When you have an abundance of zucchini in your garden, don’t let it go to waste. Instead, make these delicious lemon poppy seed zucchini bread muffins. They’re super easy to make and are a great way to use up a little bit of that fresh summer zucchini. Plus, they’re topped with a sweet and tangy lemon glaze that really takes them to the next level.
Things to look forward to on a Saturday morning. Sleeping in, if you can actually sleep. Not having to even contemplate work, the job you do for a living, the people you work with, or the amount of work that’s most likely going to be coming your way once Monday rolls around. A rousing game of mouse-fetch or catch-the-fishy with McKenna. Because on Saturdays, spending extra playtime with the kitty is an absolute must. And last, but certainly not least, muffins, because it’s pretty gosh darn rare for muffins to happen on a busy weekday, but on a Saturday, muffins can totally happen. And sometimes, those muffins can almost be considered to be healthish, because sometimes those looked forward to Saturday muffins have grated zucchini in them. Now sure, there’s butter and sugar in ’em as well, but let’s not dwell on those ingredients. After all, it’s Saturday. I think we’ve earned a little butter and sugar to go along with our veggies.
Ingredients:
Muffins:
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted (Additional for Greasing Muffin Tin)
- 2 Teaspoons Lemon Zest
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Grated Zucchini, Lightly Packed
- 1 Tablespoon Poppy Seeds
Lemon Glaze:
- 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Directions:
Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 6-cup muffin tin with butter; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar for 1 minute.
- Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt; whisk for 30 seconds.
- Add the flour and mix with a silicone spatula until all of the flour is incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Using the silicone spatula, fold the grated zucchini and poppy seeds into the muffin batter until evenly distributed.
- Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the muffin batter among the greased muffin tin cups.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to rest for 10 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin and allowing them to cool completely.
Lemon Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth.
- Spoon or drizzle the lemon glaze over the cooled muffins.
- Let the muffins rest until the glaze has set.
Suggestions:
- Make sure to wash the zucchini well before use. You can use either a grater or a food processor to grate the zucchini. The moisture from the zucchini is needed in this recipe, so there is no need to drain any liquid from the grated zucchini. One small to medium-sized zucchini should easily yield 1 cup of grated zucchini.
- One large lemon should yield enough zest and juice for this recipe.
- The muffin batter will be very thick before you add the grated zucchini, however, once you add the zucchini it will quickly loosen up.
- If the tops of the muffins stick to the muffin tin, work a butter knife around the edge of each muffin and they will easily release.
- You can place the muffins in the refrigerator to speed up the muffin cooling and glaze-setting process.
- This recipe is a small-batch recipe and will make 6 muffins.
Improvements:
- After glazing the muffins, sprinkle them with a little bit of additional lemon zest.
- For added crunch, top the muffins with toasted almond slices.
- If you’re a fan of zucchini bread, make sure to check out this Chocolate Pudding Zucchini Bread and this Chocolate Zucchini Bread Pumpkin Seed Cake.
Ingredients:
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted (Additional for Greasing Muffin Tin)
- 2 Teaspoons Lemon Zest
- 3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup Grated Zucchini, Lightly Packed
- 1 Tablespoon Poppy Seeds
- 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 6-cup muffin tin with butter; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar for 1 minute.
- Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt; whisk for 30 seconds.
- Add the flour and mix with a silicone spatula until all of the flour is incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Using the silicone spatula, fold the grated zucchini and poppy seeds into the muffin batter until evenly distributed.
- Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the muffin batter among the greased muffin tin cups.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick or knife comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to rest for 10 minutes before removing them from the muffin tin and allowing them to cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth.
- Spoon or drizzle the lemon glaze over the cooled muffins.
- Let the muffins rest until the glaze has set.
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