Orange Poppy Seed Muffins
Orange poppy seed muffins are easy to make from scratch. This easy recipe makes fluffy, moist muffins bursting with citrusy flavor!
My family is a big fan of poppy seed muffins. Growing up, my brother, sister, and I would enjoy the breakfast treat my mom would make from scratch or sometimes from the muffin mix box. Poppy seeds have since become easier to find in stores so I decided to make some muffins from scratch.
Instead of the normal lemon poppy seed muffin, I swapped the citrus for orange. I love orange in my breakfast pastries because they bright flavor wakes you right up. Have you seen my orange cranberry scones?
Ingredient Notes
- Orange juice and zest: Use oranges to get the zest and juice. The fresher it is the more flavor you get!
- Poppy seeds: You can find poppy seeds at your local grocery store. They add a subtle nutty flavor.
- Milk: Use whole milk for an extra tender and rich muffin. The poppy seeds are soaked in the milk so soften them up.
- Unsalted butter: Use room temperature unsalted butter. Salt is added separately to activate the leavening agents.
- Baking soda and powder: These leavening agents help the muffins rise. Check that they are fresh and not expired.
Refer to the recipe card for ingredient details and measurements.
How to Make Orange Poppy Seed Muffins
- Preheat your oven to 400 F and lining a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a small bowl, stir together the poppy seeds and milk and let stand for 20 minutes (more on this step below).
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended, then add the sugar, butter, orange juice and poppy seed-milk mixture.
- Once combined, add the dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated (don’t over-mix!)
- Evenly distribute the batter in the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18 minutes and serve.
Did you know that weighing your ingredients is more accurate than measuring them? It also means less dirty dishes. I use this kitchen scale for all my recipes!
Recipe FAQ
Poppy seeds have a tough outer coating and the flavor lies within. By soaking the poppy seeds, they soften up a bit and release their unique taste in the milk and, as a result, the batter. The flavor becomes even more pronounced in the oven!
Yes. Once the muffins have cooled, place them in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers if necessary so the muffins don’t stick. Freeze for up to a month. Defrost in the refrigerator before reheating in the oven at 325 F until warm.
Muffins are the perfect accompaniment to weekend brunch. Serve them alongside a breakfast casserole and fresh fruit for a full spread!
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Get the Recipe: Orange Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (25 g) poppy seeds
- ½ cup (120 ml) whole milk, room temperature
- 1 ¾ cup (218 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup fresh squeezed orange juice, (pulp removed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a standard size muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a small bowl, combine the poppy seeds and milk and let stand for 20 minutes.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until blended. Add the granulated sugar, butter, orange juice, and milk-poppy seed mixture. Use a rubber spatula to stir until smooth. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until ingredients are moist and no flour pockets appear in the batter (avoid over mixing).
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about three-fourths full1. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with little crumbs. Let muffins cool in the pan for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- I like to use an ice cream scoop for this step. It scoops the perfect amount of batter for each muffin.
- Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- To make mini muffins, bake 12 minutes. Yields 36 mini muffins.
- Glaze: To make the glaze, in a small bowl, stir together the 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the muffins and serve.
Recipe adapted from Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking Cookbook
30 Comments on “Orange Poppy Seed Muffins”
I’m not even a huge fan of poppy seed, but I really love the look of these Haley 🙂
Thanks, Jess
These look so good. I love poppyseed muffins. and orange. so most likely I would love this combo! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for visiting, Ashley!
Orange and poppyseed cake is one of my absolute favourites! These muffins look great. They’d be delicious with a cream cheese frosting as well.
Oh yes, a cream cheese frosting would be a good addition to these muffins. Thanks for stopping by, Alice!
Reblogged this on Someone's in the Kitchen and commented:
I was looking for something to do with oranges…. these look fabulous!
Awww, what a gorgeous looking bake you have there! =)
Why thank you!
I love that you made these with orange instead. Sometimes being out of an ingredient works in your favor 🙂 I can’t wait to try these!
You’re right, Megan! I’m always up for trying something different even if it is a small change like orange instead of lemon.
I love orange cakes and muffins, never tried poppy seeds in baked goods though! But they look great! And like always, you nailed the picture Haley! Love it!
I had some oranges to get rid of and stumbled across your blog when I was looking for an orange poppy seed muffin recipe. I just finished making these; they turned out amazing! Thanks sharing this recipe!
Oh thank you so much for trying out the recipe. I’m glad they turned out well!
The 12 servings are these to yield, are they 12 mini muffins? So if the muffins are baked in a full size standard muffin tin they would make about 4, or 5 at the most? If this correct? Or when you say 12 “servings” is this more than one small mini muffin? I’m just trying to get a feel so I know what to plan for in advance. I’m going to assume they freeze fairly well and also the recipe will double or even triple easily? When I bake I usually bake quite a large amount and like to make very large batches. I know not all recipes double or triple straightforward, so I thought I would check. thanks
Hi Pamela – Apologies as this is an old recipe! I did my research and this recipe makes 24 mini muffins or 8 standard size muffins. Bake mini muffins for 12 to 14 minutes and standard size muffins for 18 to 20 minutes.
I am loving that the pop pf citrus is orange! I think I will make a double batch!
Oooh, these Orange poppy seed muffins look heavenly!
I love poppy seed everything! I will try these!
This were delicious muffins; was the perfect touch to our Easter brunch! Loved them!
These are perfect! Love the flavor of orange in muffins!
That looks really AHH-mazing!! Would love to try it!
Perfect for breakfast! Loving this!
Im not sure if my husband just likes more orange flavor or if I did something wrong? This was my first time attempting the poppyseed orange zest recipe so maybe my zest was off?? It made 12 regular muffins and the texture was perfect just had very little orange taste to us🤔
Hi Julie – A couple suggestions… when zesting an orange, only use the very outside of the peel (don’t zest down to the white part). I also suggest using fresh squeezed OJ for the best flavor. If that’s still not enough, add another tablespoon of zest next time!
Perfect! Worked really well for me 🙂 Thanks so much for this easy recipe.
Very tasty!!!!
These are wonderful! Love the flavors, it’s my first time baking with poppy seeds. They are fluffy and look pretty, too. Excited to share these with friends for brunch tomorrow morning. Thank you for the recipe!
In the oven now! Is the glaze an additional 1/4C organe juice and 1/2C sugar?
Yes, for a thin glaze use 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. For a thicker consistency (like an icing drizzle) I suggest 2 Tablespoons orange juice.