These scrummy keto lemon muffins (cake tho, right?) are the perfect way to celebrate the onset of Spring! Boasting a tender lemon low carb muffin base, with a crunchy streusel topping and a sweet and tart lemon glaze – it’s everything you’ve ever wanted a in a keto almond flour muffin recipe! Great for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert…

Celebrate Spring with these Keto Lemon Sour Cream Muffins! Low Carb & Atkins friendly!

This gluten-free keto muffin post has been updated since I created it back when we were living on an island in Belize. We are back in New York now after 5 years in Central America – but I still remember how excited I was to get lemons in a country that didn’t seem to know they existed! This keto lemon muffin recipe is one of my most popular recipes on Pinterest, Instagram, AND Facebook – so be sure to try them out and let us know what you think!

As most of you know by now, I live on an island in Belize where the weather is perpetually summer-like. The temperatures here range from HOT most of the year, to spontaneous combustion is imminent if you’re outside more than 5 minutes in August.

So it’s not easy for me to get in the mindset of “yay, Spring!” like it used to be when I lived in New York and froze half the year. Still, I got very excited when out of the blue, lemons showed up on the island about a month ago.

They don’t have yellow lemons here usually – it’s all limes all the time in Belize. Which I’m OK with for the most part. But this time of year still means lemon flavored everything to me – so I bought a huge bag of them.

I was amused by the cashier’s obvious confusion – first at the weird yellow limes, and second that I was buying at least 20 of them! ? I couldn’t wait to get started cooking lemon flavored everything – the only problem was that I was leaving for the states for 3 weeks and had no time to use them before they went bad…

So I froze them out of desperation, which I’d never done before. ❄️

These lemon keto muffins use whole frozen lemons that are thawed and then juiced and zested. — Did you know that you can freeze whole lemons?

I was terrified that they’d be ruined when I got home from our trip – but it worked great! As an added bonus, when I thawed and cut them in half to juice them with my hand-held citrus crusher thingy, it was easy to get every last drop out of them – much more so then when they were fresh.

The moral of this story is that if you have more lemons then you can use – you can totally freeze them whole and thaw them as needed! I even zested them for my grated lemon zest with no problems!

So, long story long – against all odds I was able to get lemons in Belize and I made you these keto lemon muffins with them. And THEY TASTE GOOD. SO. GOOD.

There is lemon juice and/or lemon zest added to every component, so it’s sooooooper lemony people – in the best possible way.

Lemon lovers rejoice! You are going to LURV these keto muffins!

Keto Muffins dripping with sweet Lemon Glaze

How do I make these keto lemon muffins?

Don’t be intimidated by the multiple layers in these keto lemon muffins, they are very easy to make I promise! The muffin batter is made in the blender, with the wet ingredients and dry ingredients being all thrown in there together and blended until smooth – no need to fold or cream or mix in a stand mixer.

The streusel topping you simply stir together with a fork in a bowl until crumbs form, then sprinkle over the batter in the muffin cups before baking.

Finally, the easy lemon glaze is made by using a whisk or fork to blend the erythritol and lemon juice together until smooth – which literally takes seconds to do. Then you simply drizzle it over the top of each muffin (after baking) and you are ready to go!

Why is there sour cream in this keto muffin recipe?

It’s an honest question. I wasn’t sure about it myself, but I used to order an amazing lemon sour cream pound cake years ago, and it was so very tasty that I thought I’d try it in these keto lemon muffins.

The sour cream made the muffins very tender, super rich, and the tart cream flavor really complemented the lemon. I’m hooked, and you will be too!

Can I make these keto muffins in a loaf pan instead of a muffin pan (or muffin tin?)

I made these both as muffins and as mini loaves, to see if it would bake up ok both ways. It totally did, and I’m on the fence about which way I liked it more. Both tasted the same, but I liked being able to just slice off a small piece of the loaf without committing to an entire muffin.

That being said, my keto muffins were pretty large – so if you make them average sized then you’ll probably be getting about the same amount either way.

The point is – you can make these keto lemon sour cream muffins in almost any format and they will be great. I’m including baking times for multiple sizes in the instructions, but please be aware that ovens and cooking times may vary. Bake it until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and you’ll be in business.

