Home / Recipe Index / Sourdough Discard Recipes / Quick & Easy Sourdough Mini Muffins (Little Bites copycat) 

Quick & Easy Sourdough Mini Muffins (Little Bites copycat) 

Sharing is caring!

This post may contain affiliate links . Read my full Disclosure Policy here.

Sourdough mini muffins are a delicious homemade alternative to Little Bites muffins. Soft, tender, and moist, and customizable with plenty of mix-in options. Plus, they come together in under 30 minutes and are incredibly easy to make. Perfect for breakfast, snacks, or lunchboxes, they’re a treat the whole family will love.

mini sourdough muffins in a brown bowl topped with strawberries, blueberries, sprinkles or chocolate chips

In honor of back-to-school season, I’ve been working on homemade sourdough versions of your favorite childhood snacks. From Cheez-Its, Goldfish, and animal crackers to granola bars, oatmeal cream pies, and now mini muffins, there’s something for everyone.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe 

  • Quick & Easy- All you need is about 20 minutes from start to finish to make this muffin recipe. With minimal dishes and common pantry ingredients, you can whip up a batch of mini muffins with ease. 
  • Made with good-for-you ingredients- This recipe uses greek yogurt for extra protein and moisture and is sweetened with honey. Plus, it uses up some of our favorite ingredient— sourdough discard. 
  • Customizable- From fruits like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries to mini chocolate chips to sprinkles, the mix-in possibilities for this recipe are endless.
sourdough mini muffins with chocolate chips in a brown bowl with chocolate chips sprinkled around

Ingredients 

  • Butter: This recipe calls for melted butter. If you use salted butter, you can omit the salt in the recipe. 
  • Greek Yogurt: I used plain non-fat greek yogurt, but you could also use whole milk greek yogurt or a flavored variety.
  • Sourdough Discard: Discard refers to unfed sourdough starter. I use sourdough discard straight from the fridge—no need to bring it to room temperature.
  • Honey: This can be substituted with maple syrup or cane/granulated sugar.
  • Milk: I use whole milk, but any kind will work. You can also use a dairy-free alternative.
  • Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor to the recipe.
  • Egg: Acts as a binder for the muffin.
  • Salt: Adds flavor to the recipe. This can be omitted if using salted butter.
  • Baking Powder: This is what leavens the muffins.
  • Baking Soda: I recently started adding this to make the muffins fluffier.
  • All-Purpose Flour: Works great for this recipe. You could also try using some whole wheat flour in place of the all purpose flour for extra nutrients.
brown bowl filled with mini muffins with blueberries and strawberries

Substitutions 

  • Greek Yogurt: You can replace this with sour cream or a different type of yogurt.
  • Sourdough Discard: Use active sourdough starter in place of discard. If you don’t have a sourdough starter, add an extra 1/4 cup of milk to the recipe.
  • Milk: You can substitute dairy-free milk if needed.

Mix-Ins for the Sourdough Mini Muffins

When adding mix-ins to these mini muffins, the options are endless. I recommend adding about 1 cup of mix-ins to the batter. If you want a variety of flavors, add the mix-ins individually after the muffin batter is divided in the muffin tin. Use a toothpick to mix in the fruit so it’s incorporated throughout the muffin.

For a healthier snack, mixing in fruit is a great option. Use fresh blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, apples, or whatever you prefer. Dice the fruit into small bite-sized pieces (if your blueberries are small, you can add them whole) and fold into the batter. If you don’t have fresh fruit available, you can also use dehydrated or frozen fruit. When using frozen fruit, you don’t need to defrost it beforehand.

For a more dessert-like option, you can add sprinkles or mini chocolate chips. You could also add extra seasonings if you want, like cinnamon and nutmeg.

How to Make Sourdough Mini Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, melted butter, milk, sourdough discard, greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and egg until combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients mixture and stir until just combined.

muffin batter

Fold in your mix-ins of choice, or if you want a variety of mix-ins, add them individually to the batter once it’s in the muffin pan.

batter in muffin tins

Grease a mini muffin tin and evenly divide the batter among the 24 muffin cups, scooping about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter to each. Alternatively, you can line the muffin tin with paper liners.

mini sourdough muffins in a muffin tin topped with strawberries, blueberries, sprinkles or chocolate chips

Bake for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy. Store in an airtight container on the counter for the first 2 days and then in the fridge to avoid mold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! If you want the health benefits of fermenting your batter, you can leave it overnight in the fridge.

Muffins freeze very well. Place the mini muffins in a single layer on a cookie sheet and flash freeze them for one hour or until frozen solid. Then, place the muffins in a freezer-safe ziplock bag or another airtight container. They will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, simply remove a few from the freezer and pop them in the microwave or let them thaw on the counter.

Yes, but they won’t yield a full set of 12 muffins. You will also need to extend the baking time.

You can use active sourdough starter in place of sourdough discard; either one will work.

mini muffins in a muffin tin

Storage Instructions

Once the mini muffins are completely cooled, store them in an airtight container on the counter for the first 2 days. After that, I recommend placing them in the fridge to avoid them molding as they do not have preservatives or excess amounts of sugar. You can also freeze the mini muffins for three months, as explained in the previous section.

