Next time you’re in search of a delicious sour cherry recipe look no further than these sour cherry muffins. Perfect for breakfast, these muffins will having you loving cherry season!
Sour cherries, or tart cherries are absolutely amazing – have you ever tried them? They’re a cherry that is closely related to the sweet cherry, but is more tart – or sour – hence it’s name. They also have tons of nutritional benefits, like being high in antioxidants, they can help regulate sleep because of their high melatonin content, and they can be anti-inflammatory.
When they’re not in season fresh, they can be found in the freezer section at your local grocery store (the frozen ones usually have the name ‘tart cherries’ on the bag).
I’ve been making these cherry muffins for years, and have had so many readers tell me how much they love them, so I updated the pictures a little and am excited to re-share this recipe with you.
Sour cherries have a wonderful tart flavor that is second to none. One could use fresh or frozen cherries for this recipe (I’ve used both with the same great results.) I like topping the muffins with a little sanding sugar (I like to use a sanding sugar like this one) because it makes for a delicious sweet and slightly crunchy finish. I also like using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop (like this one) to scoop the batter into the muffin liners, it makes for perfectly even muffins!
The muffins are marbled throughout with cherries and make such a great breakfast. So the next time you’re looking for a sour cherry recipe, I’d definitely recommend making these sour cherry muffins 🙂
Other recipes you might enjoy:
- Best Blueberry Cherry Muffins (made with Greek yogurt)
- Cherry Chocolate Chip No Bake Energy Bites
- Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake Cookies
Sour Cherry Muffins
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup reduced fat buttermilk
- 1/4 cup water or you can use cherry juice, but your muffins will be pinkish
- 2/3 cup canola oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 lemon zested (about 1 heaping tablespoon)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups sour cherries fresh or frozen; make sure the cherries are pitted. 2 cups is about 12 oz cherries, very well drained
- 2 Tbs Sanding Sugar for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan(s) with liners (the batter makes 18 muffins).
- In a bowl mix together buttermilk, water, canola oil and egg. Mix well.
- Next add the lemon zest, flour, sugar, and baking powder and stir until well incorporated.
- Lastly fold in the cherries and stir until just combined.
- Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop (or just using a spoon), scoop batter into muffins cups so that each muffin cup is about 3/4 full. Sprinkle a little sanding sugar on top of the muffin batter, and then bake for 25 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let rest for a few minutes, and then transfer to a wire cooling wrack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
Nutrition
Shelley Gillespie says
I tried this recipe today using frozen sour cherries replaced rhe water with the juice from the cherries after they drained and did lime zest amazing flavor and so light and fluffy. This will be my base muffin recipe for different things. Tried Canned mango ( used the syrup from the can) and omg the family loved it. Best muffin recipe I’ve tried and now can’t wait to harvest more sour cherry from my garden.
Sweetphi says
Thank you for the thoughtful comment, so glad you loved them!!!!
Liz says
Soooo good. Made them with vegan buttermilk and an egg replacement and they turned out so great!!
Sweetphi says
Oh I love hearing about those changes and how it turned out great, thank you for sharing!!
Sharon says
This recipe make really yummy sour cherry muffins, my father-in-law loves them!
Sweetphi says
So happy to hear this and that you are loving them!!
Sonali says
How should I adjust if I live in CO? Has anyone tried baking these in higher altitude?
Sweetphi says
Hi – what a great question. I just heard back from a friend who lives in a high altitude location,
Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon decrease 1/8 teaspoon.
Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 0 to 1 tablespoon.
Increase liquid: for each cup, add 1 to 2 tablespoons.
Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.
Molly says
Any tips on how to get the cherries drained well? I think I was too rough with them and they got all mushy 🙁
Sweetphi says
Great question – I’ve had best luck letting them drain in a strainer and then gently patting them with a paper towel. Hope that helps!
Dawn Hockaday says
Used frozen cherries and knew they were very juicy (from past experience) so just left out the 1/4 cup water. Sprinkled sliced almond on top then the sugar. Turned out perfect!
Sweetphi says
That’s such great feedback, thank you for sharing!! I’m so glad to hear how you enjoyed them (also loved the sliced almonds and sugar on top, yum!)
George says
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Can you skip the muffin cup and just butter the tin (well)?
Sweetphi says
Yes, absolutely – I’ve done that many a time.
