Indulge in a burst of sunshine with these Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins! These moist muffins are bursting with lemon flavor and sprinkled with crunchy poppy seeds. Perfect for breakfast or a snack, these muffins are the perfect addition to your day.
If you love lemon for breakfast, you’ll also love these Lemon Pancakes, Lemon Muffins, or Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.
What do you get when you combine two of my favorites – lemon and muffins – into one?
These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins!
I have a thing for poppy seed muffins. If there is ever an assortment of muffins to choose from and there is a poppy seed muffin, you know I’ll be grabbing for it.
Throw in some lemon and I’m a goner. I can’t resist!
These muffins are not only filled with the perfect amount of lemon flavor, but the texture is the perfect muffin texture. Perfectly moist and soft, these will be the next muffin winner at your house!
Ingredients
- Yogurt: You want to use Greek yogurt. I like to use full fat, but I have used nonfat and it works, as well.
- Sugar: You need granulated sugar.
- Oil: For the oil, you want to just make sure you are using a neutral oil. I like to use vegetable oil, but canola or avocado oil are great, too. I have made these with melted butter, which does work, but I prefer the moistness you get by using oil.
- Eggs: Make sure you are using large eggs.
- Lemons: You will want to use fresh lemons because you will use both the zest and the juice.
- Almond Extract: I love the flavor a little bit of almond extract brings. But if you don’t want to use almond extract, you can sub in lemon extract for more lemon flavor, or use vanilla extract.
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour.
- Baking Powder: This will give the muffins their lift.
- Salt: The salt balances the flavors.
- Poppy Seeds: Poppy seeds will start to taste a bit rancid quicker than some other spices. I like to always taste them before adding them.
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Whisk the yogurt, sugar, and oil together.
- Add the eggs, lemon juice and zest, and almond extract. Whisk this to combine.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Only mix until everything is combined.
- Fill 12 muffin cups with the batter. They will be pretty full.
- Bake the muffins until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Tips and Tricks
This recipe uses a baking trick that I have just recently started using. When preheating the oven, heat it to 425ºF. (Make sure it is all the way up to temp before adding your muffins.) Once you place the muffins in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350ºF. This gives the muffins a hit of heat at the beginning that helps them to rise well, but you don’t have to remember to turn down the oven after 5 minutes.
As with all muffin recipes, do not overmix the batter. It will make the muffins tough.
You can make these with a paper liner, or you can just grease your muffin tin.
Storing and Freezing
These muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The great thing about these muffins is that they still taste great and still have great texture after the first day, so they are great for leftovers!
They also freeze well. I like to place the baked and cooled muffins on a baking sheet and place that in the freezer. Once frozen, you can put the muffins in a freezer safe bag or container. They can thaw at room temperature, or throw them in the microwave for a few seconds.
More Muffin Recipes
Strawberry Muffins
Orange Muffins
Cinnamon Muffins
Zucchini Muffins
Peanut Butter Muffins
Banana Muffins
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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or another neutral oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, and oil. Add the eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, and almond extract. Whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Stir just until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. (They will be mostly full.)
- Place the muffin tin in the oven and turn the heat down to 350ºF. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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