If using a muffin tin, then I definitely recommend using muffin liners so that they don’t stick to the pan – even a non-stick muffin pan isn’t always a guarantee that they won’t stick. If baking in a loaf or cake pan, make sure to line the pan with parchment paper for the same reason. This will ensure that you get them out without sticking.

Make these keto lemon sour cream muffins in muffin cups or mini loaves!

Can these low carb muffins be made dairy-free?

Yes, you can replace the butter with coconut oil and the sour cream in these keto muffins with 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk. The resulting muffin won’t be quite as rich, but the recipe will still work. If you find that your muffin batter is very wet, you can another tablespoon of coconut flour to help dry it out.

What is the best sweetener to use in keto muffins?

I prefer to use granulated erythritol in the batter, and confectioners style erythritol in the glaze of these muffins. You can also use a monk fruit sweetener like Lakanto in these with excellent results. I have an allergy to stevia so I don’t use it anymore, but if you have a brand that you like and you don’t mind the flavor then that will also work.

Any of these sweeteners will keep your carbs per serving down, and the net carb count shouldn’t be affected by switching them up.

Do you have more keto muffin recipes here on IBIH?

So glad you asked, why yes I do have more low carb muffin recipes – both sweet and savory, with more being developed as we speak!

Keto Zucchini Muffins (chocolate with mocha frosting – yum!)
Keto Blueberry Muffins
Keto Pumpkin Spicy Monkey Bread Muffins
Keto Cheesy Herb Muffins
Keto Cheddar & Jalapeño Cauliflower Muffins

Keto Lemon Muffins – Low Carb and Gluten-free

★★★★★

4.8 from 89 reviews

Author: Mellissa Sevigny
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 8 to 12 servings 1x
Diet: Gluten Free

Print Recipe

Description

Keto lemon muffins with a tender lemon cake layer, topped with crunchy streusel and a sweet tart lemon glaze! Keto, low carb, Atkins friendly, and gluten free

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the muffin:

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated erythritol sweetener
3 large eggs
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cup superfine almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup full fat sour cream (or 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk)
pinch of salt

For the streusel topping:

3 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup superfine almond flour
3 tablespoons granulated erythritol sweetener
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon coconut flour

For the lemon glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners style erythritol sweetener
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

For the muffin layer:

Combine all of the muffin ingredients in a blender and blend for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. The mixture is thick so you’ll have to stop a few times and scrape the sides down with a silicone spatula to get it going the first minute or so.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) and then start your streusel topping.

For the streusel topping:

Combine the melted butter, almond flour, sweetener, lemon zest and coconut flour in a small bowl and stir well with a fork until a crumbly dough forms.
Spoon the muffin batter from the blender into 8 large or 12 regular muffin cups (if you’re using foil or thin paper then place inside a muffin tin to support them) – or into a small loaf or cake pan.
Crumble the streusel topping in pea sized pieces over the top of the batter.
Bake on the middle rack of your oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (large muffins) or 25 minutes (average sized muffin) or 50 minutes (loaf or cake pan) OR until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the lemon glaze:

Combine the erythritol and lemon juice in a cup or small bowl. Stir with a fork until smooth.
If too runny, add another tablespoon of erythritol (or more) until an opaque but still pourable glaze forms.
If too stiff to pour, add another teaspoon of lemon juice to loosen.
Pour the glaze over the muffins after they are baked and slightly cool. Serve warm or room temperature.
Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes

** For best results, see what brands I use and recommend for my recipes over on the IBIH pantry recommendations page!

Approximate nutrition info is as follows:

1 average muffin (1/12th of recipe) or loaf slice contains:

290 calories, 25g fat, 4.5g net carbs, 8g protein

1 gargantuan (bakery sized) muffin or 1/8th of recipe contains:

435 calories, 37g fat, 7g net carbs, 12g protein

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Category: keto Muffin Recipe
Method: baking
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 muffin
Calories: 290
Fat: 25g
Carbohydrates: 4.5g net
Protein: 8g

Keywords: keto lemon muffins, low carb lemon muffins, gluten free lemon muffins

If you love lemon desserts like I do – you should also try my low carb Lemon Cloud Pie from last season! It’s a stunner for sure! Oh and my favorite keto lemon bars are pretty awesome too – just sayin’.

Can’t get enough delicious low carb recipes? Download all five of my e-cookbooks (over 150 delicious low carb recipes) for just $19.99 for a limited time!