Lemon flavor is the hero in this decadent gluten free lemon poppy seed muffin recipe. Top them with a lemonade icing drizzle, or enjoy them plain. These fluffy muffins are also dairy-free!
My kids were pretty excited about this new recipe because I love making fluffy muffins. Whenever I bake something with lemons, I send them out to go pick a lemon or two from our tree. We are lucky to have fresh lemons most of the year.
I make a lot of muffins, and I share many of them here on Fearless Dining. All of my muffin recipes are freezable so that you can enjoy them anytime. Here are some of our favorite gluten free muffin recipes, or you can try this delicious gluten free strawberry muffins recipe!
This recipe uses simple ingredients that you can find at any local grocery store. These fluffy muffins taste like the real deal and get rave reviews! Nobody will know these homemade muffins are gluten free.
Hands down THE best lemon poppyseed muffin I have EVER HAD!! Made these this afternoon and they are INCREDIBLE!! Moist and fluffy and they’re actually amazing on their own without the icing. This one is a keeper!”
Chelsey T., Pinterest user
Why These Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Muffins Are Great:
- These are the fluffiest gluten free muffins. They are seriously good!
- They are gluten free and dairy-free, making them great for those who have to avoid both in their baking.
- My moist lemon poppy seed muffins are freezable, so you can make a double batch and freeze the extras. This allows you to have a ready-made grab-and-go breakfast!
- This is an easy recipe, and I share all of my tips and tricks so you can make them regular or with a big dome top!
This is one of my favorite gluten-free flour blends for cookies, cakes, pie crust, biscuits, and muffins! (Do not use this flour blend for yeast recipes.)
Ingredient Notes:
- Gluten free flour blend – I tested two gluten free flour blends: King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Blend. If you prefer, I also created this recipe with a custom mix I like using ¾ cup sorghum flour, ⅓ cup brown rice flour, ½ cup arrowroot starch, and 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum.
- Poppy seeds – These add the perfect texture to this muffin recipe.
- Non-dairy milk – I used almond milk, but others are also fine. I would avoid using canned coconut milk. It is too dense of a liquid for this recipe.
- Eggs – I recommend size large eggs.
- Coconut oil – vegan butter also works well if you can’t have coconut.
- Lemon – You can use fresh lemon juice or bottled.
Are you ready to make these easy lemon poppy seed muffins?
Recipe Step-By-Step Ingredients:
Step 1: Combine all of your dry ingredients in a large
The easiest way to measure your gluten free flour is to use either the spoon method or the leveling method.
Spoon Method: You can also use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
Leveling Method: Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, add the wet ingredients and whisk to blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix gently.
Step 3: Scoop the gluten free muffin batter onto parchment muffin papers. Fill each cup of the muffin pan ¾ full of the muffin batter.
Step 4: Bake at 350º F for 20-22 minutes until done. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the muffins must be baked longer.
Step 5: Add powdered sugar and lemon juice to a small bowl. Mix them into the icing and drizzle the icing over the muffins. The whole family will love these muffins!
Expert Tips For Fluffy Muffins:
- Muffin tip: If you over-mix the batter, your muffins will not be as light and fluffy! Mix the wet and dry ingredients until they are just barely mixed!
- Do NOT use a standing or an electric mixer for best results. They will overmix the batter.
- If you want your muffins to have a domed style top, bake at 425º F for the first 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350º F.
If you need more tips, be sure to check out my Gluten Free Muffins Troubleshooting Guide.
Recipe FAQ:
The best way to test to see if your muffins are done baking is to insert a toothpick into the middle of a muffin. If the toothpick comes back clean, the muffins are finished baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the muffins must be baked longer.
Poppy seeds have a bad rap, and many people worry about eating them. Unless you plan to eat several pounds of poppy seeds, the low amount of poppy seeds in baked goods and bagels will not affect you.
You can easily freeze these muffins. Allow them to cool completely, then add them gently to a large freezer bag. Seal it. To thaw your muffins, allow them to thaw slowly to room temperature on a plate or pop it into the microwave. If you use the microwave, the icing will get very hot, so be careful.
Store your muffins in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or freeze them as instructed above. They will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator or 4-5 months in the freezer.
If you love lemons as much as we do, don’t miss the best gluten free lemon dessert recipes on the blog!
More Gluten Free Muffin Recipes to Try:
- Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins
- Gluten Free Oatmeal Muffins
- Gluten Free Banana Oat Muffins
- Easy Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
Reader Reviews:
Made these today! SO GOOD! Thank you for sharing this recipe! And I love all the non-wheat flours you use in the recipe! Fits with my allergy design! 🙂”
Sheryl
Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend (See note)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- ¾ cup almond milk
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
Icing
- ½ cup powdered sugar for icing
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice for icing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk to blend.
