Today’s Irish Soda Bread Muffins boast the same subtle sweetness, buttery crumb, and bewitching texture of Irish soda bread but in the form of easy-to-bake, extra-easy-to-eat, and conveniently portable muffins.
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If you’ve never tried Irish soda bread, you are in for a treat.
Don’t expect life-altering flavor complexity or a tastebud explosion—soda bread’s beauty is its simplicity.
Classic Irish soda bread recipes combine wheat flour (I used whole wheat for the recipe, though all-purpose is more traditional) and buttermilk and are made to rise with baking soda instead of yeast.
It also often contains caraway seed, whose flavor is more savory and reminds me of rye bread, and some recipes also call for dried currants, which taste like an enchanting cross between a raisin and a cranberry.
The resulting soda bread is lightly sweet, and its texture is beguiling. It’s unquestionably soft and tender (no hockey pucks here) yet dense enough to feel wholesome and satisfying.
Because Irish soda bread isn’t overly sweet, it’s ultra versatile too. I love it paired with a piece of cheddar or steamy bowl of soup as much as I do slathered with butter and jam.
About These Soda Bread Muffins
I bake some adaptation of Beer Bread and soda bread every St. Patrick’s Day (usually my favorite whole wheat Irish soda bread recipe), but this year, I thought it would be fun to try baking Irish Soda Bread Muffins instead.
As much as I adore a good loaf of soda bread, I think I might love the Irish Soda Bread Muffins even more!
They have a similar flavor and texture to Irish soda bread but are even quicker and easier to prepare.
Also, since the recipe yields 12 tidy Irish Soda Bread Muffins instead of an entire loaf, they’re easier to manage and transport.
You can grab one for a quick breakfast and snack on the go, individual muffins provide built-in portion control, and they are simpler to serve, because you don’t need to fuss with slicing.
In playing around with how I could make these Irish Soda Bread Muffins healthy without compromising their flavor, I found that what worked best was to use Greek yogurt instead of the buttermilk.
- Like buttermilk, yogurt is acidic, so it reacts with the baking soda and ensures that the Irish Soda Bread Muffins rise.
- Because it’s thick and creamy, it does also a fantastic job of keeping the muffins moist and tender without a need for an of excess butter or oil.
Plus, while I almost always have a big container of Greek yogurt in my refrigerator, I rarely have buttermilk, so using yogurt means I can bake a batch of these Irish Soda Bread Muffins without a special trip to the store.
Although I originally conceptualized these Irish Soda Bread Muffins for St. Patrick’s Day, they are wonderful year-round.
If you don’t care for currants or caraway seed, feel free to replace them with another dried fruit you do enjoy.
Orange zest and dried cranberries would be wonderful folded into the batter, and I suspect that blueberries (or chocolate chips) would be utterly delicious also.
For a little extra burst of sweetness and crunch, I topped the Irish soda bread muffins with a sprinkle of coarse sparkling sugar, but if you want to keep the muffins on the even less-sweet side, feel free to omit it.
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Irish Soda Bread Muffins
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Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour use white whole wheat flour for a milder flavor
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder I recommend aluminum free
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon caraway seed
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 cup nonfat milk plus 1 tablespoon, at room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- ¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt at room temperature
- ¾ cup dried currants
- Optional: 2 tablespoons sparkling sugar
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and caraway seed. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, butter, and Greek yogurt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour the wet ingredients into it. Stir just until combined. Fold in currants.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups and sprinkle the tops with sparkling sugar, if using. Bake the muffins for 13 to 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins to a rack to continue cooling. Enjoy warm, topped with butter, jam, a slice of cheese, or on their own.
Nutrition
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I LOVE Irish Soda Bread, and your idea to turn it into muffins is genius! I’ll definitely be giving this recipe a try!
xx Allison
alwayseatdessert.com
Thanks, Allison! I hope you enjoy the muffins!
So great! I also went to ND (’06) and know exactly what you are talking about! I’d get those little triangles of yumminess at the various ND cafes all the time. :) Thanks for the recipe – can’t wait to try it!
YES!!! I miss those hunks so much Ali. I hope this helps satisfy your ND soda bread itch :) Thanks for saying hi. It’s so fun to hear from someone else who knows exactly what I’m referencing!
Hi Erin, I am a little confused (easy for me). The nutrition count is for 1 of 16 but the yield at the beginning of the recipe for this Irish Soda muffins is 12? I have not made this recipe yet.
Hi Diane, the 16 was a typo—the nutrition information is calculated for 1 of 12. Thank you for catching that and letting me know!
hey girl- these look so tasty! Have a great weekend!
Thanks Shawnna! You have a great weekend too :)
Sorry, but Irish soda bread contains only four ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk. Add raisins as ND it becomes a Tea Cake!
