Lemon Pistachio Muffins (Eggless)

These Lemon Pistachio Muffins are moist, fluffy, eggless, and bursting with bright citrus and nutty pistachio flavors. They are so refreshing that you would love to have them throughout spring and summer!

Eggless Lemon Pistachio Muffins are buttery, tender, and delicious, and they are topped with lemon glaze for extra fresh citrus flavor. Like my other muffin recipes, this recipe is also effortless and requires only a few ingredients.

Jump to:

• About Lemon Pistachio Muffins
• Why You Will Love These Muffins
• Ingredients
• Step-by-Step Directions
• Serving and Storing Suggestions
• Helpful Tips
• More Eggless Muffins
• Recipe Card

About Lemon Pistachio Muffins

I love the citrus flavor, and you will see me coming up with many recipes flavored with lemons and oranges. And having this citrus flavor in cakes and muffins is so refreshing and addictive.

Like my other muffin recipes, this one is straightforward and comes together easily and quickly.

Flavors: The muffins are not overly sweet; they are buttery and lightly tart with a bright and fresh lemon flavor. Ground pistachios provide a nutty flavor, and pure vanilla extract provides sweet and warm flavors.

Texture: Lemon Pistachio Muffins are fluffy and tender. These muffins are moist and light, have soft crumbs, and there will be a slight crunch due to coarsely ground pistachios.

Straightforward: The recipe is manageable and even easy for beginner bakers. We require very straightforward ingredients, and mixing the batter is pretty quick.

Equipment: There is no need for any electric mixer to make the muffin batter. All you need are mixing bowls, a whisk, and a spatula. 

Ingredients

1. All-Purpose Flour: I have used unbleached all-purpose flour to make these delicious muffins.
2. Pistachios: Use unsalted pistachios for these muffins. Also, do not grind them into a fine powder; keep them coarse for some texture.
3. Baking Powder and Baking Soda: They are essential as leavening agents and make muffins tall and fluffy. Do not interchange with each other. Also, make sure that they are active and not expired.
4. Salt: Adds pleasant contrast to the sweetness of muffins.
5. Lemon Zest: It adds extra citrus and refreshing flavors to the muffins.
6. Butter: We need unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled. Do not overheat the butter; you can microwave the butter at high for 30 to 35 seconds. Or heat the butter in the pan over the stovetop only until it starts melting. 
7. Sour Cream or Yogurt: Either one can work! Use full-fat sour cream or yogurt. Plain yogurt can work, either store-bought or homemade. Sour cream or yogurt should also be at room temperature.
8. Granulated Sugar: ¾ cup of sugar makes these muffins moderately sweet. And the sugar glaze on the top makes the muffins perfectly sweet. If you do not want to glaze the muffins, add 2-3 tablespoon extra sugar.
9. Milk: Use whole milk if possible, but 2% milk will also work. However, do not use skim or fat-free milk. The milk should be at room temperature; if you forget to take it out ahead of time, microwave it for a few seconds to bring it to room temperature.
10. Lemon Juice: Adding lemon juice provides bright and fresh flavors to the muffins.
11. Lemon Glaze: We need icing sugar and lemon juice to make the glaze. However, you can make the vanilla glaze by adding milk instead of lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract.

Step-by-Step Directions

Making The Lemon Pistachio Muffins

• Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
• Grease the muffin pan with non-stick oil spray or line it with paper liners, and set aside. If using paper liners, lightly grease them as well.
• In a medium bowl, whisk flour, ground pistachios, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest until well combined.

• In a large mixing bowl, mix melted butter, sugar, sour cream (or yogurt), milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until well combined and the mixture is smooth.

• Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients and gently mix them until everything is well combined.
• Do not overmix. 

• Divide the batter evenly between the muffin tins.
• Fill each muffin tin all the way up to the top.
• I recommend using an ice cream scoop for easy and even distribution of the batter.

• Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F (220°C), and then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C).
• Continue baking for 13-15 minutes or until the cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
• However, every oven is different, so once you reduce the temperature, keep an eye on the oven after 12 minutes of baking.
• Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
• Then transfer them onto the cooling rack and let them cool completely.

Topping The Muffins With Lemon Glaze

• Mix icing sugar and lemon juice in a small mixing bowl until smooth.
• If the glaze is too thick, add more lemon juice or water. And if the glaze is thin, add more icing sugar.

• Drizzle a small amount of lemon glaze on each muffin and sprinkle some chopped pistachios.
• Allow the glaze to set for a few minutes before serving the eggless lemon pistachio muffins.

Serving and Storing Suggestions

• Lemon Pistachio Muffins are perfect to have for breakfast. The muffin tastes delicious even without lemon glaze. We can also have it as a snack or a dessert post-dinner.
• These muffins stay at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you have leftovers, cover them tightly and place them in the fridge for up to a week.

Helpful Tips

• Measuring The Ingredients: Correctly measure the flour and other ingredients for the perfect muffins. I suggest using a kitchen scale. If using the cup method, fluff your flour with the spoon and then spoon it into a measuring cup. Then level it off with the knife.
• Sour Cream or Yogurt: Sour cream makes the muffins extra tender and moist. However, you can use plain yogurt instead of sour cream. But, use only a full-fat variety for the rich and moist muffins.
• Milk: You can use either whole milk or 2% fat milk. However, do not use fat-free or skimmed milk.
• Butter: Melt the butter and let it cool down slightly before mixing it with other ingredients. If you want, you can use the same amount of oil instead of using melted butter.
• Filling The Muffin Tins: Fill the muffin tins all the way to the top for the tall muffin tops. This way, the eggless lemon pistachio muffins will rise well and have nice domed muffin tops.

More Eggless Muffins

Recipe Card