- In a bowl, add the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix gently. (*See note)
- Add the muffin batter to a muffin tray. Fill each about ¾ full of the batter and bake for 22-25 minutes until done. (*See note)
- Allow the muffins to cool on a cooling rack. Mix the lemon juice and powdered sugar to make the lemonade icing. Drizzle onto the muffins.
Notes
- If you prefer to use my custom flour blend to make these muffins, add ¾ cup sorghum flour, ¼ cup brown rice flour, ½ cup arrowroot starch (or tapioca starch), and 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum to a bowl and whisk to blend.
- For the lightest and fluffy muffins, do not over mix or the muffins will not be as light and fluffy.
- To test to see if your muffins are done baking, insert a toothpick into a muffin. If the toothpick comes back clean, the muffins are done baking. If you see crumbs or batter, the muffins need to bake longer.
- These muffins will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an older June 2018 post with better directions and tips for success.
Hi there! I just made this recipe and the flavor and texture were great but the muffins really stuck to the muffin liners and I lost a lot of volume because of what remained stuck. They didn’t seem over cooked. Do you have a suggestion of what to adjust ?
Thank you!
Hi Samantha, that can happen, especially when using starchier blends. I always use parchment paper cupcake liners so nothing will stick.
Hello, quick question on this recipe. Is all of the lemon juice for the frosting? Or does some go in the muffins?
Hi, To clarify, I specified the amount of lemon juice for the cupcakes and icing separately.
Hi, I made these lemons and poppy seed muffins this morning and they did not turn out as per you photos. Please can you tell me where I went wrong.
I follows your instructions using spoons and cups. I melted the coconut oil, was I supposed to let it cook completely before adding it? As this seems to be when things started to go wrong. As it hardened into lumps as I was storing it in. I tried to smooth the lumps out but the batter without over mixing. The batter was very runny, not thick like yours. Any ideas please? I love using new recipes but if I can’t find out where I went wrong I won’t be using this again. They haven’t really risen in the oven are have a very stodgy consistency. Thank you.
Hi Lynne, what gluten free flour blend did you use? Some are starchy, and you need more flour than other blends. If you notice the batter is very runny, and doesn’t look like what I have posted in photos, you probably needed to add more gluten free flour.
Hi – tried this recipe and loved it! Planning to make several dozen for a school event next week. Have you had success in doubling or tripling the recipe as written?
Hi Helen, I am so glad you love these muffins. You can easily double or triple the recipe. Have a good event!
This screams summer on a snowy day! I am going to make this! Thanks Sandi
You are very welcome.
I was curious if it would be okay to substitute coconut sugar for normal sugar? Or honey?
Hi Dani, I haven’t tested either in my recipe so I am not sure how it would turn out.
Made these today! SO GOOD! Thank you for sharing this recipe! And I love all the non-wheat flours you use in the recipe! Fits with my allergy design! 🙂 I did make a couple changes due to allergies… almonds (used rice milk instead) and baking powder (upped the soda to 1-1/2 teaspoons). I also exchanged out the sugar with monk sugar 1:1 and threw in 1-1/2 cups blueberries. Incredibly yummy! Will make again….and again!
I am so glad you liked them, Sheryl!! I need to start experimenting with monk sugar.
Not sure if i did something wrong but my muffins came out oily and treated somewhat oily. Note, my coconut oil is semi solid but melts on touch. I did melt it to ensure it was only 2/3 cup. Aside from that, favour was good though. Any suggestions?
Hi Pete, I am so glad you messaged me about this. We chatted via FB and discovered that 1/3 cup worked better. Thank you so much.
Any experience with coconut sugar?? I’m trying to lower and or elinate as much sugar as I can and don’t want to use artificial sugars. Love the sound of your lemon recipe but too much sugar!! Would love to know your thoughts on this.
Hi Joy, I totally get that. I have not tested coconut sugar in this recipe, but I have used it in muffin recipes. I am thinking it will be fine to use, but note that your muffin color will be browner in color using coconut sugar.
Lemon is my favorite summer flavor! I’d love to start my day with one of these!
I have a few extra 🙂
I am trying to cut back on my sugar but I think I have to make an exception just this once because that icing looks too fabulous!
Hi Haley, you can use a lower glycemic sweetener like coconut sugar for this recipe, it will just make these a little brownish in color.
I haven’t had lemon poppy seed muffins in a while!! I’ve been making my muffins gluten-free for a while and I can’t wait to try your delicious muffins! Love the glaze and the flavors!
I can’t recommend them enough with a good cup of coffee 🙂
Lemon poppy seed is my favorite quick bread flavor, especially in the summer time!
Thank you so much Alyssa 🙂
These muffins sound fabulous and I love the addition of poppy seeds with lemon. Nice to hear all the nutrition that add to the muffins as well.
Thank you so much Stephanie…we just can’t tell my kids these have healthy stuff for them 🙂
These muffins look so delicious! And I love lemon!
Thank you so much Bettina, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do 🙂