B. Michael says
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills reading these glowing comments. My muffins turned out dense and flavorless. Not even the super fresh sour cherries I bought at the farmers market could save them. The recipe clearly needs salt, almond extract, and butter.
Sweetphi says
Hi there, I’m so surprised by this comment, I’ve made these countless times, and many others (as you saw by the comments) have made them with glowing feedback and results! I’d love to help you troubleshoot, The #1 reason to have muffins turn out dense in my experience is that there is too much liquid. Did you make sure to drain the cherries? I’m so stumped by the ‘flavorless’ comment because there are a LOT of cherries in this recipe!
A few questions I’d ask would be: did you make any modifications to the recipe? Did you mix the liquids and dry ingredients separately and then add together? Did you drain the cherries? Hope that helps.
Janet says
I have now made 3 batches. I used frozen cherries so the texture was off…dense and sponge-like. I noticed in one of your comments later, you said to thaw and drain. That would have helped me in the instructions. Determined to try again.
Sweetphi says
Thank you for the feedback, I’ll add it to the recipe card. Hope they turn out amazing for you as they are 🙂
Mette says
I can’t wait to make these, but I am having a hard time finding sour/tart cherries in NYC at the moment. Do you know if canned sour cherries (in water) can be used?
Sweetphi says
Canned cherries can be used, I believe another commenter tried that and it worked, I’d just be sure to drain them very well. Another option is frozen cherries, I’ve tried those – found in the frozen food section (thawed and drained). Hope you love these delicious muffins
Barbara says
I would like the cherry muffin recipe, please.
Sweetphi says
It’s listed at the bottom of the post 🙂
Karen says
I agree with N. Roberts. This recipe was terrible. I followed it exactly, and the result was very heavy muffins with little flavor. The batter is far too sweet, and the oil makes them heavy and adds no flavor as butter would. They were average tasting when warm, but then deflated into dense hockey pucks when cooled. Sorry, but a total waste of my precious sour cherries.
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry to hear this. I have made these so many times and there is so much feedback from others who have made them that they turned out great and that they’re their favorite muffins! Again, so sorry to hear these didn’t turn out for you!
Sue says
I made this recipe and used fresh bing cherries. Used a little less sugar. I pitted them and cut them in quarters. Sprinkled a little flour on them before adding to the batter. Turned out very well.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the comment and sharing your modifications 🙂 so glad you liked these muffins!
Nicole says
Turns out our sour cherries we just bought at the farmer’s market had already gone bad. I was wondering if we could substitute a different kind of fruit into the recipe, and what fruit you think might work well?
Sweetphi says
Raspberries or any other berries would work well in this recipe
J says
Great recipe- very jammy and the sourness is nice and tart but balanced. Like a crumble in a little cake!
Sweetphi says
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for commenting!
Sandy J says
These turned out wonderfully! I made a couple of adjustments using one cup of almond flour and one cup of white, and substituting about .5 cup of bing cherries since I didn’t quite have enough sour cherries. I’m looking forward to next years crop of cherries! I wonder, do you have an idea of calorie and carb count?
Sweetphi says
Love hearing about your modifications, so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I just added the nutritional information – when made like the recipe states, 1 muffin is 187 calories with 26gms carbohydrates – hope that helps!
Nancy Martin says
I made this muffins for a church Breakfast yesterday. And there where a big hit. Everyone love them! I glad I have sour cherries to make more. My favorite now!
Nancy
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for coming back and leaving such wonderful feedback, I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins!
SW says
Thank you for this recipe! A friend gave me some sour cherries in the fall that I had frozen & thought I’d better use them! I didn’t have quite 2 cups so I threw in some blueberries to make up the difference. They are great – this is a keeper recipe.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much, so happy to hear you like them!!
Kent M, Lund, NV says
What can I say, quick, easy, delicious. Thanks
Sweetphi says
So happy to hear that, glad you liked them!
Tracy Chretien says
Just made these…already ate 2 they are so good!! Planning to make a batch to take to a family potluck. Can’t wait to share them.
Sweetphi says
What a lovely comment, thank you so much for your feedback, so glad you like them!
Ben Scherer says
Ben scherer. Trying it for the first time I’m new at cooking trying not to wast leftover fruit cherries were what I had to much of the directions were easy hope they tast as good
Sweetphi says
Hi Ben, thanks for commenting, hope you love these cherry muffins, they get rave reviews!
Linda E says
Can you use this recipe with gluten free flour? We are GF in our home and gathered a bunch of sour cherries.