Nice and tasty recipe, but not soda bread
Go to http://www.sodabread.info. And learn about traditional Irish soda bread
Hi Edward! Thanks for sharing this info. You are right that the absolute most traditional soda bread is just those four ingredients, while the other additions like caraway seeds and currants (or raisins) can vary. I’ve updated the blog post to be more clear.
Hello, I have to comment here. My grandmother grew up in Ireland and she puts caraway seeds and sometimes raisins in her soda bread so not sure that makes it Americanized. My husband just popped them in the oven. Can’t wait to taste them!
Maureen, I am both so happy that you loved them and so happy to hear that these soda muffins have similar ingredients to what your grandmother made. Thank you for sharing that, and for trying the recipe too. I hope you love how they turned out!
These look so delicious!
I’ve still never had soda bread,but it sounds incredible! I love the spin you put on it with these muffins- the texture looks great :)
I hope you love them Medha!
I’d love to try the orange zest/dried cranberry variation you mentioned. How much orange zest do you recommend? (I assume same amount of cranberries as currants.) Can’t wait to try these!
Hi Sandra, I’d use the zest of one orange and maybe a 1/2 cup of cranberries. I hope you love them!
Made these this morning….yum! The zest from two small clementines worked out beautifully. Thank you Erin!
That sounds delicious, Sandra! Thanks for giving the recipe a try and taking the time to report back!
Thanks for this recipe Erin. I have never had Irish soda bread before, but it seems like something that would be right up my alley.
Hi Erin! My husband and I made your muffins on this lovely Sunday afternoon. We’re two weeks from my due date with our firstborn, my husband’s family is Irish on both sides, and we’re kinda hoping to get in the Irish spirit for an early, St. Patrick’s Day baby. Fingers crossed! Anyway, these sounded perfect, so after showing my husband, he agreed to bake them while I rested my swollen, 9-months-pregnant feet. I’m normally the baker in our household, but he did great and was excited with his results! These turned out sooooo good! So tall, but hearty. Lightly sweet. The caraway seeds and dried currants were great additions. I can’t wait to snag these on the way out the door this workweek. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Jessica! I’m so happy to hear the muffins were a hit. Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing how it went. What an exciting time for your family—best wishes and congratulations on your soon-to-arrive bundle of joy!
Made these Irish Soda Muffins this morning and we each had one for lunch with homemade chicken soup – SO good! I’m not a big fan of caraway so I left that out and instead of currants, I used golden raisins. Also went with the white whole wheat flour. Used Swedish Pearl sugar in place of the sparkling sugar – not even sure what that is, actually. Anyway —a really nice recipe for muffins; thanks.
I’m so excited to hear that the muffins were a success, Chris! Thank you for taking the time to leave this awesome feedback and share your tweaks to the recipe. Golden raisins sound good!
New to your site and I love it. These Irish soda bread muffins look wonderful – will definitely be trying them this week. We are in the middle of a blizzard here in upstate NY or I’d head to the store for yogurt today! (And milk. Can’t believe I didn’t get THAT to “prepare” for the storm!)
Thanks so much for your kind words about my site, Liz! I hope these muffins hit the spot after you’re able to dig out. :)
Made these on Saturday and they were SO delicious! I didn’t have carraway seeds but otherwise made the recipe as is. I really like that they were just lightly sweet and tender and wonderful warm from the oven with butter. Also great the next day warmed up a little! Thanks for a great recipe.
Liz, I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins! Thanks so much for taking the time to report back!
Just made these, they are delicious. I added the Orange Zest and used raisins, so yummy. Served them with Corned Beef & cabbage.
Thank you Erin
That meal sounds absolutely delicious, Katherine! Thank you so much for giving these muffins a try and reporting back!
These sound delicious and I can’t wait to make the. Can you recommend a different addition than the currants, raisins or craisins? I’m not a big fan of that type of dried fruit, but am open to trying it with them to broaden my horizons :) Thank you!
Hi Susan, the muffins would be just as delicious without the dried fruit!
I just made these for breakfast and they’re delicious! I used full-fat yogurt and whole milk and reduced the sugar to about 1/4 cup. The texture is lovely and they’re still plenty sweet for me. Thanks for a winning recipe, Erin!
Thank YOU for trying it Caitlin, as well as for taking time to share your tweaks, as well as leave this lovely rating. Makes my day :)
This recipe makes 12 large muffins. I used orange peel and cranberries. Not a sweet muffin, but really good. I will make again with currants and caraway seeds. Really good.
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the muffins! Thank you for taking the time to leave this wonderful review—I’d love to hear what you think about the currant and caraway version!
Wow, this looks yummy! Thank you for sharing this wonderful dessert with us. I would be making this for my family soon. I love baking and knowing more recipe and trying to make them is really fun. By the way, what is an alternative for caraway seed?
Hi Julia, I think omitting the caraway seed from the recipe would be just fine. I hope you and your family love the recipe!
