Keto Lemon Blueberry Muffins
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My keto lemon blueberry muffin recipe yields sweet, tart, pillowy-soft muffins. They’re bursting with plump blueberries and covered in a sweet lemon glaze. 3 grams of net carbs.
Every spring, like clockwork, my mom gives me a massive bag of lemons. And the first thing I make are these keto lemon blueberry muffins.
I initially wanted to adapt my keto muffin recipe, but adding blueberries made them fall apart. Instead, I turned to my almond flour muffins and set out to reduce the sugar and add fresh blueberries. I actually use lemon extract over fresh lemon juice, as it gives a more distinct lemon flavor without adding extra liquid to the batter.
My original recipe worked with most sweeteners, but as I retested it, I found that allulose really is the only substitute that bakes up like sugar and doesn’t leave the muffins dry, wet, or with a bitter aftertaste.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Best texture. I toss the blueberries in almond flour before folding them in. It prevents them from sinking to the bottom, so every bite has a blueberry.
- Proper muffin size. I fill each liner 2/3 full and get 12 substantial muffins- not the half-filled cups you get from most keto muffin recipes.
- The glaze. The lemon glaze is what takes these from good to great- drizzle it over while the muffins are still slightly warm, so it soaks rather than sitting on top.
Key Ingredients
Here’s what goes into these muffins, along with my kitchen notes. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Almond flour. Blanched almond flour is my go-to almond flour almost every time. Almond meal is too crumbly, yielding dense, hard muffins.
- Granulated sweetener. When I first posted these muffins, I mentioned that allulose or monk fruit could be used, but now I only really recommend allulose. It bakes consistently and dissolves like white sugar.
- Baking powder. Two teaspoons give the muffins enough lift to bake up to a proper dome. I tested one teaspoon, and the muffins came out flat.
- Eggs. Room-temperature eggs are preferred because they mix more smoothly into the batter and don’t make the oil firm up.
- Coconut oil. Melted and cooled to room temperature. If it’s too warm, it can cook the eggs slightly when mixed together.
- Milk. I use unsweetened almond milk. It keeps the carbs minimal without affecting the texture.
- Lemon extract. I usually call for vanilla extract, but of course, we’re making lemon muffins. Using lemon extract imparts a lovely lemon flavor without requiring any lemon juice (which can loosen the batter).
- Blueberries. Fresh or frozen can be used. If you’re using frozen, don’t bother thawing them first.
- Keto powdered sugar. For the glaze.
- Lemon juice. About 1 to 2 tablespoons is enough. The glaze should be thin enough to drizzle but thick enough to set.
How to make keto lemon blueberry muffins
Step 1- Prep work. Preheat the oven and line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
Step 2- Mix. Combine the dry ingredients in one large bowl. In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients, minus the blueberries. Mix the wet and dry ingredients until smooth. Fold in the berries.
Step 3- Bake. Pour the batter into the muffin tins and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Step 4- Make the glaze. Whisk the powdered sweetener and lemon juice until smooth.
Step 5- Glaze. Let the muffins cool completely, then drizzle with the glaze.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Swap the berries. I’ve made them with raspberries, and they’re actually my preferred version. The tartness works even better with the lemon.
- Add more lemon flavor. Fold in fresh lemon zest or add an extra ½ teaspoon of lemon extract. I like to add lemon zest when my mom’s lemons are in season. The zest is more fragrant than the extract alone.
- Keep an eye on the muffins. The exact bake time is just an estimate since everyone’s oven varies. If your oven runs hot, check them with a toothpick at the 18-minute mark, then every 2 minutes until they’re done.
- Mix until just combined. Overmixing develops gluten in the almond flour and makes the muffins dense and rubbery.
Frequently asked questions
I wouldn’t suggest substituting almond flour for coconut flour, as coconut flour absorbs liquids much differently than almond flour, and the batter will be dry and crumbly. If you’d rather use coconut flour, try my coconut flour muffins and swap the honey for keto honey.
Yes, blueberries can be an acceptable part of a keto diet. ½ cup of blueberries has roughly 10 grams of carbohydrates, and each of my muffins has just 3 grams of carbs.
Yes. Halve the lemon extract and add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract for a more subtle flavor. Juju in the comments tried this for her husband, who isn’t a lemon fan, and said it was perfect.
Keto Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 6 tablespoons allulose
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon extract * See notes
- 1/3 cup coconut oil
- 6 tablespoons milk
- 3/4 cup blueberries
For the glaze
- 1/4 cup sugar free powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and grease a muffin tin or 12-count silicone muffin pan and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all your dry ingredients and set aside. In a separate small bowl, add the rest of your ingredients, except your blueberries, and mix well. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in your blueberries and let the batter sit for 5 minutes.
- Evenly distribute the muffin batter amongst the muffin tin, about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Allow cooling in the pan for 5 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack. Drizzle with the glaze.
- Whisk together the keto powdered sugar and lemon juice until thin.
Notes
Nutrition
More keto muffin recipes
- Keto pumpkin muffins– Flourless, fluffy, and delicious enough to eat year-round.
