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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
Hello. Your recipe looks so yummy! I was curious if you could give me pointers for making as a loaf as I do not have cupcake pan currently (overseas). Thank you in advance for your help!
I don’t know whether this is enough batter or not for a loaf because I never tried making this as a loaf before. I would guess you could make it into a loaf but I really don’t know how it would bake because I never tested it for a loaf.
Thank you so much, Judy!
Just made these; yum!! They came out perfect and truly are amazingly fluffy! They have a nice light sweetness, so the honey on top is the perfect touch. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
This turned out yummy, only instead of honey I put a lemon glaze. Very good and fluffy
Oh. My. God. I just made these and my boyfriend and I can’t keep our hands off! SO GOOD!
I made a few adjustments: I used part oat flour, part all-purpose. I also used coconut oil instead of olive oil. I used a mini-muffin tin, which I coated also in coconut oil. I made a few regular sized muffins, but the minis came out absolutely perfect, whereas the larger ones got brown on the sides before cooking all the way through. That may or may not be my oven’ s fault… it doesn’t temp correctly so I have to play the guessing game. Anywho, A++++ recipe!!
Yum! This is a great recipe!
Honey and lemon! And chia seeds! What a creative muffin recipe (I want one!). Toasted with butter please!
These look so light and fluffy! I love that you use chia seeds instead of poppy seeds. This recipe is on my Spring baking list!!
I love this recipe, but can’t have all purpose flour.
Have you ever tried it with almond flour? I am thinking of trying it, but just using a little less flour.
I don’t think using almond flour would work well this recipe at all. It’s so dense and I’d just be afraid that your muffins would rise very well or be light and airy.
Thank you for your response. Sadly I think you are correct.
You could use a cup-for-cup gluten free flour.
I am assuming the honey goes in with the wet ingredients?
Never mind! Sorry, see where it fits in now :)