4.95 from 19 votes

Prep Time : 15

Cook Time : 20

These gluten free lemon poppyseed muffins have all the brightness of lemon and the nutty crunch of poppyseeds in a moist and tender muffin.

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These gluten free lemon poppyseed muffins have all the brightness of lemon and the nutty crunch of poppyseeds in a tender sour cream muffin.

Lemon Poppyseed muffin cut in half on small white plate

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The pleasure of baking with lemons

Bite into these lightly sweet muffins through a thin layer of sugar crunch, and they're super soft & moist inside. The poppyseeds add a pleasant fruity crunch.

Lemons are like the salt of the citrus world. They make everything better. Even just a bit of lemon squeezed over your dinner or into your favorite cake will brighten everything up.

Closeup image of lemon poppyseed muffin on small white plate

Growing lemons

I don't have a lemon tree in my yard or anything. But I would very much like to move somewhere I could have a lemon tree in the yard. ?

Sometimes I see people growing lemons indoors. I live in N.Y., but I wonder if I could grow them in a container, and bring the tree indoors during the cold months.

I imagine myself lovingly pruning my tiny lemon tree, and think my dream might come true. But then I remember. I have 2 cats and 3 dogs and the dream dies.

Raw lemon poppyseed muffin batter in muffin tin wells

Can you substitute chia seeds for poppyseeds?

If you just don't happen to have poppyseeds on hand, consider buying them. They're so good sprinkled on all kinds of things, from bagels to salads.

But if you can't have poppyseeds, or you're afraid of failing a drug test after you eat poppyseeds because they may contain very small, trace amounts of opium extract, you can replace them with chia seeds.

Black chia seeds look a lot like poppyseeds, but they're larger and denser when they're dry. That will make them more distracting than poppyseeds when you bite into the muffin.

Instead of mixing the chia seeds into the dry ingredients that get whisked together, try adding them to the wet ingredients. It might help them soften up a bit before baking.

Lemon Poppyseed muffins overhead image with one cut in half

Ingredients and substitutions

Dairy

If you can't have butter, you can try replacing it with Melt or Miyoko's Kitchen brand vegan butter. They're my favorite butter substitutes.

You might also be able to use Earth Balance buttery sticks in this recipe in place of butter, but you might find that your muffins rise more and then fall more. Earth Balance has more moisture than butter, so the balance of ingredients will be disturbed.

If you can't have sour cream, plain Greek yogurt is a great substitute. If you can't have dairy yogurt and can't find nondairy plain Greek yogurt, try straining plain nondairy yogurt until it's the proper consistency.

Eggs

There are three whole eggs in this recipe, and they're really important to the rise and texture. I don't recommend trying to replace each of them with an egg replacer, but if you'd like to try, go with one “chia egg” per egg (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel).

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Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

These gluten free lemon poppyseed muffins have all the brightness of lemon and the nutty crunch of poppyseeds in a moist and tender muffin.

Course: Muffins

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 20

Yield: 12 muffins

Author: Nicole Hunn

Ingredients

2 cups (280 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter; please click thru for details on appropriate blends)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar plus more for sprinkling
Zest and juice of 1 medium lemon (3 tablespoons juice) separated
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup (240 g) sour cream at room temperature
3 (150 g (weighed out of shell)) eggs at room temperature, beaten

Instructions

Grease or line a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, lemon zest, and poppy seeds, and whisk to combine well.
2 cups all purpose gluten free flour, 1 teaspoon xanthan gum, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons poppy seeds, Zest and juice of 1 medium lemon (3 tablespoons juice)
In a separate, 4 cup measuring cup or bowl, place the butter, sour cream, lemon juice, and eggs, and whisk until very well combined and smooth.
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 cup sour cream, 3 eggs
Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
Fill the prepared cups of the muffin tin full. Smooth the tops of the batter with wet fingers.
Sprinkle the tops lightly with more granulated sugar (about 1/8 tesapoon per muffin).
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Place the muffin tin in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool before serving.

Storage instructions

Completely cooled muffins can be sealed tightly, then frozen. Defrost at room temperature or in a microwave oven.

Notes

Nutrition information is per serving but approximate, and should not be relied upon for any medical issue or anything else of consequence.