These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are soft, light fluffy and perfect for spring! A healthy one-bowl muffin recipe that is easy to make with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, poppy seeds with a bright and creamy glaze. Gluten-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar free, paleo-friendly with low carb and keto options.
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Updated May 2023
Fluffy Gluten-Free Lemon Muffins
Our family loves any sort of lemon-flavored baked good, but these moist lemon muffins take the cake! They’re so tender and delicious, and they have tons of fresh lemon flavor in them. Just the way we like it!
This recipe includes a simple 3-ingredient lemon glaze that tops everything off. We personally love the sweetness and extra zest that the glaze provides, but the plain muffins are amazing too. You really can’t go wrong with this easy breakfast or dessert idea! It’s completely grain-free, gluten-free and paleo friendly.
What You’ll Need
The ingredient list is wholesome and the perfect combination to give you the fluffiest lemon muffins. They are delicious on their own but even more so with the optional glaze: Here’s what you need:
For the Lemon Muffins
- Large Eggs: Bring 4 eggs to room temperature.
- Coconut nectar syrup: our favorite paleo and vegan liquid sweetener to mimic the taste of honey. Made from the sap of the flowers of the coconut palm. If you don’t have coconut syrup, you can also sub with maple syrup or agave syrup. For low carb or keto, sub with your preferred liquid sweetener such as Lakanto Sugar-free maple syrup or yacon syrup.
- Granulated Maple Sugar: Granulated maple syrup is our favorite unrefined sugar that mimics the taste and texture of regular cane sugar. For keto lemon poppyseed muffins, sub with granulated monk fruit sweetener. You can also use coconut sugar, but the color will be darker.
- Coconut Oil: We use melted and cooled refined coconut oil to avoid any added coconut flavor. You can also sub with any neutral tasting oil or melted and cooled unsalted ghee/butter (if not dairy-free). You’ll need a little extra for greasing the muffin tin.
- Lemon Juice & Zest: You’ll need about 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 1/3 tablespoon of zest.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Just a pinch to make these muffins extra delicious.
- Baking Powder: will help your muffins rise sky-high! Be sure to use a grain-free baking powder to keep these paleo, as needed.
- Superfine Almond Flour + Tapioca flour: this combination of grain-free flours mimic the taste and texture of all purpose flour. The tapioca flour gives these gluten-free muffins that soft and fluffy texture. You can also with arrowroot starch.
- Poppy Seeds: About 2-3 tablespoons.
- Fine Sea Salt: Just a pinch!
For the Lemon Glaze
- Coconut Butter (Manna): Melted.
- Maple Syrup: Or Lakanto sugar-free maple syrup.
- Lemon Juice & Zest: The juice is mixed right into the glaze and the zest is used as a garnish.
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
These fluffy lemon poppy seed muffins are made in a snap with only 20 minutes of bake time! Here’s how to prepare the muffins and the glaze:
- Prep for Baking: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 10 muffin-cups in a muffin pan with coconut oil or avocado oil or line with 10 PARCHMENT PAPER liners.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with coconut nectar syrup and maple sugar until light and fluffy. Add the coconut oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and combined.
- Sift in Dry Ingredients: Place a large mesh sieve over the bowl and sift in the baking powder, almond flour, tapioca flour and salt. Add the poppyseeds and stir until well combined with no lumps.
- Fill Muffin Tin: Divide evenly among 10 muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.
- Bake & Let Cool: Bake at 400F for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350F (leaving the muffin pan in the oven undistubered). Bake at 350F for another 12-13 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 20 minutes.
- Make the optional glaze: Mix together the ingredients for the glaze and drizzle it over the cooled muffins.
Tips for Success
We ove how quickly and easily these muffins come together. Check out these helpful tips for how to finesse them!
- Grease Muffin Tin: Remember to lightly grease your muffin tin before pouring in the batter, otherwise your muffins will stick to the pan! I like to do this when I preheat the oven so I don’t forget.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Be sure to add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient mixture through a mesh sieve. This will prevent clumps of flour or baking soda from making their way into your muffins.
