Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
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These easy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are bursting with flavor and topped with a temptingly sweet lemon glaze! Made in just one bowl, Greek yogurt is the secret ingredient that makes them ultra moist and fluffy.

Why You’ll Love These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These lovely little lemon muffins are perfectly snackable and oh-so-tempting:

  • One Bowl: Every baker loves a good one-bowl recipe that delivers a perfect bake every time with minimal cleanup!
  • Quick Bake: Muffins are a favorite in my kitchen, because they only take about 20 minutes to bake! These are easy to make even when you’re pressed for time.
  • Sweet and Tart: I like a good blueberry or banana muffin as much as the next gal, but there’s something extra-special about these sweet, tart lemon muffins. Yum.
  • Versatile: Serve these as a quick breakfast, sweet snack, or even a quick dessert with a cup of coffee or tea.
Ingredients for lemon poppy seed muffins arranged on a work surface.

What You’ll Need

These ingredients are all basic baking items – you may already have most of them in your kitchen. For the full ingredient amounts and directions, make sure to scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Muffins

  • Flour: All-purpose flour.
  • Sugar: Regular granulated sugar.
  • Baking Powder: Make sure to use baking powder, not baking soda.
  • Salt
  • Butter: Unsalted butter, melted and cooled.
  • Egg: A large, whole egg adds structure and richness to the muffin batter.
  • Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best, but feel free to use bottled if it’s all you have.
  • Milk: I like whole milk in this recipe. You could also use reduced fat milk, but the muffins may not turn out quite as flavorful and rich.
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Greek Yogurt: Don’t use regular yogurt here – the thickness of the Greek yogurt gives these a great texture. You can use vanilla Greek yogurt or plain, whole fat yogurt will give you the best texture.
  • Lemon Zest: Don’t have lemon zest? You can replace it with a 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.
  • Poppy Seeds: You can find these in the spice aisle, with other spices and seasonings.

Optional Lemon Glaze

  • Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar is essential for the glaze – it dissolves perfectly in the lemon juice, making a silky-textured glaze. Don’t use granulated sugar for this.
  • Lemon Juice: To dissolve the powdered sugar and make the creamy glaze.
A small muffin drizzled with glaze.

Do You Soak Poppy Seeds Before Baking?

This is up to you! Lots of recipes call for working with poppy seeds without soaking first (like this one does), while other recipes instruct you to soak the seeds for an hour or two or overnight. Soaking poppy seeds softens the hard outer shell. Leaving the seeds un-soaked is common and will work out fine in this recipe. I’ve never had an issue with using un-soaked seeds, but feel free to soak them first if you like!

A muffin with the paper liner peeled away.

How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

This recipe is as easy as mix and bake! Here’s how to do it.

  • Mix the Batter. Get out a large bowl and whisk all of the ingredients together: dry ingredients first, and then the wet ingredients after. Last of all, fold in the lemon zest and poppy seeds.
  • Fill the Muffin Liners. Place muffin liners in a muffin tin, and fill each one ¾ full with batter.
  • Bake! Place in a preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until done.
  • Glaze the Muffins. As soon as the muffins come out of the oven, quickly whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Dunk the tops of the warm muffins in the glaze to coat.
  • Enjoy! Serve the lemon poppy seed muffins warm, or store them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Three muffins stacked on top of each other.

Baker’s Notes

Here are a few quick tips that you should know about making this easy recipe. Lemon poppy seed muffins are super simple, especially with a little extra baking know-how.

  • Yogurt Options: If you don’t have Greek yogurt, you can use another thick yogurt, or strain plain yogurt through cheesecloth until you get a thicker version. Very thick sour cream is also a good option.
  • Don’t Overmix: Always be careful to mix muffin and cake batters with caution – overmixing can ruin the texture! In this case, mix until blended and smooth, and then stop.
  • Good Lemons: When you’re using fresh lemons, be sure to look for lemons that have a deep yellow color, smooth, firm rind, and a slight give when you squeeze them. Avoid mold, very hard or soft fruit, and pale yellow or greenish lemons.
A lemon poppy seed muffin with a bite taken out of it.

