Lemon Raspberry Muffins
Fluffy raspberry muffins made with whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with honey. These healthy raspberry muffins taste amazing!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Last weekend, I drove home to Oklahoma for my baby brother’s college graduation. I remember when he was tiny, and I was terrified of dropping him. Now he’s all grown up, and a few inches taller than I am.
A couple of years ago, he developed an interest in videography out of nowhere. Now, he’s made a business of it. He’s going to come up to Kansas City soon and help me make some Cookie and Kate videos! We’re both stubborn perfectionists, and we’re both always right, so stay tuned for how that turns out.
My mom asked me to bring home some muffins to help with breakfast. I was already planning to make these with some berries from my freezer, so it was perfect timing. Usually, when I bake muffins for the blog, I just freeze them for later. Watching my family enjoy them was way more fun.
These raspberry muffins are based on my carrot muffins and apple muffins. Like the others, they are marvelously fluffy and moist, but made with 100 percent whole grains, and naturally sweetened, too. I added some lemon zest, which infuses the muffins with light lemon flavor, in between bursts of jammy raspberries.
Raspberries won’t be in season for a couple more months, and strawberries are just beginning to ripen up, so frozen berries were the perfect solution. Since raspberries (also blueberries and blackberries) are so small, you can fold them right into muffin batters without defrosting them first.
Berries are are typically treated with pesticides on the field, so it’s best to buy organic when possible. In fact, strawberries are at the top of the Dirty Dozen list this year, so they are the most important fruit to buy organic.
Frozen organic fruit is a great year-round option, and it’s less expensive than buying fresh organic fruit. I love to use frozen fruits in baked goods and desserts, and savor fresh, in-season fruit in its delicious raw state. You can enjoy these muffins any time you’re craving a sweet, fruity breakfast treat!
Watch How to Make Lemony Raspberry Muffins
Lemon Raspberry Muffins
These delicious raspberry muffins are moist and fluffy. They’re healthier than most, too, since they are made from whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened with honey. Recipe yields 1 dozen muffins.
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt*
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 medium lemon (about ½ teaspoon)
- 1½ cups frozen raspberries (from one 10-ounce bag)
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar), for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If necessary, grease all 12 cups on your muffin tin with butter, coconut oil or cooking spray (my pan is non-stick and doesn’t require any grease).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend well with a whisk.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the oil and honey or maple syrup and beat together with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat well, then add the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Mix well. (If the coconut oil solidifies in contact with cold ingredients, gently warm the mixture in the microwave in 30 second bursts.)
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a big spoon, just until combined (a few lumps are ok). Gently fold the raspberries into the batter. The mixture will be thick, but don’t worry.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups (I used an ice cream scoop with a wire level, which worked perfectly). Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with turbinado sugar. Bake the muffins for 22 to 24 minutes, or until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
- Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack to cool. You might need to run a butter knife along the outer edge of the muffins to loosen them from the pan. If you have leftover muffins, store them, covered, at room temperature for 2 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze leftover muffins for up to 3 months.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my carrot muffins.
Make it vegan: You can replace the eggs with flax eggs. Replace the yogurt with a smaller amount of vegan buttermilk—just mix ⅔ cup non-dairy milk with 2 teaspoons vinegar. Let it rest for 5 minutes before adding it to the other liquid ingredients. Or, use 1 cup vegan yogurt.
Make it dairy free: See buttermilk option above.
Make it egg free: Substitute flax eggs for the regular eggs.
Make it gluten free: Substitute an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend for the whole wheat flour. Bob’s Red Mill makes a GF blend that works well.
*Note on Greek yogurt: I’ve used a variety of fat percentages and the muffins have always turned out well. Higher fat yogurt will yield a somewhat more rich muffin. You can also substitute plain (not Greek) yogurt, but your muffins might not rise quite as high.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I absolutely love these muffins! They were easy to make and tasted very good. I took them to work (after deciding I shouldn’t eat a dozen muffins by myself) and they were a huge success! I will definitely be making them again. Yum!!
I’m so glad, Kelsey! Thanks so much for commenting and sharing them with others!
