Bright and fluffy lemon muffins are easy to prepare from scratch in only 40 minutes. They’re made with healthier whole wheat flour, and are eggless for a completely vegan muffin recipe. Here I share my step-by-step instructions with photos to make delicious sweet and tart lemon muffins for breakfast or a snack!
Table of Contents
About These Lemon Muffins
This easy recipe was developed on a whim one day when I was really craving something lemony. With just a handful of pantry staples I was able to whip up soft and delicious lemon muffins full of lemon flavor in under an hour.
In the recipe I have used olive oil, which creates a rich and smooth batter. And pairs great with the vibrant lemon citrus flavor! Since there are no eggs, butter, or dairy needed my simple recipe also happens to be completely vegan-friendly.
Making these muffins are pretty easy. You only need to sift the dry ingredients and then mix it in a lemon water solution. No stand mixer and no electric beater is required. All you need is a wired whisk to make the batter.
I’ve tested and tweaked this eggless lemon muffins recipe to be just right, and I am confident you’ll love it as much as I do!
How to Make Lemon Muffins
Prep and Make Lemon Solution
1. Line a muffin pan/muffin tin with muffin liners or muffin cups. You can also grease the pan with oil instead of using muffin liners.
2. Preheat the oven to 356 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degree Celsius). Rinse and dry a large lemon. Then zest the lemon with a zester or grater.
Only remove the yellow or green part of the peel and not the white. Set the lemon zest aside.
3. Halve and juice the lemon, straining out the seeds. You want ¼ cup lemon juice in total.
4. Add the juice to a mixing bowl or pan.
5. Now add ½ cup raw sugar to the lemon juice. You can swap raw sugar with white granulated sugar or muscovado sugar.
6. Stir, and then add ½ cup water.
7. With a wired whisk or spoon stir well, so that all of the sugar is dissolved within the lemon solution.
8. Add ¼ cup olive oil. You can also use softened butter (dairy or vegan plant-based spread) instead of oil or any other neutral flavored oil.
9. Whisk the oil briskly for 2 to 3 minutes into the lemon mixture until thoroughly combined.
Note that I have not added vanilla extract, but if you prefer add about ½ teaspoon vanilla extract at this step and mix well.
Sift Dry Ingredients
10. Now add 1 cup whole wheat flour (leveled, 120 grams) and ½ teaspoon baking powder in a sieve placed over a bowl or plate.
I am not a fan of baking soda and it is not needed to get a nice rise on the lemon muffins. However, for a more cake-y texture you can add ¼ teaspoon baking soda to the dry ingredients.
Note: You can use the Indian whole wheat flour (called atta) or the regular whole wheat flour and even whole wheat pastry flour in the recipe. If you are not a fan of whole wheat flour, then swap with all-purpose flour or pastry flour.
11. Sift the dry ingredients.
12. Then add the dry ingredients and 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of the lemon zest to the wet ingredients.
Make Muffin Batter
13. Stir together with a whisk, but use a gentle touch.
14. Everything should be mixed very well, but you do not want to over mix. Because there are no eggs in this recipe, the fluffiness comes from the combination of acid (lemon juice) and baking powder.
Keep in mind that if you blend too much the batter will fall flat when baked.
Bake Lemon Muffins
15. Pour the batter into the muffin liners to fill ⅔ of the way.
16. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. You can also bake them in a convection or microwave oven in the same amount of time.
But be sure to check them after 18 minutes to make sure they don’t over bake. To test for doneness insert a toothpick or bamboo skewer in the center of a lemon muffin. It should come out clean if they are completely baked.
17. After 4 to 5 minutes rested in the tin, transfer the lemon muffins to a wire rack to cool. From this recipe, you will get 8 medium sized muffins.
18. Serve these egg free and vegan lemon muffins as a sweet snack or dessert. You can also pack them in a lunch box as a sweet side snack!
Helpful Tips
- Lemons: Feel free to use any variety of lemons. You can also make these muffins with limes.
- Oil: Swap the olive oil, with a neutral flavored oil. Alternatively for a vegetarian muffin, you can use softened butter.
- Flour: If you like add all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour for a more lighter and softer crumb. You can also use regular whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour or the Indian atta flour that is used for making roti to make these muffins.
- Lemon glaze: If you prefer you can choose to frost these tangy sweet muffins with a lemon glaze icing. This is the recipe I follow: In a small bowl mix together ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar (or powdered sugar) with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ½ teaspoon lemon zest. For a slightly thinner glaze, add 1 to 2 teaspoons more lemon juice. Drizzle this lemon glaze on the muffins.
- Scaling: The recipe can be scaled to make a smaller batch of 4 muffins or larger batches of 16 muffins or 24 muffins or more.
FAQs
I prefer whole wheat flour for a healthier muffin and delicious crumb, but you certainly can use all-purpose flour or pastry flour instead.
Yes, if you are not adhering to a strict vegan diet you can use melted butter or ghee in place of the olive oil. Or, to keep the recipe vegan, simply use your preferred melted dairy-free plant-based butter alternative.
