When life gives you lemons, make lemon muffins! These lemon muffins. They are light, fluffy, tangy, and taste amazing. They are also super easy to make!
I just got back from a bachelorette party of a dear friend of mine. We spent most of the day hanging out at the pool, talking girl talk, and drinking Lambrusco in style. Yep, the good life!
We stayed in a beautiful villa surrounded by citrus trees full of fruit. The owner of the property said we could pick as much as we like, so now I have 20 lemons. I used one lemon for these muffins and now I need to figure out what to do with the rest. Maybe this amazing cake. Or these cookies.
Flavor and Texture
I couldn’t stop eating these muffins. They are fluffy and moist and have a cakey texture. Their lemony flavor is amazing. They also have just the right amount of sweetness. They are wonderful for breakfast and are a great way to start the day.
Remember the Bakery-Style Muffin Recipe I shared with you? I wrote about the difference between a bread-like muffin and a cakey muffin. This one is less bread-like and more cakey because I like my fruit muffins cakey. To achieve this, I use more eggs, fat, and yogurt, which makes the muffins light, tangy and moist. You can use sour cream instead of the yogurt.
How to Make These Muffins
You don’t need a mixer to make these muffins. They are made by using the muffin method, which means mixing the dry ingredients in one bowl, the liquids in another bowl and then combine the two together. Doesn’t get any easier than that!
To make them even prettier and yummier I made an easy sticky lemon glaze. Mix powdered sugar and a bit lemon juice together, then drizzle the glaze on top of the muffins and it will give them a nice lemony-sugary crust. I recommend adding it, but it’s optional.
- 1 3/4 cups (250 grams or 8.8 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup (135 grams or 4.7 ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup yogurt
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) butter, melted
- zest and juice of one lemon (mine yielded about 1 tablespoon zest and 1/4 cup juice)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 220C/425F degrees. Butter 12 muffin cups or line them with liner papers.
- In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix in the sugar and lemon zest.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the yogurt, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla extract just until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula just until combined. Do not over mix. The batter should be thick and lumpy. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups (almost all the way to the top). Bake for 3 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 180C/350F and continue to bake for an additional 12-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl sift the powdered sugar. Add lemon juice until you achieve desired consistency (pourable consistency).
- When the muffins are cooled, pour the drizzle over the muffins.
- Muffins are best the same day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or they can be frozen for up to 2 months.
92 Comments
Laura
May 19, 2014 at 10:14 amWOW, I just made these muffins and they are truly delightful! 🙂 Thank you so much! I’m already planning to make Double Chocolate Muffins any day soon 🙂
Greetings from Latvia! 🙂
Shiran
May 19, 2014 at 10:30 amThank you so much for sharing Laura! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 This is one of my favorites!
Sandy
September 26, 2020 at 11:15 pmHi if I don’t use yoghurt. Can I replace with somehthing else?
Shiran
October 4, 2020 at 2:54 amYou can use sour cream or buttermilk.
Joe Gisler
October 12, 2019 at 11:03 ami just made these… they are delish!
Joe Gisler
October 12, 2019 at 11:04 ami just made these… they are delish! my parents love them.im going to use an orange next time.
Karina
February 4, 2020 at 11:32 pmTruely delightful
anyoumos
January 18, 2021 at 8:49 amyour muffins are truly delicous and I’m baking more of them.
Kriket
June 3, 2014 at 6:49 pmI made these today, so simple and tasty. I substituted the lemon for orange and lime very tasty. Thanks!
Shiran
June 3, 2014 at 8:17 pmI also use oranges instead of lemons sometimes 🙂 I’m glad you liked it! Thank you so much for sharing Kriket 🙂
danielle
June 23, 2020 at 7:50 amWhat kind of yoghurt should I use. Never made muffins before xx
Shiran
June 29, 2020 at 2:14 amI use plain whole milk yogurt.
Amber
August 31, 2014 at 5:06 pmSo I just made these and they are amazing!!! I’m having a year out and I’m pretty sure it’s going to mainly consist of me making everything on your blog!!! Thank you so so much for sharing your brilliant and wonderful recipes!
