Lemon yellow squash muffins have bright citrus flavor with a nice yellow color thanks to fresh summer squash. The optional lemon glaze makes them extra sweet and delicious!
If you are looking for a great summer breakfast option, you are in the right place. Yellow squash and lemon juice combine to make these citrusy muffins that are sure to wake up your taste buds.
These lemony summer squash muffins are packed full of shredded yellow squash. So they are moist, flavorful and have a nice yellow color.
If the idea of putting summer squash into a muffin sounds strange, it really isn’t that much different than zucchini bread. But instead of using cinnamon and nutmeg, the lemon flavor goes nicely with the summery yellow color.
You can grate extra summer squash while it is in season and freeze it in 2 cup portions. Then you are ready to bake these tasty muffins all year long!
They make a great grab and go breakfast, or a simple afternoon snack. You could even get away with serving them for dessert if you wanted to.
Additions and Substitutions
If you don’t have yellow squash, you can use zucchini. The color will be different, but the flavor and texture will be almost identical.
Sometimes I stir in a few blueberries to make them even more fruity and fun. I didn’t have any on hand for this particular batch though, and they were still really tasty.
For lemon poppy seed muffins, stir in 1 Tablespoon of poppy seeds.
For even more lemon flavor, you can zest your lemon before you juice it. Then stir the zest into the batter or the glaze.
If you don’t have lemon extract, you can use vanilla extract in the batter.
I like using a mix of all purpose and white whole wheat flour in the muffins for a little extra fiber and whole grains. However, you can use just all purpose if you want.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do you remove seeds from yellow squash before using?
The seeds of a yellow squash are edible. If the squash is fresh and small, the seeds are really tender and I leave them in. If the squash are on the large side and the seeds look tougher, I scoop them out before using the squash.
How do you store homemade muffins?
Store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can add a paper towel to the container to help absorb any excess moisture if they seem too sticky. You can also freeze muffins for up to 3 months.
Tips and Tricks
You can use paper cupcake liners if you are worried about the muffins sticking. I usually just grease the muffin wells and bake the muffins right in the pan.
When glazing the muffins, I like to do a little bit while they are still hot so the glaze can soak in. Then I do a little bit more once they have cooled for a few minutes to get a nice amount on top.
If put the wire cooling rack over a baking tray, any glaze that drips off the muffins will be caught on the pan. That makes cleanup nice and easy.
More great muffin recipes:
If you like starting your day with citrus, orange spice muffins are a tasty option. Or try orange pistachio muffins when you are in the mood for a little bit of crunch.
When summer turns into fall, whip up a batch of pumpkin streusel muffins. Or make some pumpkin apple muffins.
Or for a year round recipe, try banana oat muffins or maybe even some cinnamon sugar muffins.
Lemon Yellow Squash Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 packed cups shredded yellow squash lightly squeezed to drain excess moisture
- 2 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Optional Glaze
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare 24 muffin wells with either paper liners or grease.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and set aside.2½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together sugar, oil, lemon extract, lemon juice, and eggs until smooth.1½ cups granulated sugar, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 2 Tablespoon lemon juice, 3 large eggs
- Stir in sour cream and squash. Fold in flour mixture until just combined.1 cup sour cream, 2 packed cups shredded yellow squash
- Scoop into prepared muffin tins. (I love using my large cookie scoop for this, it is just the right size and keeps things clean.)
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until edges are golden brown and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
- Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.
Lemon Glaze
- Mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla and lemon juice.1½ cups powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- Spoon about 1 teaspoon of glaze over each of the hot muffins. Wait a few minutes and then add another teaspoon or two of glaze to each muffin.
- Allow the muffins to cool completely before transferring to a storage container.
Notes
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Hi Cooking w/Carlee,
My name is also Carley😁! My partner most springs plants a garden and this year he has been blessed with an abundance of squash and even now there are still more on the vines/plant. To not let his hard work/care go to waste . I started looking for different recipes to make use of them. I came across your recipe and the muffins were so delicious!! I used the 🍋zest in both the batter/glaze and the flavor was great. I didn’t use lemon extract and I used heavy whipping cream ,vanilla and lemon zest for my glaze were the only exception/substitutions that I made to the recipe. I want to make a loaf instead of muffins is there anything I should add or do different for a loaf or is the recipe fine as is? How many loaves would you say this recipe would make in a standard loaf pan? I’m thinking 2 possibly 3? Thank You for sharing this wonderful recipe!
🫶🏼 Carley A. Concha from Taos Pueblo,New Mexico
Nice to meet you, Carley! The batter should work well in a loaf pan. It would definitely take longer to bake, probably closer to 40-45 minutes and it should make 2 loaves. Let me know how it goes!
Delicious muffins. The only thing I altered was the amount of sugar. I used 3/4 cup of raw granulated sugar. Added blueberries to some and chocolate chips to others. Sweet enough for kids (they loved them!)
Yay! We love blueberries in them too!
Sooooo good! We will make these again
Yay! I am glad you liked them!
We have a bumper crop of yellow squash and this recipe was a fantastic way to use some of the bounty! I didn’t have any sour cream on hand; however, I had vanilla Greek yogurt and used that instead. Not only were these muffins moist and delicious, they had some extra protein from the yogurt! I know how I’ll be using up extra squash all season! I may try adding some berries next time…
Blueberries are a great addition if you have some! And good tip on the greek yogurt, I am so glad you liked them!
I rarely leave reviews but these are fantastic! I have been making them since last summer and they are the best way to use up yellow squash. I make multiple batches and freeze for winter. The recipe is perfect as is, no changes needed! Thank you!
Thank you so much! I love hearing that!
These are excellent! I didn’t have lemon extract, so I zested my lemon before I juiced it. I think I’ll get lemon extract for the next time I make them just to up the lemon flavor. I added poppyseeds too. My squash seeds were a bit big so I removed them and it cooked down so nicely into the batter
I am so happy that you liked them!