- Check Doneness with a Toothpick: To avoid over- or under-baking your muffins, insert a toothpick into the center of one to check for doneness. The toothpick should come out clean and the muffin tops should be golden.
- Let Muffins Cool: Don’t add your glaze to the muffins until they’ve cooled for at least 20 minutes. If the muffins are too warm, the glaze will melt into them and make a mess.
Serving Suggestions
Not sure what to pair with lemon poppy seed muffins? We like to serve ours in the following ways.
- Pair with a cup of hot cocoa or tea: A muffin as moist and fluffy as this one deserves a nice cup of hot chocolate or matcha latte!
- Serve with Bacon: If you’re enjoying one of these muffins for breakfast, I recommend serving it with a quick savory breakfast side like bacon! Whether you make your bacon in the oven or the air fryer, it’ll taste amazing alongside a sweet and tangy lemon muffin.
- Pair with Fruit: It’s no secret that lemon goes great with other fruits. That’s why we love eating these muffins with a side of fresh berry salad!
How to Store Poppy Seed Muffins
These muffins can be stored at room temperature for 3-5 days. Just keep them in an airtight container. Placing a small, dampened piece of paper towel in the container with your muffins is a great way to keep them moist.
Can I Freeze These?
Yes, these muffins are freezer friendly! Freeze them in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months and thaw them overnight in the fridge before enjoying. If you’re planning on freezing your muffins, hold off on making the glaze until you serve them, if possible.
More Gluten-Free Recipes
We have plenty of go-to gluten free recipes to be discovered! Be sure to check out these ones next.
- Gluten-Free Lemon Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Low-Carb Green Bean Casserole
- Keto Carrot Cake
- Lemon Muffins
- Tahini Cookies
These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are soft, light fluffy and perfect for spring! A healthy one-bowl muffin recipe that is easy to make with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, poppy seeds with a bright and creamy glaze. Gluten-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar free, paleo-friendly with low carb and keto options.
- 4 large eggs , room temperature
- 3 tbs coconut nectar syrup , or sub with maple syrup. For low carb, use Lakanto sugar-free maple syrup, yacon syrup or preferred liquid sweetener.
- 3 tbsp granulated maple sugar , can also use coconut sugar but the color will be darker. For low carb sub with granulated monk fruit sweetener or preferred granular sweetener
- 1/3 cup melted & cooled refined coconut oil . can also sub unsalted ghee or butter if not dairy-free
- 1/4 cup lemon juice , fresh - about 2 small/medium lemons
- 1/3 tbsp lemon zest , about 2 small lemons
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder , Be sure to use a grain-free baking powder to keep these paleo, as needed.
- 2 cups superfine almond flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour , can also sub with arrowroot starch or 1/4 cup coconut flour for low carb
- 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
- 2-3 tbs poppy seeds
- 1/3 cup melted coconut butter (manna)
- 1 tsp maple syrup or Lakanto sugar-free maple syrup
- 1 tsp lemon juice + zest for garnish
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 10 muffin-cups in a muffin pan with coconut oil or avocado oil or line with 10 PARCHMENT PAPER liners.
In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with coconut nectar syrup and maple sugar until light and fluffy. Add the coconut oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and combined.
Place a large mesh sieve over the bowl and sift in the baking powder, almond flour, tapioca flour and salt. Add the poppyseeds and stir until well combined with no lumps.
Divide evenly among 10 muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.
Bake at 400F for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350F (leaving the muffin pan in the oven undistubered). Bake at 350F for another 12-13 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 20 minutes.
Mix together the ingredients for the glaze and drizzle over the cooled muffins.
How to Store
These muffins can be stored at room temperature for 3-5 days. Just keep them in an airtight container. Placing a small, dampened piece of paper towel in the container with your muffins is a great way to keep them moist.
How to Freeze
Freeze them in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months and thaw them overnight in the fridge before enjoying. If you're planning on freezing your muffins, hold off on making the glaze until you serve them, if possible.
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