Another winner, Erin! Made these last night and my husband and toddler (2 of the pickiest eaters I know) loved them. We’ve never had Irish Soda Bread, so it was a fun treat (even if 5 days late. :)
Have fun in Europe, I’m jealous! ;)
Elisabeth, I’m so happy to hear everyone enjoyed the muffins! Thank you so much for taking the time to report back!
Made these last week and my husband said, “These are the best muffins ever!” We loved the slightly sweet, slightly tangy flavors, great texture and super easy to make. This recipe has gone into the permanent book of keepers. Thanks again, Erin. My husband now knows you as the young gal in Wisconsin whose recipes ALWAYS work out great. (We’re retired and I’m still enjoying trying new recipes even after cooking for what feels like 100 years sometimes.).
Marnie, I’m so thrilled you and your husband loved the muffins! Thank you for the kind review and for taking the time to share your feedback. It’s so wonderful to hear that you enjoy my recipes—that means a lot!
I made these muffins when you originally posted them and now have a question…what can I use as a substitute for both of the flours? I’ll be making 4 different kinds of soup for Christmas day and want to make these delicious muffins. However, my new sister-in-law stays gluten free by choice but I just know she’d love these. We have HyVee near us, so are able to access almost any kind of flour in their wonderful bulk department. I’ll also be making a beer bread recipe that calls for AP flour – can I use another kind here as well? Thank you so much for any information you can give me.
Hi Chris, I haven’t made this particular recipe with gluten-free flour, but generally it works to use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend (I like the one from Bob’s Red Mill) as a swap for wheat flour. That would be my first course of action for the beer bread recipe as well. I’d love to hear how it goes if you decide to experiment!
I used white whole wheat flour, and soured the milk with 1 TB of vinegar. This, along with the yogurt, made a delicious, light muffin that went great with a hearty beef stew. The caraway seed added a nice flavor, without being overwhelming. I don’t think I would put in both the caraway and the currants, but if anyone has tried this, please let me know how they turned out.
Rich, I’m so happy you loved the texture of the muffins! Personally, I love both caraway and current (I like the sweetness/chewiness of the currents with the savory-ness of the caraway), but it’s totally up to you!
I grew up in Forreston right down the road from Phil’s they are extended family thanks for the recommendation!
Thank you for sharing this kind comment, Austin!
Would I be able to half this recipe? Still need to add one egg, but would other ingredients need to change other than just splitting everything in half?
Hi Jane! I haven’t tried halving this recipe myself, so you’d be experimenting. I think you could halve all the ingredients. I hope you enjoy the muffins if you try them!
This was my first time attempting Soda Bread anything. I did make a few tweaks. Used a flax egg, almond milk soured with lemon juice, and craisins. No caraway seeds. The biggest change was accidental- I forgot the yogurt. Turned out delicious anyway. It’s a definite keeper. Goes great with apricot preserves.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Katy! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Just delicious! I didn’t make with the caraway seed, used light sour cream instead of the yogurt. It is what I had. Love Irish soda bread so this was a no brainer. Wonderful with a bowl of soup. Thank you.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Bonnie! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! OMG, Erin! These are amazing! I wanted to make them, but didn’t have caraway seeds or currants, so I threw on raisins. Had to bake them for 17 minutes, maybe because my greek yogurt had a little extra liquid or something. Anyway, they are delicious (I’ve already eaten 2 today). Thanks for the recipe!!
YAY, so glad to hear it Carrie! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
These are AMAZING! I don’t eat dairy so I substituted almond milk for milk, almond milk based yogurt for the Greek yogurt, and dairy free butter for the butter. These baked up so beautifully and everyone loved them (even my two little ones that are picky). They are now a staple in our house! They taste just like a yummy slice of Irish soda bread.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed them, Kari! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Recipe looks amazing – can’t wait to try it! Standard muffin tin-? Would it suffice to use a cupcake pan? Please advise! Thank you so much in advance!!! 🙏🏼
Hi Barbara! Yes that would work! They are pretty much the same pan. Hope you enjoy it!
I substituted Hony for the sugar. Muffins came out delicious and moist! Love them!!!
Hi Onnade! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Made these yesterday. The whole family loved them. I swapped some sugar for molasses (I love that flavor in your soda bread recipe) and used buttermilk. Phenomenal!! I’m writing this one down!
Hi Jennie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I came to this recipe looking to make real Irish soda bread but in mini sizes and unfortunately, this was not it. It seemed that there was too much liquid and I thought it odd that it didn’t require kneading like typical soda bread recipes. The texture was poor and it was way too sweet! I will continue looking…
Hi Nora, I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with the recipe. These are muffins, which never need kneading. It sounds like you need an soda bread recipe that you can make into smaller portions. Here is our recipe that you could easily making into smaller portions: https://www.wellplated.com/whole-wheat-irish-soda-bread/
These are amazing!! My friends and I had a St Paddy’s Day Brunch and I made these. HUGE hit! I substituted craisins for currants and caraway seed, just delicious!! Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you Tess!