Make Ahead

Lemon Poppyseed Chickpea Muffins

April  4, 2010
4
4 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 25 minutes
  • Serves 12 muffins
Author Notes

I came up with this recipe in 2003 as when I was dabbling with a low-glycemic, gluten-free diet. I've had many people fooled that this wasn't made with flour. In early incarnations, I used Splenda (or half sugar/Splenda); but as Splenda is a really hideous chemical pharmaceutical concoction (that leaves a nasty aftertaste too), I decided to go with real sweeteners as of late. These make a healthy breakfast alternative to whatever Dunkin Donuts offers, and as their nutritional profile consists of abundant complex carbs, healthy fat and protein, these make great pre-workout or recovery snacks. —avantgurlnyc

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Lemon Poppyseed Chickpea Muffins
Ingredients
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons oil, a monounsaturated, neutral tasting one
  • 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup palm sugar (you can use cane sugar, but it won't be low glycemic. i haven't tried agave nectar, as it messes with the liquid proportions)
  • 2 lemons, zested in one bowl and 1 squeezed in another
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoons xanthan gum or guar gum (optional, to help bind)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons poppyseeds
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a standard-size muffin baking tray with paper baking cups. Note: If You Care® unbleached paper baking liners are great as you don't need to grease your pan and your baked good doesn't stick (it's a pet-peeve of mine when half of a muffin/cupcake is stuck to the paper).
  2. In a blender, add all ingredients (in order as they are listed) except the lemon juice and poppyseeds. Blend until very smooth. Add juice and poppyseeds and blend more until seeds are evenly distributed in batter.
  3. Pour batter into the lined muffin tray. Bake for 25 minutes or until the muffins pass the clean toothpick test. (You can also bake this in a cake or loaf pan.)
  4. Remove from tray and let cool. Refrigerate or freeze or eat them up as they can spoil easily. (If refrigerated, you can heat them in the microwave for 15 seconds or so. Longer if frozen, obviously.)

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9 Reviews

amanda_k. May 14, 2023
For a healthy, Paleo muffin, these were pretty good. How easy, too! Just dump it all in the blender and go. One warning — the vanilla overpowers the lemon in this recipe. I thought 2 tsp was excessive.
witloof April 14, 2020
To make these into chocolate chocolate chip muffins: omit lemon and poppyseeds. Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 T instant coffee, and a tsp of chocolate extract or Kahlua if you have some. Increase oil to 6T, Blend until pureed, then add a cup of chocolate chips and pulse the blender until just combined. Bake until the tops spring back and no raw batter shows through the cracks. A sprinkle of coarse sugar on the tops before baking gives them a lovely crunch.
witloof June 22, 2019
Just tasted one. They are lovely with a very nice texture, moist and cakey and a delicate lemon flavor. I think my friend will be delighted with a homemade gluten free treat. I would definitely make them again, with the following tweaks: the zest of both lemons to boost the lemon, a quarter of a teaspoon of salt, and a sprinkle of sugar on the tops before baking.
witloof June 22, 2019
I just put a batch of these in the oven to bring to a friend with celiac, and the batter was delicious.
ctgal August 25, 2018
Have you thought to try this with garbanzo bean flour? O
FrugalCat August 22, 2018
I used coconut oil and turbinado sugar. I had xanthan gum in the cabinet from my experiments with making homemade Frappuccinos. I also used a mix of chia and poppy seeds. I bought the low sodium chick peas, and also used silicone baking cups. A really good recipe.
Binu June 29, 2018
Hi, any replacement for xanthum gum? Can I leave it out?
Flexitarian April 5, 2019
You can use guar gum which is the gluten version, I believe
sbdg September 3, 2020
I left it out and they still came out pretty good. Lovely flavor and texture, but a bit crumbly (I wouldn't take one to-go).