Connie says
Can I use lime zest instead of lemon for the Sour Cherry Muffins?
Sweetphi says
Yes you can!
Martha says
I didn’t have a lemon a used lime zest and the cherry juice as my water and I didn’t use buttermilk. They were fabulous!!
Sweetphi says
Yes of course! My favorite is Bob’s red mill 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour
Amanda Raduege says
I’ve made this recipe for the past 3 years with our fresh cherries from our trees, by far my favorite cherry recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for sharing this lovely comment with me. I’m so happy you like this recipe (and that’s so neat you have a cherry tree!!)
Samantha says
Thank you for your recipe!! We have sour cherry trees in our backyard & this recipe was the perfect way to ensure that none go to waste! Absolutely amazing- love the lemon with the sour cherries. I also drizzled with cream cheese frosting once they cooled!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much, so glad you like this recipe. How absolutely cool that you have a cherry tree in your yard, I have major yard envy lol. The cream cheese frosting drizzle sounds amazing, I’ll have to try that!
J Patel says
1st time trying this muffins. Wow! Wonderful recipe.
Will make another batch soon.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback, so glad you like them!!
Mariellen Puhl says
Could tart cherry butter be used in this recipe instead of the cherries?
Sweetphi says
Yes it could be, it will have a different color, but I think the flavor would be delicious!
Sandy Long says
Made exactly as recipe and they were delicious. Very light, not too dense. Two 8 year old Grandsons and 71 year old husband devoured them. Making a double batch today and freezing them.
Thank you Sweetphi.
Sweetphi says
I’m so happy to hear this Sandy, thank you for coming back and leaving the feedback 🙂
Alice says
This is the second time making this recipe! Everyone in my house loves them!!!?
Sweetphi says
So happy to hear that Alice, this is one of my favorites too!
N.Roberts says
This recipe needs work. Ratio of flour to sugar is wrong. There is just too much sugar for the amount of flour specified. It needs salt, baking soda and more baking powder. It also needs more lemon rind. A bit of almond extract would enhance the cherries. The oven temperature is too low. The muffins came out flat and with no color. Second time around with the improvements yielded a better muffin .
Sweetphi says
Hi there, thank you for your feedback. I’m wondering if you misread the recipe or something? I, along with many others, have made this recipe countless times as written with excellent results. If you’re using sour cherries and drain them properly, the muffins would be super sour without the sugar…and if you were to increase the oven temperature, you’d end up with a super dry muffin on top and not fully cooked in the middle. Regardless, sorry these didn’t work for you. I love the recommendation of the addition of almond extract – that goes very well with cherries and cranberries to bring out the flavor.
Linda says
How incredibly rude…I am shocked at the such ignorant behavior. Don’t make it if you do not like it and keep your mean spirited comments to yourself and not insult someone sharing well liked recipes. Good Grief!!!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the supportive comment, much appreciated!! This is a recipe that is near and dear to my heart and has always come out great when i’ve made it 🙂
Alyssa says
How well does this recipe work without the sugar (or what would be the minimum to add)?
Sweetphi says
They would be pretty sour without the sugar, because it’s a recipe that calls for sour cherries. You could use coconut sugar or half the sugar if you’d like 🙂
Sarah Critchley says
I have dried tart cherries. Can I use them?
Sweetphi says
I don’t think dried cherries would work in this recipe, sorry, you want the moisture in the fresh (or frozen and thawed) cherries
Cathy Landolfo says
I made these muffins today. I used a little orange juice on the cherries. I did not have lemon zest. Wonderful recipe!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much! So glad you liked this recipe!!
Megan says
Just made a batch of these muffins and I’m very pleased! Muffins are so much easier than pies, and I can freeze single servings — it’s a winner!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much, so glad you liked the recipe.
Cathryn says
I picked sour cherries from our trees, wanted to try something besides pie, and found your recipe. Problem: visiting family are lactose and gluten intolerant. So….I substituted the buttermilk with almond milk plus lemon juice and used gluten-free flour. The batter was thin, so I poured it into a 9×9 pan instead. Not bad!
Sweetphi says
Thank you for your comment, I love that you made the substitutions to make this recipe work for you 🙂
Linda says
Hi, I was looking for a cherry muffin recipe on Pinterest and found yours! My husbands grandmother made a cherry muffin that sounds similar to this. Hers had a glaze on top. Have you tried that? She has passed and I have no recipe? Thanks for the recipe.
