These gluten free lemon poppy seed blueberry muffins are made in one bowl, full of flavor and the perfect combination of sweet and tangy. They’re made with pantry staple ingredients and so light and fluffy!
It’s lemon poppy seed season!! And I for one am SO excited. I love all things lemon and especially lemon blueberry, and these gluten free lemon blueberry muffins are the perfect recipe for Spring.
They’re made in one bowl, can easily be made dairy free, and even have about 5 grams of protein per muffin! They’re fluffy, not at all gummy, moist, and have a beautiful rise.
These will satisfy your craving for a bakery style muffin without too much added sugar. Try my starbucks copycat lemon loaf next!
Key ingredients and substitutions
Butter. I opted to use regular butter for these gluten free muffins so they had a really rich flavor, but you can also use refined coconut oil or dairy free butter. Just be sure it is fully melted.
Sugar. You need one cup of white sugar for these. You can decrease to 3/4 cup, but the muffins will of course be less sweet.
If you prefer refined sugar free recipes, you can sub for coconut sugar, but they will be a lot darker than pictured. I do not recommend a liquid sweetener here as that will change the recipe.
Eggs. You need two large eggs for these muffins. I have not tested these with an egg replacer and I do not think the texture will turn out great without real eggs.
Flour. You need both gluten free all purpose flour and gluten free oat flour. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Flour, but you can use any GF all purpose, just make sure it has xanthan gum.
If you have Celiac or are baking for someone with celiac, be sure to use certified gluten free oat flour as cross contamination is possible with oats.
Greek Yogurt. I used regular plain greek yogurt, but you can use a dairy free greek yogurt or sour cream instead. Please do not use regular yogurt as it has a much thinner consistency and will change the texture of the muffins.
Lemon juice. We’ll be using both fresh lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon extract. If you do not have lemon extract, just add in an extra tablespoon or so of lemon zest.
How to make gluten free lemon muffins
Step 1: Whisk together all wet ingredients until smooth.
Step 2: Fold in the dry ingredients, including both flours. Be sure to spoon and level the flour into your measuring cups. If you scoop right from the bag you can end up with too much flour and the muffins can turn out dry.
Step 3: Fold in the blueberries and poppy seeds.
Step 4: Scoop the batter into a lined muffin tin. To ensure these gluten free muffins are nice and tall, you’ll want to fill each all the way to the top. I like to top mine with extra blueberries, but you don’t need to.
Step 5: Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I usually do closer to 30 minutes.
Step 6: Remove from the oven, let cool, then drizzle with the optional lemon glaze if desired and enjoy!
What helps gluten free muffins rise?
In this recipe, the eggs and baking powder! You need two large eggs, which will add enough protein and create a lighter more airy texture to these muffins. They should be really fluffy and not gummy!
We’ll be using only baking powder, not baking soda, and a full tablespoon which will force air into the batter and help them rise nice and tall.
Finally, baking at a slightly higher temperature of 375 instead of 350 will activate the baking powder more rapidly when the batter gets in the oven, and will allow the muffins to rise higher.
Fresh vs. frozen berries
I used fresh blueberries, but you can use frozen. If you use frozen, I suggest wild blueberries. You may need to add a few extra minutes of bake time because the frozen berries release more liquid.
I suggest tossing the berries in about a tablespoon of flour before adding them to the batter so they don’t bleed too much into the batter.
How to store and freeze
Once prepared, these gluten free blueberry muffins will keep at room temperature for about 3 days. Keep them covered in a container for best results.
You can also store them in the fridge for up to 5 days. Again, keep them covered and let them cool completely before storing.
Why are gluten free muffins dry?
Gluten free baked goods definitely have a bad rap for being dry, but I promise these muffins are anything but!
The eggs, yogurt, lemon juice and butter will create a really moist texture. Be sure you don’t over bake as that is an easy way to create dry muffins.
Try these recipes next!
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Almond Flour Banana Muffins
- Matcha Muffins
- Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
Lastly, if you want more recipes straight to your inbox, be sure to subscribe to my email list. As always, tag me on instagram if you make this recipe so I can see your creation!
Gluten Free Lemon Blueberry Muffins
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet
- ½ cup butter or refined coconut oil melted
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 tablespoons lemon zest
Dry
- 1 ¾ cup gluten free all purpose flour
- ¾ cup oat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking opwder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 cup blueberries
Lemon glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a muffin tin with 12 liners and set aside.
- Whisk together all wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk in the all purpose flour, oat flour, baking powder and salt. Be sure to spoon and level the flours.
- Fold in the poppy seeds and blueberries.
- Scoop into the prepared muffin tray, filling each all the way to the top.
- Top with a few extra blueberries if desired.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let cool in the tray for about 15 minutes, then carefully remove onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Whisk together the sugar and lemon juice for the glaze until a smooth consistency is formed.
- Drizzle on top of the muffins once cooled and enjoy!
Kasey says
Hi! I want to make these this weekend – wondering if I can just use all normal flour and leave out the gluten free flour? Please let me know! Thank you!!
Claire Cary says
If you’re looking to use regular all purpose flour and not GF, I’d still use the oat flour and just sub the regular AP flour for the GF AP flour!
Jennifer says
Hi Claire, can I sub the lemon extract with fresh lemon juice?
Claire Cary says
I would instead add extra lemon zest! Just taste the batter and add more as needed. Adding too much extra juice could change the consistency of the muffins.
Libby Rasmussen says
Hi! First of all, thank you SO MUCH for your amazing recipes. They have been a lifeline to us since our 4 year old daughter was diagnosed with celiac a few months ago. My question about this recipe is: can I skip the oat flour and just use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour for all the flour? I have a hard time finding GF oat flour where I live. I have substituted rice flour before; maybe I could sub that for the oat flour if using Bob’s exclusively won’t work?
Claire Cary says
So happy to hear they’ve been helpful! That should work, I often buy GF oat flour online since I have hard time finding it in stores as well. The other option is to buy certified GF quick oats and blend them into flour. You should be able to just use the Bob’s 1:1 flour, but instead of adding an extra 3/4 cup to replace the oat flour, I would do 1/2 cup since the Bob’s 1:1 is more absorbent than the oat flour. Keep an eye on the bake time as you may need just a few minutes less! Let me know what you end up trying.
Cláudia says
Absolutely amazing and delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Claire Cary says
Thank you Claudia!