your choice if you prefer, such as almond extract, orange, or lemon extract.
- Buttermilk: We need buttermilk because it contains some acidity that will activate the baking soda in order for the muffins to rise. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand you can replace it with the same amount of yogurt or sour cream.
Baker Tips To Make The Best Muffins Without Baking Powder
- Use high-quality ingredients: Invest in high-quality ingredients, such as premium all-purpose flour and pure vanilla extract, to ensure that your muffins taste the best they can.
- Sift the dry ingredients: Sifting the dry ingredients, such as the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda, will help ensure that they are evenly distributed throughout the batter and result in lighter and fluffier muffins.
- Don’t skimp on the buttermilk: The buttermilk is a key ingredient to making this recipe, as it provides acidity to react with the baking soda causing the muffins to rise. Don’t skimp on the amount of buttermilk used, as this will affect the final volume and texture of the muffins.
- Experiment with different fruits and mix-ins: Adding different fruits and mix-ins, such as blueberries, strawberries, or chocolate chips, is a great way to make different varieties of muffins.
- Use a light hand when folding in inclusions: If you add inclusions, gently fold them into the batter to avoid overmixing and ensure that they are evenly distributed throughout. Overmixing the muffin batter will result in tough and dense muffins, so always use a light hand.
Ingredients For Muffins Without Baking
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of your favorite fruit or chocolate chips (optional)
How To Make Muffins Without Baking Powder?
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda, then add the sugar and give the mixture a stir.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- If using inclusions, gently fold them into the batter.
- Fill the muffin cups 2/3 of the way full.
- Place into the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any type of flour, such as whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour to make this muffin recipe without baking powder. However, just keep in mind that using different types of flour will affect the texture and flavor of the muffins. Also, you may need to increase the liquid amounts since whole wheat and gluten-free flour have higher absorption.
These muffins will keep for up to 5 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze the muffins for up to 3 months. To defrost them, simply place the muffins in the refrigerator overnight or on the counter for a few hours.
To make this recipe without sugar is super easy, simply substitute the sugar with stevia, allulose, erythritol, or monk fruit sweetener, double check to make sure they can be replaced at a one-to-one ratio.
To make these muffins more flavorful, you can add spices, such as cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, or ginger to the dry ingredients. Another option is to add a different type of extract, such as almond extract or lemon extract, instead of vanilla extract. Additionally, I recommend you can add your favorite fruit, nuts, or chocolate chips to the batter for extra flavor.
Muffins can rise without baking powder, but they typically rely on other leavening agents to achieve the desired rise and texture. In this specific muffin recipe, the leavening agent is baking soda, which reacts with the acidic buttermilk to produce carbon dioxide gas, causing the muffins to rise. So, in this recipe, you do not need baking powder to achieve a rise in your muffins.
Check Out Some Of My Other Muffin Recipes
Muffin Recipe Without Baking Powder
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup of your favorite fruit or chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda, then add the sugar and give the mixture a stir.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- If using inclusions, gently fold them into the batter.
- Fill the muffin cups 2/3 of the way full.
- Place into the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
Jennifer
November 10, 2023 at 12:50 amThe muffins puffed up nicely, moist, soft, and slightly sweet, and the crust has just the right amount of crisp and crunch. This is my new favorite recipe!
Manuel
November 28, 2023 at 4:58 pmHi Jennifer,
I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the muffins! It’s always great to know that the effort in the kitchen paid off.
Thank you for your kind words and happy baking!