Hi Kate, great recipe. Is there a way to download your recipes to print them for easier reading?
Hello. I’ve made a number of your recipes and have always found them to be really good. Today I made these lemon raspberry muffins, which sound fantastic and many others seem to have made successfully. Mine didn’t really turn out very well. I haven’t tasted them yet, so they may taste fine, but they sunk in on the top and didn’t get a rounded top. I made them using the vegan instructions you provided and used spelt flour instead of WW because I was out.. The batter was kind of runny and I added extra flour (many an extra 1/4 cup), but it still wasn’t thick and lumpy as described in the recipe. I baked them an extra 10 minutes also because they didn’t seem done. Ideas for what went wrong? I’d love to try these again because lemon and raspberry are two of my favorites, but I’d like them to turn out better!
I’m having the same experience with the muffins not riding in the middle, and not seeming to get done???? I did go by the regular recipe, not vegan. Any thoughts?
Hello Kate,
Thank you very much for your recipe sharing. As an “evil cook” named by my friends and family, I did successfully (miracle) make these delicious muffins for my son as breakfast following your recipe. Hurray~ On top of that, I enjoyed the whole process of doing it. Thank you for the tips and instructions once again.
Best,
Janice
“Mmm mmm, yummo”! Direct quote from my 2 1/2 year old, as she eats this muffin. Thank you for a delicious recipe. It made 12 Aussie size muffins plus a mini muffin tray too. Great for our family!
Hi I am from Australia and I have been looking for tasty muffins that are healthy for the lunch box! We love your raspberry and carrot muffins !!! Thank you
I have made these several times using raspberry and both raspberry and blueberries. I added 1 tsp cinnamon and 1+ tablespoons of brown sugar to the dry ingredients. I do not use lemon zest as I rarely have any in the house. I use extra virgin olive oil and regular salt and maple syrup. I also add walnuts. They are great. This is my go to muffin recipe. And I sprinkle just a dab of regular sugar on top.
Thanks so much, Shirley for your review! I am happy to hear this is a go-to for you and how you adapt it to make it your own.
Hi Kate! I adore your blog. I have tried your apple muffins and now these. I’ve never been able to get the lemon zest to shine through in other recipes, but this was a success.
I used Sprouted Spelt flour and Canola oil instead, and the muffins turned out fantastic.
Thanks for another winner!
I also added a tsp of cinnamon as well!
Thank you for your comment and review, Lily! Glad you found another you like so much.
Hi Kate, I’ve been loving your recipes! I’ve always wondered about turning a muffin recipe into a quick bread recipe so I can use a loaf pan instead, easy cleanup :) Have you tried this and have a recommendation for it not turning into an unrisen, gooey mess?
Hi Andrea, generally, you should be able to pour muffin batter into a loaf pan and bake with good results. Based on my other quick breads that bake at 350, I’d guess this one would need 45 to 60 minutes in the oven.
I didn’t have any yogurt or milk left, so I used 3/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup cream cheese. Very good!
This is our all-time favorite muffin recipe. I have made it as written as well as with some of the vegan substitutions and with honey or maple syrup. The muffins are always delicious. I recently made this recipe for a birthday breakfast celebration and it was a big hit. The tartness of the berries and the lemon zest contrast perfectly with the mild sweetness of the honey or maple syrup. Thanks so much for post8ng this.
Great, Mary! I’m glad you find that they work many ways.
Hi Kate,
I’m wondering if I could make these muffins with more of a raspberry-coconut flavor instead of lemon. I’m thinking of adding unsweetened coconut flakes instead of the lemon zest, but I’m not sure how much. I’d also do 1 tsp coconut and 1 tsp vanilla extracts, and sprinkle some of the flakes on top. Do you think it would work?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I love all of your recipes that I’ve tried so far!
Flo
Hmm… great question Flo! Changing-up some of those elements change the recipe entirely. You can try with similar ratios and what you described. Unfortunately, since they aren’t a 1 to 1 replacement without trying it I’m not exactly sure.