Sweetphi says
Oh yum, cherry muffins with a glaze sound good. As for the glaze, I’ve never personally put one on these muffins, but I’m thinking they would be good with one…I would make the glaze out of 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and 1 teaspoon milk and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Hope that helps 🙂
angela says
tried these sour cherry muffins this morning and i make several kinds of muffins but these didn’t work for me…the batter was thin and they hardly raised. i followed the recipe to the letter…what is my problem?
Sweetphi says
Hi Angela, so sorry to hear that these muffins didn’t turn out for you. I’d love to help you trouble shoot, because I’ve made these over a dozen times and they are truly so amazing and definitely not thin or anything like that, as you can read, others raved about them in the comments. OK, so first question – what kind of sour cherries did you use? Did you use fresh or frozen? Were they drained enough? If not, I could see that as one reason your batter was thinner than normal. Also, did you by chance measure too much water and not enough oil? It’s only a 1/4 of a cup of water, and 2/3 cup oil. As for the not rising, my only suggestion would be to check the expiration date on your baking powder…sometimes if the baking powder is old it could lose its potency. Hopefully this helps
Shawnna Griffin says
hey girl- these muffins look so yummy!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much!! Muffins are one of my favorite breakfasts because they’re so easy to have as a ‘grab and go’ breakfast 🙂
Jess says
I love a good muffin recipe, thank you for sharing this! They look amazing 🙂 hope you’re feeling well these days my friend. My daughters bday is next week and I remembered you were due around the same time so I hope things are going well, you’re in the homestretch!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for your lovely comment! Muffins are so great because after making a batch you can enjoy them for a few days! I am due mid June, so time is ticking – I cannot believe that JUNE is coming up so fast!!! I hop you have a wonderful birthday for your daughter 🙂
Little Cooking Tips says
Amazing recipe! We love sour cherries here in Greece. We usually serve them as a “spoon dessert” with a glass of ice-cold water on the side or make a thick syrup called “vyssinada” that’s diluted with ice cold water and served as a beverage in the summer afternoons. So having said these, you realize how much we LOVED your recipe as well and how eager we are to try it out!:):):) THANK YOU sweetie!
Muah!
Mirella and Panos
Sweetphi says
I’ve never even heard of a “spoon dessert” – how cool!! And Vyssinada sounds delicious. Thank you for your lovely comment 🙂
Sparkey says
My muffin pan only holds 12 muffins
Sweetphi says
You could either use 2 muffin pans or make a batch and then when the 12 are cooling make the remaining 6
Janet Lopez says
I love cherries & your muffins look delicious. I have two questions. My local grocery stores get yummy bing cherries in the spring but not sour cherries. My preference is to use fresh ingredients whenever possible. Not knowing how sweet or tart your muffins are I’m not sure how to adjust the amount of sugar that should be used. Do you have a suggestion?
Next, I would like to know why you use water? As Alton Brown has frequently said “water doesn’t bring any flavor to the party.” Please know that I ask the question in the pursuit of knowledge not as a criticism. My instinct would be to use 1 cup of buttermilk rather than 3/4 cup buttermilk & 1/4 cup water. I assume you have a reason & would appreciate you enlightening me.
Thank you
Janet L.
Sweetphi says
Hi Janet,
You could definitely use fresh bing cherries, no adjustments needed. In case you want to try it with sour cherries, they do sell them in the frozen fruit aisle at the grocery store.
In terms of the water, I find it gives the muffins a little lighter and fluffier texture, but definitely feel free to use all buttermilk instead if you’re more comfortable with that 🙂
Thank you for your comment,
Phi
Judy says
I’m so glad someone else likes cherries! I have whole frozen cherries that I love on yogurt but I’m going to try making your Sour Chery Muffins because
They look so good. I just hope the frozen cherries don’t color the batter…I like the look of your muffins just the way they are. I love quick breads because they stay fresher longer than muffins so I may try baking mine in a loaf pan. Thanks for a cherry recipe though…they are hard to find:)
Sweetphi says
I looooove cherries, and am so glad you found my recipe 🙂 And even if your batter colored, it would be a pretty pink, right 🙂 Hope you love these muffins as much as I do.
Mary says
Would I be able to make this in a loaf pan, rather than muffin tins? If so what size pan would you suggest?
