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These lemony muffins are the perfect way to start your day! They are light and moist, slightly crumbly, and not too sweet. Each muffin has a layer of pistachio-lemon streusel inside and on the top, adding the perfect crunch and an extra punch of lemon. Whip these muffins up for breakfast or as a snack in no time – no mixer necessary!
Possibly unpopular opinion: a muffin should taste like a muffin, not a cupcake. I have nothing against cupcakes, but it’s harder to justify eating one for breakfast! My favorite muffins are those that aren’t too sweet and have that perfect moist, slightly crumbly muffin texture (as opposed to a lighter, cake-like texture).
That’s why I love these Lemon Yogurt Muffins with Pistachio. I adapted it from the Blueberry Muffin recipe in Alton Brown’s baking book I’m Just Here for More Food (which I highly recommend), with a few tweaks. For example, I added a thick layer of crumbly, sweet pistachio-lemon streusel on top.
These muffins taste great with any kind of lemon. But, since I’m all about growing fruit, why not take the opportunity to grow your own fresh lemons?
Baking with Homegrown Lemons
The big advantage to homegrown lemons is the fact that you can pick them when they are perfectly ripe – as opposed to the ones in the grocery store, which are picked underripe so their thick skin will hold up to shipping. A perfectly ripe lemon has smoother skin, a rounder shape, and is far juicier and sweeter than the typical store-bought lemon.
I have tons of articles on how to grow your own lemon tree! See them here.
Lemons are one of the best fruits to grow in a container, which means that you can grow a lemon tree in any climate. Even if you live somewhere too cold for an in-ground tree, simply bring your potted lemon tree indoors over the winter. The leaves and blossoms are fragrant, and depending on the variety, they can bloom almost year-round.
I have a Meyer lemon tree and a Variegated Pink Lemon tree – both of which are lemons rarely found in stores! The fun part is deciding what to do with my lemon harvest every year.
I juice, zest, freeze, and preserve my lemon harvest every year (as you see in the video below). But my favorite thing to do is using lemons in fresh baked treats, like these muffins. This recipe is perfect for using up frozen lemon zest and juice from last year’s harvest – or from a grocery haul!
Looking for more recipes to use up your lemon harvest? These are some of my favorites:
Recipe instructions:
First, after heating the oven and prepping your muffin tins, make the pistachio streusel topping. Combine the streusel ingredients (sugar, flour, melted butter, lemon juice and zest, chopped pistachios, and salt) in a small bowl until the mixture comes together in a crumbly mass. Set aside to add to the muffins later.
For the muffin batter, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) together in a large mixing bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (sugar, oil, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, lemon juice, and zest) until the mixture is smooth.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, then pour in the wet ingredients. Use a whisk or rubber spatula to gently mix until everything is just combined and there are no floury spots left. Be very careful not to overmix the batter, or the muffins will be tough and chewy.
Fill each muffin tin about 1/3 of the way up with batter (about a tablespoon). Crumble about 2 teaspoons of the streusel mixture into each muffin tin, then top with more batter. (There should be a layer of streusel in the middle of each muffin.) Crumble the rest of the streusel on the top of each muffin.
Bake the muffins at 350°F for 18-22 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean. If the muffins start to get too brown before they are baked through, lay a piece of foil on top of the muffin tin in the oven.
Leave the muffins to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then turn out on a rack to cool completely. Leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months – if you have any!
Easy Lemon Muffins with Pistachio-Lemon Streusel
Equipment
- Muffin baking pan
- Small, medium, and large mixing bowls
- Wire whisk
- Rubber spatula or wooden spoon
- Muffin scoop optional
Ingredients
Streusel:
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- Zest of 1 large lemon about 1 tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1-2 lemons
- 1/3 cup pistachios chopped
- Pinch of salt
Muffins:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 300 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup plain whole milk yogurt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Zest of 1 large lemon about 1 tablespoon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1-2 lemons
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with baking liners, or spray generously with cooking spray.
- Make the streusel. Combine all the streusel ingredients, mixing with a fork until the texture is a thick, crumbly paste. Set aside.
- Make the muffin batter. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, yogurt, vanilla, lemon juice, and zest until smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing gently with a whisk or spatula just until the batter is smooth and no dry spots remain. Be very careful not to overmix, or the muffins will become tough.
- Scoop about a tablespoon of batter into the bottom of each of the muffin cups. Crumble some streusel on top (about 2 teaspoons per muffin), then fill the muffin cups the rest of the way with batter. Crumble a generous amount of streusel on top of each muffin.
- Bake the muffins for 18-22 minutes (cooking time may vary from oven to oven), until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Keep an eye on the top of the muffins to make sure the pistachios don’t burn; tent the muffin tin with foil if you notice the tops getting too dark. Leave the muffins to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove them from the pan and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.
TIPS
- I used Meyer lemons for this recipe, but any sort of lemon will be delicious.
- I tend not to use muffin tin liners and instead spray a generous amount of cooking spray. To freeze these muffins, I wrap them individually in parchment or plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag. They should last a few months in the freezer (although we always eat them within a few days!).
