Irish Soda Bread Muffins
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Jam-packed with tiny sweet currants, flecked with caraway seeds, and sprinkled with coarse sugar, these Irish soda bread muffins are a delicious cross between muffins and scones.
These are no ordinary muffins. Subtly sweet with a distinctive craggy texture—and brimming with tiny currants and aromatic caraway seeds—these Irish soda bread muffins are crowned with a satisfying crunch of coarse sugar. Imagine them as a delightful cross between scones and muffins, or as I affectionately call them, “scuffins.”
Warm from the oven, they make a comforting breakfast treat, an excellent snack, or a rustic addition to any bread basket. And they reach new levels of deliciousness when smeared with salted Irish butter.
Table of Contents
“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. See information in the FAQs about other ways to use whole wheat flour.
- 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 and aroma, 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically, yes, but, I promise, the whole wheat flour makes a big difference giving the muffins a more complex flavor! If you’re hesitant to buy a whole bag of whole wheat flour for just one recipe, I have several other recipes to help you use it up like morning glory muffins, apple muffins and Ovenly’s famous whole wheat banana bread.
You can omit the caraway seeds from your muffins, but including them adds a unique and distinctive flavor characteristic of traditional Irish soda bread. While commonly associated with savory dishes, caraway seeds can also complement sweeter baked goods like Irish-American soda bread, gingerbread, or shortbread cookies with their subtly sweet, anise-like flavor.
These muffins are best served warm out of the oven, but leftovers will keep for a few days in an airtight container at room temperature.
Sure! 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.
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Irish Soda Bread Muffins
Jam-packed with tiny sweet currants, flecked with caraway seeds, and sprinkled with coarse sugar, these Irish soda bread muffins are a delicious cross between muffins and scones.
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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Made these exactly as written for St. Patrick’s Day, and they were fabulous.
Irish Soda Bread Muffins – Delicious
Jenn, I made your muffins to bring to work. I didn’t have whole wheat flour so used AP. Is that why yours may look more browned than mine? I even tried a bit of melted butter before baking but they still weren’t as brown. They turned out marvelous and no muffin was left behind. 🙂 So simple and tasty, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed them, Jane! And yes, the difference in color would’ve been due to the difference in flour.
I just made these today. I have been craving some Irish soda bread. They are phenomenal. The fact that they are muffins is even better because each one has that crunchy craggy top, just like you said they would. Thanks for this great recipe. The only thing I did different was used all AP flour.
Made these as written but subbed raisins for currants since I didn’t have the latter – turned out great!! Thank you so much Jenn, as always!
Hi, Jenn! First of all, I hope you and yours are safe. I have made these often and love them. Now to my question. It’s two-prong: can these muffins be made into a loaf bread and 2. I only have A/P flour. Can these be made with all A/P flour and how would they differ? Thank you. Be healthy.
Glad you like these, Jane! Yes, I do think it could be made as a loaf bread and that you can use all all-purpose flour. 🙂
Oh, my goodness! These were not only easy, but absolutely delicious! What a great combination of flavors. I was leery of the caraway seeds, but as others have said, they really worked. My husband and son thought these were the best Irish soda bread(s) they had ever had – including from our local Irish pub/restaurant. I did use golden raisins, which is what I had on hand (trying not to go to the store more than necessary), but they added a lovely sweetness to the muffins. Also used powdered buttermilk with 1/2 milk and 1/2 water instead of all water. Great recipe – thanks!
I made these exactly as written and they are fabulous! My husband and I are really enjoying them. I am not normally a fan of caraway seeds but they totally work in these muffins. Great recipe – thanks, Jenn!
Carol P.
Hi. I made these and they are decliious. I subbed in vegetable oil for the butter but would like to make these even healthier with just using whole wheat flour only, or with white whole wheat flour only. What do you think?
Glad you enjoyed these, Jane! I’m not sure that you’d be happy with the texture using all whole-wheat flour; I would encourage you, instead, to try switching the ratios and using 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of all purpose flour. You can see what you think of the texture with those ratios, and if you like them, you can use all whole wheat the next time. And I would definitely suggest going with white whole wheat. Please LMK how they turn out if you try them this way!
Thank you! I still have a dozen of these left and it will be a while til I make the ones with part www flour but I’ll definitely let you know.
Hi, Jenn: Getting back to you on the above: I just made these with 1 cup whole wheat and 1&1/4 c. all-purpose unbleached white flour. They were perfect. Since I like a denser consistency and am a bigger fan of whole wheat than white flour, I think they will be fine with 100% white whole wheat and am going to try them that way the next time. I didn’t do so this time because I had some regular whole wheat on hand. I also did not use the caraway seeds because none of us liked that aftertaste. Turbinado sugar on top made it even better. Thanks again! – Jane
So glad you enjoyed these with the tweaks – thanks for the follow-up – I’m sure other readers will find it helpful too! 🙂
I am not a baker. In fact, I hate to bake – hate it with a passion. But I do love Irish Soda Bread. Soooo….I thought I would try this out. I was so excited to make these for my hubby for dinner, I had to test one straight out of the oven. Yowza! When we sat down to dinner with a guest, I couldn’t wait to for everyone to praise me for this masterpiece while they dripped melting butter down their chins. Our friend just moaned, unable to speak. My hubby set his down before tasting and asked, so I see caraway seeds in there? Umm…yes, you do. He then informed me that he doesn’t eat them. WHAT? Since when? Do I even know you? Do I need to call a lawyer and get a divorce? When he realized that our friend and I were having a food “moment”, he slowly started picking out the caraway seeds. And then eating. On muffin #2, fewer of the seeds were getting picked out. By #3, the butter was going on and he was inhaling them, seeds-be-damned! I will be making this again in a few weeks for a brunch I am having. And the caraway seeds WILL be in them! Thanks Jenn, these are wonderful and so easy to make!
😂
You’re so funny you should be a comedy writer 😝
I made a double batch of these muffins for a very belated St. Patrick’s Day party recently (we were waiting for the whole gang to be available). Everyone raved about them, even those who weren’t fans of soda bread (too dry), and I’ve been asked to make them a permanent part of our annual celebration! Your recipes don’t disappoint!