Best Tips

  • Don’t overmix the batter, it will lead to tough muffins.
  • Remove the muffins from the pan to cool.
  • Use a toothpick to mix in any mix-ins added after the muffins were scooped into the muffin tin.

If you love muffins, try these…

sourdough mini muffins with chocolate chips in a brown bowl

Sourdough Mini Muffins

Emily Christensen
These sourdough mini muffins are a quick and easy homemade alternative to Little Bites muffins. They are soft, moist and can be made with so many different mix-ins. They are lightly sweetened with honey and have greek yogurt for added protein. Perfect for breakfast, snacks, or lunchboxes, they’re a treat the whole family will love.
4.47 from 88 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 24 mini muffins
Calories 152 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 80 grams honey ⅓ cup
  • 60 grams butter, melted ¼ cup
  • 120 grams milk ½ cup
  • 60 grams sourdough discard ¼ cup
  • 80 grams plain greek yogurt ⅓ cup
  • 5 grams vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
  • 1 large egg 50 grams
  • 245 grams all-purpose flour 1 ¾ cup
  • 5 grams baking powder 1 teaspoon
  • 3 grams baking soda ½ teaspoon
  • 3 grams salt ½ teaspoon
  • Optional mix-ins: chocolate chips, fruit, sprinkles

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350℉.
  • Mix together the honey, melted butter, milk, sourdough discard, greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and egg until combined.
    80 grams honey, 60 grams butter, melted, 120 grams milk, 60 grams sourdough discard, 80 grams plain greek yogurt, 5 grams vanilla extract, 1 large egg
  • In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
    245 grams all-purpose flour, 5 grams baking powder, 3 grams baking soda, 3 grams salt
  • Fold in mix-ins of choice or if you want a variety of mix-ins add them individually to the batter once in the muffin pan.
    Optional mix-ins: chocolate chips, fruit, sprinkles
  • Grease a mini muffin pan and evenly divide the batter among the 24 muffin cups, adding about 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter to each.
  • Bake for about 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy. Store in an airtight container on the counter.

Notes

  • This recipe was updated on 1/27/25 to add baking soda which helps produce a lighter and fluffier muffin.
  • These muffins are not overly sweet but can become sweeter with the mix-ins added in.
  • Be careful not to overmix the batter as it can make the muffins tough.
  • Once baked, remove the muffins from the pan and cool on a cooling rack.
  • If you are doing the same mix-in for all the muffins add about 3/4 – 1 cup of the mix-ins to the batter before scooping it out, depending on how much of the mix-in you want.
  • After the first 2 days keep these in the fridge to avoid mold. They will get tough, so pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds and they taste like they just came out of the oven, soft and moist. You can also flash freeze some on a sheet pan for an hour and then place in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 152kcalCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 5gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 186mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9g
Keyword blueberry, chocolate chips, Greek yogurt, muffins, snacks, sourdough discard, sprinkles
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More sourdough recipes

35 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    These are just right! Not too sweet but still a nice treat. I added fresh blueberries and chocolate chips separately once they were in the muffin tins and made sure not to over mix. They were nice and fluffy 🙂

  2. 2 stars
    I could never get the middle cooked. I had to throw them in the trash! I have used yogurt a long time ago in a recipe and same thing. So I won’t be using yogurt again.

  3. 4 stars
    My muffins wouldn’t cook through but the outsides were tough. Maybe I over mixed it. I also only have medium size muffin tins, maybe that was it too? Next time I’ll try mixing less and see if it helps. I added cinnamon which gave them a nice flavor.

  4. 5 stars
    They came out great. Not dense at all. I used the weight measurements in recipe. Not too sweet my toddler loved them.

      1. I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out. I have so many people make them that love them but I’ve occasionally got a few comments about them being dense. I’m going to run a few test batches over the weekend to see if I can pinpoint the issues. Out of curiosity are you using a scale or cups? Thanks!

          1. Have you tried it now that I updated the recipe to include baking soda? I added that to the ingredients and really loved how fluffy these came out the last few times I made them.

    1. I have a lot of people that love this recipe but I’ve gotten a couple messages about them turning out dense. I’m going to run a few test batches this weekend to see if I can figure out what is causing some to not turn out. Did you use cups or scale? Also do you like at high altitude? I’m wondering if it is something to do with either of those. Thanks!

      1. Delicious, but mine also came out dense, and yes I’m a volume baker so I was using cups. That said they were Delicious and my kids loved them, I’ll simply add a little baking soda next time for some extra floof.

      2. These are incredible! I was very careful to not over mix and they were not dense at all. I mixed in about 3/4 cup of sprinkles and my kids are going wild for them.

  5. 5 stars
    These were so easy to make & my toddlers absolutely love them as a snack. I found them to be under sweet for me but perfect for my kiddos who eat low sugar.

  6. 5 stars
    I was skeptical as they didn’t brown like other muffins I’ve made but these were delicious!!! My whole family loved them. Thank you!

  7. 3 stars
    I made these but in a normal 12 cup muffin tray and cooked them longer. The knife came out clean but after cooling they were super doughy inside. Ended up tossing them unfortunately.

  8. 4 stars
    The first batch I made, I only used like 2 blueberries or a few chocolate chips (mini muffin size) and they were very doughy and not my fav. Did it again with lots of mix ins and the blueberry made it sweet enough for me!

4.47 from 88 votes (77 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating