Raspberry Ricotta Muffins

These ricotta muffins are moist, tender, and filled with raspberries and almond flavor. Topped with lots of crunchy sugar and sliced almonds.

Why I Love It

These ricotta muffins are always a huge hit. They’re moist, super tender, and studded with bits of smashed raspberries and just enough almond extract to make the kitchen smell amazing while they bake.

Ricotta is such a good muffin ingredient (same concept with this ricotta cake). It makes the batter thick and almost fluffy, which gives you those high bakery-style domes and a really soft, delicate crumb. The texture stays moist for days, too.

I finish the tops with turbinado sugar and sliced almonds for a little crunch and that classic bakery look. The raspberries melt into the batter a bit as they bake, giving you pockets of jammy fruit throughout instead of big wet chunks.

The nice thing about this recipe is how adaptable it is. One of our kids prefers them plain, another likes mini chocolate chips folded in instead. The base recipe stays the same. Once you have it down, you can shift it in all kinds of directions.

And yes, the batter will fill the muffin tin almost to the top. Trust it. That’s what gives you the perfect rise.

How to make these ricotta muffins:

More recipe tips:

Use whole milk ricotta. It gives the muffins their rich texture and soft crumb. I’ve had the best results with Galbani, which stays especially creamy and smooth.

The batter should be very thick. The muffin cups will look overly full, but that’s exactly what gives you those tall domed tops.

Lightly smash the raspberries first. It distributes the fruit more evenly through the batter and avoids large wet pockets inside the muffins.

Don’t overmix the batter. Stir just until the flour disappears to keep the crumb tender.

Try different variations. Blueberries and blackberries work beautifully, and for a lemon version, add the finely grated zest of 1 lemon when creaming the butter and sugar. Mini chocolate chips are also very delicious here. Toss any leftover berries in this tangy, buttery triple berry creme fraiche cake!

Print