Hi Kate! Our family truly loves these muffins. We make them at least twice a month. We love that they freeze and reheat so well. Since falling in love with these muffins we have purchased your cookbook and love many other recipes you have created. A sincere thank you from the Blackwell Family <3
I’m glad to hear they freeze well for you, Kelly! Thanks for sharing and for your support!. I really appreciate it.
These came out great, I used a combo of fresh chopped strawberries and frozen blueberries instead of raspberries. I also used 3/4 cup millet flour and threw in some ground flax! Also used 1/2 cup sour cream since I didn’t have enough yogurt for a full cup…despite all these substitutions they were still perfect!
Thank you for sharing your variation!
Hi Kate!
I’ve made this recipe a few times and I love it. Word of advice for everyone – make sure you let these muffins cool completely before storing, otherwise I find the raspberries will make the muffin soggy/moist (in certain parts).
Question: Can this recipe be easily converted as a bundt cake? Would it bake up just as nice? I would turn this into a bundt and do some kind of light glaze on top as a dessert…..any thoughts?
Hi Sherrie! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the muffins. I think you could probably double the recipe and bake it in a standard bundt pan. Be sure to butter and flour the insides of the pan well first. Keep the same temp but I’m not sure how long to bake it. Please let me know if you try it!
I love this recipe! The muffins turned out very moist and very tasty – a light vanilla flavour with a hint of lemon. I have to admit that I added one teaspoon of the lemon zest rather than half as I really wanted that lemon flavour to come through. I’m planning to bake more often now I’ve found your delicious recipes using maple syrup or honey instead of sugar. Your banana muffin recipe is equally brilliant. Thank you Kate. I’ll keep following your website.
Maple syrup is such a great way to get the sweet, without too much sugar. Thanks, Pip!
I made these muffins and they are outstanding! Used some delicious “real greek yogurt” made by a local family. I will definitely be trying out the other muffin recipes. Thank you for your posts.
You’re welcome, Vickie!
These are UNBELIEVABLE!!!
So so delicious, thank you for an amazing healthy, yet scrumptious muffin recipe. I can’t eat dairy so substituted the yoghurt for almond milk with a little lemon and also used a combo of GF/Spelt flours. Just divine! Thanks again x
You’re welcome, Fiona!
These came out really well. So delicious!
I modified to what I had in the cupboard so plain white flour, half and half honey and maple syrup, plain yogurt and lime zest instead of lemon. Added a little lemon juice to make them extra tangy
Great, thank you Cat!
I made 40 tiny muffins to take to a weightlifting comp. They were a real hit, I also thru some blueberries in.
Wonderful!
I made these muffins and I found that I had to cook them an extra 20 minutes. Maybe they would cook better at 375?
Isa
Hmm… ovens can be tricky. Have you had issues baking in the past? Did you overfill the tins? Sometimes that can impact cooking time too.
These are delicious and they feel light so you cab keep on eating them! Both my girls loved them too. Will be on repeat. Thanks!
You’re welcome! Thanks, Lucky for your review.
Any help would be appreciated, I’ve made this recipe a few times now and the muffins have collapsed every time. Any ideas on what I can do to correct this – they taste great, but look a bit sad!
Hi Anthony, I’m sorry to hear that! Are you sure you’re using the right amounts of baking soda and baking powder, and not mixing them up? You might also check their expiration dates. Other than that, I’m not sure what to suggest!
Did you ever figure out what happened to yours and how to fix it? Mine collapsed too. They looked horrible but tasted good. I was thinking using fresh whole raspberries was to blame and was going to try pieces next time.
mine collapsed too and I have no idea why.
Second time making these and this time I made a double batch because… well you know why. These are so amazing! I had to freeze them right away so I don’t get tempted to eat them all. Lemon season here in Australia so I had a tonne to use up. I used both versions, and this last time I went for the dairy free- I used coconut cream as this was all I had on hand in the amounts you suggested,and used the flax eggs. The batter seemed to freeze up when I folded in the raspberries, but I plugged along anyway, it was almost like scooping ice-cream but they went in to the muffin tin even easier and are absolutely perfect! They seem a bit wet, but are fully cooked and I think it’s just super moist and heavenly. Thank you!
