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    Home » Desserts

    Lemon Muffins

    Published: Dec 2, 2022 · by Nico

    Jump to Recipe

    These soft and fluffy lemon muffins are easy to make! Whip them up in 5 minutes and bake them in 23 minutes for a quick and tasty breakfast or as a snack.

    Upgrade them to party status with a streusel or cream cheese topping; you won't regret it.

    Lemon muffins streusel
    On this page:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Variations
    • Make Ahead & Storage
    • Tips
    • Questions
    • More Muffin Recipes
    • More lemon desserts
    • Recipe

    Check out our Best Easy Desserts

    You can expect a soft crumb, fluffy, light, and with the right amount of moisture.

    Their flavor is a little sweet and slightly tangy. If you like sweeter lemon muffins, feel free to add the streusel topping or a cream cheese topping (recipes below).

    Also, you can easily make this recipe dairy-free by substituting your favorite non-dairy milk for dairy milk, and since we don't put eggs in the batter, the recipe is easy to make vegan.

    We developed this lemon muffin recipe so that it's easy to make with simple ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

    Most important tip: to make light, airy, and soft muffins that are not gummy, don't overmix the batter, but rather stir it until just barely combined (that's literally 10 seconds); there should still be some lumps.

    Lemon muffins with streusel

    Ingredients

    Ingredients lemon muffins

    Lemon

    Fresh ripe lemons with a fully developed yellow color are best. Under-ripe lemons with a pale yellow or green color will make your lemon muffins too sour.

    We use both fresh lemon juice and grated lemon zest. They add plenty of lemon flavor; you won't need lemon extract.

    Since we are using the peel, you might want to get organically grown lemons.

    Flour

    All-purpose flour works great. Cake flour is also excellent.

    To make the recipe more wholesome, you can use half-all-purpose and half-whole wheat flour.

    Sugar

    We use white sugar. Any sugar in granulated form works, including brown sugar, coconut sugar, and palm sugar.

    Coconut and palm sugar might be less sweet, so we recommend adding 25% more.

    Milk

    You can use any milk. We use unsweetened soy milk. All non-dairy milks work well.

    Vegetable oil

    Go for canola oil or sunflower oil for the lightest, fluffiest muffins.

    If you like heavier muffins, more cupcake-like, you can substitute butter or vegan butter for oil.

    Vanilla extract

    You can use vanilla extract or the seeds in a vanilla pod. Lemon muffins need the vanilla aroma to shine.

    Baking powder

    Baking powder makes the muffins rise, allowing air to be trapped in the crumb, making the muffins light and soft. There's no need for baking soda in this recipe.

    Tip: make sure your baking powder hasn't been sitting in your pantry for too long, and always check the expiry date.

    Salt

    Salt is optional, and you can omit it if you are on a low-sodium diet. However, it does add flavor and depth to the lemon muffins.

    Streusel Topping

    Ingredients lemon muffins topping

    Make it with all-purpose or whole-wheat flour, brown sugar, butter or vegan butter, salt, and rolled oats.

    Cream Cheese Topping

    Ingredients cheese frosting

    Make it with cream cheese (or dairy-free cream cheese), vanilla, butter (or dairy-free butter), and powdered sugar.

    Lemon Glaze

    Ingredients lemon glaze

    Make it with powdered sugar, vanilla, non-dairy milk, and lemon juice.

    Instructions

    Streusel Topping

    To a small bowl, add softened butter (or dairy-free butter), sugar, flour, rolled oats, and salt.

    Smash and mix with a fork until coarsely combined. Set aside.

    streusel topping

    Lemon Muffins Batter

    Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 12-muffin pan (or two 6-muffin pans) with muffin liners or twelve 5-inch squares of parchment paper.

    To a large bowl, add grated lemon zest and lemon juice.

    Tip: always zest before squeezing the lemon, as doing the opposite would be very hard. Grate only the yellow part of the peel, as the white pith underneath is bitter.

    grated lemon

    Add milk, sugar, oil, and vanilla, and whisk the wet ingredients until well combined.

    muffin batter

    Sift in the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt.

    adding flour to batter

    Whisk or stir until barely combined (about 10 seconds by hand). Lumps are ok.

