Light and fluffy with a bright lemon flavor, these gluten free lemon muffins are absolutely delicious! Eat them right away or freeze the remaining muffins for later.
My little guy can't resist muffins. And frankly neither can I. This makes shooting pictures of them a bit of a challenge. Fortunately I can't resist those chubby little fingers and so I just let him go for it.
Come spring I can't help but bake with lemons. They're so fresh and I can't resist a good pucker. And since I'm kind of a muffin addict it only seemed right to bake up these delicious muffins.
Gluten Free Lemon Muffins
There's nothing worse than a dense and stodgy muffin. Muffins are meant to be light and fluffy with big beautiful muffin tops. And these gluten free lemon muffins are just that! They also use basic ingredients and are surprisingly simple to make.
You don't even need a stand mixer - just a bowl and a spatula.
Ingredients
For the Gluten Free Muffins
- Canola oil - I love to use oil in muffins and quick breads. It does a fantastic job of keeping them moist even more so than butter.
- Sugar - You only need white sugar for these muffins.
- Egg - For binding
- Gluten free all purpose flour - It's important to purchase a gluten free all purpose flour that contains xanthan gum to achieve the right texture. I love Bob's Red Mill's 1:1 Gluten Free All Purpose Flour and it's what I use to create all my muffin and cake recipes.
- Baking powder & baking soda - For lift to achieve that nice and light texture
- Kosher salt - I use kosher salt which has coarser granules than table salt. If you choose to use table salt then cut the amount in half.
- Almond or regular milk - This recipe only needs 1 tablespoon of milk and it's not a typo! It's just to thin out the batter a smidge. You don't need to add any more - trust me on this.
- Lemon juice & zest - This will give the lemon muffins their bright and lemony flavor. Be sure to buy actual lemons and not bottled lemon juice. The bottled kind can't compare to fresh ones and lemons are rather affordable anyhow.
For the Drizzle
- Powdered sugar - Powdered sugar will dissolve once you add the liquid to make a nice glaze.
- Lemon juice or water - If you love a strong lemon flavor use lemon juice.
- Lemon zest
How to Make Lemon Muffins
The method is really simple. For more detailed instructions see the actual recipe at the end of this post.
Preheat Oven
First preheat your oven and then spray a muffin tin. Juice and zest the lemon.
Stir Together Oil & Sugar
In a large mixing bowl stir together the oil and sugar until combined.
Add Egg
Add the egg to the mixture and mix until incorporated.
Add Dry Ingredients
Add the gluten free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt to the bowl. Use a spatula to stir well until a thick batter forms.
Stir in Lemon Juice, Zest, & Milk
Add the lemon juice, zest, and milk to the batter. Stir until completely incorporated.
Scoop & Bake
Scoop the batter into the muffin tin all the way to the top. You should get 5 muffins doing it this way. Bake for 21 minutes.
Recipe Tips & Substitutions
- Don't try to remove the muffins from the tin immediately! I know they look and smell amazing but give 'em a few minutes. If you try to take them out right away you're lovely muffin tops will break off.
- If you love an intensely lemon flavor then use fresh lemon juice in the icing. If you don't then you can just use water in its place.
Muffin FAQs
Yep! Muffins freeze extremely well. Just wait until completely cool to freeze. You can carefully place them into a freezer safe container. You can also place them on a sheet pan or flat plate to freeze and then transfer them to a ziptop freezer bag. This will prevent them from getting smooshed in the bag.
Gluten free all-purpose flour is actually a blend of flours, starches, and usually xanthan gum. Each brand has different ingredients and ratios which means your result will be different depending on which one you use. I prefer the taste and texture of Bob's Red Mill's 1:1 All Purpose Gluten Free Flour plus it's readily available at places like Walmart, Sam's Club, Amazon, and Target. Feel free to use your favorite brand in it's place - just be sure it includes xanthan gum. I wouldn't recommend picking a random one off the shelf though.
Other Gluten Free Muffin Recipes You'll Love
- Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Gluten Free Blackberry Muffins
- Paleo Pumpkin Muffins
- Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins
- Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
If you love this recipe or want to find more delicious gluten free recipes be sure to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest!
Gluten Free Lemon Muffins
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Muffin Pan
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp Bob's Red Mill 1:1 All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed
- 1 tbsp milk (almond or regular)
- zest of 1 lemon
For the drizzle:
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed
- ½ lemon, zested
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl stir together sugar and canola oil.
- Add the egg and mix until incorporated.
- Add the gluten free all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt to the mixing bowl. Stir until a smooth and thick batter forms.
- Stir in the lemon juice, zest, and milk. Scoop the batter into the muffin tin all the way to the top of the tin. You should get 5 muffins.
- Bake for 21 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While the muffins cool make the glaze. Stir together the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and zest together.
- While the muffins are slightly warm drizzle the glaze over the tops. Enjoy!
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