When we moved to our new (older) house right after I turned 10, the abundance of lemon trees excited our entire family. The main one in the backyard looked more like an overgrown bush. The second one, a traditional tree, grew right next to it and produced lemons the size of footballs, and the third dormant tree sat quietly in the front yard.
While we occasionally picked one to squirt into fresh salads or pasta dishes for a bright citrusy note, the majority of the lemons made their way into baked goods and desserts. My dad and brother adore lemon treats (it’s all they ask for on their birthdays!), so we tried plenty of recipes.
Our favorite was a lemon bundt cake with lemon glaze, which usually appeared at least one birthday dinner each year. Sweet, light, and sunshiny—we rarely ended up with leftovers, even with just 5 of us celebrating! I must have inherited my sweet tooth from my family…
Not everything turned out quite as nicely as that cake. The popsicles we attempted one year tasted like pure lemon juice, no matter how much sugar we added, and the recipe for 100% whole wheat lemon muffins I tried turned out drier than the desert. We left them off of our brunch menu that weekend!
However, I decided to create my own recipe for Brunch Week here on AHB, one that was moist and tender and bright and cheerful and put those previous desert-cactus-muffins of my childhood to shame. The result? These Lemon Blueberry Muffins, which have the same texture as cupcakes!
True to my word, I made these 100% whole wheat. Instead of regular whole wheat flour, I went with whole wheat pastry flour because it’s lighter texture and milder wheat-y flavor. This means that the muffins will definitely stay moist and tender, and it also allows the lemon flavor to really shine.
Greek yogurt also adds to the muffins’ tender texture. It’s my favorite secret weapon in healthier baking! Greek yogurt adds the same moisture of butter or oil for a fraction of the calories. Bonus: It gives your baked goods a little protein boost too!
The citrus flavor comes from two sources: lemon juice and lemon zest. The latter actually provides the majority of the iconic taste because the oil in the lemon peel contains a more concentrated flavor than the juice. Don’t skip it! You’ll need about 1 medium lemon, and try to pick one that’s completely yellow. Any green spots tend to taste bitter.
And of course, the blueberries! Although I almost always bake with frozen (they’re cheaper and readily available year-round), I went with fresh for these muffins. Frozen blueberries usually bleed and turn muffin batter slightly gray, and I wanted these muffins to have a pretty yellow hue, just like the sun.
Yes, I added a lot of blueberries! I prefer a high fruit-to-muffin ratio, so these muffins are positively packed. It’s always disappointing to bite into a blueberry muffin and not get a single piece of fruit, so these are the exact opposite. I want at least two berries per bite instead!
Even better? All of that juice from the berries helps the muffins taste even more tender!
Because various members of my family are trying to eat fewer baked goods (and thus have me somewhat questioning whether we’re related…), I intentionally designed this recipe to yield half a batch—just 6 muffins. Enough for one week’s worth of breakfasts or snacks, or the perfect amount for one weekend family brunch. No tempting leftovers to worry about!
Because with all of those gorgeous juicy berries? My self-control would fly straight out the window!
| Small-Batch Lemon Blueberry Muffins | | Print |
- 1 cup (120g) whole wheat pastry flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (5g) lemon zest (about 1 medium lemon)
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60mL) agave
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) lemon juice (about half of 1 medium lemon)
- 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk
- ¾ cup (125g) fresh blueberries
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 6 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the agave and Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the lemon juice. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour, and stirring until just barely incorporated. Gently fold in the blueberries.
- Divide the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 20-22 minutes, or until the tops feel lightly firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
White whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat pastry flour.
I recommend using fresh blueberries since frozen tend to bleed and turn the batter gray. However, if using frozen, the bake time may need to be increased.
{clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
More lemon muffin recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ Raspberry Lemon Muffins by Crunchy Creamy Sweet
♥ Meyer Lemon Muffins by French Press
♥ Lemon Streusel Yeasted Coffee Cake Muffins by The Sweet {Tooth} Life
♥ Vegan Meyer Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins by Minimalist Baker
Hi Amy! If I had to swap the agave for low GI cane sugar (currently out of any liquid substitutes like honey or maple syrup 🙁 ) would I just replace the lost liquid from the syrup with the same volume of milk? Am I able to do that with most of your muffin recipes (for example, 1/2 of honey substituted with 1/2 cup sugar requires 1/2 cup of milk to compensate?). So excited to make these!!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipes Claudia! In general, to replace ½ cup of liquid sweetener (maple syrup, honey, agave) in my recipes, you’ll need ½ cup of granulated or brown sugar + ¼ cup of milk. 🙂 I can’t hear what you think of these muffins!
