I am in love with this new recipe for whole wheat lemon raspberry muffins! It’s so good I think I want one with frosting on top for my birthday (which is not until May, but a girl can plan ahead)! The raspberries and lemon complement each other so well, and it’s such a nice diversion from the usual muffin flavors. You will also love this Raspberry Bread!
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Lemon raspberry muffins with whole wheat flour and real food ingredients
These flavor-packed lemon raspberry muffins are made with whole wheat flour and have no refined sugar. I always advocate eating real food, and leaving out the processed ingredients really brings out the natural flavors of the fresh lemon zest and raspberries in this muffin recipe. Check out these red fruits too!
Instead of sugar, I used ½ cup of pure maple syrup to balance out the tartness of the raspberry and lemon. You can easily substitute the sugar with other natural sweeteners such as honey or applesauce, but I find the maple flavor compliments the fruit flavors perfectly.
Learn all about the different types of berries!
How to use fresh or frozen raspberries in these lemon raspberry muffins
I love baking with frozen raspberries! Since they’re preserved immediately after picking, frozen raspberries can actually be more flavorful than the fresh ones you buy at the store. Frozen berries are also a great way to eat real food on a budget.
The downside to frozen raspberries is that they can become mushy very quickly, which means instead of delicious chunks of raspberry in your muffins you wind up with lemon and raspberry flavored muffins (and dyed batter). To avoid this, leave your raspberries in the freezer until you’re ready to use them. Once you add the berries, don’t let them warm up while you fold them into the batter or fill your muffin pan.
If you prefer using fresh raspberries you don’t need to worry about thawing, but you should still make sure to fold gently since raspberries, especially ripe ones, mash easily.
How to zest a lemon
The fresh lemon zest is what adds the lemon flavor in these lemon raspberry muffins! If you’ve never zested a lemon before, you’re essentially just grating the peel with a fine grater. I recommend using a microplane (over a zester) for the best texture.
To zest, first clean and dry your lemon. Then place the end of your microplane on the cutting board, holding it with one hand on an angle. With the other hand, run the lemon back and forth on the microplane; the grated lemon will fall on the cutting board below.
- Don’t grate the white part of the lemon peel. This part is bitter on all citrus fruit.
- You only need a small amount of lemon zest; adding too much can overpower the raspberry flavor in these muffins.
- Be gentle as you zest and don’t press down too firmly.
- The microplane is VERY sharp so be careful not to slip and cut your hand or fingers!
If you don’t have a lemon zester or microplane you can also use a box grater or cheese grater. Choose the smallest size option and then run the lemon back and forth until you have 1 teaspoon of zest.
For more baking resources, check out this Teaspoons and Tablespoons guide. Use the zest in our Lemon Blueberry Bread!
Can I use lemon juice instead of lemon zest?
Lemon zest and lemon juice have slightly different flavors and levels of acidity, but if lemon zest isn’t an option, 100% freshly squeezed lemon juice will work in a pinch.
To substitute the lemon zest with lemon juice in these lemon raspberry muffins, first skip the step where you add zest. Then add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice with the other wet ingredients.
Lemon juice can sometimes taste more tart than zest, but you probably won’t notice a huge difference in this muffin recipe because there are so many other flavors to balance it out.
How to store whole wheat lemon raspberry muffins
Cooled leftover muffins (if you even have any leftovers!) can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Muffins can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, in the fridge, or in the microwave for a quick, healthy snack or grab and go breakfast.
I hope your kids gobble up these lemon raspberry muffins like mine did. I’d love to hear what they think in the comments below. :)
Other muffin recipes you might like
- Whole Wheat Banana (Nut) Muffins
- Whole Wheat Carrot Applesauce Muffins
- Apple Walnut Muffins
- Blueberry, Fruit, Nut (or anything you want) Whole Wheat Muffins
Whole-Wheat Lemon Raspberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 cup butter (softened but not melted (1 stick))
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup frozen raspberries (no need to defrost)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper or silicone liners and set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest (I usually use a zester, but I just ordered a microplane because I’ve been told it’s much easier!).
- In a large bowl fitted with an electric whisk (or beaters), cream the butter until smooth.
- Turn the speed down to low and slowly add in the egg, syrup, milk and vanilla.
- With the speed still on low slowly add in the flour, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary.
- Carefully fold in the raspberries with a spatula until well combined.
- Use a small ice cream scooper or large spoon to add the batter to the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick comes cleans when inserted in the center, about 18 to 20 minutes.
Oh my goodness- I was not expecting all of us to love these! Sooooooo good!
Made these today with blueberries and they are amazing!!!
Haven’t tasted them yet, but judging by the smell alone I’m rating them a five. :)
Can coconut milk be used?
Yep. :)
These are my favorite muffins by far. I’ve made them for friends and they love them just as much.
One question though: how much butter is too much? It seems like a lot for the recipe, but of course it is real food and it comes out moist and scrumptious. Let me know your view on limits of butter usage. Thanks! I am using your recipes all week long and have really been loving the variety and feeling good about knowing everything that is in my family’s food.
Wow. Just made these and just wow! Absolutely delicious!! Made the recipe as stated except I used my mini muffin pan. They only took right at 13 minutes to be cooked to perfection.
Can u use frozen blueberries instead if rasberries? If so, do I need to defrost them?
Hi Jennifer. You can and do not defrost. :)
I made these for my girls and husband for Valentine’s Day breakfast. They were excellent! Not too sweet but just right. Love the recipe, thanks for making our real food journey of five years and counting so much more enjoyable!!!