Shiran
August 31, 2014 at 5:23 pmAmber, that’s so sweet of you! I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing, and I hope you enjoy your year out 🙂
Tanisha
September 9, 2014 at 12:50 pmSimply delicious, yummmmmm and the drizzle is really soooo goodddd!!!
Shiran
September 9, 2014 at 6:26 pmI’m glad you like it Tanisha! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Charlie
June 3, 2020 at 10:50 amTried this recipe, followed it to a T and they came out raw, with the tops cooked?
Shiran
June 10, 2020 at 2:17 amHi Charlie, it sounds like they just needed more baking time. Every oven is different so the baking time may vary.
Helen
May 15, 2015 at 1:24 amMy first bite is ‘sour’ but very different from other muffins which overly sweet. My family loves it very much. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I love tangy lemon taste. Will try the orange the next time.
Shiran
May 16, 2015 at 6:59 amThank you so much Helen! My family also loves it very much 🙂 They don’t like overly sweet desserts!
Lacie
June 21, 2015 at 3:03 pmJust made these for my roommate and her boyfriend and we all loved them! I think I should have squeezed a little more juice out of my lemon for a stronger lemon flavor, but otherwise they were super moist and really tasty!
Shiran
June 22, 2015 at 12:08 pmThat’s great! Thank you so much for sharing Lacie! 🙂
angela
April 8, 2016 at 8:47 amdid you use plain yogurt, would vanilla work??
Shiran
April 8, 2016 at 6:03 pmI usually use plain yogurt but vanilla would work, too!
Tamsin Brincat
April 15, 2018 at 8:55 amWow! Just made these and they’re truly divine! Substituted all the lactose ingredients with lactose-free alternatives and they turned out amazing! Have already made the ultimate chocolate cupcakes twice! So glad I landed on your website! Such a gem! Thank you!!!
Shiran
April 16, 2018 at 7:34 amThank you so much, Tamsin! I hope you’ll continue to enjoy my recipes!
Nivedita
January 23, 2022 at 1:26 amI came here looking for the softest muffin I could make for my child who just started orthodontic treatment. He’s not even eating pasta yet. I also had fresh Meyer lemons from the backyard. The crumb definitely was what I was looking for! Tender from the yogurt (I used 1/2 C nonfat Greek yogurt + 1/2 C whole milk to get yogurt consistency). I loved how these aren’t super cloyingly sweet, but that may have been because I omitted the glaze. I used the zest from one regular and one small lemon, but should’ve used a little more for more pronounced lemon flavor. Next time will try that and possibly omit vanilla. All in all, a fantastic muffin!
Libby
October 6, 2018 at 10:22 amThese sound delicious! Is there anything we can use instead of yogurt? My daughter has been begging for muffins but we are out of yogurt.
Shiran
October 7, 2018 at 7:32 amYou can use sour cream if you have it.
Pat
August 11, 2020 at 1:02 amThank you, Libby, for the question, and thank you, Shiran for the answer! It was what I needed to know. I didn’t want to duplicate a question, plus I love, love, love reading the comments to your recipes, Shiran. Normally I dislike reading comments and skim over them, but it’s fun reading yours! Plus, you have the BEST recipes!
Anna
October 14, 2018 at 2:21 pmJust baked these, have not baked in 30 years and they turned out fabulous. You now have me back into baking. Thank you.
Crystal
December 20, 2018 at 1:04 amI just made these as an extra-special breakfast for my children (3, 6, and 7 years old) my husband and me. I made it exactly as written, except that I used half whole multi-grain flour and half all-purpose flour. They were incredible! There is not one thing I would change about the recipe. They were sweet enough to be a treat, but not overly sweet. I made them in mini-muffin tins, and ended up with 38 minis. This is definitely a recipe worth saving and sharing! Thank you!
Brooke Rollins
January 5, 2019 at 4:34 pmThis was a really great recipe. I really like to taste the lemon in a lemon cake/muffin, and with these, you can! Shiran, do you think you could use cake flour in place of AP flour? Thanks!
Shiran
March 5, 2019 at 4:29 amI’m glad you like them! You can use cake flour, the muffins will be more delicate.
