Bakery Style Irish Soda Bread Muffins

If you love traditional Irish soda bread but want something quicker and easier to serve, these Irish Soda Bread Muffins are the answer. They bake up tall and golden with that classic cracked top and tender crumb, but in convenient muffin form. Made with simple pantry ingredients and ready in about 30 minutes, they are perfect for St. Patrick's Day or Easter brunch, breakfast, or afternoon tea.

Save This Recipe! 💌

I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!

I would love to receive new recipes from But First We Brunch!

These Irish Soda Bread Muffins bring the flavor and rustic look of a classic Irish soda bread recipe into a tall bakery style muffin. The batter is thick like a drop biscuit dough, which helps the muffins rise high and split open on top when baked at a high temperature.

In my very first bakery job I baked hundreds of Irish soda breads between St. Patrick's Day and Easter. That experience taught me exactly what makes soda bread so special, from the tender crumb to that beautiful cross on top. These muffins were inspired by those very busy early mornings in the bakery, turning that traditional loaf into something quick and easy, and perfect for breakfast or brunch.

Why you'll love this recipe

• Quick - These soda bread muffins come together in about 30 minutes from start to finish.
• Simple ingredients - Everything you need is likely already in your pantry or refrigerator.
• Bakery style tops - A high starting oven temperature helps create tall muffins with beautifully cracked tops.
• Flexible - You can make them classic, add chocolate chips, or experiment with other mix-ins.
• Perfect for brunch - Muffin form makes them easy to serve for breakfast, brunch, or holidays like St. Patrick's Day and Easter.

Ready in about 30 minutes with simple ingredients, these bakery style Irish soda bread muffins are tall, golden, and beautifully cracked on top just like traditional soda bread.

Ingredients & Substitutions

The photo below shows everything you need to make these Irish soda bread muffins. I will go over the major ingredients and how they can be substituted if needed.

• All purpose flour - Provides the structure for the muffins. Bread flour can be used if needed, but the crumb will be slightly chewier.
• Buttermilk - Traditional in soda bread, buttermilk reacts with the baking soda for lift and provides classic soda bread flavor. Plain yogurt, sour cream, or kefir can be used if needed.
• Baking soda and baking powder - Traditional soda bread does not include baking powder, but because muffins don't have the mass of a loaf of soda bread, I include baking powder to help the muffins to rise tall. If you don't want to include baking powder, slightly increase the baking soda to 1 ¼ teaspoons.
• Unsalted butter - Adds richness and tenderness. Salted butter can be used if that is what you have, but reduce the added salt by ½ teaspoon.
• Egg - Helps bind the batter and adds structure to the muffins. It can be omitted, but I highly recommend keeping it.
• Chocolate chips - Optional, but perfect if someone in your house always asks if you can add chocolate to something. Yes you can.
• Note on raisins (😣) - I do not include the traditional currants because I just don't like raisins and currants are nothing more than tiny raisins. The Boy (my husband) loves raisins but he can't always get what he wants can he? If you want to add currants, please feel free to do so.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Variations

This easy soda bread muffin recipe can be adjusted in many ways depending on what you like.

• Classic Irish style - Skip the chocolate chips and add raisins or currants for a more traditional soda bread flavor. Just maybe don't invite me for brunch that morning. Or add caraway seeds and I'll definitely be there!
• Orange zest - For a fun twist, rub a little orange zest into the sugar before adding to the rest of the dry ingredients for a bright flavor that works beautifully with the tender crumb.
• Cinnamon sugar tops - Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar instead of coarse sugar for a warm cozy version.
• Savory soda bread muffins - Reduce the sugar to 2 tablespoons (you still need sugar from moisture and browning) and add shredded cheddar and chopped chives for a savory brunch soda muffin.

Quick Recipe Video

Step-by-Step Instructions

These muffins are incredibly easy to make. Follow along with the process photos below and you will have bakery style Irish soda bread muffins in no time.

Heat oven to 425°F. Line or lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin. If using muffin liners, spritz each one with a little nonstick spray so that the muffin will release easily from the paper.

Step 1: Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add grated cold butter and rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

Step 2: Whisk together buttermilk and egg and pour into the dry ingredients. Gently stir just until combined. The batter should be thick and scoopable, similar to drop biscuit or scone dough.

Step 3: If making half chocolate chip muffins, fold chocolate chips into half the batter before scooping.

Step 4: Scoop or spoon batter evenly between each of wells of the prepared muffin pan.

Step 5: Sprinkle lightly with coarse sugar (or extra chocolate chips, if using) for sparkle and texture.

Optional step: To encourage the classic soda bread split, use a sharp knife or razor blade to cut a cross about ¼ inch deep into the top of each mound of batter.

Bake: Place in preheated oven for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F without opening the oven door. Continue baking for 12 to 15 minutes more until tall, golden, and cracked on top. Test for doneness with a skewer or a toothpick insert into the center.

Let the muffins rest in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. I like to serve them warm with whipped butter or jam.

Recipe FAQs

More muffin recipes