They are tempting! Thanks for sharing your variation, Carmella. Thanks for the review!
These are so good! I’ve made them many times over the past few months to freeze for my kid’s afternoon tea. I often use orange zest when we don’t have any lemons on hand, which is also delicious.
Thanks for a great refined sugar free recipe!
Thanks lucy! Thanks for your review.
I am totally addicted to these muffins! We had so many lemons on our tree this year and I think the majority of them have been cooked into these muffins. I prefer them with only 1/3C honey as a slightly less sweet alternative. Thank you for creating this – it’s genius.
What a fabulous recipe! I wasn’t sure what to expect and I am so pleasantly surprised- thank you! I’ll be looking for more of your recipes
I’m happy to hear that! Thanks for your comment and review.
Hi, could this be made into more of a cake somehow? I’ve been looking for a cake for my daughter’s first birthday with these flavours but no refined sugar and it’s very hard!
Hi Kat, so sorry that I missed your comment until now and I’m sorry if I’m too late. The muffins could be turned into a 9″ square cake if you following the baking temperature/timing offered on this post, although keep an eye on it because the timing could be a little different.
I’m confused by “Zest of 1 medium lemon (about ½ teaspoon)”, can you clarify please? Is this 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest, OR do you mean all the zest of a medium lemon? They aren’t equivalent; standard is 1 lemon=1 Tablespoon of zest.
Hi Mari! The measurement is an estimate as that is what I got when I did this recipe. You will need 1/2 teaspoon. Hope this helps! Lemon sizes do vary.
I’m now a fan of your recipes–these turned out quite nicely with a lovely light texture and flavor. I doubled the recipe for a big breakfast meeting that was cancelled at the last minute! So there I was with two dozen muffins. ☹️ 2 days later, I cut them into smaller pieces and made a bread pudding out of them, using with 1% milk and zest of an orange to keep it light. Sprinkled in mixed berries and crossed my fingers as it baked. Wow! Perfect afternoon dessert/snack for a working group and they loved it, especially when I pointed out the whole grains, protein rich, natural ingredients! Thanks!
Way to improvise! I love it. Thanks so much for sharing, Mari.
Do you think this would work with fresh cranberries and orange zest? Thanks!
Checkout the cranberry orange muffin recipe I have on instagram from last week! :)https://www.instagram.com/p/BqSk-z3ABG_/
These turned out light and fluffy, very tasty!
Great to hear, Naomi!
These are yummy! Perfect for a foggy, snow day! The lemon zest is like a little sunshine in the muffin!
That sounds wonderful, Robin!
My four year old refuses to eat blueberries so these are perfect because she loves raspberries. I add some chopped macadamias to mine because I love that combo and they turn out perfect. And the other day I did another batch some with a few dark, some with white chocolate chips. OMG! I love your muffin recipes, they are delicious and a healthier version of treats! Perfect for my family! Thank you x
I’m glad you can change this up and it works well! Kids are so funny with what they will and won’t eat. Thanks for your review, Vanessa!
The flavors are incredible – really brighten up a cold winter day! I had the same problem others have mentioned- had to cook them for longer than the recipe said. I haven’t had that happen with other recipes so don’t think it’s my oven, and my baking powder and soda are both fresh. It’s a mystery but the muffins are worth it!
That’s interesting. I’m happy they still turned out, Kelley!
I am currently trying not to burn my mouth as I munch on these fresh out of the oven, they are simply delicious! I used just over a teaspoon of lemon zest, fresh raspberries (about 1 & 1/2 cups), lactose-free Jogurt and a white gluten-free flour. Mine are fluffy, tender, soft and taste so amazing. As a side benefit, my house now smells so good too! This is a great recipe, I highly recommend, the raspberries and lemon go so well together and honey is a wonderful natural sweetener. Thank you!
It’s so hard to wait! I know the struggle. Thanks for sharing, Sonya!