Lemon muffins will keep well for at least a week in the refrigerator. Store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge.
Definitely. As-is this lemon muffin recipe yields 8 treats. Double the ingredients to make 16 muffins, or triple to make 2 dozen (24) lemon muffins.
More Eggless Muffins To Try!
Cake Recipes
Dessert Recipes
Dessert Recipes
Dessert Recipes
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Lemon Muffins (Eggless, Whole Wheat)
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour – leveled – 120 grams
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup raw sugar or white sugar – 80 grams
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup olive oil or any neutral oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice – juice extracted from 1 large lemon or 2 medium lemons or 3 medium limes
- 1 to 1.5 tablespoons lemon zest
Instructions
Preparation
- Line a muffin pan with muffin liners. You can also grease the pan with oil instead of using muffin liners.
- Now rinse a large lemon first. Wipe dry and then zest the lemon with a zester or grater. Keep the lemon zest aside. Only remove the yellow or green part of the peel and not the white pith. Also preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 356 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Halve the lemon and squeeze it to get its juice. You should get about ¼ cup lemon juice. Do measure the juice quantity as ¼ cup is required for this recipe.
Making Batter
- Take the lemon juice in a mixing bowl or pan.
- Now add the raw sugar to the lemon juice.
- Add water. With a wired whisk begin to stir so that all the sugar granules are dissolved in the lemon solution.
- Add olive oil. With a wired whisk stir briskly for 2 to 3 minutes so that the oil is mixed evenly with the lemon juice and sugar solution.
- Now take a plate or tray. Place a sieve on it. Add whole wheat flour and add baking powder.
- Sift the dry ingredients onto the tray and plate.
- Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Also add the lemon zest.
- With light hands stir well. Be quick to stir. Everything should be mixed very well. But don’t over do the mixing.
- Pour the batter in the muffin liners up-to ⅔.
Baking Lemon Muffins
- Bake the muffins at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit) for 20 to 25 minutes. Since the temperatures in all the ovens are not the same, do keep a check while baking.
- A toothpick or bamboo skewer inserted in the muffins should come out clean.
- After 4 to 5 minutes, place the lemon muffins on a wire rack to cool. From this recipe you will get 8 medium sized lemon muffins.
- Serve these egg free lemon muffins as a sweet snack or dessert. You can also pack one or two muffins in the tiffin box as a side sweet snack.
Notes
- The recipe works with any variety of lemons. You can also make it with limes.
- In place of olive oil, you can use a neutral oil. For a vegetarian option, you can use softened butter.
- All-purpose flour can be swapped with whole wheat flour for a more lighter and softer crumb. You can also use the regular whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour or the Indian atta flour that is used for making roti.
- The recipe can be scaled to make 16 muffins or 24 muffins or more.
- You can also choose to frost these muffins with a lemon glaze icing. To make the lemon glaze mix ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar (or powdered sugar), 1 tablespoon lemon juice and ½ teaspoon lemon zest in a bowl. For a slightly thin consistency, add 1 to 2 teaspoons more lemon juice. Then drizzle this lemon glaze on the muffins when they are cooled.
- Add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract to the lemon solution if you prefer.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Lemon Muffins post from the archives (July 2015) has been republished and updated on 8 October 2021.
Hi,d muffins just taken out of the oven. I cudnt wait for it to cool down.took a bite. The inside is very soft . Not like cake crumbly way. Somethng more lyk lil undone. Should i bake for more time? Its a bit too lemony 🙂 i like that though.
anisha, yes bake for some more time. it should not be very soft.
Can I bake the muffins without muffin pan??
sallu, then you will have to make the cake. you need muffin pans.
Dassana, in addition to my earlier comment, I would like to mention that the colour of the muffins were creamy not dark and the batter was not entirely liquid, it was slightly thick, not of flow consistency. Followed your measurements to the T and used whole wheat flour.
And mine got done in 8 mins at 160 C.
the thickness or thinness of batter depends on the type and quality of flour. you can add some water (a few tbsp) to get a flowing consistency. 8 minutes is too quick. could be the temperature in your oven must be high. its always good to calibrate the oven tempeature. meaning check at 160 degrees celsius setting the oven really has 160 degrees celsius temperature. there are thermometers available in the market. on the web you will find articles on how to calibrate the oven temperature.
hello Dassana, I made the muffins today morning and they were absolutely perfect. Though I could get only 5 muffins from this receipe. Reason could be that I filled it to the brim in each muffin liner?
I wOuld like to request you for a receipe that supports 16 muffins. That way I can bake more.
More than anything I would say that you are an inspiration to me. I’ve started baking only because of your receipes. Else, baking was a disaster and would never get it right!! ThNk you very much.
thank you very much gayathri. glad to know 🙂 i do not make 16 muffins as in my oven, a 12 or 16 bowl muffin tray cannot be accommodated. i have a 18 litre oven, so there is no space on bottom or on top to even keep two 8 bowl muffin pans. when i upgrade to a larger oven, then i will add a recipe having more quantities of muffins.