Sweetphi says
I have not tried it in a loaf pan, but I totally think it would work 🙂 I think a standard loaf pan would work 🙂
Thommi says
Hi there. I was wondering where you find sour cherries? I have not been able tidied them in the Milwaukee area and I really want to try these. I also have a recipe that calls for dried sour cherries and have had no luck finding them either. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated Thanks so much!!
Sweetphi says
Hi there, thank you for the comment. If you live in the Milwaukee area, you’re in luck – I just saw sour cherries at Sendik’s, they were sour cherries just like the ones I used in this recipe and were available in the fruit juice section of the store. Also, I know that Dole brand has frozen cherries called ‘Red Tart Cherries’ http://www.dolefoodservice.com/Products/Other-Frozen-Fruits/Fresh-Frozen-Red-Tart-Cherries – hope that helps 🙂
Gwenn says
Could I substitute plain Greek yogurt with a splash of vanilla instead of the vanilla yogurt? These look so good, chocolate with tart cherries is a favorite combination of mine.
Gwenn says
Darn it, I meant to post this question under the chocolate cherry muffin recipe.
Sweetphi says
You could certainly try that substitution, but the flavors would be different, I think they would end up being more tart and dense because of the Greek yogurt. Let me know how they turn out for you 🙂
Nancy says
Are you sure about the 2/3 cups oil and only 1 tsp of baking pwd?
Sweetphi says
I just made a batch of these last week and they came out great! If you’re used to adding more or would like to, feel free to add a little more baking powder 🙂
Eileen says
Just made these. They were SUPERB!!
Sweetphi says
YAY! So glad you loved them, thank you SO much for coming back and telling me how you liked them!
Tammy says
These were the best sour cherry muffins ever! Thank you so much for an absolutely delicious recipe. Your recipe was very easy to follow and the muffins turned out awesome! I am looking forward to trying some of your other recipes as well. Thank you! Tammy
Sweetphi says
Tammy! THANK YOU for that super sweet comment, totally made my day! So glad you like these – they’re definitely a favorite in my house too 😉 But thank you from the bottom of my heart for that sweet comment!
Lisa says
My husband and mom LOVED these muffins. Made a batch last Friday…making another one today. I added slivered almonds to mine. Thank you for the recipe. We have two beautiful sour cherry trees in our new backyard so I have a great recipe for them now. For my kids I think I will have to leave out the cherries and I know they will love the taste. great muffins
Sweetphi says
Your comment totally made my day Lisa! I love hearing feedback, so thank you for coming back and sharing how these turned out for you. I love that you added slivered almonds! I love almond flavors and have occasionally added a few drops of almond extract (it goes really well with the cherries) and so I can see adding slivered almonds having a similarly amazing taste in the muffins, I’m definitely going to try adding them next time I made these! Thanks again for your comment!
Lisa says
And….making yet another batch today!! 🙂
Sweetphi says
Awe, thank you SO MUCH for coming back and letting me know, truly appreciate that and glad you like the recipe!
Shel says
Can you use regular milk instead of buttermilk, and butter instead of oil?
Sweetphi says
I use milk with a dash of lemon juice in place of buttermilk. I have also used butter instead of oil, they may come out a little denser with butter instead of oil, but still delicious 🙂
The MadMama says
Oh, no problem! I’m glad that I happened to cook them at 350! 😉 They turned out amazingly well! I did 6 of them as – is, 6 of them I added shaved chocolate to the batter and the other 6 I added walnuts and chocolate and they are all delicious! 🙂
Sweetphi says
Wow, those combinations you did sound amazing! I’ll have to do that next time I make these – which will be soon- because they are just so yummy! Thanks for letting me know how it all went!
diaryofamadmama says
You’re very welcome! 🙂 Thanks again for sharing such a yummy recipe! I found it on Pinterest. I had a bag of frozen cherries that wasn’t full enough for a cherry pie and I thought muffins sounded good, so I searched “cherry muffins” and scrolled through until I saw your pin. Your picture looked much yummier than all the other ones on there, so that’s how I found your blog! 😉
Don’t you just love Pinterest?
diaryofamadmama says
These look delicious! I’m attempting to make them right now, but what temperature should I preheat the oven to? Thanks!
~Jen
http://diaryofamadmama.wordpress.com
Sweetphi says
Thanks for the comment, I can’t believe I forgot to write 350 degrees!! Thanks for pointing that out! Oven should be preheated to 350.