K Smith
March 21, 2020 at 8:57 pmVery good! I might add lemon extract or more zest next time as others suggested to up the lemon flavor, but the whole family enjoyed them and I will make again!
Andrea
January 19, 2019 at 2:19 pmThese muffins are fantastic!
The flavour reminds me of that of lemon meringue pie….so good!
I’m checking out your other recipes today.
Thank you!
Oopa
January 31, 2022 at 11:08 amHi,
A query please..
i just want to make just 6 muffins…..does the baking time change? Would be grateful if you could reply.
Thanks.
Sonja
January 30, 2019 at 7:58 pmI just made these muffins today. I substituted apple sauce for the yogurt and they came out wonderful! Thank you so much for such a delightful recipe!
Sarah
February 9, 2019 at 1:06 pmIncredibly moist and delicious. A hit all the way around. This is now my go-to muffin recipe.
ruth
February 19, 2019 at 12:55 amI often make these muffins , i love the recipe so easy and quick yo make, they don’t last long in our house and there are only me and my husband
Katie Soukup
April 13, 2020 at 12:08 amI was going to make a lemon meringue pie, but it was too rainy for a good meringue and, besides, during the quarantine eggs are pretty dear. But I have a tree full of lemons and wanted to make something for Easter. The only thing I did differently was use 2 tbs of coconut oil (along with 4 tbs of butter) because I need to conserve my butter. These muffins are VERY tasty and have a wonderful texture. They don’t even need the glaze. But, the next time I make these I will add more lemon juice and zest because I like things lemony. It could be my lemons. I have Meyer lemons and they aren’t as tart. I’m keeping this delicious recipe! Next time I might add poppyseeds! Thank you for the recipe.
ruth
February 19, 2019 at 12:58 amI have made these muffins a few times i love the simple and easy recipe , and they take no time at all to make, they don’t last long in our house and there is only my husband and me !!!
Monika
June 10, 2019 at 2:53 pmThis is absolutely delicious, not too sweet, super balanced and refreshing flavour, it’s my favourite cupcake recipe now. I didn’t have yoghurt so used soured cream instead and it worked well.
Thank you for that recipe x
Linda
July 17, 2019 at 9:25 amJust made these using muffin cases and they are superb. So easy to make. Yummy!
Gen
August 31, 2019 at 10:47 amHello! Can I use buttermilk instead of yoghurt? How much should I use if it can be done?
Gen
September 6, 2019 at 8:51 pmHi Shiran!! My first attempt at your lemon muffins was a hit! I love how the muffins are tangy and slightly sweet at the same time! May I know if I can substitute butter for oil for a non-dairy option? Thank you!
Divya
October 2, 2019 at 6:27 amTastes amazing and easy to make. Not too sweet either. Tasted great even without the glaze. Will definitely try some of your other recipes
Nino
October 25, 2019 at 1:14 amThanks for the recipe. The taste is great but i realized that muffins dont get separated from its paper easily. I checked them to be cooked before turning off the owen after 17 min.
Corey
March 20, 2020 at 4:06 pmI made these today with my 4 year old. We’re on lockdown in California due to the coronavirus precautions. While looking outside deciding what we wanted to do, we saw all these lemons that had fallen into our yard from the neighbor’s tree. We found this recipe and turned those lemons into these delicious muffins. I love how they are not overly sweet. Thank you for the recipe!
Shiran
March 23, 2020 at 3:05 amThank you, Corey 🙂 I hope you’re doing well and staying safe!
Amy Ridgway
April 7, 2020 at 1:40 pmThese were a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe. Made them with my kids. We are in lockdown in Switzerland! Your recipes are truly global!!
Jane Stobbie Keer
April 10, 2020 at 5:15 pmI had to make these two days in a row, my family ate them up so fast. These are a delicious hit!
June
April 16, 2020 at 10:00 pmI was looking for a muffin recipe that wouldn’t require us to dip too much into our precious quarantine supplies: milk, fresh fruit, eggs. This fit the bill! Super easy to make and not too sweet! Next time, I’d increase the lemon flavoring but otherwise, my family loved these. I think the lemon glaze is a must. 🙂
MJ
April 19, 2020 at 11:42 amMade them this morning. Simple, sweet, delicious indeed.