Hello, tried muffins for the first time. ….and the results were fabulous. ….All credit goes to you for making it…..thanks
thanks chaavin for the positive review on the muffins.
You are a blessing truly!
I always bake cakes at home for special occasions, the usual ones with eggs, it’s kind of a tradition in our family by now.
My father suffered a heart attack last year so he can’t have eggs anymore, I was so upset that I won’t be able to bake cakes for him anymore.
You see I was of the school of thought that egg less cakes just don’t work, and I had had so many failed experiences previously, that I had given up hope completely.
Enter you to the rescue.
Now I regularly follow your recipes and most of them come out well.
I literally have no words to thank you.
Just thank you just doesn’t suffice!
thank you very much neha for your kind words and also for sharing your experience. i can imagine how it must have been for you when your dad was not well. a similar incident had happened with my dad too. but he is good now.
eggless cakes do work. i have tried many recipes and if you get the knack of knowing which ingredient to substitute for eggs, you can become really good at eggless baking. not that you will not have disaster. but you will keep on learning. many years back even i would bake with eggs and i also had the same feeling like yours. but its changed now 🙂
Hi dassana,
Can i bake this in a cake tin, as I don’t have cupcake moulds/muffin tin? Will the recipe work in a large single tin?
hi harinee, you can make in one single pan or tin. baking time may vary.
I used all ingredients with the same measurements, but somehow the dough was very thick & had to use my hands to put the batter in the moulds..& the end result was hard muffins 🙁
for 1 cup of atta, 1/2 cup water works well and gives a smooth flowing batter. so i am not sure what must have goes wrong. did you use the correct measuring cups or the correct weight measurements. batter is not thick but a flowing one.
Thank you for sharing all the recipes! With the exception of the Sponge Cake ( sorry about that!) all the recipes I’ve tried are always funtastic! And I’m trying many vegan recipes, but yours are always the best! Even the mixed of flavours live chocolate and lime are absoluty amazing! Thank you for the sharing! Surely has help me being a better vegan 😉
welcome elsa. glad to know this. thanks for sharing positive feedback on recipes.
Thank you i am from bali and vegetariant . so this resipe is help me how to make cake and muffins.
welcome ida. nice to know this.
Hello Mam,
Your recipes have motivated the chef in me I swear :p cooking has got soooooooooooo much easier with your descriptions, despite being a Non vegetarian I’ve fallen in love for the wide variety of veg recipes.
I need some help regarding baking though, I used to bake in a microwave until now but since I’ve shifted to a new city I don’t have much options as of now, all I have is an Electric Rice Cooker and a Toaster oven I have a small query can I follow your recipes as it is and bake in a Toaster oven? It has the time function and a function which lets you select the element to be heated (top/bottom or both) just no temperature settings would that work?
thanks a lot anshul. i think you can bake in the toaster oven. but since no temperature is mentioned, just keep a check. if the temperature is high, then the muffins can get baked too quickly and vice versa. also depending on the space in the oven, you can select the elements to be heated. meaning if the muffin or cake pans are too close to the top heating element, then select the bottom heating element only and vice versa.
Problem solved, thanks 🙂
Again a great recipe. I just loved your muffin’s. I am a bit confused how much to pour batter in moulds as everytime i try my batter get’s overloaded & comes out. Please recommend so that my muffin’s when cooked looks like your’s.
thanks sonam. usually i add fill the muffin cups till 3/4th or a bit more than 3/4th, depending on the batter consistency.
Hi Dassana,
I just tried this lemon muffin. It turned out awesome and pushed me to write here to appreciate your efforts and recipes. I personally don’t like the eggy flavor in cakes, hence, always in a search of reliable egg less recipes. I recently started following your recipes and tried banana cake, orange cake and now lemon muffin. I loved it.
Thanks again for sharing this wonderful recipes. God bless.. 🙂
My eyes are glued to your site for more recipes full of awesomeness..
One more request: can you post your picture somewhere on your site. I would love to see my champ chef. thanks!
thanks a lot gurpreet. good to know 🙂 there is a pic of me on the about page. also you can see my pic on pinterest.
I made those corn sandwiches recently i added parmesan cheese in it , it brings such a amazing flavor to the sandwich
thanks riya for letting me know. i haven’t yet used parmesan cheese. but got to try now 🙂
Hello
I tried this recipe today with all purpose flour. I cant say i am completely happy with the output. The muffins were sticking in throught though they were nt raw. Also the colour ws pure cream, not even a slight tint of brown 🙁 even after grilling them.
you grilled them or baked them? also did you cool the muffins on a wired rack? sugar in muffins or cakes attracts moisture and hence the cake becomes sticky. the cake or muffins should not be kept in the pan till its cooled or even warm. just after 4 to 5 minutes remove from the pan and place it on a wired rack to cool. the condensation in the pan will make the muffins sticky. also if the muffins are kept in an air tight box, before they are cooled completely, then they will get sticky. with all purpose flour the color will be lighter.