    Tip: don't over-mix batter. This is really important for making soft and fluffy muffins.

    mix muffin batter

    Bake Lemon Muffins

    Pour batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling the liners ¾ to the top. Cover the top with the streusel.

    Note: we tried with and without streusel. The left side picture is without streusel; the right one is with streusel crumb topping. We prefer lemon muffins with streusel.

    muffin pan

    Bake at 350°F or 180°C for 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.

    muffins after baking

    Let muffins cool down in the pan for 15 minutes, then take them out, cool down for 15 more minutes on a wire rack at room temperature, and enjoy.

    Lemon muffins streusel topping

    Variations

    Cream Cheese Topping

    Beat the cream cheese ingredients together with a hand mixer until creamy. The butter (or dairy-free butter) should be softened.

    Cream cheese topping

    Cover the top of the lemon muffins with the frosting.

    Lemon muffins with cream cheese topping

    Make Ahead & Storage

    Make ahead: lemon muffins are a great make-ahead recipe because they stay soft for up to 4 days.

    Room temperature: up to 4 days, in a cool corner of your kitchen. Keep them in an airtight container or plastic bag to stay moist.

    Refrigerator: up to 1 week, in an airtight container or plastic bag. You can also individually wrap them.

    Freezer: let muffins cool down completely, then transfer them to a freezer-friendly bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

    Thaw: we find the best way to thaw frozen muffins is in the microwave with the thawing function. The muffin will get slightly warm, soft, and moist again.

    Reheat: we like to reheat our leftover muffins for 30 to 60 seconds in the microwave. They'll regain moisture as they warm up.

    Tips

    Avoid over-mixing

    Over-mixing is muffin enemy number one because it develops the gluten in the flour, which makes the muffins gummy and dryer.

    Bake immediately

    Preheat the oven and line your muffin pan in advance because you want to bake the batter as soon as possible to take full advantage of the baking powder's rising power.

    Don't open the oven door

    That's baking rule number one. Don't open the oven door while the muffins bake, or they'll deflate.

    Questions

    Is butter or oil better for muffins?

    It depends on your taste. We prefer muffins with oil (canola or sunflower) because they are lighter, moister, fluffier, taller, and softer.

    You can substitute melted butter or vegan butter for oil if you prefer a shorter and denser muffin (more like a cupcake).

    In general, we use oil for muffins and butter for cupcakes.

    How can I make my muffins lighter and fluffy?

    To make lighter and fluffy muffins, use neutrally flavored vegetable oil like canola oil or sunflower oil instead of butter.

    Butter makes dense, heavier muffins. Oil makes tall, light, and fluffy muffins.

    Also, avoid over-mixing the batter. Over-mixing develops the flour's gluten, resulting in gummy, dry, and heavy muffins.

    More Muffin Recipes

    If you love easy muffins, get inspiration from these light and breakfast-friendly muffin recipes:

    • Lemon blueberry muffins: a vegan-friendly muffin recipe packed with fresh blueberries
    • Apple muffins with tender and sweet bits of apple
    • Sweet potato muffins with 5-minute microwaved sweet potato
    • Zucchini muffins with grated zucchini and chocolate chips
    • Apple Muffins
    • Vegan Blueberry Muffins
    • Sweet Potato Muffins
    • Zucchini Muffins (Easy + Vegan)

    More lemon desserts

    Get tangy and sweet ideas for your next dessert with these bright and yellow lemon desserts:

    • Lemon blueberry cake: this easy batter whips up in just 5 minutes!
    • Vegan lemon cake with a filling of lemon curd, a tangy and sweet dessert idea
    • Lemon pound cake with vanilla glaze, a light and airy pound cake recipe
    • 5-minute lemon curd: vegan-friendly, creamy, and perfectly tangy!
    • Lemon Pound Cake
    • Lemon Blueberry Cake
    • Vegan Lemon Curd
    • Vegan lemon tart

    Recipe

    Lemon muffins on cutting board

    Lemon Muffins

    Author: Nico
    These soft and fluffy lemon muffins are easy to make! Whip them up in 5 minutes and bake them in 23 minutes for a quick and tasty breakfast or as a snack.
    Upgrade them to party status with a streusel or cream cheese topping; you won't regret it.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share Recipe
    5 from 1 vote
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 23 mins
    Total Time 38 mins
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 muffins
    Calories 188 kcal

