A fun twist on the Irish classic, Irish Soda Bread Muffins are definitely perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack, and they’re easy to throw into the freezer to have on a moment’s notice. This recipe has a simple ingredient list, and you will have fresh, warm muffins on the table in under 30 minutes.
I’m so excited to share this recipe with you because it has been a very popular website favorite since 2008! These muffins are a totally delicious Irish soda bread that has been made into muffins instead. That’s great because they are already portioned out for you in muffin tins so you don’t overdo it! They stay moist and tender.
Traditional Irish soda bread is usually made into round loaves. And it’s usually served as a side to corned beef, Irish stew or soup. Since these Irish soda bread muffins are slightly sweeter, I’d suggest enjoying them served warm in the morning with a good slathering of butter and a cup of coffee or tea. They’re pretty amazing.
Things you’ll need to make Irish Soda Bread Muffins:
- Pastry cutter: You don’t have to have one, but it’s certainly easier to make this recipe and other bread and scone recipes if you have one.
- My favorite muffin pan: I love this one. The muffins never stick, and they slide out easily.
- Flour: I use all purpose flour, but you can use a combination of white flour and whole wheat flour, if you’d like.
- White Sugar: This is the sweetener for these muffins!
- Basics: Baking Powder and Baking Soda:
- Butter: I like to use COLD salted butter.
- Buttermilk: Use low fat or full-fat buttermilk. If you don’t have any, it’s easy to make. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a one-cup measuring cup. Fill the rest of the measuring cup with milk. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then you have a substitute for buttermilk!
- Egg: You’ll need one egg. You can substitute 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce if you don’t want to use an egg.
- Dried currants: I’ve linked to them here in case you can’t find them at your local market. You can usually find them near the raisins.
- Caraway seeds: I’ve linked to them here. But you can easily find them in your market’s spice aisle.
How to make Irish Soda Bread Muffins:
Irish Soda Bread Muffins are made in four easy steps.
- The dry ingredients are cut with butter. It’s easiest to do this using a pastry cutter!
- Eggs and buttermilk are added in to create the batter.
- Currants and caraway seeds are added last. We sometimes leave out the caraway seeds, depending on our mood.
- You’ll divide the batter equally between 12 muffin cups.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t over-work the muffin batter. Just stir it until the ingredients are combined. Working too much with the batter may result in tough-textured muffins. You don’t want that.
- Use a spring ice cream scoop or a cookie scoop to move the batter into the muffin cups. Since the batter is thick, it’s easiest to do it this way. And it’s easier to divide the batter equally too!
- Consider adding things to your muffins for a creative twist. I suggest adding orange zest. Replace the currants with raisins, or craisins.
- If you have currants in your pantry but they’re all dried up, don’t worry! You can re-hydrate them. Just soak them in hot water for about 5 minutes, and then drain them on paper towels. They’ll be good as new and ready to use in your recipe!
- Brush the tops of the muffins with melted butter as they come out of the oven. Yum!
How to store these muffins:
Irish soda bread muffins can be stored in a sealed container or zip baggie for up to 5 days. I like to store them in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them in the same manner for up to one month. To warm, wrap a muffin in a damp paper towel, and microwave for 30 seconds.
They rise up nicely, and they’re definitely most delicious directly out of the oven!
Here are a few comments from readers about these muffins:
- These are fantastic! I’ve made them twice so far and will never go back to making a large loaf. The leftovers freeze beautifully, which is important now that there are just the two of us to cook for. No more dried out, crumbly frozen leftovers!
- I tried these for a St. Patrick’s Day dinner and they were a big hit. I will definitely make them again and not just for St. Patrick’s Day.
- These are the most absolute, wonderful soda bread I have ever eaten. I love to take them in my lunches for coffee time as I am not in to eating breakfast at 5:00 a.m. Very glad I found and tried this recipe.
- OMG! Just made these and they are great! VERY easy, I baked mine in St. Patricks decorated cupcake liners and drizzled some powder sugar icing on tops, and I only used raisins. My 5 yr old just approved them for her school party. Thank you!
Here are a few more muffin recipes you might like to try:
Irish Soda Bread Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter
- 1 cup low fat buttermilk
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3/4 cup dried currants
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With a pastry cutter or two knives used scissors fashion, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (You can also do this part in a food processor and let the blades mix the flour and butter together). In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and egg until blended. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Stir in the currants and caraway seeds (if using).
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one muffin comes out clean.
- Remove the muffin tin to a wire rack. Cool 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the muffin cups; finish cooling on a rack. Serve warm or cool completely and store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
- *These muffins freeze well.
- *Reader tip: Try using 1 cup of white flour and 1 cup of wheat flour- yum!
- *Reader tip: Try subbing raspberries and blueberries for the currants (with no caraway seeds).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These came out perfect! Really easy to make too! I added a bit of orange zest. They were lighter than how it usually turns out in a round loaf shape. I also used self rising flour instead of all purpose flour/baking powder/baking soda.
Has anyone tried making them gluten-free? Thanks!
I’m not sure!
I do this with my soda bread recipe a lot. Very similar recipe, but I add vanilla and another egg.