Lemon Ricotta Muffins Recipe (step-by-step photos)

Lemon ricotta muffins are crunchy outside, soft and tender inside. They’re light, lemony and a breeze to make. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, Easter, Mother’s Day, any day, everyday. 

(Looking for lemon ricotta cake? Try this Meyer lemon ricotta pound cake. Light, lemony, delicious.)

Ricotta cheese is usually used in savoury recipes like lasagna but works really well in sweets and baked goods too. It makes them soft, light and so tender. 

Bon Appetit actually calls ricotta cheese the “fluffiest cheese in the land”. And they couldn’t be more true!

This recipe is based on Giada De Laurentiis’ lemon muffins (which she calls Lemon Ricotta Biscuits) but through the years, I’ve tweaked her recipe here and there to suit my lemony palette, and made it that much easier to make. 

The muffins remain gloriously lemony, best lemon muffins ever. Let’s get to it.

Ingredients

To make lemon ricotta muffins, you’ll need:

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder and baking soda
• Salt
• Granulated sugar
• Unsalted butter
• Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
• Egg
• Ricotta cheese – I recommend buying full fat ricotta cheese. And if you know how to make your own, go for it.

Baking tools

As far as baking tools go, you’ll need:

• A 12-cup muffin pan
• Paper liners or muffin cups
• Mixing bowls
• Whisks, measuring cups and spoons

You don’t need a mixer to make this recipe. We’ll do everything by hand.

How to make (with photos)

These lemon ricotta muffins are so easy to make! 

1 PREHEAT. Preheat your oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

2 DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined. Set aside.

3 WET INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl, whisk sugar, melted butter and lemon zest until incorporated.

4 RICOTTA CHEESE. Add ricotta cheese until combined.

5 EGG. Add a large egg and fresh lemon juice. Stir until well blended. 

6 COMBINE. Add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients a third at a time and stir until just blended. Careful not to over mix the batter. It will be thick and sticky.

7 BAKE. Transfer your muffin batter into your prepared muffin cups and sprinkle the top with sugar. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops turn a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a few muffins comes out with minimal dry crumbs.

8 COOL. Allow the lemon muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. We like to serve these muffins a little warm.

Baking tips and recipe FAQs

It’s the easiest recipe, isn’t it? Simple, straightforward, a really quick way to get our lemon fix.

Here are some more tips to make baking muffins easier, as well as answers to some of your frequently asked questions.

How to ensure muffins have a domed top and a soft interior

Ever had your muffins sink in the centre? I’ve had that happen to me a few times so here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way to make sure muffins always have that lovely domed top:

• Do not over mix the batter. If you’ve been mixing it for 30 seconds, that’s already too long. As long as you don’t have massive patches of flour in your bowl, you’re good.

• Also, stir gently. Avoid doing any vigorous stirring because this will make your muffins tough. 

• Stir by hand as much as possible. There’s less chance of overworking the batter vs when using an electric mixer.

• Do not over bake. Over baking results to hard muffins so you’ll want to watch your baking time. Minimal dry crumbs on your tester is perfect.

Remember that you’re not looking for a smooth batter but a really lumpy one so that when you scoop it onto your muffin liners they plop onto the liners like a blob and don’t flow like cupcake batters usually do.

Can I use lemon sugar in this recipe

You can definitely use lemon sugar in this recipe; I often do. 

Simply rub lemon zest and granulated sugar together with your fingers until slightly moist and thoroughly fragrant. Doing this before adding them in the batter releases all of that lemony goodness in the lemon zest for a wonderful burst of lemon flavour.

Interested to make a batch of lemon sugar for future use? Check out this lemon sugar recipe with tips and tricks.

Do I need to drain ricotta cheese before using

I don’t usually drain ricotta cheese before using it in my recipes, like lemon ricotta pancakes or strawberry ricotta cake. The ricotta cheese that I get is moist but not excessively so. 

However, if you notice a ridiculous amount of liquid in the tub of your cheese, best to strain it before using.

How long do these lemon muffins last

Lemon ricotta muffins are best eaten the day they are baked but they will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. They will lose that crunchy exterior but will still be soft and fluffy inside.

We like to warm them in the microwave for 15-20s wrapped loosely with a damp paper towel.

These lemon ricotta muffins are delightfully crunchy outside, and soft and moist inside. They’re also full of lemon flavour that lemon lovers will appreciate.

They’ll make a great addition to your brunch spread, you can serve them to guests at a baby or bridal shower, you can bring them on your spring and summer picnics. Enjoy!

Lemon Ricotta Muffins Recipe

Author: Jolina

Lemon ricotta muffins are crunchy outside, soft and tender inside. They’re light, lemony and a breeze to make. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, Easter, Mother’s Day, any day, everyday.

5 from 7 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 45 mins

Course Brunch, Snack

Cuisine North American

Servings 12 muffins

Calories 246 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Cupcake Muffin Pan
• ▢
  Greaseproof Liners
• ▢
  Cookie Scoop
• ▢
  Mixing Bowls

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ ½ tsp baking powder
• ▢ ½ tsp baking soda
• ▢ ½ tsp salt
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar plus more for sprinkling
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
• ▢ 2 tbsp lemon zest
• ▢ 1 cup ricotta cheese
• ▢ 1 pc large egg room temperature
• ▢ 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

 

• ▢
  Preheat your oven to 350F. Prep a muffin pan by lining with paper liners.
• ▢
  In a medium bowl, whisk 2 cups flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
  
• ▢
  In a large bowl, whisk 1 cup sugar, ½ cup melted butter and 2 tablespoons lemon zest until smooth and incorporated.
  
• ▢
  Add 1 cup ricotta cheese and whisk until combined.
  
• ▢
  Add the egg and 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice until well incorporated.
  
• ▢
  Add your flour mixture about a third at a time and stir until just blended (the batter will be thick and sticky).
  
• ▢
  Transfer and evenly divide your batter into your 12 muffin cups.
  
• ▢
  Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the muffins turn a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre of a few muffins comes out with minimal dry crumbs.
  
• ▢
  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (or you can serve them warm).

Video

Notes

See post for baking and storage tips.

Nutrition

Calories: 246kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 5gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 162mgPotassium: 70mgFiber: 1gSugar: 17gVitamin A: 329IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information are estimates only.

Tried this recipe? Leave a star rating today!Also tag @iamtheunlikelybaker I’d love to see your creations.

Happy baking!

Did you make muffins with ricotta cheese? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below. 

Got leftover ricotta? Here’s a delicious recipe collection for what to do with leftover ricotta cheese.