Raspberry Lemon Ricotta Muffins (Printable)
Moist, tender muffins with fresh raspberries, lemon zest, and creamy ricotta for a perfect breakfast treat.
# What You'll Need:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
02 - ½ cup whole milk
03 - ⅓ cup mild vegetable oil (canola or sunflower)
04 - 2 large eggs
05 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
06 - Zest of 1 large lemon
07 - Juice of ½ lemon
→ Dry Ingredients
08 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
09 - ¾ cup granulated sugar
10 - 2 teaspoons baking powder
11 - ½ teaspoon baking soda
12 - ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
→ Fruit
13 - 1½ cups fresh raspberries (or frozen, unthawed)
→ Topping (Optional)
14 - 2 tablespoons coarse sparkling sugar
# How-To Steps:
01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease each well with butter or oil.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese, whole milk, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice until the mixture is smooth and well blended.
03 - In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
04 - Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients. Using a spatula, fold gently until just combined — stop as soon as no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix, as this will produce tough muffins.
05 - Gently fold the raspberries into the batter with a few light strokes, taking care not to crush the berries and tint the entire batter pink.
06 - Divide the batter evenly among the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. If desired, sprinkle the tops generously with coarse sparkling sugar for a crunchy, golden finish.
07 - Bake on the center rack for 20 to 24 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the tops are golden and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
08 - Let the muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before storing, or serve warm.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The ricotta keeps these muffins impossibly moist for days, almost like a little cake pretending to be breakfast.
- That pop of lemon zest cuts right through the richness, making each bite feel fresh instead of heavy.
02 -
- Overmixing the batter once the flour joins the wet ingredients will produce tough, rubbery muffins. Fold and stop.
- Tossing the raspberries in a tiny pinch of flour before folding them in helps prevent them from sinking to the bottom during baking.
03 -
- If your ricotta is very wet, press it gently in a clean towel for a minute before measuring. This one step changed my results dramatically.
- Use a large ice cream scoop to portion the batter. It fills each cup perfectly and gives you those gorgeous rounded tops without any fuss.