Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
These lemon poppy seed muffins have a perfectly tart lemon flavor, with a fluffy and springy texture. If you’re a lemon poppy seed fan, these are for you.
Usually muffins are glorified cakes with tons of sugar and calories. These are made with Greek yogurt for extra protein and sweetened with a touch brown sugar and apple sauce, making them a healthier, but equally as tasty, version of a traditional muffin.
Pair with Healthy Blueberry Lemon Muffins with Greek Yogurt, Blackberry Oatmeal Muffins and Chocolate Greek Yogurt Peanut Butter Muffins for a muffin brunch spread.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- 6 grams of protein and less than 200 calories per muffin.
- Simple ingredients.
- Excellent use of fresh lemons from your tree.
Ingredients and Substitutes:
These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list and instructions for these lemon poppy seed muffins.
- All-Purpose Flour: These muffins are best with AP flour. I suggest sticking to all-purpose flour for best flavor.
- Protein Powder: my favorite vanilla protein powder is from PEScience. The flavor is delicious and it bakes well. This recipe has only been tested with this specific brand but if you use something else, I highly suggest using a whey+casein blend protein powder.
- Light Brown Sugar: you can swap with your preferred sweetener but it may change the taste especially if using replacement sugar.
- Unsweetened Apple Sauce
- Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
- Coconut Oil: olive oil or butter.
- Eggs
- Fresh Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice: use fresh lemon juice from Meyer lemons for the perfect tart flavor. If using store-bought lemon juice, use about 3-4 Tbsp.
- Poppy Seeds
Variations
- Add in frozen or fresh berries, like blueberries or raspberries.
- Make a simple lemon glaze on top of your muffins with a mixture of lemon juice and sugar. Mix the two together until desired consistency and drizzle over the top.
Dietary Modifications
- To make gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour and gluten-free protein powder.
- To make dairy-free, be sure your protein powder is free of dairy and use a vegan yogurt.
How to make this lemon poppy seed muffin recipe
Step 1: preheat and prep
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease it well. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, applesauce, Greek yogurt, melted coconut oil, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well combined (image 1).
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients (image 2) and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the poppy seeds using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula (image 3). Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups (image 4).
Step 2: bake and cool
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely or enjoy warm.
Expert Tip!
Do not overmix! Overmixing causes the batter to become tough. Mixing just until the ingredients are combined makes a nice and tender muffin.
Recipe FAQs
Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days. You can also freeze these in a freezer-safe container or ziplock and freeze for up to 3 months.
Check out some of our other delicious muffin recipes!
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
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You can find this recipe and many others on MyFitnessPal and MacrosFirst by searching: Ohsnapmacros – Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240g
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (whey-casein blend) PEScience, 31g
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar 95g
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce 125g
- 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt 112g
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted, 48g
- 2 eggs
- zest of 2 lemons
- juice of 1 lemon more if you want extra lemon flavored
- 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease it well.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, applesauce, Greek yogurt, melted coconut oil, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Gently fold in the poppyseeds using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
- Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely or enjoy warm.
Notes
- Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary with substitutions.
- This recipe has only been tested with PeScience Vanilla protein powder and is the recommended brand to use to get the best outcome. Please note protein powders do bake differently and taste differently when baking. This specific protein powder adds a lot of sweetness to the muffins.
- Use fresh lemons or store-bought. One lemon is about 3-4 Tbsp. store-bought.
Nutrition
Photos by Marie-Catherine Dube
