These Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are the perfect healthy breakfast treat! They're packed with flavor, made in just one bowl and ready in about 30 minutes!
These aren't just any lemon poppy seed muffins! This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, and refined sugar-free, but you’ll never miss any of those ingredients because they’re also perfectly sweet, with a tender crumb, bright citrusy flavor, and light, fluffy texture.
For the base of our healthy lemon poppy seed muffins, we're using a blend of almond flour and quinoa flour. I love this combo because it's high in protein, but still yields a nice, light muffin. I've used this blend in my all of my quinoa almond flour bread recipes, as well as quinoa pancakes and my almond flour waffles. It’s like magic, friends!
Also noteworthy here? The amaaazing coconut butter icing, which you’ll want to add to all the things. It uses just 4 ingredients, and instead of being sweetened with cup upon cup of powdered sugar (seriously, have you seen how much sugar is in a traditional glaze recipe?!), this one calls for just a teaspoon of honey.
So, to sum things up, we’ve got delicious lemon poppy seed muffins that just so happen to be gluten-free and made without any refined sugar. And they come together in a few minutes, with only one mixing bowl to clean up. Could these be the best muffins ever?
(Well, maybe they’re tied with my Healthy Blueberry Muffins, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, or Carrot Cake Blender Muffins. How can I choose?!)
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
For the muffins:
- Mashed banana – The riper the banana, the sweeter your muffins will be.
- Eggs – Let these come to room temperature; they’ll hold more air that way, giving your lemon poppy seed muffins more lift.
- Coconut yogurt – Or your yogurt of choice.
- Honey or maple syrup
- Lemon juice
- Almond milk – Or your favorite plant-milk.
- Vanilla extract
- Almond flour – Be sure to use almond flour, not almond meal.
- Quinoa flour
- Coconut sugar
- Coconut flour
- Baking powder
- Sea salt
- Lemon zest – Zest the lemons first, then juice them.
- Poppy seeds – Although these are lemon poppy seed muffins, you can leave the poppy seeds out if you’re not a fan.
For the icing:
- Coconut butter
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Lemon juice
- Honey
What Is the Difference Between Coconut Oil and Coconut Butter?
First: there is a difference, so don’t substitute coconut oil here. Coconut oil is made from the fat of the coconut, while coconut butter is made from pureed coconut meat. It’s solid at room temperature, creamy and smooth when heated, and has a fantastic coconut flavor.
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
It’s time to start baking! Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
Mix the wet ingredients. Place all of the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat them until they’re smooth and creamy.
Add the dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients, then fold in the lemon zest and poppy seeds.
Bake. Fill the muffin liners 3/4 of the way full; you should have enough batter for 9 to 10 muffins. Fill any empty tins with a splash of water, then bake on the center rack for 21 to 23 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Make the icing. While the muffins cool, melt the icing ingredients in a small saucepan set over low heat. Whisk constantly until smooth, adding more almond milk if needed. Drizzle the icing over the cooled muffins.
Tips for Success
These tips will help you make perfect lemon poppy seed muffins:
- Measure the banana. If you just mash a medium banana and add it to the recipe, you may have more or less than you actually need. Mash the banana, then measure it to make sure you have the right amount.
- No zester? You can use a box grater instead, or use a paring knife or vegetable peeler to remove a piece of peel from the lemon, being careful to avoid the white pith underneath. Use a chef’s knife to finely mince the peel.
- Don’t frost the muffins while they’re hot. The icing will simply absorb into the muffins because coconut butter liquefies when it’s warm.
How to Store
Store these muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
Can This Recipe Be Frozen?
Freeze lemon poppy seed muffins in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature before serving, or warm them up in the microwave.
More Muffin Recipes To Try
- Blueberry Muffins with Blueberry Icing
- Double Chocolate Muffins
- Chocolate Muffins with Raspberry Swirls
- Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Quinoa Muffins
- Blackberry Muffins with Lime-Coconut Butter Glaze
- Banana Bread Muffins
- Carrot Cake Blender Muffins
- Raspberry Chocolate Chip Quinoa Muffins
- Pumpkin Quinoa Muffins
- Honey Applesauce Blender Muffins
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Coconut Butter Icing
Ingredients
for the muffins
- 1/2 cup mashed banana about 1 medium
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut yogurt or yogurt variety of choice
- 3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 – 2 tablespoons lemon zest about 2 whole lemons
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
for the icing
- 2 tablespoons coconut butter
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- Beat together the wet ingredients until smooth and creamy.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and stir together. Fold in lemon zest and poppy seeds.
- Fill the muffin tins 3/4 of the way full. This recipe yields between 9 and 10 muffins, so fill any empty tins with a splash of water.
- Bake on the center rack for 21 – 23 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While the muffins are baking, make the icing. Melt all the icing ingredients in a small pan over low heat. Whisk constantly until you get a smooth texture. Add a dash more almond milk if needed to thin it out.
- When muffins are done baking, allow to cool completely before icing.
Notes
Nutrition
Filed Under:
New to cooking quinoa? Grab your FREE Quinoa Starter Guide!
Become part of the Simply Quinoa community and receive weekly emails with exclusive content that I only share in email, as well as my in-depth guide to starting your quinoa journey.
Easy, delicious and quick!
Best Kitchen Utensil 2018
Can you sub flax egg for eggs to make it vegan? These look great.
Where are the instructions?
i would like to make these but there are no instructions or notes so not sure which ingredients make up the icing.