The muffins turned out yummy. I tried a few other muffins recipes from your page and this one was a success. I added strawberries instead of blueberries. A perfect summer taste.
I wished your site had more vivid colours. It looks washed out, and the print is small greyish – pretty hard on the eyes.
On the other hand, the pictures are beautiful. 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Agnes! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you try next!
Hi! Do you have a non-D or substitute suggestion for the plain nonfat Greek yogurt? Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Abbi! Any non-dairy yogurt alternative (ie soy-based or almond-based yogurt) would work fine in this recipe. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
Do you have a non-yogurt substitution suggestion? Thanks!
I haven’t tried these with any other substitute for the yogurt, so I don’t feel confident giving you a different recommendation. 🙂
Hi. I wanted to ask if you think the whole recipe changes if I use the whole egg rather than just the white. I wouldn’t know what to do with just 1 yolk and wouldn’t want to waste it. Thanks!
You can use the whole egg if you prefer! The only potential modification would be to bake the muffins just a teensy tiny bit longer. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins Jeanne!
We have an abundance of blueberries in our garden this year and I was so excited to come across this recipe! My daughter loves muffins and I LOVE lemon cake so I can’t wait to try these this weekend!
One question: do you use golden agave or amber? I have amber on hand but I’m wondering if it would alter the color…hmmm.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Amanda! I typically use golden agave, but I don’t think that your amber agave should darken the color too much, if at all. You can always use honey in place of the agave if you’re really concerned about the color! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you and your daughter think of these muffins! (And I wish my thumb was green enough to grow blueberries — homegrown fruit tastes amazing!!)
These are SO good! I made them yesterday afternoon and doubled the recipe. I used cupcake liners but they stuck to the paper pretty bad, next time just grease the pan like you suggested. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you loved them Amanda! That means a lot to me! 🙂 Unfortunately, as you found out, low-fat muffin batters stick to liners like superglue… So I always coat my cupcake liners with cooking spray before adding the batter so they peel away much better! 😉
I made the small batch muffins last week and it was just awesome. Too yum and ended up eating four out of six. Definitely making these again. Loved the combination of lemon and blueberry! Thanks for the lovely recipe!?
I’m so glad you loved these muffins Lizanne! That’s the best kind of compliment if you ate four of them! 😉 Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know and for leaving such a sweet comment! 🙂
Your welcome! I just have sweet teeth instead of sweet tooth? I love to experiment with eating healthy so tried the recipe and it came out so well?
It’s as if you read my mind with your statement! “I just have sweet teeth” — that’s totally me too Lizanne!! 😉
Wow thats great?
These look so yummy unfortunately I can’t eat wheat. Can I sub the flour for an all purpose gf flour?
Yes, an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend should work! I’d love to hear what you think if you make these muffins Aimee! 🙂
Hi Amy! If I want the muffins to be on the denser, fudgier side, what modifications would I have to make with the ingredients?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Jem! Have you made these before? They’re actually on the denser and moister side already (see the third photo in my blog post — they’re not light and airy like angel food cake, for example!). Do you want them to be even denser than they currently are? 🙂
Oh, well I haven’t tried making these yet. I’m whipping up a batch in a day or two so maybe I’ll let you know then if they’re fudgy enough for my liking! Thanks! 🙂
It’s my pleasure, Jem! I’m always happy to help. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
Hi Amy! I just wanted to say that these muffins are SO. GOOD. Lemon and blueberry is one of my favorite flavor combinations, and it feels PERFECT for spring/summer baking. By no means am I am experienced baker, but these muffins turned out perfectly beautiful and yummy after 20 minutes of baking, just like the recipe says! I love how these are so healthy, but the taste is definitely not compromised. I wish I could give these 1000 stars!
Oh my goodness Alli — you just made my ENTIRE day!! Thank you SO much! I’m incredibly honored that you love these muffins, enough to want to give them 1000 stars. You’re just the biggest sweetheart! ♡ Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. It truly means a lot!!
Can I omit the lemon zest? Or should I use lemon extract and how much? Also I do not use agave. Can I use honey or maple syrup as well and how much should I use?