This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
These Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins are so gooey and sweet on the inside, with that perfect fluffy muffin top! They’re my favorite muffin recipe of all time.
This recipe combines a little sweetness from strawberries with savory cream cheese. These strawberry cream cheese muffins are made with basic ingredients and only take about 15 minutes of total hands-on time.
Strawberry Muffins with Cream Cheese
This recipe came from the incredible Gluten Free Strawberry Bread that Jennifer Bragdon posted about a year ago. In my mind, muffins are such an easy alternative cause you can just grab them and go. And with muffins, it makes them easy to freeze and de-frost quickly.
One big difference between these and the strawberry bread is these are not gluten free. If you are celiac or have sensitivities to gluten, please check out the strawberry bread since it can also be made into muffins!
Also just a note, these are strawberry muffins with cream cheese mixed into the batter for flavor. They’re not a strawberry cheesecake muffin with injected sweet cream cheese filling.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Strawberries – I prefer to use fresh strawberries for this recipe since they have better texture and are not as moisture-filled. I also find it’s easier to get better flavor since I can taste the batch I’m putting in. If using frozen, it may change the texture and sweetness of the recipe.
- Cream Cheese – This adds flavor and also makes these muffins super moist! I like to use Organic Valley, Philadelphia plain block cream cheese, or one without carrageenan. You need to use the block style and not one from a tub. I actually found an article from Huffington Post about if Philadelphia was the best tasting cream cheese. Apparently the consensus was that it is! This must be at room temperature before starting.
- Butter – I like to use Kerrygold, however one thing to note, and I see this happen a lot on other recipes, is people mistaking the whole block of butter for a stick of butter. In some stores, they also carry it in stick form, but in others, they just have the full silver colored block. Make sure you really pay attention to the tablespoon guide on the side because one block of this is actually the equivalent of 2 sticks! This must be at room temperature.
- Flour – All purpose flour from Gold Medal is what I used, but this can be subbed with a gluten free 1:1 flour as well.
- Sugar – Regular white sugar works well for this recipe.
- Vanilla – I used Trader Joe’s vanilla.
- Milk – Whole milk typically works best in baking since it is full fat, but feel free to use whatever works for your diet. Oat milk is a great substitute as well.
- Eggs – Large brown eggs are included in this recipe. If you find you’re sensitive to eggs, I recommend looking for ones labeled “soy free”. Sometimes that helps people tolerate them better!
Step by Step Process
Step 1: Mix the wet ingredients.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a large mixing bowl, combine the room temperature butter and cream cheese with sugar. Just leave the butter and cream cheese out on the counter for 30+ minutes. Do not try to microwave them to speed up the process. Cream together till light and fluffy – about 5 minutes! Then on low speed, add in the eggs and vanilla, mixing till just combined.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt till combined.
Step 3: Combine the two mixtures. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl on low speed, until fully incorporated. Meanwhile, wash and dry strawberries and cut into small bite sized pieces.
Step 4: Add the fresh strawberries and bake. Gently fold in the strawberries to the batter till mixed through. Prepare a full size muffin tin with baking cups or use a little butter to grease the cups. Pour batter to the top of each cup. Bake for 25-30 minutes until light brown on the top and cooked through. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack if using muffin cups. If not, allow them to cool in the pan.
How to Freeze
Such a great factor in a time like now is muffins are a wonderful way to meal prep. I have a batch of these sitting in my freezer for a quick breakfast, snack, gift for struggling neighbors or friends, or even a dessert. These muffins can be stored in a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months.
Here are a few tips for freezing strawberry muffins:
- Wait for them to cool completely. Remove them from your muffin pan and allow them to cool on a wire rack. Of course steal one or two while you wait.
- Unless you’re conserving bags, try to store them on one flat line. This prevents them from sticking together and can also conserve space in the freezer.
How to Reheat
You can defrost them a few ways, but the easiest is just to microwave for about 15 seconds. Another option is to leave at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Another great way to warm them (without them being kinda sticky) is to place them in the oven while it preheats to 350 degrees. I find this gets them nice and warm without the stickiness on top. You can start by keeping them wrapped in foil and then open the foil the last few minutes. If you start from frozen, the time may increase.
What to Serve with Muffins
These fresh strawberry muffins can be made for breakfast, a snack, or even a dessert. If you warm them a bit with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it’s a delicious treat!
I recommend serving these with another breakfast option that has a bit of protein, like my Mini Quiche or Quiche Florentine.
For a snack, try these with pumpkin seed butter as a spread!
More Muffin Recipes
If you enjoy these strawberry cream cheese muffins, here are a few more favorite muffin recipes:
If you make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me #thedizzycook or @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram. Or leave a review below!
Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 oz cream cheese (block style, not tub)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine room temperature butter (left out about 20-30 min, not melted), cream cheese, and sugar. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until it's nicely combined and smooth. On low speed, add in eggs until just combined along with 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Alternate adding flour mixture to the butter/cream cheese mixture with the milk on low speed until just combined. Stir in the fresh strawberry pieces by hand with a spatula.
- Prepare a full size muffin tin by greasing with butter (or add paper cups) and spoon the mixture into each cup until full and evenly dispersed. It should fill almost to the top. If you'd like, you can use a little extra sugar on top to provide a bit of a crunch. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes until cooked through and light brown on top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out almost clean.
- Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. See post for instructions on freezing!
Notes
- You can defrost them a few ways, but the easiest is just to microwave for about 15 seconds. Another option is to leave at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- Another great way to warm them (without them being kinda sticky) is to place them in the oven while it preheats to 350 degrees. I find this gets them nice and warm without the stickiness on top. You can start by keeping them wrapped in foil and then open the foil the last few minutes. If you start from frozen, the time may increase.
- These muffins can be stored in a freezer safe bag for up to 3 months.
- See this post for a gluten free option.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was updated January 12, 2021 with ingredient suggestions and step by step process instructions, as well as some new photos.
Delicious! I used frozen strawberries. I thawed them for 30 minutes first, then cut them into small pieces and spread them out on waxed paper to thaw completely before mixing them into the batter. I baked the muffins for the full 30 minutes with excellent results.
Thanks for letting me know this works!
how is anyone able to make this when you do bit specify the amounts of any ingredients so how do we know what amounts we need to mix together?????
All the ingredients and how to make it are in the recipe card. It’s just above where you scrolled to leave this comment.
Am I missing when to add the milk in? I’ve gone back and read the recipe ingredients and directions and I can’t see when to add in the 1/2 cup of milk?
Hey – it’s written in step 2 where you alternate adding it in with the flour and cream cheese mix.