Perfect lemon poppy seed muffins recipe

Name: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 33 min
Ingredients: 120 grams caster sugar; 300 grams all purpose flour; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; Pinch salt; zest of 1 lemon; 25 grams poppy seeds; 2 eggs (M); 250 ml semi-skimmed milk; juice of 1 lemon; 120 ml sunflower oil

Posted: April 22, 2025

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I have another delicious recipe with a perfect flavor combo: lemon poppy seed muffins! They are fluffy, moist, easy to make and one of my favorite muffin recipes.

Lemons and poppy seed

These delicious lemon poppy seed muffins where first made for a photo shoot I did a few years back. At the time I wrote a weekly column for a Dutch magazine which always featured a new recipe plus a photo of me. Because we needed a few new head shots I figured it would be nice to make these lemon poppy seed muffins.

People often look at me a little crazy when I say I put poppy seeds in a batter (at least they do here in the Netherlands), but after they taste it, they are convinced.

I think the best example of this was when I was at a food market with the lemon poppy seed cake from my second book. I encouraged everyone with raised eyebrows (poppy seeds, in a cake? Why?!) to try a piece, and it was so funny to see everyone start laughing as they chewed. They loved it!

Since I like the combination of lemon and poppy seeds so much, I decided to combine them again, this time in muffins. I love muffins. In a few minutes they are in the oven and before you know it you are enjoying delicious muffins.

What goes into the lemon poppy seed muffins

Making this lemon poppy seed muffins recipe is really super easy to do. I always love how easy it is to make muffins, and the lemon flavor in this muffin recipe is just so delicious! I love all things lemon, it’s my go to ingredient in spring and summer.

You need the following ingredients:

sugar – I use regular granulated sugar for this recipe
all purpose flour
baking powder
baking soda
lemon – you need fresh lemon zest as well as fresh lemon juice
poppy seeds
eggs
milk – I use semi skimmed milk for making these moist lemon poppy seed muffins.
sunflower oil – or another neutral vegetable oil

In addition to the above you will also need paper muffin cups, a muffin tin and a wire rack to cool down the muffins once baked.

Preparing the muffin batter

The good thing about making any kind of muffin is that the batter is usually simply a matter of combining the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.

You also don’t need to whip it for very long so a large bowl is usually enough. No need to use a food processor either.

Just mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds. Use a whisk to mix it through and use a separate bowl for mixing the wet ingredients. It’s ok if there are a few streaks of flour in the batter. And that’s all there is to it.

Place each muffin liner inside of your muffin pan and fill with the batter. You want the batter to be just below the rim of the paper so you will get nice round muffin tops.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and cooked. The baking time is roughly 12-18 minutes.

I love making a quick batch of these muffins and freeze them for later use. Perfect to include in your weekday breakfast or as a snack and even better for lemon lovers!

Check out these lemon recipes as well:

For all my lemon lovers, here are a few recipes you might like:

What are your lemon recipes? Let me know in the comments below!

How long can I store the lemon poppy seed muffins?

You can store these in an airtight container outside of the fridge for about 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to three months.

Can I replace the sunflower oil with butter?

You can also use melted butter instead of the sunflower oil but the muffins will be a bit firmer as the butter solidifies at room temperature. But you can use it.

Can I replace the milk with sour cream or greek yogurt?

A lot of muffin recipes use sour cream or greek yogurt. They can pretty much be replaced in equal ratios. The flavor will be subtly different though.

Can I add any mix-ins to the lemon poppyseed muffins?

Sure! If the crunchy poppy seeds are not enough you can add something like chocolate chip or add additional flavor to the batter by adding some vanilla extract or a teaspoon of lemon extract. You could even add pieces of candied lemon peel or a nice lemon curd swirl.

Can I replace the poppy seeds?

You can if you want to, but keep in mind that this recipe is called lemon poppy seed muffins so leaving them out would give you just lemon muffins. The closest in looks would be to use chia seeds. These do absorb a bit more moisture so you might want to add a bit extra of that.

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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

If you've never had anything with lemon and poppy seed I would advise you to try these incredibly delicious muffins.

Prep Time15

Cook Time18

Total Time33

Servings: muffins

Ingredients

Metric | US Customary

120 grams caster sugar
300 grams all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
zest of 1 lemon
25 grams poppy seeds
2 eggs M
250 ml semi-skimmed milk
juice of 1 lemon
120 ml sunflower oil

Equipment

Muffin tin

Instructions

Take two bowls. In one, add the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, lemon zest and poppy seeds. Mix with a whisk.
In the second bowl, add the eggs, milk, lemon juice and sunflower oil. Mix together with a whisk.
Pour the milk mixture directly into the dry ingredients and use the whisk and/or spatula to mix until smooth. It doesn't matter if there are small lumps here and there.
Place the paper muffin tins in a cupcake pan and fill with the batter. Fill the muffins just below the rim so that there will be a nice ball on top when they rise in the oven.
Bake for 18-20 minutes at 200°C/400℉ (conventional oven) or until golden brown.

How to store

Keep in an airtight container outside the refrigerator for about 5 days. They can also be frozen and will keep for up to 3 months.

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