Strawberry Muffins with Cream Cheese Swirl

Everyone will want seconds of this delicious strawberry muffins recipe! It’s got a tender fluffy crumb and and a cream cheese swirl topping.

Here’s a recipe that turned out even more delicious than we imagined…these insanely tasty Strawberry Muffins! Imagine: a muffin with a tender crumb: just sweet enough and delightfully moist. Then top that with a strawberry cream cheese swirl, that coats everything in sweet savory richness. Our 4 year old Larson had the idea of making strawberry muffins (genius!), so we turned our favorite pumpkin muffin into a berry based one. Turns out, this one is even better than the original!

What’s great about these strawberry muffins

Some strawberry muffins have little chunks of strawberries in the batter, much like you would a blueberry muffin. But when we tried that type of strawberry muffin, the bits of berry made the batter soggy. Here’s what makes this strawberry muffin great:

The strawberries are incorporated in a cream cheese swirl. This way, the berries incorporate into a creamy topping, leaving the bottom portion of the muffin perfectly moist. Man, is it delicious!
The muffins are just sweet enough. Many muffins are glorified cupcakes: these are just sweet enough to be aptly called a muffin.
They’re moist from applesauce! Applesauce makes a perfectly moist cake portion of the muffin, without it being too buttery or oily.

How to make and swirl the cream cheese topping

These strawberry muffins are pretty straightforward: the only part that needs a little more explanation is the cream cheese swirl. Here’s what to know about this part of the recipe:

Dice the strawberries into small pieces. This helps the strawberries to integrate into the cream cheese — it will turn pink but still have strawberry chunks (this is intended!).
Place dollops of cream cheese on top of the muffin batter. Use a heaping 1 tablespoon.
Use a toothpick to swirl and push the cheese into the batter. Swirl it in so that it incorporates into the top portion of the muffin batter.

Storage info for strawberry muffins

Because there’s cream cheese on top, you’ll want to store these strawberry muffins in the refrigerator instead of at room temperature like other muffins. Here are a few pointers:

The muffins are the best the day of making. Wait after baking until they’re about room temperature, then devour. They taste incredible the day of.
Refrigerate for 5 days. Pop them into the fridge for storage. Remember to let them warm back to room temp for a minute or two before you enjoy them.
Do not freeze. The cream cheese topping doesn’t hold up well in the freezer, so we don’t recommend freezing here.

When to serve them!

These strawberry muffins are great for when you have a bunch of strawberries you don’t know what to do with. They’re absolutely perfect for entertaining, too! Here are a few ideas for how to pair them:

Serve them at a spring brunch with baked eggs and broiled asparagus
Bring them to an Easter pitch in (we did that, and got rave reviews!)
Make them for a cozy breakfast in with classic omelettes or fluffy scrambled eggs

More strawberry recipes

Love this popular berry? Us too! Here are some of our favorite ways to make strawberries into a tasty treat:

Classic Strawberry Crumble The only recipe you need! The big berry flavor and crunchy oat topping make a recipe you’ll bake up again and again.
Strawberry Shortcake Tender, biscuit-like shortcakes meet sweet berries and fluffy homemade whipped cream.
Strawberry Mimosa, Strawberry Sangria or Strawberry Margarita All the best strawberry drinks for any occasion.
Strawberry Waffles Start the day with tender waffles plus sweet strawberry sauce: yum.

This strawberry muffins recipe is…

Vegetarian.