These Lemon Paleo Muffins are so easy to make in one bowl and are so delicious! Gluten free, dairy free, easily made nut-free and refined sugar free- they make a great breakfast, snack or dessert.
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I get inspiration for recipes in all kinds of interesting places. From travel. From my students. From my friends. From the farmer’s market. From a bowl of almost bad lemons.
Yeah, you read that last one correctly. This recipe was inspired by the need to clean out my fruit bowl. Romantic and moving…right? Probably not, but it is also the truth.
Like many people, I really hate food waste. It hurts my heart and I try to not to pitch any of the food that we are so fortunate to have. Even the lemons.
If you have ever walked around the streets of Southern California, you can’t make a right turn without spying a citrus tree growing in someone’s yard. And when those suckers are in season, they are bursting with fruit! And this year has been especially fruitful in the citrus department. Especially lemons.
Everyone we know seems to have an incredibly successful lemon tree this year. And they are loading us up with their plethora of lemons. All of them. Weekly. Okay, maybe not weekly. But a lot. And, we’ve done everything we can think of with lemons. Lemonade stands (Alice has made bank this summer on this lemon use). Salad dressings. In our tea. In our water. In natural cleaning products. Nope, not many lemons have gone bad on my watch….and this One-Bowl Paleo Lemon Muffins might be my favorite no-waste venture yet!
So, when life gives *you* a bowl of (almost bad) lemons, go make One-Bowl Paleo Lemon Muffins!
Suggested adaptations
- Add 1 tablespoon of poppyseeds to the batter before baking. Poppyseeds are a popular addition to lemon muffins that really add a lovely flavor, so feel free to ad some to these muffins if you like!
- Replace the lemon with orange. If lemons are not your thing or you don’t have any on hand, plug in another favorite citrus flavor!
- Bake as a loaf. Same temp, but increase baking time to 40-45 minutes.
Other Paleo baked goods you are going to adore…
- Apple Cinnamon Paleo Muffins
- Paleo Almond Butter Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Paleo Muffins
- Paleo Lemon Squash Scone
- Paleo Lemon Zucchini Bread
Lemon Paleo Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 1/4 cup arrowroot powder or tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Or generously grease them.
- Combine the oil, maple syrup/honey, eggs, milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla in a large bowl, whisking to combine.
- In the same bowl, add the arrowroot powder, coconut flour, and baking soda. Stir until well combined and there are no lumps. Let sit for 5 minutes so that coconut flour has had a chance to absorb liquid.
- Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of batter into each cup.
- Bake the muffins for 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Enjoy immediately or store in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days. Freeze the leftover muffins in a tightly sealed container for up to 1 month.
I made these and added 3/4 cup fresh blueberries, and it made a dozen! I would definitely make again and add an extra 2T lemon juice & 1T honey. I couldn’t taste the lemon too much, but it might be because I added blueberries. Either way, delicious!
I’ve made these over half a dozen times the past 2 months. My husband, 18 month old and I devour them. So yummy! and SO. EASY.
Also, I’ve subbed tapicoa starch for arrowroot each time b/c it’s what I had on hand, and they worked awesome.
Just made these with my kids and we added blueberries too
What does arrowroot do I didn’t have it on hand?
Did it work out ok without the arrowroot? I’d rather not use if not needed
I would not suggest skipping the arrowroot. It gives the muffins a softer, spongier texture!
Love all things lemon! I’m freezing muffins of all sorts in preparation for birth. Wanted to make these into lactation muffins with a few more calories, in hopes of successful breastfeeding. Modifications: replaced coconut flour with oat flour, arrowroot powder with cassava flour, 2t lemon extract for vanilla, doubled lemon juice, reduced maple syrup by half (shouldn’t have–I typically reduce sugars so we don’t have to think about gestational diabetes or get unhealthy blood sugar spikes, but this recipe needs it, especially with this modifications). Added 1/2c chopped cashews and 3/4c blueberries, and for lactation, added 3T ground flax seed and 2T brewer’s yeast. Didn’t rise much, but the one I sampled tasted good, except could have used the full quantity of maple syrup or honey. Thanks for the recipe!
The amount of maple syrup/honey in a single muffin is a teaspoon, which is not much at all. With the resistant starches and fiber in the rest of the muffin, there would be a much lower glycemic index, so it shouldn’t spike your blood sugar at all. When you look at sugar in things, you need to look at the whole picture and also the serving size. Obviously eating 4 T of maple syrup isn’t good, but you’re dividing that by 12.
Hi mom making these now. And it says to combine oil…but there is no oil in the ingredient list. What kind did you use and how much?
Hi Jamie!
I recently updated that recipe card and apparently the oil got left out of the update! It is 1 tablespoon…I use coconut oil or avocado.
I’ve fixed it for now as well! Thanks for catching that!
Best,
Taesha
Is the full fat coconut milk the beverage with 4.5 grams of fat per serving? I got confused when I saw coconut cream etc available.
full fat coconut milk is the coconut cream and the coconut water in the same can. Coconut cream is just the cream…its super thick and not really something you can pour. Lite coconut milk doesn’t have as much of the cream in it.
I thought these were absolutely delightful! I didn’t get the soggy feeling I sometimes do with paleo recipes.
I made these tonight and they were so delicious. My three daughters, my husband and I all loved them. My one daughter said I needed to make them again and quadruple the recipe 🙂 Great lemon flavor, light and fluffy texture. The only modification I made was I used olive oil as my oil. Thank you for the great recipe!
Hi I just made these. I followed the recipe exactly and even used coconut oil in the cupcake liners so they wouldn’t stick but they still stuck!! They were nice and crispy on top and very spongey inside, not the same texture as the top. Any suggestions?
Oh interesting! I haven’t had that issue. It sounds like the temperature of the oven was too high or maybe the position of the oven rack in the oven put the muffins too close to the heat source, causing the tops to cook faster then the rest of the muffin.
Also, did you let the batter sit for 5 minutes so the coconut flour could soak up the liquids? I know you said you followed the recipe exactly, but this is a step many people skip in coconut flour based recipes…but it makes such a different.
Also, were you trying them when they are still warm? Coconut flour based baked goods need to cool completely before being removed from a liner, as they do stick terribly!