Irish Soda Bread Muffins
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Golden and craggy with just the right amount of sweetness, these Irish soda bread muffins are bursting with fragrant caraway seeds, currants, and a crisp sugar topping. Perfect for breakfast, afternoon tea, or celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!
These Irish soda bread muffins take everything you love about the classic loaf and pack it into a perfectly snackable muffin. Fresh from the oven, they’re crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and topped with a satisfying crunch of coarse sugar. Pops of sweet currants make them just right for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or with a cup of tea. And with a smear of salted Irish butter? Absolute perfection.
If you’re looking for more St. Patrick’s Day inspiration, pair these muffins with a hearty bowl of lamb stew or a perfectly roasted corned beef and cabbage. And don’t forget dessert—my Baileys cheesecake marbled brownies would be the perfect sweet finish!
“Truly, I have been thinking (obsessing?) about making these again since I first made them on St. Patrick’s Day. Today was the day. They’ve got a wonderful texture and flavor and come together so quickly and easily!”
What You’ll Need To Make Irish Soda Bread Muffins
- All-Purpose Flour and Whole Wheat Flour: Provide structure and texture to the muffins. The whole wheat flour helps give the muffins a nuttier, more complex flavor and extra nutrients.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Act as leavening agents helping the muffins rise.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the muffins and adds moisture.
- Caraway Seeds: Add a unique flavor, characteristic of traditional Irish soda bread.
- Egg: Binds the ingredients together and provides structure to the muffins.
- Buttermilk: Adds moisture and richness to the batter and the acidity in buttermilk helps the muffins rise. If you don’t have any on hand or don’t want to purchase a whole carton, see how to make buttermilk using milk and lemon juice or vinegar.
- Butter: Contributes richness and flavor to the muffins, enhancing their texture and taste.
- Currants: Provide bursts of sweetness and texture throughout the muffins, adding a fruity flavor reminiscent of traditional Irish soda bread.
- Turbinado Sugar: Adds a crunchy texture and caramelized sweetness to the muffin tops.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Irish Soda Bread Muffins
Begin by combining the dry ingredients—all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and caraway seeds—in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
In a separate large bowl, combine the liquid ingredients: the egg, buttermilk, and melted butter. Whisk to combine. The mixture may look a little curdled; that’s okay and normal.
Add the dry ingredients and the currants to the liquid mixture.
Use a rubber spatula to mix until just combined; the batter will be very thick. Do not overmix or the muffins may be tough.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling the cups about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the turbinado (or sparkling white) sugar evenly over the muffins.
Bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and set and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool until you’re ready to serve.
More Muffin Recipes You May Like
Irish Soda Bread Muffins
These Irish soda bread muffins are everything you love about classic soda bread, wrapped up in a perfectly snackable muffin!
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off
- ½ cup whole wheat flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk (see note)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1⅓ cups currants
- 1½ tablespoons turbinado or sparkling white sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a standard muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar, and caraway seeds.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and melted butter.
- Add the dry ingredients and the currants to the liquid mixture. Use a rubber spatula to mix until just combined; the batter will be very thick. Do not overmix.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling the cups about ¾ full. Sprinkle the turbinado (or sparkling white) sugar evenly over the muffins.
- Bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden and set and a cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool until ready to serve. Serve warm, preferably with salted butter.
- Note: If you’d like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.
- Make-Ahead Instructions:These muffins are best served fresh out of the oven but leftovers will keep for a few days in a sealed container at room temperature.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 224
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Sugar: 19 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Sodium: 184 mg
- Cholesterol: 32 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I have made these several times and if possible they get better each time. Substituted yogurt with a little 2%milk to equal the amount of buttermilk. They are moist and served warm with butter it doesn’t get any better than this.
I just doubled the recipe to bring to a St. Paddy’s party tonight and wound up with 34 small muffins – good thing, because we can’t stop eating them!! I have no experience with Irish Soda Bread so can’t attest to their authenticity, but these, right out of the oven, are DELICIOUS.
A perfect recipe as always; this is why Once Upon is always my first stop for a recipe/how-to. (Btw, didn’t have any caraway seeds so I substituted 3 tsp of Trader Joe’s Dukkah Nut And Spice Blend and left out the extra salt… works great.) Thanks!
I baked these this morning for breakfast, though I left out the currants to make them more diabetic friendly. Delicious! Will definitely bake these again.
12 perfectly wonderful muffins just came out of the oven!!!!!!! Kitchen smells heavenly….having them with clam chowder and salad for dinner…Thank you….once again, you hit it out of the ball park…….Elaine
Hey Jenny
The Scuffins look great … do you think the recipe would work with keto flour which is made mainly of nuts and seeds flour?
M
Hi Mahesh, I don’t have any experience baking with keto flour, so it’s hard to say – I’m sorry! Please report back if you try them this way – I’d love to hear how they turn out. 🙂
Jenn,
I love your recipes! How would you adapt this recipe for a loaf instead of muffins?
Thanks so much!
So glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Jacqline! If you’d like to make this as a loaf, I’d follow the method used here.
Hello many thanks for your wonderful recipe which I am yet to try. Just wondering what makes it Irish Soda ? I have seen Irish Soda bread at the market and keen to start making my own
Regards Elizabeth
Hi Elizabeth, Soda bread is just a bread in which baking soda is used as a leavening agent instead of yeast. Hope you enjoy if you make it! 🙂
Are any adjustments necessary for high altitude baking? I’m at almost 5000 ft.
Hi Christy, I don’t have experience baking at high altitudes so, unfortunately, I don’t have any wisdom to share – I’m sorry! You may find these tips helpful though. Hope you enjoy the muffins if you make them!
Use high altitude hungarian flour
Christy, I’ve made these at 5420′ without any adjustments and they turned out beautifully.
These muffins come together quickly and are delicious. I served them for brunch with two crustless quiches and fruit. My guests and I agreed we’d much rather get our carbs in these yummy muffins than in crust!