Brittany H.
April 28, 2020 at 10:56 pmDo you think lemon yogurt would work? Or be too overpowering?
Shiran
May 5, 2020 at 6:25 amI’m not sure what lemon yogurt is, sorry! If it’s with sugar then I don’t recommend using it.
Catherine
May 25, 2020 at 1:20 amI made these with lemon yoghurt. I just used less sugar so they weren’t too sweet.
Bhavesh
April 29, 2020 at 3:10 pmLoved this recipe. It is really amazing. Best muffin recipe i have ever read so far.
Kristin Buchholz
May 11, 2020 at 4:59 pmReally easy, really delicious. Fantastic.
Jessica
May 16, 2020 at 10:37 amLove your recipe. First ever muffin I made and my hubby and I absolutely loved it 🙂 Reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup to lessen the sweetness but everything else is perfect for me! Gonna try your carrot muffin recipe next weekend.
Daphne Titus-Rees
June 5, 2020 at 8:59 pmWe live in tropical north Queensland and big juicy bush-lemons grow wild here. Found this recipe (thank you!) and made it yesterday for our monthly girls’ get-together in our village last night. The muffins were a huge success and I I was lucky to grab the last one for myself! Friend has already asked for the recipe and I will definitely make them again!
Alyssa
June 14, 2020 at 3:30 pmHi Shiran, for this Lemon Muffins recipe, I don’t have yogurt, can I use full-cream milk instead? Will the muffins still be moist if I use full-cream milk?
Can I use oil instead of butter? How much oil should I use?
If I want to bake the muffin in a loaf pan, at what oven temperature do I bake it for and for how long?
Shiran
June 15, 2020 at 2:17 amHi Alyssa, you can use yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk if you prefer a moist texture. Milk would be delicious too but slightly more dry than the other options. Yes, you can use oil instead. I haven’t baked it in a loaf pan, but you can bake it at 350F.
Katalin Kovacs
June 15, 2020 at 4:07 amIt’s really delicious. I really like your recipes I’ve tried 4 in the last 2 weeks. The only thing I miss is the calorie content / serving. That would be really useful 🙂
Saloni
June 21, 2020 at 1:30 amHey can I substitute the sugar with stevia?
Shiran
June 23, 2020 at 1:49 amI’m sorry Saloni but I have no experience baking with stevia.
angelica
July 2, 2020 at 10:08 amhi! i love your recipe.. if i like to sell lemon muffins, how much could i sell it for?
Jerseygirl
August 8, 2020 at 2:28 pmPerfect and so Simple. I didn’t have any yogurt so I used 1/3 cup of Milk. I didn’t have a full lemon for zest so I used half lemon zest and added 1/4 tsp lemon extract. I also am watching my sugar so I used half the sugar suggested. I am looking forward to doing them with the yogurt to see the difference but they were moist and lovely lemon flavor. They were plenty sweet enough even with half the sugar. What a great recipe.
Ligita Mikutaite
August 10, 2020 at 12:27 amAwesome recipe. The muffins were super moist, fluffy, so delicious! I added a bit of orange zest. Thinking to ad some blueberries next time!
Kelly
August 13, 2020 at 4:56 amThese were the first muffins I’ve ever made, and I loved them!!! I ended up using a bit more sugar since I’m a fan of sweet desserts. They took WAY longer to bake than stated in the recipe, and then turned out a bit too dry for my taste (but seriously, they were still really good and my family loves them). What could I do to make the muffins more moist next time? Would adding more yogurt help? Would taking them out of the oven a bit before they’re done help? (As in when they mostly look done and when the fork comes back mostly dry but not totally dry)
Shiran
August 24, 2020 at 2:23 amHi Kelly, as you’ve mentioned you can add more yogurt or you can try baking them a bit less 🙂
Bea
August 25, 2020 at 10:57 amAmazing muffins!!! Very cakey! We loved it!!! 🧁🍋
Carly
September 28, 2020 at 6:24 amPerfect muffins! Not too sweet, light and fluffy. I’ve been struggling with baking and feeling like a bit of a failure with some of my other ventures but then this recipe came along and it has boosted my confidence 🙂 Delicious.
