Greek Yogurt Lemon Muffins: Amazingly Delicious
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These Greek Yogurt Lemon Muffins are slightly sweet, flavored with real lemon juice and zest, vanilla, and have a moist and crumbly texture. They’re perfect to serve at a spring brunch or for afternoon tea. Ready in just 30 minutes, they’re perfect for last minute entertaining and easy to serve fresh from the oven.
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Why I Love These Lemon Yogurt Muffins
If you love lemons… you’ll love these lemon muffins.
Perfect for breakfast, of course… they’re muffins… but also for brunches, lunches, showers, and tea parties. That’s how I’ve come to serve them so regularly. They’re a real crowd pleaser and bound to be a hit at any gathering!
I really, really try to resist nibbling these cute mini summer sunshine muffins. It’s how I feel when I pop one in my mouth, like a taste of sunshine. I know lemons are available all year round, but there’s something special about their brightness that makes them perfect for spring, those in-between days when we’ve said goodbye to winter and are waiting for summer to arrive. However, if you’re reading this in November or August, I promise you they are delicious at any time of year!
Ingredients for Greek Yogurt Lemon Muffins
These simple muffins are easy to make with ingredients you may already have on hand! Here’s what you need:
- Dry baking ingredients: All purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda
- Granulated sugar: Enhances the lemon flavor and lends a bit of sweetness
- Egg: A large egg provides structure and moisture.
- Yogurt: Plain Greek yogurt is best, but you can also use plain yogurt.
- Milk: Adds moisture, flavor, and texture
- Lemon: You will need both fresh lemon juice and the zest
- Cooking oil: This helps create a softer, more tender crumb
- Vanilla extract: Because for me, everything is better with vanilla!
What size tin do I need to make these muffins?
The recipe is written for a standard 12-cup muffin tin. But I’ve also been making them in mini muffin form, which makes about 36 muffins. And bakes in about 10 minutes. The best way to check your muffins are done is to insert the tip of a sharp knife, wooden skewer or cake tester into the middle of a muffin. If it comes out clean, they’re ready to take out of the oven!
Can I freeze these muffins?
Yes! These muffins are easy to freeze and defrost really well. They can also be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. However, I would recommend not icing the muffins until after you have thawed them and they are at room temperature.
Can I use plain yogurt in these muffins instead?
Of course! Plain or natural yogurt also works really well, but I’d recommend that the thicker the yogurt, the more tender your lemon muffins will be. Feel free to experiment with your favorite brands.
Are these muffins suitable for any other add-ins?
Readers have told me that these muffins are delicious with a handful of fresh blueberries added to the batter, and I know some have sprinkled coconut on top, as well as added fresh lemon zest to give them a tropical feel.
If you enjoyed this recipe on 31 Daily, you might also enjoy:
- Mixed Berry Yogurt Muffins
- Moist Banana Bran Muffins
- Best Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Greek Yogurt
- Easy Lemon Bundt Cake
- Easy Classic Spinach Quiche
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Greek Yogurt Lemon Muffins with Vanilla
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon zest 1 large lemon, reserve 1-2 tsp to sprinkle on top
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup Plain Greek Yogurt or plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup milk
- juice of 1 large lemon
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 to 2 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with muffin cups.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- In a separate bowl combine egg, yogurt, milk, lemon juice, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened. The batter will be lumpy. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups – I like to use a large cookie scoop (affiliate link) — and fill each cup 2/3 full. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for 17 to 19 minutes, or until golden. Cool in the muffin tin about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
- To make the glaze, stir together the confectioners’ sugar and reserved lemon juice until your glaze is easily drizzled. Over warm muffins, drizzle the glaze and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I love these muffins, the only change made was I used lemon flavored Greek yogurt, so delicious.
I make these almost weekly – so so scrumptious! Many thanks Stephanie 🙂
Hi Nichole– Thank you for sharing that! I love these muffins too and almost always have a batch in the freezer. There is something about them that I crave… regularly! I’m so glad you enjoy them :).
This recipe is great! Super light and fluffy. I did use melted butter instead of vegetable oil and added some fresh blueberries. Only change I’ll make next time is to reduce the sugar as I found them a bit too sweet for my tastes (my usual muffin recipe is just 1/3 cup sugar, so I’ll try 1/2 cup next time with these) and I might add some more zest to bump up the lemon flavor.
Hi Sarah! I love your changes and I’m thrilled you loved them!
Can I use almond milk instead of regular milk
Hi Lynsie! You can substitute almond milk for the dairy milk with the same measurement. Watch the baking time though as almond milk contains more moisture than dairy milk, which causes the muffins to rise and set more quickly.
Can you use low calorie sugar?
Hi Jenny! I’m so sorry I missed your question! I have not tried the muffins using low calorie sugar. It sounds like a great idea though!
Just made these muffins Amazing light and lemony . Great recipe! Wondering how to store, that’s if they last lol.
Hi Patti! Thank you so much for trying the muffin recipe. I’m SO glad you enjoyed them. I like to store them in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days. Refrigerating them gives you more time, or freeze them for up to 2 months!
These muffins are fabulous….like a little lemon flavored cloud in your mouth!!! I added blueberries as I had just bought some….very yum!!!
Thank you for a great recipe
Hi Sue! Well described! I love those lemon muffins too. Adding blueberries is genius.
Loved this recipe!! I actually forgot to add the juice of the lemon to the mix (even though I had it sitting there!) but I had probably doubled the zest and also made a bit more glaze so they still tasted great. I sprinkled a bit of coconut on top… nom nom nom!
Thanks!
I’m in the process of making these but haven’t taste-tested yet. I’m wondering if perhaps the recipe should say to reserve 1-2 teaspoons of lemon *juice*, rather than the zest? Unfortunately I didn’t realise that may be the case until the muffins were in the oven and I started reading the glaze recipe, but I will try to incorprate the extra zest into the glaze. (There’s also a missing carriage return and a stray “q” in the ingredients list.) 🙂
Thank you, Anna, for your input! I recently updated the recipe card function for the website and there have been a couple of “carriage return” errors in that update. Also, thank you for your comment on the lemon zest in the glaze. I have reworded that to hopefully make it more clear! The intention is to sprinkle the reserved lemon zest over the muffins and on top of the glaze. And that is optional!
Awesome recipe! Moist and so easy to make
I LOVE those too, Jenni! Thank you for trying them and letting us know!
We loved the recipe! It’s a keeper! thank you!
I’m so glad!! Thanks for letting me know!
Thanks so much! I love them too!!
Great recipe!! My kids would love to have these.
Thank you, Kim! We really love them — in fact, on repeat in the kitchen as we speak. Another round for this weekend.