Recipe Variations

These lemon poppy seed muffins are full of flavor, and they’re extra moist from the addition of Greek yogurt. The poppy seeds give the muffins that classic polka dot appearance, and kids just love them. Here are a few ways to change up this classic treat:

  • Crunchy Sugar Topping: If you’d like to have an alternative to the glaze, try sprinkling the tops of the muffins with coarse sugar for a bakery-style crunchy sugar topping.
  • Add Blueberries: Blueberry muffins, meet lemon muffins! To add fresh blueberries to your muffin batter, just take one heaping cup of blueberries, toss them with a spoonful or so of flour to coat, and fold them into the batter along with the poppy seeds.
  • Lemon-Almond Muffins: Slivered or chopped almonds make a lovely addition to this recipe, sprinkled on top of the muffins just after glazing.
Two glazed lemon poppy seed muffins stacked on top of each other.

How to Store Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These muffins store wonderfully for up to 5 days at room temperature. Since the glaze is made without milk, they are just fine to stay at room temperature. Make sure to keep them in an airtight container so they do not dry out. They make a great grab and go breakfast with a big cup of coffee!

Can I Freeze These?

Sure! You can freeze them for up to three months. I like to wrap each muffin with saran wrap or foil and then pop them into an airtight container or freezer bag, and you’re good to go. Thaw out at room temperature, or in the fridge, before serving.

More Lemony Treats

A lemon poppy seed muffin with a drizzle of glaze.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Recipe
Yield: 14 muffins

Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These soft Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are bursting with zesty flavor and topped with a sweet lemon glaze! Made in just one bowl, Greek yogurt is the secret ingredient that makes them ultra moist and fluffy.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes

Ingredients

For the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 large egg
  • ¼ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • cup Greek yogurt, plain, full fat
  • Zest of two lemons
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

For the Optional Lemon Glaze

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup lemon juice

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cups into muffin pan. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter, egg, lemon juice, milk, vanilla extra and yogurt and whisk until smooth. Fold in lemon zest and poppy seeds.
  • Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin pan, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • As soon as muffins come out of the oven, quickly whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Dunk the tops of warm muffins in glaze, or drizzle the glaze on top. You can sprinkle extra poppy seeds on top, if desired.
  • Serve warm or let cool completely and store in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 5 days.

Notes

Storage: These muffins store wonderfully for up to 5 days at room temperature. Since the glaze is made without milk, they are just fine to stay at room temperature. Make sure to keep them in an airtight container so they do not dry out. 
Freeze: You can freeze them for up to three months. I like to wrap each muffin with saran wrap or foil and then pop them into an airtight container or freezer bag, and you’re good to go. Thaw out at room temperature, or in the fridge, before serving.
Lemon Zest: Don’t have lemon zest? You can replace it with a 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.
Yogurt Options: If you don’t have Greek yogurt, you can use another thick yogurt, or strain plain yogurt through cheesecloth until you get a thicker version. Very thick sour cream is also a good option.
Don’t Overmix: Always be careful to mix muffin and cake batters with caution – overmixing can ruin the texture! In this case, mix until blended and smooth, and then stop.
Good Lemons: When you’re using fresh lemons, be sure to look for lemons that have a deep yellow color, smooth, firm rind, and a slight give when you squeeze them. Avoid mold, very hard or soft fruit, and pale yellow or greenish lemons.
Add Blueberries: Blueberry muffins, meet lemon muffins! To add fresh blueberries to your muffin batter, just take one heaping cup of blueberries, toss them with a spoonful or so of flour to coat, and fold them into the batter along with the poppy seeds.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 254kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 31mg, Sodium: 157mg, Potassium: 67mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 29g, Vitamin A: 241IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 72mg, Iron: 1mg

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Recipe Rating




14 Responses
  1. Cora

    These have become a staple! I only had one large lemon so I grated it as much as I could, and I also left the icing off so it’d be a little healthier for my little ones … they were delicious and still very much a treat. Thank you!

  2. Bonnie Otto

    I am thinking to make these as mini muffins I will just need to adjust the time? Has anyone made this recipe as a mini muffin. They will be for a Bridal Shower.

  3. Monica

    I saw these yesterday and made them as they looked so appealing. They were wonderfully moist and very flavourful. Thanks for the recipe :)

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Jessica
I'm a trial & error, self taught, sugar addict who thankfully learned how to survive in the kitchen! I am also a wife, mama of 3.