Healthy paleo lemon poppy seed muffins are your answer from everything to Easter brunch to your weekday school morning breakfast rotation!

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Signs of spring!

I saw my first robin of the spring last week, and while that might not seem like huge news, it pure joy after bitter cold and snow for the last 4 months! We are perfectly giddy to put the snow gear away, and have been enjoying more daylight, sunshine, and the promise of warmer air coming soon! I hope you are seeing signs of spring where you live too.

Easter brunches memories

Lemon poppy seed muffins are about as spring as it gets! I remember the little lemon muffins piled up across brunch buffets for Easter years back, and was always drawn to the bright, fun flavor. I don’t know why it never dawned on me to try to make them myself, but I have been having so much fun testing the idea of these little mini bites in a healthier way, and my girls have fallen in love with the idea as well.

Best of both worlds

Let’s face it…sometimes gluten/grain free baked goods just aren’t the same. They can turn out dry and crumbly – we have all been there. After over a decade of baking gluten free with years scattered in there that had to be grain free, I will be the first one to admit it takes some practice. You will love how soft and fluffy these lemon poppy seed muffins feel though! I am always blown away when I work with cassava flour – when you do it right it really has a great, soft, gluten-like texture. And of course you can’t go wrong with lemon and honey for the flavor! I think my favorite part is the hint of almond extract that really takes it over the top.

Quick and easy batter and freeze-able…yes please!

Because these mini lemon muffins are not only perfect for the Easter brunch! They pack perfectly for your hiking adventures, and be a great addition to your weekly school morning breakfast rotation too. The batter blends right up into a 4-cup measuring cup to pour right into your muffin pan, and can be blended up ready to go in less than 10 minutes! I did my freezer test on the muffins last week, and the texture holds up as well as taste. Bulk up and make your mornings easier!

How to make lemon poppy seed muffins a school morning breakfast

Because it is what I do best…let’s get practical 😉 Easter brunch is great, but these muffins are so great for a quick school morning breakfast too. Here are some ways to make it a balanced meal for your kiddos:

Lemon muffins and glass of raw milk/coconut milk (You can pack the milk in a thermos if on the go. I used these for travel drinking for my little ones). You can spread butter on the muffins too.
Lemon muffins spread with coconut butter, and dish of coconut yogurt. You can add collagen to the yogurt for extra protein too. If doing this to-go, just put the yogurt in a to-go container.
Lemon muffins with breakfast meat and a banana. (Bacon, sausage, or even dinner leftovers like chicken or beef – I served my kids meat leftover from dinner for breakfast since infanthood so they really don’t know any differently. If you have little guys at home, start now – it makes life so much easier down the road!)
Lemon muffins, raw cheese/goat cheese, and grassfed beef jerky make a great on the go bowl of little bites!
Lemon muffins, cubes of avocado, a few almonds, and a clementine make a great on the go bowl of little bites too!

Don’t forget the lunchboxes!

The girls have loved having the lemon poppy seed muffins in their lunchboxes to go with a thermos of soup, or in their morning snack container for mid-morning. It is a great boost of energy that isn’t full of sugar and has blood sugar stabilizing protein, fat, and fiber in a balanced combination.

Ingredient notes

Make sure to measure out the lemon juice – my lemons may be more, or less juicy than yours, and the liquid makes a difference in the final product.
You can swap the sweetener for your choice. We get a local raw honey from a farmer we love and the taste is so amazing. Just be sure to pick a honey that you love the taste of. If you get a very flowery honey, your muffins will take that taste on (which might be a good thing if you like that!). If you don’t have access to a quality raw honey, this is a good brand. I think coconut sugar or pure maple syrup would swap well too – the honey goes with the lemons so well though.
You can swap the coconut milk for raw milk/cream if you tolerate dairy. I don’t think rice milk will be fatty enough. Cashew or almond milk/cream should be fine. I do not recommend consuming soy milk.
I have not tried other swaps for the cassava flour. Even if you are not grain/gluten free, I would recommend giving your guts a break from the typical flours you use and try something new! Cassava flour is made from the cassava plant which is a root vegetable. It has numerous health benefits from gut flora feeding PRE-biotic fiber and healthy, energy giving carbohydrates.
Egg free friends, I think you could make a few flax eggs to swap here. I would add a splash of ACV to help react with the baking soda to help with some rise – the muffins might not puff up as much as these since eggs really help with rising, but I know they will bind well and should taste great. I have made these with duck eggs if you happen to tolerate those better (my daughter and I tolerate duck eggs better than chicken eggs). If you try an egg free alternative, please let us know how it turns out in the comments so that other egg free readers might gain from your experience. Thank you!
I think you could leave out the collagen if you don’t have access to that. I love the extra bit of protein and gut nourishment it provides, and collagen tends to lend some softness to baked goods that I love.

Little hands friendly, and toddler approved!

I’ve been a bit laid up over the last 6 weeks healing a broken wrist (boo!), and I’m telling you, dear momma, I am so thankful for this mini muffin pan that I just happened to get not to long before that. I have been able to have a freezer bag filled with quick, healthy muffins for my littlest to munch on for early school mornings, and I can back off on too much breakfast cooking. Toss a few mini muffins in a little bowl with a hardboiled egg, and your little guy can have a nutritious breakfast on the way to dropping siblings off to school, or packed up in a container to have for breakfast at daycare.