Sweet and tart, light and moist, these are the perfect Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. With the crunch of real poppy seeds, they’re better than the ones at your local coffee shop!
An Easy Breakfast Recipe You’ll Want to Make All the Time!
Making muffins is a relaxing thing to do, and the rewards are pretty great, I have to say. I have a lot of muffin recipes on my site, including Blueberry Protein Muffins, Cinnamon-Sugar Muffins, and many more! Muffins are the perfect sweet bite. You can have them as afternoon snacks, breakfast, or even a light, wholesome dessert.
If you’re in the mood for a simple treat that’s fun to make, try these gluten free lemon poppyseed muffins. Each bite of moist, tender muffin is delicately flavored with real lemon zest and juice, along with the perfect amount of crunchy little poppy seeds. You’ll love the fresh, bright, springlike taste!
What Are the Health Benefits of Poppy Seeds?
Aside from their tasty appearance and nutty flavor, what’s so great about poppy seeds? You might be surprised to learn that poppy seeds actually add healthy fiber to baking recipes, along with some helpful minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. They’re so much more than just a cute addition to this muffin recipe!
Ingredients
Along with poppy seeds, this gluten free lemon poppyseed muffin recipe relies on fresh lemon juice and zest for that vibrant tartness you want in a lemony dessert. Here’s the list of ingredients, in more detail. (Want the full recipe card with ingredient amounts? You’ll find that at the bottom of this post!)
For the Muffins
- Lemon: First, use a zester or small grater to zest the lemon. Then juice the lemon, being careful to remove any seeds that make their way into the juice.
- Sugar: Regular granulated sugar, or you can use your favorite 1:1 sugar substitute.
- Buttermilk: Greek yogurt is also a great option, if you don’t have buttermilk.
- Coconut Oil: Melt the coconut oil before adding it to the recipe. Alternatively, melted butter is a great option.
- Egg: One large, whole egg adds structure to the muffins and keeps them from falling apart.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract. You could also use vanilla bean paste, which is more concentrated and will add pretty flecks of vanilla to the muffins.
- Gluten-Free Flour: You will want gluten-free all-purpose flour for this recipe. Look for a 1:1 substitute for regular flour. These gluten-free blends usually contain xanthan gum, which is important for creating a moist, tender crumb that holds together.
- Rising Agents: A combination of baking powder and baking soda ensures a light, fluffy texture.
- Salt
- Poppy Seeds: Stores usually stock these with the spices and seasonings. You can also order them online!
For the Lemon Icing
- Sugar: For the homemade icing, you will need a sugar that dissolves easily, such as confectioner’s sugar sifted or monk fruit sweetener.
- Lemon Juice: Again, fresh lemon juice adds the best, brightest flavor.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract.
- Milk: I use non-dairy, nut-based milk to thin the icing to the right consistency, but regular milk would also work.
How to Make These Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
If you’re familiar with baking recipes, this process will probably be very familiar to you. First, we’ll combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately, and then add both mixtures together. After folding in the poppy seeds, it’s time to bake the muffins!
- Get Ready to Bake. First, you will need to preheat your oven to 400°F. Place muffin liners in each well of a muffin tin, and give them a light spray with baking spray. Finally, combine the lemon zest and sugar in a food processor, and pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the sugar.
- Combine the Wet Ingredients. In a medium bowl or a very large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, and egg. Add a tablespoon of your lemon juice (save the rest for the icing), and the vanilla. Whisk again, and pour this mixture into the food processor with the lemon zest and sugar. Run the processor quickly to blend the ingredients a bit, but don’t overmix them.
- Combine the Dry Ingredients. Use a fork or spoon to stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. You will want to do this in a large mixing bowl, so that you can add the liquid ingredients next.
- Mix the Dry and Wet Ingredients Together. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, and fold with a rubber spatula until the batter is almost completely blended. Add the poppy seeds, and fold a bit more to fully combine the batter.
- Bake the Muffins. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin liners. It can be helpful to use a cookie scoop, but a plain old spoon is also fine. Bake the muffins for about 20 – 25 minutes, or until the edges and tops are golden.
- Cool. Once the muffins are finished baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool for about 5 minutes.
- Make the Icing. To make the icing, combine the sugar, vanilla, and two tablespoons of your fresh lemon juice in a medium bowl. Whisk these ingredients until you get a smooth icing. If it is a bit too thick, you can thin it out with a tiny splash of nut milk.
- Ice the Muffins. Drizzle the slightly-cooled muffins with the icing, and serve immediately.
Easy Tips and Recipe Variations
Want some tips on this easy gluten-free muffin recipe? What about yummy recipe variations? You’re in luck, my friends – that’s what this section is all about. Check out these helpful recipe hints, and enjoy.
- Melting the Coconut Oil: When you melt the coconut oil or butter, be sure to let it cool a little bit before adding it to your batter mixture. If it hasn’t cooled a bit, it will “scramble” the eggs in the muffin batter!
- Omit the Icing: If you want a lighter version of these muffins, you can make them as instructed, just without icing. They’ll still be delicious!
- Almond Extract: Swap half or all of the vanilla extract for almond extract. Yummy!
- Almond Slivers: Whether or not you use almond extract, these muffins are great with chopped, slivered almonds sprinkled on top.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
You don’t have to refrigerate these little guys, although you can if you want. They will keep for several days in an airtight container at room temperature.
If you would like to warm them up, just place them in a toaster oven or regular oven until warmed through. You can also warm them in the microwave for a few seconds.
Can I Freeze These Muffins?
Definitely! To freeze lemon poppyseed muffins, just cool them (I like to use a rack for this) and then place on a baking sheet. Move the baking sheet to your freezer and let the muffins hang out in there until they’re frozen solid. Take the frozen muffins, place them in freezer bags or containers, and then store them in your freezer for up to three months. Thaw to room temperature before serving.
Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Ingredients
For the Muffins:
- 1 lemon zested and juiced zest first then juice
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk or 1 cup greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup coconut oil melted or unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cup gluten free flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon poppy seeds
For the Lemon Icing:
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar sifted or monk fruit sugar
- 2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp nut milk as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line and Coat muffin tin with baking spray.
- Combine the zest and sugar in a food processor; pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the sugar.
- Add buttermilk (or yogurt), oil (or butter), egg,1 tablespoon of lemon juice and vanilla into a bowl.
- Pour buttermilk mix into the food processor and run until blended. Do not overmix!
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the buttermilk mixture and fold until almost blended.
- Stir in poppy seeds using a rubber spatula.
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
- Bake until the edges and tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
- Let cool for 5 minutes.
- While the muffins are cooling, place confectioner’s sugar in a medium bowl, then add 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice and the vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. (If icing is too thick to drizzle, add the last tablespoon of lemon juice and up to 1 tablespoon of milk, as needed, to reach desired consistency.)
- Drizzle icing over slightly cooled muffins, then serve immediately.
Notes
-
- Storing and Reheating: These lemon poppyseed muffins will keep for several days at room temperature. Reheat in the oven, toaster oven, or microwave until warm.
- Melting the Coconut Oil: When you melt the coconut oil or butter, be sure to let it cool a little bit before adding it to your batter mixture. If it hasn’t cooled a bit, it will “scramble” the eggs in the muffin batter!
-
- Omit the Icing: If you want a lighter version of these muffins, you can make them as instructed, just without icing. They’ll still be delicious!
-
- Almond Extract: Swap half or all of the vanilla extract for almond extract. Yummy!
-
- Almond Slivers: Whether or not you use almond extract, these muffins are great with chopped, slivered almonds sprinkled on top.