- Keto banana muffins– No, there aren’t any bananas in these, but they taste as they do.
- Keto breakfast muffins– Chocolate-style muffins for breakfast? You bet.
- Keto English muffins– These have nooks and crannies and take just a few minutes in the microwave.
Originally published February 2021
These are amazing! I’ve made them on 4 occasions now as we love them so much. I used the grated rind of 1 lemon rather than the lemon extract and added a few more blueberries. Delicious 🙂
Thank you so much for your lovely comment and review, Debra!
Very very moist, added lemon juice instead of extract has to use about 4 tbs to get slight lemon taste. Very good
Love to hear that, Bianca! I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins 🙂
This is easily my new fav treat!
I used greek yogurt for my link substitute and also I’m allergic to Almonds so I used 1/2 cup + 1 TBSP coconut flour instead and they turned out delicious.
I also chose to make a cream cheese lemon frosting instead of the glaze and it was so good that I’m making more this upcoming weekend!
I just made this recipe and love the texture and moisture. I’m not a fan of the lemon extract (too strong of perfumy smell and taste), so I will have to try again with lemon zest and lemon juice I suppose.
Sounds good, Norma. Yes, lemon extract can be strong, so a combo of lemon zest and juice is great!
I made for the first time your blueberry, lemon muffins they are absolutely to die, for. I will be making them more often. Thank you so much.
Thanks so much, Sonja- I’m so glad these muffins are a go-to for you 🙂
My second time making this recipe and feeling optomistic. The first time I forgot to add the eggs! The muffins were tasty but fell apart. I ended up using them for crumble topping on yogurt and fruits. I have a batch in the oven now and am looking forward to the end result.
Oh yes- the eggs give it structure. I’m so glad you enjoyed them and hope the second batch is successful 😉
I made these the other day but made 10 muffins and not 12.
They were scrumptious!
I found that 2T lemon juice to the 1/4 cup powdered sweetener made the glaze too thin.
Next time I’ll add some lemon zest and add the lemon juice little by little until I reach the desired consistency.
Hi Marlene- thanks for the feedback. Yes, that is the best approach for achieving the best glaze for them 🙂
I just made these gorgeous Blueberry Lemon muffins this evening.
I haven’t tried one yet as they are not cooled completely but will be diving into one is a bit.
I’ll let you know how they taste!
Not rated yet, just a comment / question: I’m assuming we need to melt the coconut oil?
Hi Sheila- yes, melted coconut oil and cooled.
These are my favorite blueberry muffins now. They taste so fresh and comfy! I added vanilla paste to the batter and half the lemon extract because my husband is usually not a lemon fan, and it was perfect. What I love about this recipe is that you can substitute out the lemon flavoring to anything you like. Probably berries too! It’s a great muffin base. They are a substantial size, almost the size of a full traditional muffin without the overflowing mounding top. Other Keto muffin recipes fall short by giving us a muffin that is only half the size of the muffin cup or a recipe that only makes 6 muffins. Unless you live by yourself and don’t have a freezer, that’s just a kick in the gut. LOL. But not yours! It’s proper, full, and fluffy. And tastes delicious. Thank you for such a great recipe, Arman.
I made the lemon blueberry muffins last night. The texture seemed great but I wish I hadn’t used the coconut oil because it over-powered the lemon flavor and had an aftertaste. I’ll try again sometime with vegetable oil.
Hi Lu- it sounds like you used unrefined coconut oil- which is known to have a coconut flavor. I like using refined coconut oil which has no flavor whatsoever.
Is there a substitution for the almond flour? Im not a fan of the gritty texture. Thank you!!
I’m new to keto and just trying out some recipes for the foods I love and will miss eating and I have to say I love all things lemon. I made these today, just tweaked it a little bit by whipping the egg whites up and I have to say they are delicious. Rather than glaze them I made a lemon drizzle as I’m not a fan of icing./glazes. I will definitely be making these again especially as I got 17 little muffins out of the mix so I can freeze them and when I get a sweet tooth moment all I need to do is raid the freezer :-). Thank you for the recipe, can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Hi Armen! I watch the amount of fat I eat each day so I was wondering if you can make this with egg whites instead of whole eggs?
I haven’t tried but feel free to experiment and see
Excellent flavor and texture. Thank you for this recipe!
I used 3 T allulose and 3 T Lakanto granulated for the sweetener, added 1 tsp lemon zest, and used frozen blueberries. Dipped cooled muffins into glaze made with Swerve powdered and lemon juice.
The whole family loved these and they will be in my regular rotation for keto/gluten-free baking.
Just made it! I used butter instead of coconut oil, pecans instead of almonds. Also added liquid reduced monkfruit sweetener, and 1 tablespoon of cream cheese. Turned out so good, I ate a huge slice of it even though I’m supposed to be fasting. Thank you for the great recipe!!
Thanks so much for sharing your tweaks, Yi Wei- it’s super helpful for others thinking of doing the same thing 🙂
Is the coconut oil measured in solid form or melted????????????? Thank you!
Melted 🙂