Alice
October 24, 2020 at 10:18 pmeasy to make and super yum! made it for breakfast today, love it! thank you.
Mary Ann
January 9, 2021 at 10:08 amI made these muffins and they were delicious. I followed the recipe exactly as written except I cut the sugar in half. It was perfect. Will make them for my grandchildren when I can safely see them again. Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe.
Paige Eve
February 21, 2021 at 11:34 amOverall, I thought it was a really good lemon muffin recipe. When I made these muffins, they came out denser than I’d hoped, and some of the muffin stuck to the paper liner, which normally doesn’t happen with any other muffin recipes I’ve used. Other than that, I loved the fresh lemon flavor, and my family liked it! 👍
Peter
March 6, 2021 at 12:39 pmWhat an awesome easy recipe, I finally filled muffins with home made Lemon Curd!
Thao
April 10, 2021 at 6:37 amEveryone liked it, thanks for recipe, i only used 90g sugar, less sugar for glaze too
Leslie B
April 28, 2021 at 9:22 amThese are so delicious! I used plain Greek yogurt and that seemed like a good choice. Super moist and incredible flavor. I didn’t even make the drizzle, I’m sure they taste great that way but tasty without it too! Try eating them with a little cream cheese spread in the middle. 👍🏼
Krupa Dave
May 1, 2021 at 10:51 amOMG these are so nice!! My go to recipe for lemon muffins! Thank you so much!
Terri
May 18, 2021 at 3:45 pmThese are amazing! So light and fluffy! I didn’t have yoghurt so used sour cream and they still turned out delicious.
olivia
July 18, 2021 at 10:15 amMade these last night and they’re fab. My 12-muffin pan was nowhere to be found so baked in jumbo cups (bit of a higher heat and for a few minutes longer) and they came out nice and puffy and light. I doubled the zest and passed on the drizzle – seemed like overkill for breakfast:) – and they have the perfect amount of sweetness and lemony zip. Great recipe.
Denise Mattison
July 25, 2021 at 8:53 amJust made these, i used greek plain yogurt in mine, and they have come out great. i will be maing them again in different fruits and mabe chocolate. Being a diabetic stinks. but i am going to eat one.
Vicky
November 6, 2021 at 1:47 pmI just made these but didn’t have any plain yoghurt and it was raining so I used a small pot of strawberry yoghurt and it worked brilliantly . I love them
Nivedita
January 23, 2022 at 1:29 amI came here looking for the softest muffin I could make for my child who just started orthodontic treatment. He’s not even eating pasta yet. I also had fresh Meyer lemons from the backyard. The crumb definitely was what I was looking for! Tender from the yogurt (I used 1/2 C nonfat Greek yogurt + 1/2 C whole milk to get yogurt consistency). I loved how these aren’t super cloyingly sweet, but that may have been because I omitted the glaze. I used the zest from one regular and one small lemon, but should’ve used a little more for more pronounced lemon flavor. Next time will try that and possibly omit vanilla. All in all, a fantastic muffin!
P.S.: sorry for the accidental “reply” to Tamsin above!!
Jem
February 11, 2022 at 3:21 pmThese look really yummy. How much time to bake for minis?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet.
February 15, 2022 at 3:30 amHey Jem, I would recommend starting with 7-10 minutes for mini muffins. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean 🙂
Elizabeth Sanor
February 24, 2022 at 1:28 pmAwesome! Now just need a recipe for pineapple muffins.
Carrie
March 1, 2022 at 6:42 amWonderful. I subbed half almond flour for the flour for extra nutrition. Fabulous recipe.
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet.
April 7, 2022 at 5:02 amHi Thuy, self rising flour contains baking powder and can alter the recipe because it has added leaveners. I would recommend sticking with regular all purpose flour:)
anne
May 20, 2022 at 10:12 pmThese are delicious – can you provide nutrition information please? thank you.
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet.
May 22, 2022 at 10:00 amHi Anne, I don’t calculate nutrition information but there are plenty of nutrition calculators you can use to figure this out:)