I used this recipe to make 100 mini muffins for my daughter’s 100th day of school party. I tripled the recipe and baked in a mini muffin tin for 15 minutes.
These muffins are SO good!! I usually make muffins with an oil, typically coconut oil. I think the butter really made all the difference in flavor and texture in this recipe. We have an egg allergy, so I made these with about 4 oz of applesauce to replace the egg and they are perfect.
I made these muffins with orange zest and cranberries. (I had fresh cranberries that needed to be used.) Very good, although I think I’d prefer a bit more orange flavor. Maybe next time I’ll try subbing some orange juice for some of the milk, although I’m worried the acidity will react with the milk. I can’t wait to try the lemon-raspberry combo!
I absolutely cannot even tolerate the smell, let alone the taste of Maple Syrup [I know I’m strange, but it just …] what can I use instead? I really would love to try these.
Hi there. You can sub with honey.
I love these muffins! They are fabulous! I usually split the flour in two- 1/2 whole wheat and the other 1/2 white
What?? These are healthy muffins?!? They are way too delicious to be healthy!! I have made these a few times and they turned out great! The second time making them I doubled the lemon zest and used blueberries instead of raspberries (cause it’s all I had on hand!). Super. Yum.
Hello,
Can chia or poppy seeds be added to these muffins?
Hi Shannon. Sure, but keep in mind that chia will gel when combined with liquids and can change the texture of the muffin.
These muffins are absolutely delicious! The only reason I gave a 4/5 is because I don’t think the butter is necessary. Instead, I added 1/2 cup of applesauce and they couldn’t have been more moist. And healthy! This is a keeper
These are the best muffins in our rotation! We make the recipe at least once a month but sometimes more! My toddler thanks you!
Great muffins! My kids loved them.
I meant to give this 5 stars :)
Awesomely, amazing muffins! My whole family sat down to eat one as they came out of the oven and they all wanted another one. They are really moist, lightly sweet and very addictive!
Can I use coconut oil or applesauce to replace some or all of the butter?
Hi there. You can replace the butter 1:1 with coconut oil and some readers have used applesauce in its place, as well.
Mmm! I made these today, but used frozen dark cherries instead of the berries. I also drizzled a little maple syrup on top to give it that “wow! treat!” factor for the kids, who are being weaned off regular muffins/cupcakes. They were a hit! New favorite recipe, thank you!
oops, can I also use lemon zest in the spice section of the grocery store or is that not real food?
Hi Jen. As long as it is real lemon with nothing added, it is fine to use.
Can I use applesauce as a substitute for the butter?
Hi Jen. Other readers have done so successfully.
I don’t have frozen raspberries, I have about a cup of fresh berries. I don’t want them to go bad, and I’ve looked at this recipe quite a few times, and really want to try it. What changes do I have to make to use fresh instead of frozen. My freezer is too full to lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them.
Oops, tried to give it 5 stars
Awesome! I only had some frozen blueberries, so I substituted those for raspberries. Also, I use “cup for cup” gluten free flour :))) So good, but now not sure which are my faves these or the pumpkin spice ones.
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:) ~Amy
I love these! They’re a huge hit with my friends at college. I’ve made them once and my roommate has already asked for the recipe! I wanted to check and see if it’s alright if I enter your recipe into livestrong.com so that I can track my calories with it. I have the option to keep the recipe private if you’d prefer that, otherwise if I do make it public I can include the link to this page in the recipe and just say “adapted with permission from:” followed by the link (or something along those lines. Just let me know! Thanks!
Yummy! It was a hit with everyone! I added the juice from a home grown lemon and organic syrup instead of pure maple syrup.
These are the best muffins ever! I can’t keep them in the house!
If using mini muffin tin, how long do you bake?
Hi Cara. Mine are usually done around 12 minutes. ;)
Made these today using almond milk in place of the milk. I was a little worried when the wet ingredients didn’t blend together well, but after adding the dry ingredients, all was well. They turned out delicious!!!!! Will definitely be making these again.
These are awesome! I used homemade almond milk and fresh raspberries mixed with frozen blueberries and it worked great.
Hi there. This batter combines better when the butter is creamed. :)
I just made them this morning and they taste great but they came out looking a little green. Is this normal or did I make a mistake. Has anyone else noticed this and are they ok to eat? I used Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat flour and real maple agave plus everything else mentioned in the recipe.
Hi Michelle. It was probably a chemical reaction between some of your ingredients. Baking soda can react that way with some fruits but it is not harmful. ~Amy
Mine turned green too with the raspberries. They taste good though. I have made these before with a small can of pineapple chunks and they didn’t turn green.
Just made these tonight. Took a little longer to cook, but my daughter couldn’t wait to try them. Rave reviews. Will definitely do this again–even double the recipe.
Could we use the fake maple syrup, or do you think that won’t work? The real stuff is expensive!
Hi there. We’ve never tried. FYI, Costco and Trader Joes has great prices on their real maple syrup…no corn syrup. ;) ~Amy
I have a dairy allergy so could I substitute grassfed Ghee for the butter and almond milk for the milk? These sound delicious!
Yes! :)
If I’m out of lemons, but have lemon juice and lemon extract, do you think I could use that instead?
Carolann – I saw in one of the earlier comments that someone used 2 tablespoons of lemon juice instead of the zest and she loved them. Haven’t tried myself yet but am going to!
Wonderful! Thank you so much!