Make a batch of homemade lemon poppy seed muffins, perfect for breakfast or brunch! Easy, old-fashioned recipe for moist, delicious muffins.
Spring is in the air, and with spring and summer, I inevitably start to crave all things citrus, like this easy lemon poke cake. Lemon poppy seed muffins definitely make the list of my favorite lemon recipes.
Think moist, cake-like muffins with tiny, crunchy poppy seeds throughout each and every bite. Add to that the tangy lemon flavor these muffins give to your taste buds. Yum! Plus they make the best breakfast or brunch, sort of like homemade pancakes, which I like to make from my homemade pancake mix recipe.
Now if you can't find poppy seeds, you can still go ahead and just make lemon muffins. You can even add a lemon glaze to these muffins if you want.
This lemon poppy seed muffin recipe is super easy to make, and you likely have all the ingredients you need in your pantry or fridge.
Want more muffin recipes? Pumpkin muffins, gf zucchini muffins, and mixed berry muffins are a few of my favorites.
WHERE CAN I FIND THE ACTUAL RECIPE CARD?
If you’d rather skip all of my muffin making tips, important info for this recipe, and similar recipe ideas – and get straight to the recipe – just scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll find a printable recipe card.
INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED:
- Sugar
- Lemon zest – We'll talk about how to get this.
- Unsalted butter, softened
- Eggs, at room temperature
- Milk
- Lemon juice – You can juice the same lemon you're using for zest, or use store bought lemon juice.
- Sour cream
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Poppy seeds
Keep in mind, all of the ingredient amounts you’ll need are in the printable recipe card below.
KITCHEN TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT YOU'LL NEED:
Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer with Large Bowl
Muffin Tin and Liners
Batter Spoons or Batter Dispenser
HOW TO MAKE LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS
Before you get started, make sure to pre-heat your oven to 350° F, and line your muffin pan with cupcake liners. You'll also need to grate the lemon zest.
HOW DO I GET LEMON ZEST?
Simply put, you use a lemon zester and a real lemon.
A lemon zester allows you to grate the colorful part of a lemon and use that for flavoring your favorite lemon recipes.
While you could use lemon extract in your muffin recipe, I highly recommend the unbeatable natural flavor of real lemon zest. Especially when it's so easy to zest a lemon, why use anything but this?
Just be sure to wash your lemons well before zesting. I usually soak any fruits or veggies in a water/vinegar bath before consuming.
MIXING UP THE MUFFIN BATTER
- Mix together the lemon zest and sugar, and let it sit for about 3 to 5 minutes to allow the lemon zest to really infuse into the sugar.
- Add the softened butter to the sugar mixture.
- Then mix in the eggs.
- Mix in the milk, lemon juice, and sour cream.
- In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together, and then add that dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing well.
- Gently fold in the poppy seeds by hand.
Then you can scoop the muffin batter into lined muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 of the way full; and bake according to the instructions in the recipe card below.
Once the muffins have baked, allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes; then put them on a wire rack to cool.
Serve them up with butter and honey or your favorite jams, like peach jam, strawberry jam, or blackberry jam.
CAN I MAKE THESE MUFFINS GLUTEN-FREE?
You can make this muffin recipe gluten-free. Just use a good, quality gluten-free flour and add in a couple teaspoons of xanthan gum to help with the leavening process.
My favorite gluten-free flour right now is Authentic Foods Classical Blend. It makes a mean banana bread, zucchini bread, and the best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
WHAT ABOUT DAIRY-FREE?
If I were going to make these muffins dairy-free (and fair warning, I have not tried this)…
I would sub coconut oil or another acceptable oil for the butter, and then use a dairy-free milk like almond milk instead of whole milk. As for the sour cream, I might sub coconut milk.
OPTIONAL ADD-INS FOR YOUR MUFFINS:
You may want to add in some optional ingredients to give your muffins even more bang for their buck (although they're delicious just the way they are).
Optional add-ins for your muffin batter…
- Blueberries
- Raisins
- Dried cranberries
Optional add-ons for your muffin tops after baking…
- Simple Lemon glaze like I put on top of my favorite lemon cake
- Cream cheese frosting
HOW TO STORE LEMON POPPYSEED MUFFINS
When it comes to storing these muffins, keep them in an airtight container or cupcake holder.
If you want to freeze the muffins, that's totally fine to do! Just be sure to put them in a sealed container or freezer bag so they don't get freezer burn.
MORE LEMON RECIPES YOU MAY ENJOY:
GET THE PRINTABLE RECIPE
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Homemade Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Equipment
- KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Qt. Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield – Aqua Sky
- Microplane Premium Classic Series Zester Grater, 18/8, Green
- Wilton Batter Spoons, Set of 3
- Wilton Recipe Right Non-Stick 6-Cup Standard Muffin Pan, Set of 2, Silver
- Ateco 1445 Cake Tester- 1 pack
- Ultra Cuisine 100% Stainless Steel Wire Cooling Rack for Baking fits Half Sheet Pans Cool Cookies, Cakes, Breads – Oven Safe for Cooking, Roasting, Grilling – Heavy Duty Commercial Quality
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened*
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 milk*
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 cups all-purpose flour*
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° F., and line your muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Grate the lemon zest with a lemon zester.*
- Mix together the lemon zest and sugar, and let it sit for about 3 to 5 minutes to allow the lemon zest to really infuse into the sugar.
- Add the softened butter to the sugar mixture.
- Then mix in the eggs.
- Mix in the milk, lemon juice, and sour cream.
- In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) together, and then add that dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing well.
- Gently fold in the poppy seeds by hand.
- Scoop the muffin batter into lined muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 of the way full.
- Bake at 375° F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean.
- Once the muffins have baked, allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes; then put them on a wire rack to cool.
- Serve them with butter and honey or your favorite jams, like peach jam, strawberry jam, or blackberry jam.
Notes
- Blueberries
- Raisins
- Dried cranberries
- Simple Lemon glaze like I put on top of my favorite lemon cake.
- Cream cheese frosting
