These healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are made with Greek yogurt and have a sweet lemon glaze. They're delicious for breakfast or as a snack.

Update: This recipe was originally posted in March 2014. The recipe and photos have been updated and republished in June 2021.

Nothing makes me think more of warm weather to come than a lemon poppy seed muffin. There's just something about that light and fresh citrus flavor that screams warm weather. Don't you think?

lemon poppy seed muffins sit on a light green plate.

I used to eat a muffin for breakfast, every single day, for like 3 years straight. I'm pretty sure that I've had nearly every type of muffin that's out there. But a classic, like this healthy lemon muffin, is high up on my favorites list.

ingredients for the muffins sit on a wooden background

🥘 Ingredients for this recipe

all purpose flour
sugar
baking soda
baking powder
salt
lemon zest
lemon juice
eggs
butter
Greek yogurt
vanilla
poppy seeds
powdered sugar

4 image collage of the steps to make the muffins.

how do you make lemon poppy seed muffins from scratch?

First, preheat your oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Second, make your lemon sugar. Zest a lemon into the sugar and still to combine.
Then, combine the wet ingredients. Add the melted butter, Greek yogurt, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla to a bowl. Whisk in the sugar to combine.
Next, mix together the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Then, combine into a batter. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined, folding in the poppy seeds at the end. Divide the batter into the muffin tins, filling each ¾ of the way full.
After that, bake the muffins. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 and bake for 12-16 minutes.
Finally, glaze the muffins. Let the muffins cool, then whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice to form a glaze. Pour over the muffins.

glazed lemon poppy seed muffins sit in a metal muffin pan.

FAQ's for the best lemon poppy seed muffins

Are poppy seeds good for you? Yes! They are a good source of fiber and folic acid.
How do you make moist muffins? The combination of Greek yogurt and butter in this recipe keeps the muffins moist. Make sure you don't overmix the batter or overbake the muffins as that will make them drier and denser.
How to make lemon poppy seed muffins without yogurt? No yogurt, no problem! You can replace the yogurt with sour cream. Also, if you only have regular yogurt and not Greek, that works too!

glazed lemon poppy seed muffins sit on a light green plate.

Some of my other favorite muffins:

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Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These healthy Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are made with Greek yogurt and have a sweet lemon glaze.

Prep Time15

Cook Time21

Total Time36

Course: Baking, Breakfast, Muffins

Cuisine: American

Keyword: healthy lemon poppy seed muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins from scratch, lemon poppy seed muffins with yogurt

Servings: muffins

Calories: 255kcal

Author: NicholeL

Ingredients

⅔ cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest or zest of a whole lemon
1 stick unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoon lemon juice or juice of 1 large lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
Zest one lemon into the sugar and stir to combine. Melt the butter and let cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, Greek yogurt, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Whisk in the sugar until combined.
In a large bowl, combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined, folding in the poppy seeds.
Divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each about ¾ of the way full.
Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375 and bake for 12-16 minutes more, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.
Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool.
While muffins are cooling, whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl.
Pour lemon glaze over the muffins.

Notes

Store muffins in an air-tight container for 3-4 days. If your glaze is too thin, add additional powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

Nutrition

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Source: Picky Cook, adapted from Dorie Greenspan

Servings: 12

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Ingredients:

for the muffins:

- ⅔ cup sugar
- grated zest of 2 lemons
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- ¾ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 tbsp. poppy seeds

for the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Line a muffin pan with liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together the lemon juice, butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir to combine. Do not over mix. Mixture should still be lumpy. Stir in the poppy seeds.

5. Divide the batter into each well of the muffin pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden.

6. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and cooling fully on the wire rack.

7. Mix the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar with 1 tbsp. of the lemon juice. Slowly add in more lemon juice until the glaze reaches your desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins.

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