They were so good that my husband has requested I make them again so he can take them to eat on his flight in a couple days. He has never requested I make something again this quickly! Big hit over here! Thank you for a great recipe. :)
Great muffins! I eat them from breakfast crumbled on top of yogurt and fresh fruits or with a smoothie. I found that it wasn’t quite lemony enough for me, I’ll add more lemon zest next time.
Thank you for your review, Marie!
I made these last night for a coworkers birthday and they were so good! I have a question though, I let them cool on a rack for 2 hours, and when i took them out of the container this morning, they seemed like they were kind of wet on the top? Almost like I had put the lid on while they were warm. Any ideas why?
I found muffins are so dense they take forever to cool! Also lots of moisture in raspberries and in these muffins in particular. I’ve made these a few times usually in the evenings, I leave mine out uncovered overnight and they are still soft the next morning. Hope this helps!
Hey Emily, that has happened to me before, too. I wish I had a good answer for you, but I think these muffins are just quite moist.
This looks so good! Once spring is here, I love lemon and berry everything! What a great breakfast meal prep!
I agree, Suzanne!
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
I’m currently making these muffins and my batter is reallllly thick (to the point that I can barely stir it). Did I do something wrong?
I have made many of your recipes and never had an issue.. but in this recipe the batter came out extremely thick. Like playdoe thick. This cant be right?? I always measure my flour very carefully and dont let it pack. I have no idea what happened!??
Mine is the same super thick like playdoe. I currently have them in the oven so lets see how they turn out. Maybe 3 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour is too much?
I’m going to try these, but one ingredient I don’t keep on
hand is lemon zest. Could I substitute lemon extract? If so, how much would I use? These sound SO good!!
I’m sure lemon extract would work great but over thing I’ve been doing for the last year or so and love is keeping dried lemon zest on hand. I got it from an online spice retailer and I absolutely love it and use it all the time! Is so handy to add to recipes and I don’t have to worry about keeping lemons around!
I LOVE lemon muffins but with raspberries too?! Yes please ;) Looks lovely can’t wait to try this recipe! Thank you:)
Let me know what you think, Olivia!
There is something wrong with the scale buttons. I accidentally clicked on x2 and when I clicked back to x1 the amount of flour and raspberries is incorrect. The correct recipe says 1 3/4 cups flour, but if you click x2 then go back to x1, the amount of flour is 3 1/4.
Once I corrected my mistake they were delicious.
Hi Katie, I’m sorry you had an issue with it. I will take a look at the plug-in again. Sounds like there is a lagging issue. Thanks for the heads up!
Wow! Thank you for these healthier muffins! My picky toddler loves them (and he eats nothing) and I’m happy they are made with better for you ingredients. These will be a regular at my house for sure! We’ll be telling blue berry next!
You’re welcome! I can’t wait to hear what you think about the blueberry ones.
Wow! Thank you for these healthier muffins! My picky toddler loves them (and he eats nothing) and I’m happy they are made with better for you ingredients. These will be a regular at my house for sure! We’ll be trying blueberry next!
You’re welcome, Nikki!
Just made them today for the breakfast (I discovered your blog last week and already have tried the lentil-chickpeas burgers which were absolutely amazing and crispy falafel recipe which was also a great shot), and we almost finished them already. They are so moist and soft and full of raspberry flavour!
Thank you for sharing, Domi! I’m glad you loved it.
Can I make this recipe with half white flour and half whole wheat flour?
You could try it, although I’m not sure exactly how it will turn out without trying it.
I think the ‘scale’ button at the top of the recipe is out of wack. If you scale up, then come back to the 1x (as I did just to see) all the other ingredients are the same as the first viewing, except the flour goes from 1¾ to 3 1/4 (the 2x and 3x are also multiplications of this larger flour amount). I didn’t realize this glitch and tried to make them with the incorrect flour amount. They smelled amazing but obviously failed miserably. Going to try again this weekend and just wanted to give you a heads up.
I’m sorry you are having issues! I will take a look.
I thought this recipe was good. Is there any way to make the top of the muffin stay crunchy the next day? Whenever I make them, the next day the tops are a little soggy.
Hi Courtney! You could try leaving a little air in the container when you store them. Although, that might dry out the muffin some.