    Equipment

    • 12-muffin tin (or two 6-muffin tins)

    Ingredients
     
     

    WET INGREDIENTS

    • 2 ripe lemons the grated zest
    • ¼ cup lemon juice
    • ½ cup milk any, we use unsweetened soy milk
    • ¾ cup sugar
    • ¼ cup vegetable oil
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    DRY INGREDIENTS

    • 2 cups all-purpose flour or half all-purpose and half whole-wheat
    • 3 teaspoons baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    STREUSEL TOPPING

    • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
    • ¼ cup sugar
    • 3 tablespoons rolled oats
    • 3 tablespoons butter or dairy-free butter
    • ⅛ teaspoon salt

    Instructions
     

    STREUSEL TOPPING

    • To a small bowl, add softened butter, sugar, flour, rolled oats, and salt.
      Smash and mix with a fork until coarsely combined.
      streusel topping

    LEMON MUFFINS BATTER

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. Line a 12-muffin pan (or two 6-muffin pans) with muffin liners or twelve 5-inch squares of parchment paper.
      To a large bowl add lemon zest, lemon juice, milk, sugar, oil, vanilla, and whisk until combined.
      muffin batter
    • Sift in flour, salt, and baking powder.
      adding flour to batter
    • Whisk or stir until barely combined (about 10 seconds by hand). Lumps are ok.

    BAKE LEMON MUFFINS

    • Pour batter into muffin tin, filling the liners ¾ to the top. Cover the top with the streusel.
      muffin pan
    • Bake at 350°F or 180°C for 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
      muffins after baking
    • Let muffins cool down in the pan for 15 minutes, then take them out, cool down for 15 more minutes on a wire rack at room temperature, and enjoy.
      Lemon muffins with streusel

    Notes

    Nutrition information is an estimate for 1 lemon muffin out of 12, without the streusel topping.
    One muffin with streusel topping is about 249Kcal.

    Nutritional Values

    Nutrition Facts
    Lemon Muffins
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 188 Calories from Fat 45
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 5g8%
    Saturated Fat 1g6%
    Trans Fat 0g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
    Monounsaturated Fat 1g
    Cholesterol 0mg0%
    Potassium 148mg4%
    Carbohydrates 33g11%
    Dietary Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 13g14%
    Protein 3g6%
    Vitamin A 39IU1%
    Vitamin B6 0.04mg2%
    Vitamin C 3mg4%
    Vitamin E 1mg7%
    Vitamin K 8µg8%
    Calcium 61mg6%
    Folate 50µg13%
    Iron 1mg6%
    Manganese 0.2mg10%
    Magnesium 6mg2%
    Zinc 0.2mg1%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Did you like this recipe?We are not much on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Leave us a comment below instead, it would mean the world to us 🙂

    If you liked these lemon muffins, you might also like:

    • 35 Easy Desserts
    • 43 Plant-Based Desserts
    • 25+ Best Vegan Brunch Recipes
    • 40 Easy Appetizers

    « Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Aleksandra

      January 08, 2023 at 3:10 pm

      Hello! I'm planning to make them with a lemon glaze but I couldn't find the recipe of it here, only the list of the ingredients!

      Reply
      • Louise

        January 08, 2023 at 4:51 pm

        Hi Aleksandra, thanks so much for your comment, and well spotted - we missed the lemon glaze section.
        We will update it within 1-2 days, until then - you can find the lemon glaze recipe in our pound cake recipe: https://theplantbasedschool.com/vegan-pound-cake/#recipe
        I do apologize, thanks again for your help. Happy baking. Kindest, Louise

        Reply
        • Aleksandra

          January 12, 2023 at 10:20 am

          Thank you for the fast reply! Just found your site and have already tried several of your recipes! Loved them all 🙂 Thank you for the help with learning how and what to cook 🙂
          I am a big fan of Italian cuisine, and though I'm not vegan myself I prefer cooking vegan food, so having your simple recipes with detailed instructions and videos has been very helpful 🙂

          All the best,
          Aleksandra

          Reply
          • Louise

            January 12, 2023 at 3:06 pm

            I'm happy to hear, Aleksandra! Thanks so much for the kind feedback, veggie-packed and easy-to-follow recipes are exactly what we're striving to do 🙂
            Have a wonderful rest of your day!
            Kindest, Louise

            Reply

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