Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

If you are a lemon lover, you’ll love these lemon poppy seed muffins that are soft, moist and fluffy.  These muffins are perfect for breakfast, snack or dessert. It takes only 30 minutes from start to finish!

Today I share my light and lemony muffins with poppy seeds. They are delicious yet as easy as my other muffin recipes; you don’t need a mixer. 

You can have these poppy seed muffins as they are or add a simple lemon glaze.

The lemon zest makes these muffins lemony. If you don’t add enough lemon zest into the batter, I suggest you add the glaze for sure, so these muffins don’t lack the lemon flavor. As I don’t use lemon extract, the lemon zest amount is very important.

Lemon and the poppy seeds with a little crunch complement each other so well in these muffins.

Ingredients you’ll need

You can find the exact quantities at the bottom of my post, in the recipe card.

• Lemon-I use lemon zest and fresh lemon juice in the batter.  This is optional but if you want to add lemon glaze on top, you’ll need lemon juice along with powdered sugar. 
• Sugar-I use granulated sugar.
• Flour-I use all-purpose flour. Flour gives structure.
• Poppy seeds-I use 1 and ½ tablespoons for 12 muffins.
• Baking powder and baking soda-I use these two as leaveners for the best results.
• Eggs-They give structure.
• Milk-It gives moisture. I use whole milk but with 2% works too.
• Yogurt-It keeps the muffins moist besides improving the flavor.
• Butter-I use melted butter for moisture.

Step by step instructions

First I place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and poppy seeds in a large bowl and stir with a whisk. I set aside the bowl.

Then I combine lemon zest and sugar in a medium bowl to increase the lemon flavor.  You can either rub with your fingertips or use a fork.

Next, I add eggs and stir with a whisk for almost 20 seconds or so to combine.

I add the melted butter, lemon juice, milk and yogurt and stir with a whisk.

Finally, I pour the wet ingredients into flour mixture and gently stir with a whisk without overmixing to avoid dense muffins.

I divide batter evenly among the 12-cup muffin tin. Then I bake for 14 minutes or until a toothpick that is inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean and the edges of the muffins are golden brown.

I let the muffins stay in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

If you want to make a glaze, you can make it while the muffins are cooling. It is as simple as whisking powdered sugar and lemon juice. You can use a small whisk or a spoon to stir.

You can add a little bit more lemon juice if it needs more liquid. If you find it very lemony, you can add a little bit water instead of lemon juice.

Once the muffins are cooled, you can drizzle the glaze. You can drizzle with a spoon or even with a whisk.

I hope you enjoy this lemon poppy seed muffin recipe so much!

If you like poppy seeds and curry, you should try my savory curry cookies with poppy seeds.