From Lauren: This recipe is created by Jean Choi, a fellow Nutritional Therapy Practitioner who regularly contributes grain-free recipes.
When the warmer months hit, I crave the citrus baked goods because they are so refreshing and tart in the best way. I especially love lemons, and there’s something magical that happens when you add a bit of sweetness to them. The combination of flavors is just a match made in heaven that’s hard to resist.
So, to celebrate spring, I made these Paleo Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. They brighten up my mornings, especially when I’m busy and need a quick and easy breakfast. They are even more delicious slathered with some grass fed butter and alongside a cup of coffee. Don’t skip the coconut lemon glaze which intensifies the fresh lemon flavor.
About the Ingredients in Paleo Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Cassava flour – Cassava flour is a type of flour that is grain free, gluten free, and nut free, and acts most similar to wheat flour which makes it great for gluten free baking. It’s available at Thrive Market here for the best price. Do not substitute with any other flour for this recipe.
Poppy seeds – Poppy seeds have a nutty and slightly fruity flavor that pairs beautifully with lemons. You can leave them out if you don’t have them on hand but these muffins are so much better if you include them!
Lemon – Make sure to use fresh lemon juice for these muffins and choose organic lemons, if possible, especially since you’ll be using the zest for that lemony flavor.
- ¾ cup cassava flour, available here
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds, available here
- ½ tsp baking powder (make sure it is gluten free, and uses cornstarch or arrowroot starch instead of wheat starch as the base)
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
- ¼ cup full fat coconut milk
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp coconut butter, available here
- 1 tbsp raw honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp coconut milk
- 1 tsp lemon zest, plus more for garnish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a 6-cup muffin tin with a muffin liner, or grease with coconut oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cassava flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt, and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, coconut oil, coconut milk, lemon juice, egg, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk together.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together until just combined.
- Divide the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup about ⅔ of the way up.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Cool for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the tin.
- In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients and heat over low heat until fully melted and combined.
- Drizzle on top of the muffins. If you want, add more lemon zest on top of the glaze.
- Let it cool. The glaze will harden once fully cooled.
About Jean Choi
Jean Choi is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, recipe developer, and food photographer at What Great Grandma Ate. She started her blog to share her story of overcoming years of digestive issues and adrenal fatigue, and to help others realize that nutrient-dense allergen-free cooking can be simple, easy, and delicious. Jean believes that the food you love should love you back through healing and nourishment. For more of her real food recipes and SoCal adventures, follow along on her Instagram and Facebook.
It would help out a lot if you would include the picture of the product on the printed recipe sheet. Most people would like to see what the finished product should look like.
Joyce Johnson
Retired Home and Family Life Teacher
Hi Joyce. I appreciate your feedback and chose to offer a print option for only the written recipe, as it saves ink and paper. The photos of the finished recipes are on each blog post.
I cant eat egg yolks. Can I just use the egg white for this recipe?
I don’t know how that would work. I would recommend increasing the coconut oil by 1 Tbs. for every egg yolk you remove — if you try it, let me know how it works.
Hi there
I love in Australia and we cant buy that flour here. Can I swap it for something?
Thank you Lauren
Unfortunately, there is no substitute for cassava flour. I have other muffin recipes using arrowroot and coconut flour, such as these: http://empoweredsustenance.com/paleo-carrot-muffins/ http://empoweredsustenance.com/coconut-flour-pumpkin-muffins/
I tried these today and they came out chewy! Do you know why muffins would do that? I Googled it and it said maybe over-mixing? Thanks, they taste great 🙂
Made these today and love! The texture was just like a regular muffin!
My two adult children have restricted diets, and i am always looking for a muffin recipe that both can eat and taste good. They both say this recipe is amazing!!! I am so happy I could cry! I am now making another batch as they both woofed these down! Thank you thank you!!!