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These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are great for breakfast or brunch! The lemon really brightens the flavor and the glaze adds the right amount of sweetness.

two lemon poppy seed muffins on wire rack

Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Today is the day!!! We are having an online baby shower for the most darling pregnant lady I know, Caroline from Chocolate & Carrots!! Seriously, are you following her on Instagram? She is so stinking talented, sweet, and darling! Caroline has been craving citrus, so we wanted to really hit that craving for her, like these lemon poppy seed muffins.

We made these lemon poppy seed muffins a few weeks ago for a breakfast with our church. I knew it was a busy week and wasn’t up for contributing much so I only signed up for jam. I figured it’s homemade so it was still yummy, but I didn’t have to actually do anything other than remove it from the freezer. This was until my husband mentioned the night before the breakfast that he had signed us up for muffins. (We now have a wonderful little agreement called, “honey, you don’t sign up for anything. I’ll sign up if I decide we are going to bring something”).

I sat down with him to decide on a muffin recipe, but we both concluded we wanted to try something new so we decided on lemon poppy seed muffins with a light glaze. This easy muffin recipe turned out wonderful! I will totally make them again.

glazed lemon poppy seed muffins cooling on wire rack

What’s in These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins?

To make the lemon poppy seed muffins and the lemon glaze for the muffins, you’ll need:

  • Granulated sugar
  • Lemon juice and zest
  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking powder and baking soda
  • Salt
  • Poppy seeds
  • Sour cream
  • Egg
  • Vanilla extract
  • Unsalted butter
  • Confectioners’ sugar

How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

This lemon poppy seed muffin recipe is so easy to make! Here are the basic steps to making this recipe:

  1. Whisk together the wet ingredients in one bowl, and the dry in another.
  2. Combine the ingredients and stir until just combined.
  3. Spoon the muffin batter into 12 prepared muffin cups.
  4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes.
  5. Let cool completely, then top with lemon glaze.

Can You Make Muffins Without Paper Liners?

As long as you grease the baking pans, you can bake excellent muffins or cupcakes and remove them safely from pans without using baking liners.

lemon poppy seed muffins topped with glaze

How Long Will Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Keep?

Muffins will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Can I Freeze Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins?

Yes, these glazed lemon muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months. You may want to freeze them without the glaze and then make a fresh batch when you’re ready to enjoy them though.

Tips for Making Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Before mixing the sugar with the other dry ingredients, I recommend first rubbing it together with the lemon zest to “wake up” the flavor and release the oils in the zest. Trust me, it makes a difference!

Once you combine the wet and dry ingredients, be careful not to over mix the batter or else you’ll wind up with dense muffins.

Lastly, be sure to let the lemon poppy seed muffins cool completely before glazing them. If you try to glaze them while warm, it’ll slide right off!

More Delicious Muffin Recipes!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

4.67 from 3 votes

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

By Sweet Basil
Prep25 minutes
Cook20 minutes
Total45 minutes
Servings12
These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are great for breakfast or brunch! The lemon really brightens the flavor and the glaze adds the right amount of sweetness.
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Ingredients 

For the Muffins

For the Icing

  • 1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar
  • 2-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice, (fresh)

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In large bowl, rub sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon is strong.
    2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar, 1/4 Cup Lemon Zest
  • Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds.
    2 Cups All-Purpose Flour, 2 teaspoons Baking Powder, 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda, 1/4 teaspoon Salt, 2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds
  • In another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended.
    1/4 Cup Lemon Juice, 3/4 Cup Sour Cream, 2 Large Eggs, 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract, 1 Stick Unsalted Butter
  • Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently stir to blend. Do not over stir!
  • Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
  • Bake 18-20 minutes.
  • Transfer pan to a cooling rack.  Cool 5 minutes then remove from pan.
  • Cool completely, then glaze with icing.
    1 Cup Confectioner's Sugar, 2-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Recipe Notes

  • There apparently was a note to try adding a dollop of blueberry jam in the middle before baking, but I didn't have any so I didn't.
muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 274kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 96mg, Potassium: 131mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 22g, Vitamin A: 364IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 76mg, Iron: 1mg

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

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About The Author

Carrian Cheney

Carrian Cheney is the creative force behind ‘Oh, Sweet Basil,’ a food blog she co-authors with her husband, Cade. She creates fresh, family-friendly recipes that encourage togetherness in the kitchen.

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4.67 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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32 Comments

  1. Jenny Flake says:

    Beautiful muffins!! Love that glaze!!! 🙂

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      Thanks, lady!

  2. Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says:

    You know I am digging the lemon in this!!! So gorgeous – wish we were partying in person!

  3. Amelia @Eating Made Easy says:

    These look super delish. If a muffin has frosting, I’m in 😉

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      Right?! It’s like the best start to a morning

  4. Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain says:

    These are so pretty! Love anything with lemon! xoxo

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      Me too! It’s my fave!

  5. Lauren at Keep It Sweet says:

    That glaze is just calling to me… love how delicious these muffins look!

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      I love a good glaze!

  6. Caroline @ chocolate & carrots says:

    Carrian! These are perfect in every way. I’m such a sucker for citrus and lemon poppyseed muffins are the epitome of citrus desserts in my book! Thank you so much for this baby shower. It was such a happy surprise to wake up to! You are amazing. P.S. I think that’s hilarious that your husband signed you up to make something. That’s totally something my husband would do to. 🙂 Thank you again for everything!

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      Oh I just hate that! I had no plans to make anything at all! Hahah! Next time he does it I’m going to go buy fried chicken and dump it on a platter. haha!

  7. Erin @ Texanerin Baking says:

    That drippy glaze looks sooo good! I need to try sour cream in muffins. I always use Greek yogurt because it’s always around but sour cream sounds even better. 🙂

    1. Sweet Basil says:

      Thanks Erin!!

  8. HoneyB says:

    I totally agree, these are great muffins! Glad you enjoyed them!

  9. Maria says:

    I've made these before, they are tasty! We missed you on Friday, we should get together another time!

  10. Barbara Bakes says:

    These look so good with the icing dripping on the plate. I think I would want to lick the plate too!