Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins by A Healthy Life For Me.

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!

Overhead shot of a table with a muffin tin, lemons, glaze, and other items. Two muffins are nearby on the counter.

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!

Iced gluten free lemon poppyseed muffins on a piece of parchment.

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!

A muffin tin with muffins resting inside, next to a bowl of glaze, some lemons, poppy seeds, and two additional muffins. One of the loose muffins has been broken in half.

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.

Close-up shot of small muffins baked in a muffin tin.

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.

A thick muffin batter in a mint-colored mixing bowl.

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.

Muffin batter added to a muffin tin with liners.

Baked lemon poppyseed muffins in a muffin tin.

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.

Powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small earthenware bowl.

A small earthenware bowl filled with creamy icing.

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.

Two small muffins on a piece of parchment, next to a dish of poppy and two lemons.

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.

Muffins in a tin, with two removed from the muffin tin and placed on the counter. A dish of poppy seeds and two lemons are also on the counter.

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.