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Fluffy and flavorful lemon poppyseed muffins are topped with a tasty glaze, making them simply irresistible.

Glazed lemon poppyseed muffins combine that classic and tasty flavor combination that I adore. I love lemon + poppy seed in bread, pancakes, or even in a dressing!

Close up image of Lemon Poppyseed muffins with glaze drizzling down.

We Love Lemon!

We have been long-time fans of all baked goods with poppy seeds. We’ve also loved Lemon Bread forever, so it just seemed natural to want to try out these lemon poppy seed muffins.

You might not think adding poppyseeds would do much for a bread or muffins recipe, but they are the perfect addition because they add great flavor, which is why we’ve used them in other recipes, like Almond Poppy Seed Bread).

These are great for baby and bridal showers, for breakfast, or even an after-school snack. And let’s be honest – you can make them just because!

Ingredients for lemon poppyseed muffins laid out.

How to Make Them

PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F.

DRY INGREDIENTS. Mix together your flour, salt, baking powder, poppy seeds and 2½ cups white sugar in a large bowl or kitchen aid.

WET INGREDIENTS. Add the eggs, milk, oil, sour cream, vanilla, lemon extract and beat until smooth. 

BAKE. Distribute batter evenly into muffins tins (about ¾ full) and bake for 17 – 19 minutes.

GLAZE. Mix together orange juice, powdered sugar and lemon extract until well combined. Pour over your muffins while they are still hot. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Note. Add more liquid (orange juice or even milk) for a more runny glaze or even use lemon juice to make the glaze more lemon flavored.

Either way, it’s truly the icing on the cake that makes lemon poppyseed muffins even more delicious.

Poppyseed filled batter in a mixing bowl.

Ingredient Tips

Lemon juice. A medium lemon will produce 2-3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. I suggest that you have 2 on hand just in case you need them both.

Lemon zest. These fresh lemons can also be used to make zest. Zest is taken from the outer peel of citrus fruit and is quite flavorful.

  • Use a citrus zester, the small side of a cheese grater, or a paring knife to zest your citrus. 
  • Add a little more zest to increase the lemon flavor. 
Lemon poppyseed muffins glaze ingredients in bowl.

Additional Recipe Tips

Perfect dome. Achieve a perfect dome by filling the liner ⅔ full. This will allow lemon muffins to puff up without spilling over onto the pan. 

Do not overmix. Fluffy muffins are made by not overworking/overmixing the batter. Overmixed muffins could become unusually chewy muffins.

Moist muffins. Do not forget to include sour cream and buttermilk. These ingredients are essential for moisture and yielding tender muffins. Also, make sure to keep them covered in an airtight container when storing them.

Make mini muffins. Use a mini muffin tin and adjust the cooking time to 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Liners. Use paper liners or reusable silicone liners for the muffins. The better quality the liners are, the less likely that the muffins will stick.

Room temperature ingredients mix together better with other ingredients. This will help ensure you don’t over-mix.

Glazed lemon poppyseed muffins on cooling rack.

Storing Info

Make ahead of time. Cover and store the batter in the fridge for 1-2 days before using.

Note: Since the effectiveness diminishes I would suggest mixing in the baking powder and baking soda right before pouring them into the cupcake tins.

STORE cooled lemon poppy seed muffin recipe in an airtight container for up to a week.

Lay a paper towel on the bottom of the container to absorb any evaporated moisture to prevent muffins from getting soggy.

FREEZE. Allow the muffins to cool, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and freeze for 2-3 hours. Once frozen, transfer them to a Ziploc bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. 

Close up image of lemon poppyseed muffins recipe.

Recipe FAQ

Do poppy seeds actually add flavor?

Believe it or not, they do. It’s sort of a nutty/earthy flavor, and it complements the strong citrus flavor in these muffins so well!

How many lemons will it take to make enough lemon juice for this recipe?

One lemon typically contains 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice, so I would have two lemons on hand just to be sure you have enough juice.

For more muffin recipes, try:

4 from 2 votes

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

By: Lil’ Luna
Fluffy and flavorful lemon poppy seed muffins are topped with a tasty glaze making them simply irresistible.
Servings: 24 muffins
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

Muffins

Frosting

  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon extract

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F, and line muffin tins with muffin liners.
  • Mix together your flour, salt, baking powder, poppy seeds and 2½ cups white sugar in a large bowl or kitchen aid. Add the eggs, milk, oil, sour cream, vanilla, lemon extract and beat until smooth.
  • Distribute batter evenly into muffins tins (about ¾ full).
  • Bake at 350° for 17-19 minutes and let cool.
  • Frosting: Mix together orange juice, powdered sugar and lemon extract until well combined. Pour over your muffins while they are still hot. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 24g, Calories: 193kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.002g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 163mg, Potassium: 95mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 26g, Vitamin A: 119IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 53mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
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About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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Recipe Rating




24 Comments

  1. Yes this recipe HAS changed. The original one had buttermilk and didn’t have oil.

    This updated recipe is awful. Sorry to say, but it is awful

    1. We do regularly retest our recipes and update as needed. We changed the buttermilk for sour cream, which still makes the muffins moist and (we think) delicious! Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the updated recipe. Thanks for giving it a try!

  2. 3 stars
    Muffin recipe was okay. It had a strong buttermilk taste, but not super lemon-y. I added vanilla and lemon to the glaze. This made it taste good.

  3. Hi, I was wondering what the yield was for the Lemon Poppyseed Muffin recipe. They look really great and I can’t wait to try them!

    1. They really are great! You could get a couple dozen. It could be a little less, depending on how much you fill the cups. Hope that helps! Hope you like them!