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Filled with fresh, bright, and zesty flavor, these lemon chia seed muffins are so lemony scented and full of springtime nostalgia!
Fresh and Zesty Vibes: Lemon Chia Seed Muffins
Whenever I make anything lemon (such as lemon pound cake or lemon blueberry muffins), they remind me of springtime. There is something about the brightness of lemon that really uplifts your day! These lemon chia seed muffins are the perfect treat to brighten your day. They’re so full of lemon flavor that it seems like you’re smelling a lemon.
On top of being so fresh and zesty, these chia seed muffins are also the lightest and fluffiest muffin thanks to ricotta cheese as the secret ingredient! The chia seeds give these muffins a nice, crunchy texture and adds a bit of extra protein. Poppyseeds are probably what you expect in these muffins, but give chia seeds a try and use your extra chia seeds to make chia seed pudding!
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Make this into a lemon flavor combo with another fruit. Try using raspberries, blueberries, or even blackberries! You’ll want to be careful folding the berries in, taking care to not burst them so they don’t turn the batter a weird color.
- I do not recommend substituting Greek yogurt for the ricotta cheese. The ricotta cheese is what makes this muffin light and fluffy. I feel that Greek yogurt makes baked goods have a spongy texture that is not pleasant.
- If you prefer to use poppyseeds, you may substitute them for the chia seeds.
- Slice in half and warm these chia seed muffins up in the toaster oven before digging in! The warm muffin is the perfect environment for slathering on a pad of butter!
Storage Instructions
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. After 3 days, you can put them in the refrigerator to stretch their shelf life, however, they might dry out a bit so it won’t be as moist and bouncy as when they’re fresh.
Lemon Chia Seed Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 ¾ cups (219 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (185 g) part-skim ricotta cheese
- ½ cup (118 ml) water
- ¼ cup (59 ml) olive oil
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons honey, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F (191 °C). Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and lightly spray them with cooking spray. Set aside.Cooking spray
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.1 3/4 cups (219 g) all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar, 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, water, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and egg.3/4 cup (185 g) part-skim ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup (118 ml) water, 1/4 cup (59 ml) olive oil, Zest of 2 lemons, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 egg
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients into the middle then mix together with a wooden spoon.2 tablespoons chia seeds
- Add the chia seeds then gently fold into batter.
- Evenly divide batter into prepared muffin pan using a large scoop.
- Bake for 16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let cool for 5 minutes then with a pastry brush, gently brush melted honey onto the tops of the muffins.2 tablespoons honey
- Cool completely then enjoy!
- Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.
Video
Nutrition
Photographs by Meg McKeehan Photography
I was in a baking mood this pass week due to the rain we been having in Texas. I made this yesterday when I came cross your blog. I was in heaven, these came out perfect and yum yum!
I’ve been hankering for almond poppyseed muffins, but have also wanted to try this recipe for a while. (I know these comments can be annoying, but…) I omitted the lemon ingredients and added 1 Tbsp of almond extract…and they are phenomenal. The texture is divine! Thanks for the recipe! This will definitely be my new go-to recipe when I’m craving either lemon or almond poppyseed muffins, as I tend to have chia seeds on hand more often!
I made these, but skipped the melted honey step. I am happy with the sweetness of the muffin, especially since I made these for my daughter and she will be bringing these for breakfast to her preschool tomorrow.
Just made these and they are AWESOME! My kiddos are devouring them. Definitely a recipe to save.
Hello! Despite your warning, I actually did substitute Greek yogurt for the ricotta (my friend is allergic to ricotta so I had no choice but to sub) and they turned out pretty good! Not as fluffy as your photos but still moist and delicious. I just wanted to let you know!
Thanks!
These look delicious! I am wondering, can you substitute the white flour for whole wheat flour or would that make the muffins too dense?
It would make the muffins too dense, correct. Sorry!
Made these yesterday, they are delicious! I baked at 400 for 14 mins. and they came out perfect. Ricotta cheese and lemon are divine together. My fave pancake recipe has them in it. I love the use of chia seeds instead of poppy. Thanks for a keeper!
Just made these muffins and they’re to die for! I added a little bit of lavender extract too ;3 Thanks for the great recipe.
I’m here for the recipe, but I have to say that as someone who had not read the Divergent book, the movie made no sense at all.
The pacing was super fast. Like we’re taking down the whole government in book one? Isn’t she still getting adjusted to her new place in society?
But the worst was that I couldn’t tell when she came out of the fears trial. Because she comes out once and it was all fake. So when she comes out a second time I thought that was fake too and I spent the whole rest of the movie waiting for her to wake up, not feeling emotionally connected to anything that was happening.
They left out some super important parts of the book, I’m thinking!
Yeah, you kind of have to read the book before seeing the movie because they did leave out details. I think it’d all make more sense if you read the books!
Could I sub cottage cheese for the ricotta?
No, definitely not. That would give it a really weird texture.